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Game #19 – Rangers vs. Hawks: Q&A With Beth Boyle Machlan

By Sam Fels 2196 0

Beth Boyle Machlan is a contributor at BlueShirtBanter.com. You can follow her on Twitter @BethMachlan.

The Rangers had an awful start to the season, but have now won six in a row. What’s been the change?

The change? Moving Pavel Buchnevich from the 4th line to the 1st, for one. Alain Vigneault’s distrust of the young Russian has been inexplicable from the start, and culminated in benching him for Tanner Glass in last year’s playoffs. Since moving to the 1st line, Buchnevich has been on fire, and has already outscored his previous season. Also, the power play, which has been a black hole for the Rangers for years, has come to life with the combination of Kevin Shattenkirk, Mika Zibanejad, and the aforementioned BUCH. And Rick Nash, who I still consider the Unluckiest Man in Hockey for how often he shoots/makes things happen vs. how often he scores, has finally heated up as well.

Is Henrik Lundqvist done?
Lundqvist isn’t done. Lundqvist is 35 and has faced more high-danger shots than any other tender in the NHL. He’s been shot full of holes for three seasons now, and I’m guessing his knees and body reflect that. But he’s always been a slow starter, and he’s come on as fierce as ever in the last six games, and that save percentage is creeping up.
Mika Zibanejad is averaging a point-per-game after a somewhat disappointing debut season on Broadway last year. We see the three shots per game, what’s been the difference in his game so far?
Alain Vigneault likes to tinker with his lines, and I think Zibanejad’s game suffered last year as a result. (The broken leg didn’t help.) This year, he’s healthy and he’s playing with monsters, Buchnevich and Kreider, (KZB) who had a crazy chemistry even in 2016 preseason, but then never played together again. He’s been a beast on the power play, on a PP1 team that right now looks like it could score blindfolded.
Kevin Shattenkirk was the big offseason signing. How has he settled in?
Shattenkirk had a great start, then fell off a bit as AV played with his pairings (and defensive deployment continues to be the NYR’s Achilles heel — don’t get me started). But he seems to have found his groove, turned the PP around, and is playing his game regardless of who he’s paired with. He generates offense like crazy; NYR zone exits used to be embarrassing, but I find myself not even thinking about that anymore, especially when 22 is out there. But the dream pair of Shatty and McDonagh is history already, and he’s with Nick Holden. Ask AV.
The Rangers pulled themselves out of their initial hole, but some of their analytics are still not very impressive and this is a weird roster. Where are they headed this year?
Where are they headed? Three weeks ago, I would have said the basement. But if Lundqvist holds up, the Cup. You heard me. Because No Cup for Lundqvist is a world I refuse to live in. (We’re going to get Beth the help she needs. Don’t worry. -ED)
Everything Else

Game #19 – Rangers vs. Hawks: Douchebag Du Jour – Chris Kreider Will Have To Do

By Sam Fels 2165 0

Here’s the thing about the Rangers. They’re not really an unlikable bunch. In fact, they’re not a bunch that sets off the emotions in any way. And in fact, it’s been that way for years. When you think of the Rangers, what do you think of? It’s ok, we’ll wait.

See?

Still can’t come up with anything?

That’s the thing. With the Rangers, they’re the ones who just make up the numbers in the Original Six. There really isn’t an identifiable history. Or players. Or building. When you think of the Montreal Canadiens, it’s Richard or LaFleur streaking down the ice at the Forum. The Hawks have Chelios or Mikita or Magnuson bleeding in front of baying wolves at The Stadium. Wendel Clark crosschecking someone in the back of the head at The Gardens. Orr flying around the Garden (singular in Boston).

The Rangers? Petr Nedved’s confused gape at whatever iteration of MSG it was then? Alex Kovalev not really giving a shit? The Drury and Gomez signings? This is the organization that Jaromir Jagr thought so much of he ditched it to sit in a hot tub with Russian models and Roman Abramovich for two years in Omsk. Apparently being a Rangers captain doesn’t mean as much as when Mark Messier was blowing off-foot wristers past bewildered goalies.

So we’ll take Chris Kreider here, who never met a goalie he couldn’t run or an opponent he couldn’t yap at from behind two linesmen. He’s also from Boston, so you know he’s almost certainly something of a prick. And he looks like a Guy Fawkes mask. Who patters their look after Brian Boyle?

It’s the best we can do.

Game #19 Preview

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Q&A

Douchebag Du Jour

I Make A Lot Of Graphs

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Everything Else

Game #19 – Rangers vs. Hawks: I Make A Lot Of Graphs

By Sam Fels 1308 0

All stats at even-strength unless noted.

 

Key: Expected Goals – goals team should have scored and surrendered given neutral goaltending based on amount and types of chances created and surrendered

Time On Ice Percentage – Percent of even-strength time 

Off. Zone Start Ratio – Percentage of shifts started in offensive zone

 

Game #19 Preview

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Beer Of The Week: Off Color Scurry

By Sam Fels 2738 0

Oh look at this, I do still have a log-in for this site! How about that?

By now you probably realize though, I’m not here to talk about hockey (Sorry? You’re welcome?). I’m here to discuss some beer. So what should you be drinking this week? Well even though the snow from Friday has melted away, it’s still getting colder and we’re seeing less and less of the sun… so what better than something dark? This week’s beer is from one of my favorite local breweries, Off Color. With all the aforementioned seasonal changes they have released their lovely Kottbusser, called Scurry, back into the world. Now I’m imagining your first question – what the hell is a Kottbusser? That’s a damn good question. Lets talk about Off Color a little bit first. 

Started in 2013, Off Color quickly got on my radar. Not only because I used to work with one of the owners and was friends with the other but because right from the start they were doing something incredibly different. I’ve had many conversations with folks who aren’t fans of hoppy beers. These people are wrong but there’s certainly something to their argument that every brewery always has an IPA and/or Pale Ale. Off Color goes against all that. They set out to make beers no one else was making and quite often they make beers that no one else has heard of at all. Hoppy brews are great. They basically pay my rent and keep me stocked up with comic books. But there’s something wonderful about a brewery something few if any other breweries are doing. (Shoutout to Metropolitan too for that by the way). 

Now – what’s a Kottbusser? I had no idea either when they first made it. It’s an older and almost extinct German style. It’s dark, malty.. but it’s not an Alt. It’s brewed with honey and molasses to add more fermentable sugars to the beer. Now those won’t add any sweetness to the finished beer, it actually finishes very dry, but they’ll certainly change the body a bit. The flavor is smooth, nutty, toasty with a touch of chocolate and fruits. It’s fantastic. For an extra treat, look to try a Nitro version for an even smoother experience. 

As of very recently, you can go drink their beers at their new taproom as well. Go bother them at The Mousetrap, 1460 N. Kingsbury – right by that gigantic Whole Foods. No, not the new gigantic Whole Foods, the other gigantic Whole Foods.

Everything Else

Who Hurt You, Saad Boy?

By Sam Fels 3724 0

Don’t worry, I’m not going to talk you off your love Brandon Saad. I love Brandon Saad. Everyone does. I know that when we write a post about a player, we’re pretty much greeted like the Turk asking you to bring your playbook. But that’s not this. Still, it’s probably time to look at what’s going on here.

Brandon Saad has seven goals on the season, which leads the Hawks. But that’s a touch misleading. Four of those came in the season’s first two games. Two of the three following goals came in overtime, where 3-on-3 doesn’t really tell you what the player is providing night in, night out. It would be easier if these goals were not counted toward a season total, but that’ll never happen so let’s just roll with it.

So what’s going on here? Is it a lack of chances? No, it doesn’t appear so. Since the first two games of the season, Saad has had 49 shots in 16 games. That’s over three per game, which is actually way over Saad’s average of two per game (at even strength, by the by). Saad’s career-high in shots per game at evens in 2.23, which came in the ’15 year, his last in Chicago before trade. So as far as volume, there’s nothing off here and in fact it’s been as good as it’s ever been. The 6.1 SH% the past 16 games would seem to be highly to blame. If you want to go by rates, Saad is putting up 11.4 shots per 60 minutes at evens, which is a career-high and by some distance.

When talking about types of chances, this is where we see a dip, but only slight. On the year, Saad is averaging 2.1 scoring chances per game. But if you remove the first two games, when he had eight scoring chances all to himself, it drops to 1.8 chances per game. Again, this isn’t ridiculous or anything, but it’s just above noticeable. If you boil it down to just high-danger chances, Saad has averaged 1.2 per game two seasons ago, 1.06 last year and 1.05 this year per game. But take out the first two games, and it’s down to 0.87.

So Saad is something of a microcosm of the whole team. He’s getting the attempts, number-wise, that he usually does. But they’re not quite coming from the areas that you want them to as often as you want them to, and hence his shooting percentage is going down. It’s gone down more than you’d expect, so certainly some luck is involved as well.

The inclination is to portion some of the blame to his linemates, which have changed from time to time but basically has been Jonathan Toews and Richard Panik. And yes, if you were to look at the very small sample with Patrick Kane, Saad generates 15 shots per 60 with Kane as opposed to 10 with Toews and Panik. His individual attempts go from 15.2 with Toews and Panik to 23.2 with Kane. His individual scoring-chances leap up by a third as well when skating with Kane. Again, limited sample but also not a huge surprise, because this is what Kane does.

On the other side of this debate, is that given the physical skill-set of Saad, you would’t think he’s someone who needs a playmaking center or winger to dominate. Saad should create enough of his own shots, given how he can simply muscle through whatever he wants. Saad is in the top tier of the league when it comes to individual attempts per 60, but he’s 32nd. You wouldn’t call that elite. Among just left wings he’s 9th, which is better, and right in between Panarin and Hall which is a good place to be. Scoring chances among left-wingers he’s seventh, he’s just ahead of Max Pacioretty. So it’s not worth worrying about.

All of this then becomes another referendum on Jonathan Toews again. When Saad’s numbers jump up so high with Kane, and things flatten out so much with Toews, one has to wonder if Toews’s decline from 2016 is quite simply permanent. Or at least if the expectations and usage of Toews need to be adjusted.

Either way, the Hawks need more goals in the 60 minutes from Saad. But let’s give it another 10-15 games before we head for battle stations.

Everything Else

Atop the Sugar Pile – 11/13

By Sam Fels 2195 0

The Hawks are officially off to their worst 18-game start to a season since 10-11* (not 09–10; thanks, Feather). That team this is not, but hope springs eternal. Let’s look at how we got here.

The Dizzying Highs

Alex DeBrincat: Since we last did this, Kitten Mittons has been a point per game player, thanks in part to his utter explosion in Carolina. Of course, it would be fitting that DeBrincat would find the handle on everything after Q put him on both the right side and the 4th line, even if DeBrincat did most of his scoring away from that gulag. He still has his moments where he doesn’t finish a shot or makes a curious pass, but you can see the instincts coming out with each game. One thing I especially love about watching him is that he’s got a knack for positioning. His giveaways to takeaways is a +4 right now (8 GA to 12 TA), so while he may be diminutive, it’s possible that he’s got some defensive smarts blooming. Couple that with the dynamism he’s starting to show and baby, you got a stew goin’.

Nick Schmaltz: It’s entirely possible I’m still rolling on the vapors of that obscene backhand, through-the-defender’s-legs Royal Road pass he served to DeBrincat yesterday (which DeBrincat just couldn’t finish), or really everything Schmaltz did yesterday, but here we are. Of course, many of Schmaltz’s highlights recently have come off the wing, because why not, but coming off an early injury, Schmaltz has been the silk that lines DeBrincat’s Kitten Mittons. He’s running a solid 55.1 CF% through 14 games (1.3 CF% Rel), and now that he’s on the wing, it looks like he’s playing with more speed and less tentativeness. You still want to see him develop into the 2nd line center the Hawks have been searching for ad infinitum, but if moving to the wing is going to give us the Orange Ninja Turtle art Schmaltz has been providing, so be it.

The Terrifying Lows

Toews, Kane, Saad’s Shooting Percentages: Respectively, they’re sitting at 7.8 (-6.6% vs. career), 10.2 (-2.1%), and 11.9 (+0.1%). However, Saad’s is misleading: If you remove the first two games, he’s sitting at 5.5% (-6.3%). On top of that, he carried a six-game pointless streak along with a 10-game goalless streak, and has seemed to struggle to pot chances close in. My love for Saad knows no bounds, but even I’m getting itchy watching him struggle to score. I’ve talked about my worries about Toews’s shooting woes becoming a trend, but these are the three guys whom you expect to lead the scoring charge, which would partially explain the Hawks’s scoring drought. While it’s great to see Schmaltz and DeBrincat starting to get a handle on it, these are the guys the Hawks are going to need to do more of the heavy lifting if they want to make the playoffs.

The Power Play: This is admittedly lazy and redundant, since, like Seabrook, we could probably always get away with putting the PP here. But I can’t remember any of the past iterations of the Hawks’s PP being this gruesome. They currently sit at 27th in the league, and that’s with the two PP goals they scored at the Chuck E. Cheese sugarfest at the UC last night. You’ve undoubtedly become familiar with the clarion calls for MORE MOVEMENT and SHOOT DA PUCK, and this time, it doesn’t reek of giardiniera-fart stink. The solution to this, apparently, is to put the most dynamic playmaker in Kane at the point and have the guy whose one job it is to QB the PP in Franson float around between the top of the circle and the blue line. There are a lot of potential solutions to this problem—such as continuing to let Kitten Mittons play on the PP at all—but this isn’t it.

The Creamy Middles

Connor Murphy: Sample size is the only thing keeping him from being a Dizzying High this week. In the three games he’s played on his off side, Murphy scored his first goal, has taken four shots (versus 11 through his first 12), and has looked a lot more aggressive and confident, which is a big deal, given his propensity to lose his confidence at times. Even more promising have been his shot-share percentages, which, since taking over the left side, have come in at 65+, 43, and 60. That 43 CF% looks out of place, doesn’t it? That was the Carolina game, in which Murphy played just north of 11 minutes. Would you like to guess whom he played more than half of his time with in that one? I’ll give you seven guesses, and the first six don’t count.

 

Everything Else

High On The Hog: Colliton Keeps An Even Keel

By Jon Fromi 1969 0

A young Rockford IceHogs team has experienced both highs and lows so far in the first six weeks of their 2017-18 AHL schedule. Expect that to be the case for the piglets throughout the season. IceHogs coach Jeremy Colliton seems to get that.

The new Rockford skipper was able to find some positives in a 6-0 shellacking at the hands of San Antonio Friday night. The team’s fourth-straight loss might have been frustrating, especially coming off of a 5-3 loss at Iowa. The Hogs wound up on the short end of that result despite doubling up the Wild in shots Thursday morning.

However, even following a blowout defeat, Colliton wasn’t in panic mode.

The IceHogs were sent to the box nine times and gave up four power play goals to the Rampage. Colliton lauded his team’s play at even strength in his press conference. He also stressed to the assembled media (his post-game thoughts can be viewed on the Hogs website) the importance of his young charges staying the course:

Sometimes you do good things, you do good things, you do good things…you don’t get rewarded, and sometimes your game slips…and then you don’t deserve anything. So, we just need to keep pushing.

If we string together a bunch of good efforts, over time, we’ll get paid off for it. But, if you slip and you all of a sudden start getting away…start playing as individuals and everyone trying to do their own thing and taking care of themselves…then that’s where you get in trouble. So we’ve gotta avoid that at all costs.

We’re talking about it in the leadership group. The guys who think they are gonna drive the bus for us…they need to sort of take ownership of this and just make sure we play a good, hard, smart road game tomorrow…and if we do that, probably it will pay off in points.

I can’t say for sure it will, but I do know that over time if you do good things night in and night out, you get rewarded.

The IceHogs effort resulted in a 5-2 road win in Milwaukee Saturday, so some of those bus drivers got the word out. Overall, Rockford moved to 8-6 in 2017-18. Colliton appears very aware that there are going to be peaks and valleys throughout the season. Such the case of the special teams.

 

Not So Special Teams

The IceHogs special teams are in need of some special attention after a spate of poor play in recent weeks. During the team’s hot start, both the power play and penalty kill units were top-five in the AHL. Neither group has fared well of late.

After hitting the man advantage jackpot with four goals against Grand Rapids on October 28, the IceHogs have found the back of a net just once in 21 power play opportunities. Even with the slump, Rockford has a fairly respectable 17.9 success rate.

The penalty kill has been a sieve over the Hogs last seven games. They have surrendered a power play tally in all of those games, including two to Milwaukee on October 27, three in Iowa November 9, and four to open their game with San Antonio November 11.

Rockford, incidentally, lost all three of those games. The IceHogs PK unit is the league’s worst with a 74.6 kill rate.

Despite not scoring on three third period power plays Saturday night in Milwaukee and giving up a shorthanded goal late in the second period, Rockford was still able to snap a four-game losing streak with a 5-2 win over the Admirals. The passing on the power play looked sharp Saturday; maybe that group can start showing up in the box score with more frequency.

 

A Look At The Stat Sheet

Vinnie Hinostroza continues to compile points, with four in three games of action this week. He currently sits atop the IceHogs in goals (7), assists (8, tied with Erik Gustafsson) and points (15).

Luke Johnson, who is taking a leadership role in his second season, has gotten off to a solid start. After a 17-point rookie campaign, Johnson has three goals and five helpers in 14 games this season. More importantly, he is showing a bit more finishing ability on scoring plays.

Gustafsson leads the IceHogs blueline with 11 points (3 G, 8 A). That total is also good for a tie for second among AHL defensemen.

Four rookies are in Rockford’s top ten scorers right now. Matthew Highmore has ten points (5 G, 5 A) after a couple of helpers this week. David Kampf is next among the first-years with nine points (4 G, 5 A), followed by Matheson Iacopelli (3 G, 4 A) and Anthony Louis (2 G, 4 A).

The only Rockford skater not to notch a point is D Robin Norell, who has not scored in his eight appearances. Norell, Andreas Martinsen and Alexandre Fortin are all looking for their first goal of the season.

 

Where’s Fortin?

One of the more intriguing rookies to come on board was Fortin, who earned an NHL entry deal from Chicago in 2016. The free agent was inked following a strong prospect camp coupled with an impressive preseason with the Blackhawks.

To date, Fortin hasn’t had a similar impact in Rockford.

The young wing is currently mired in a seven-game scoreless streak. Fortin has just four assists to show for his first dozen games of AHL competition. This, despite being grouped with Tomas Jurco and David Kampf the last two weeks. On what should be a high-scoring line, Fortin hasn’t made a lot of noise.

Maybe on a team filled with speedy skaters, I just haven’t noticed Fortin and what he’s been bringing to the table. However, he isn’t getting any time on special teams and his play hasn’t stood out these first six weeks of the campaign.

Fortin began the season as a bottom-six forward and has been a healthy scratch twice so far this season. Perhaps the move up to skate with Jurco and Kampf was an attempt to provide a boost to the rookie. If so, it has yet to kick in.

 

Forcing Delia?

Hawks goalie prospect Colin Delia has been getting a lot of attention from the organization since Chicago signed the free agent to an entry deal. It’s a little early for a pronouncement of his capabilities, but it has been rough going so far for Delia.

After backing up J.F. Berube in a couple of games the previous week, Delia was tapped to start Thursday’s morning affair in Iowa. From the onset, he did not look comfortable in net. In the Rockford loss, Delia gave up four goals on just 16 Wild shots.

A single start, and an AHL debut at that, does not a career make. After all, this is a guy who’s been a wall in his carefully arranged ECHL schedule with Indianapolis…except…he hasn’t.

As has been noted on several occasions, Chicago is developing the rookie goalie in Rockford and sending him to the Fuel purely for game experience. Delia has appeared in eight games for Indianapolis, compiling a 1-5-2 record, a 3.87 goals against average and a .892 save percentage.

Saturday night in the Quad Cities, Delia gave up five goals in a 5-2 loss to the Mallards. He had been pulled in his previous start in the third minute of the second period after surrendering five goals against Wheeling. Fair to say that the kid is scuffling right now, though Delia turned in a good performance Sunday in an overtime loss to the Mallards.

It’s also fair to question the strategy of yanking Delia back and forth between Rockford and Indy as opposed to letting him settle in with the Fuel for at least a couple of weeks. I know the Blackhawks want to keep close tabs on what they believe to be a legitimate goalie prospect. Surely, however, Delia’s progress wouldn’t be badly stunted with a three or four-week stretch with the Fuel?

 

Dauphin Injured

Forward Laurent Dauphin has missed two straight games after being helped from the ice in Thursday’s 5-3 loss to Iowa. Dauphin was injured after being sandwiched against the boards by the Wild’s Hunter Warner.

Warner had a pretty good head of steam going when he delivered the hit. Dauphin landed hard and looked to hit his head on the ice. He has not played since departing that game in Des Moines.

 

The Week That Was

Thursday, November 9-Iowa 5, Rockford 3

Three Iowa goals on the man advantage were too much for the IceHogs to overcome. Rockford lost for the third straight time despite out shooting the Wild 36-17.

The Wild built a 2-0 advantage on the power play in the first ten minutes of the opening frame. Rookie goaltender Colin Delia, making his first AHL start for Rockford, surrendered goals to Cal O’Reilly and Zack Mitchell to put the Hogs in a two-goal hole.

Luc Snuggerud halved the Iowa lead at 11:41 of the first with his first goal of the season. The shot came from the left point, glanced off of O’Reilly and made its way past Wild goalie Steve Michalek. Assisting on the play was Carl Dahlstrom and Andreas Martinsen, who provided the grunt work in the corner to dig out the puck and get things started.

Rockford pulled even with the Wild with a power play goal of its own. Martinsen again played a key part in the goal, scooping up a rebound of a Vinnie Hinostroza shot in front of the cage and finding Laurent Dauphin open at the right post. The one-timer got past Michalek at 6:46 of the second period.

The game remained tied for about five minutes before Iowa took the lead for good. A defensive breakdown in the neutral zone led to a 2-on-1 rush for the Wild. Mario Lucia took aim at Delia in the high slot and fired past Delia on the stick side. Iowa now led 3-2 at the 11:54 mark.

The Wild restored their two-goal advantage early in the third on another power play tally. Ryan Murphy wound up nailing a one-timer past Delia from the left point for a 4-2 Iowa lead at 3:37 of the third period.

Rockford closed the gap to a single goal in the 13th minute. Matthew Highmore hit Hinostroza coming across the red line. Hinostoza did the rest, skating to the left circle before some nifty moves created enough space to progress to the slot. The shot found its way into the upper left corner of Michalek’s net, making the score 4-3 with 12:40 gone in the third.

The Hogs could not pot the equalizer, despite a power play chance late in the game. Delia gave way to an extra skater to no avail; Pat Cannone scored on the empty net with 1:06 remaining to seal Rockford’s fate.

Delia’s welcome to the AHL was anything but; the former Merrimack standout stopped just 12 of 16 shots on the morning.

Lines (Starters in italics)

Vinnie Hinostroza (A)-Matthew Highmore-Luke Johnson

Tomas Jurco-David Kampf-Alexandre Fortin

Anthony Louis-Tyler Sikura-William Pelletier

Matheson Iacopelli-Laurent Dauphin-Andreas Martinsen

Viktor Svedberg-Ville Pokka

Erik Gustafsson-Darren Raddysh

Carl Dahlstrom-Luc Snuggerud

Colin Delia

Scratches-Robin Norell, Graham Knott, Jeff Glass

Power Play (1-4)

Jurco-Highmore-Kampf-Gustafsson-Raddysh

Dauphin-Hinostroza-Johnson-Martinsen-Pokka

Penalty Kill (Iowa was 3-4)

Sikura-Pelletier-Svedberg-Pokka

Dauphin-Johnson-Dahlstrom-Snuggerud

Martinsen-Kampf-Gustafsson-Raddysh

 

Friday, November 10-San Antonio 6, Rockford 0

The Rampage ran roughshod over the piglets on this evening, scoring four times as the result of Rockford penalties. Three came in the opening period, which was more than enough to best the Hogs.

Starting goalie J.F. Berube’s night ended after San Antonio scored for the fifth time 12:23 into the second period. Jeff Glass came in for what amounted to 28 minutes of garbage time.

Adding insult to the defeat was Luke Johnson taking a pounding in his second period fight with Mason Geertsen of the Rampage. Johnson showed some heart taking on a bigger opponent to try and change his team’s fortunes. However, neither the bout or the game turned out well for the Rockford contingent.

Lines (Starters in italics)

Alexandre Fortin-David Kampf-Tomas Jurco

Vinnie Hinostroza-Matthew Highmore-Luke Johnson (A)

Matheson Iacopelli-Tyler Sikura-Andreas Martinsen (A)

Graham Knott-William Pelletier-Anthony Louis

Erik Gustafsson-Carl Dahlstrom

Viktor Svedberg-Ville Pokka (A)

Luc Snuggerud-Robin Norell

Jean-Francois Berube

Jeff Glass

Scratches-Laurent Dauphin, Darren Raddysh

Power Play (0-4)

Jurco-Iacopelli-Highmore-Kampf-Gustafsson

Knott-Sikura-Martinsen-Hinostroza-Pokka

Penalty Kill (Rampage was 4-9)

Highmore-Johnson-Norell-Svedberg

Sikura-Hinostroza-Snuggerud-Pokka

Pelletier-Jurco-Gustafsson-Dahlstrom

 

Saturday, November 11-Rockford 5, Milwaukee 2

A big third period by Vinnie Hinostroza and solid goal tending by Jeff Glass were the keys to Rockford ending a four-game losing streak on the road. The Hogs kept the game close until breaking out for a trifecta of scoring in the final 20 minutes.

Rockford had been prone to falling behind quickly in previous losses; Friday, the Hogs drew first twine. Tomas Jurco found David Kampf in front of the Milwaukee net for the lamp-lighter past Ads goalie Anders Lindback at 8:48 of the opening frame.

That lead held up until P.C. Labrie slipped behind the Hogs defense, took a stretch pass from Trevor Murphy and potted his first goal against his former team ninety seconds into the second period. The Admirals grabbed a brief 2-1 advantage on a Pontus Aberg power play strike that got under the pads of Glass at the 17:52 mark.

The IceHogs had an answer for the Admirals, however. Andreas Martinsen took a pass from Matheson Iacopelli in the high slot, firing the puck at Lindback. Lindback did not field the offering cleanly. Tyler Sikura made him pay for his clumsiness, knocking the loose puck into the Milwaukee net for the equalizer just 16 seconds after Aberg’s tally.

All even at two at the second intermission, Rockford got the game-winner 24 seconds into the final period. It came when Hinostroza put in a rebound of a Matthew Highmore shot. The IceHogs held that 3-2 advantage for almost ten minutes, unable to build on the lead despite three power play chances in that span.

Rockford was playing 4-on-4 with the Admirals when Hinostroza struck again. Scooping up a Milwaukee turnover, the speedy forward streaked to the net, slowed up to size up the goalie, and flung home some insurance over Lindback’s glove at 10:55.

About five minutes later, Johnson got in on the fun, taking a long feed from Raddysh near the red line and progressing unencumbered to the Milwaukee doorstep. Lindback guessed wrong, Johnson’s backhander stuck cord, and the IceHogs had a 5-2 lead at the 15:49 mark.

Hinostroza, not surprisingly, was the game’s first star. Lindback got enough press box support for third star honors, though it was Glass who stopped 23 of 25 shots and kept the puck out of the Rockford net in some dicey moments in the final ten minutes.

Lines (Starters in italics)

Vinnie Hinostroza-Matthew Highmore-Luke Johnson (A)

Alexandre Fortin-David Kampf-Tomas Jurco

Matheson Iacopelli-Tyler Sikura-Andreas Martinsen (A)

Graham Knott-William Pelletier

Erik Gustafsson-Carl Dahlstrom

Viktor Svedberg-Ville Pokka (A)

Luc Snuggerud-Robin Norell

Darren Raddysh

Jeff Glass

Scratches-Laurent Dauphin, Anthony Louis

Power Play (0-3)

Iacopelli-Hinostroza-Highmore-Johnson-Pokka

Jurco-Kampf-Martinsen-Gustafsson-Raddysh

Penalty Kill (Admirals were 1-3)

Highmore-Johnson-Norell-Svedberg

Sikura-Hinostroza-Snuggerud-Pokka

Pelletier-Jurco-Gustafsson-Dahlstrom

 

Previewing Next Week

The IceHogs are at home for their next five games against the bottom three teams in the Central Division. Don’t let that fool you; each of these contests will be hard fought.

This week’s action gets underway Wednesday morning when Iowa pays a visit to the BMO Harris Bank Center. It’s a school day game, scheduled every year so that children from the Rockford area can scream continuously for a couple of hours without fear of detention.

The Wild don’t match up will the team speed of Rockford, but that didn’t stop Iowa from beating them this past Thursday. The Hogs typically swarm the Iowa net with shots; the key will be getting those shots to fall. The Wild will return to the BMO November 22 and 24, meaning that three of Rockford’s next five games will be against Minnesota’s AHL affiliate.

On Saturday night, Grand Rapids comes to town for the third time this season. Rockford bested the Griffins in a shootout back on October 20, then rallied from a two-goal deficit with three power play goals for a 4-3 win October 28.

Rockford’s interstate rivalry with the Chicago Wolves begins Sunday, when the two teams begin the hunt for the Illinois Lottery Cup. This grail-like plastic and wooden trophy goes to the Illinois team who has the most points after the dozen head-to-head matchups this season.

The Wolves are 4-7-1 as of Monday morning but are the current holders of the ILC, having beaten the IceHogs in eight of those twelve meetings in 2016-17. Their roster is full of familiar faces, headed up by AHL point machine Teemu Pulkkinen. He, along with former Hawks prospect Brandon Pirri, has topped the league in scoring in his career and has a boatload of goals against the IceHogs

The Wolves also boast potent AHL scorers like Wade Megan and T.J. Tynan and veteran Brett Sterling. Defenseman Jason Garrison has been loaned out to the Wolves from Las Vegas since the end of October.

These Rockford-Chicago affairs are usually pretty rough-and-tumble. Seven of the IceHogs 39 fighting majors (18 percent) came against the Wolves. Come to think of it, Rockford had seven FM’s with Grand Rapids last year and six more with Iowa, for what it’s worth.

Follow me @JonFromi on twitter for updates and thoughts on the Hogs all season long.

 

 

 

 

Everything Else

Game #18 – Al Secord deserved better – Blackhawks 5, Devils 7

By Sam Fels 1630 0

Folks, I have to enter into a few moments of honesty here. Firstly, I – like the Blackhawks – was not fully invested in this game when it started. Secondly, I turned the game off for good when the Devils tied it up, because I assumed (correctly) that meant they were going to win. Thirdly, I don’t want to talk about this game because it was stupid, and friend of the blog Aaron has made me feel bad about it. So I’m going to be brief. Thanks for understanding.

  • If there is any one key takeaway from the first period explosion the Blackhawks exhibited tonight, it is that Schamltz and Top Cat need to be on a line together right now. They sparked the three-goal outburst with a rush so beautiful it belonged in the Louvre. Surely, something good coming from them playing together will not spark any interest in Q keeping them together, but it SHOULD, dammit.
  • Speaking of, Top Cat’s big weekend strikes me as the start of something special for him. That might be optimistic of me, but he’s looked locked in, despite playing on a line with Mo and Curly for his two-striker in Carolina. He had a 76.92 CF% tonight, second on the team overall and first among forwards, and had that goal to boot. He’s proving that he belongs at the NHL level, and showing that skill that’s gonna make him a special player.
  • I would like to start a petition for Brent Seabrook to get scratched instead of any number for Forsling, Kempny, or Rutta. He’s unabashedly looking like one of their worst players. He posted a fine overall CF% tonight at 52.38, but it was the Devils so don’t get too much hope from that. He was actually a -12.32 in CF%Rel, which was better than only Saad – who we can forgive for an off night – and Lance Bouma. So, yeah. It’s bad.
  • Staying on the topic of the blue line, Joel showed some progress in his usage of Forsling tonight, letting him start 60% of his shifts in the offensive zone. He still ended the night below team share in CF%, but still had a nice 57.89 shot share while on the ice. I’ll take that.
  • Jan Rutta looks like he is good. Three points tonight, including a PPG. That is a very good thing for a blue line that needed some good luck.
  • Who the fuck is Miles Wood? Please keep that name out of my ears forever.
  • No doubt the most frustrating part of this loss is that the Blackhawks overall were pretty dominant. They owned a 60% shot share – though again, it was the Devils – and ended basically were undone by Crawford’s first bad night in a long time. I am willing to forgive him for that, and we can all move along.