Faxes from Uncle Dale

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  • High On The Hog: Blowing In The Trade Winds

    High On The Hog: Blowing In The Trade Winds

    For the Rockford IceHogs, the All-Star break could not come at a better time. I guess it could come in the middle of a winning streak, but that hasn’t happened much during the 2016-17 campaign.

    The Hogs are next in action this Friday and have plenty to ponder this week. Rockford hits the break losers of its last five games. The IceHogs dropped all three games this past week. In doing so, they were out scored 14-5, including 8-0 in the third period.

    With a .400 points percentage that is the worst in the league, visions of playoff hockey at the BMO this spring is a delusion of grandeur. What players may be thinking in the coming weeks likely centers on where they will be when the season ends.

    It would stun me if the roster remains intact through the NHL and AHL trade deadlines. Who might be on their way out? In my opinion, don’t mark anyone as 100 percent safe. Well…nearly anyone.

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  • Mission Report

    Much like baseball, the NHL has installed its All-Star break after the middle of the season. You get why, as you wouldn’t schedule the All-Star game on Super Bowl weekend or during the NFL playoffs (though the NHL All-Star game probably makes for a better pregame show to The Big Tilt than the actual pregame show. I guess the Canadiens wouldn’t want to give up that slot thought). Much like baseball doesn’t want to put it’s All-Star game anywhere near the 4th of July. So whatever. It’s a nice marker either way.

    So where are the Hawks? Well, in some ways this is the earliest the Hawks have been entrenched in their spot, aside from when they didn’t lose for half a season in 2013. The Hawks only sit four points behind the Wild, but have played three games more, and if the Wild win even one of those they’re going to be awfully hard to catch with how things work. Even if they fell off a bit, Dubnyk is going to get them into overtime just enough to prevent complete collapse. On the other side, the Predators are nine points behind, and even with their two games in hand that’s a massive gap. They’re not getting caught.

    You know what’s weird? In the Q era, the Hawks have only finished second in the division once. And that was Q’s first year, when it was a conference system and that really meant being fourth in the conference. Since then it’s been 1st, 3rd, 4th, 1st, 3rd, 3rd, and 3rd last year. Just a note for all of you there.

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  • Everybody’s Working For The Weekend: Jets at Hawks Preview/We’re Not The Bulls Celebration

     vs. 

    RECORDS: Jets  22-25-4   Hawks 30-15-5

    PUCK DROP: 7:30pm Central

    TV: CSN

    FOR WE’VE GOT NOWHERE TO BE: Arctic Ice Hockey

    PROJECTED LINEUPS

    ADJUSTED TEAM CORSI %: Jets – 49.2 (20th)  Hawks – 50.0 (16th)

    ADJUSTED TEAM xGF%: Jets – 50.6 (14th)  Hawks – 47.5 (25th)

    POWER PLAY %: Jets – 17.7 (17th)  Hawks – 17.6 (18th)

    PENALTY KILL %: Jets – 76.8 (27th)  Hawks – 75.8 (28th)

    Interesting position the Hawks find themselves in here. Having won three of four, and with the break right on the heels of this one tonight, you wouldn’t be surprised if they played this one with sunglasses on and Bermuda shorts underneath their pants (I assume this is how Panarin has been playing the last month). On the other, the Hawks are coming off a bad loss on Tuesday, losing in regulation when leading after 40 for the first time since Daley was in charge or some shit (no, not Trevor, moron). Backing that up with an in-division loss would certainly put a small pall (see what I did there?) over the vacation time. But then again, this is still a game in January. So you tell us.

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  • Just Get Me To the Airport – Jets 5, Blackhawks 3

    Just Get Me To the Airport – Jets 5, Blackhawks 3

    Box Score

    Natural Stat Trick

    HockeyStats.ca

    There are a couple ways you can look at tonight’s final meeting between the Winnipeg Jets. You can stick your head in the oven as you watched the Hawks give up another 3rd period lead late and then followed it up by surrendering the go-ahead goal a few seconds later.

    Or you can acknowledge that perhaps this is the luck of hockey and this sort of thing happens sometimes after 78 games in a row of holding 3rd period leads.

    Either way, it kinda sucks.

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  • All Lost In The Trade Market

    We’re getting into silly season now. We’re 34 days away from the deadline, and with the Hawks having their “bye week” in the middle of it soon, we know the chatter is going to heat up. There have been names already being tossed around, except almost all of them would be a complete waste of time. So let’s toss out a few players that aren’t going to do anything for anyone before we get to ones that could actually help.

    Jarome Iginla – Old, slow, not good anymore, and would be too heartbreaking if it didn’t work.

    Patrick Sharp – Will be out for the season if he encounters a stiff breeze, also stationary, and still small matter that most of the dressing room still hates his guts.

    Shane Doan – Seriously?

    All right, now that’s over, we can get on to something a little more substantial.

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  • And Then Again Some Folk’ll: Bolts 5 – Hawks 2

    And Then Again Some Folk’ll: Bolts 5 – Hawks 2

    Box Score

    Natural Stat Trick

    The trouble with games in the middle of January, especially when the All-Star break is becoming clear in the distance and you know a lot of these guys are dreaming about beaches, drinks with little umbrellas in them, and whatever else, is that you’re not going to learn much. We know the Hawks are a flawed, good team. We know that they’re giving up chances at a rate that we haven’t seen, and we know they need their goalies to bail them out consistently. We also know there are some nights they just don’t give a shit. They’ll take what’s on offer if it’s there, but if things get away from them they’ll probably just shrug it off because it’s not the priority. You got all of it tonight.

    Oh, and they also keep sending out a large collection of toe jam on their blue line that’s going to cost them a goal or two every night.

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  • Just Don’t Say You Lost It – Lightning vs Blackhawks Preview, No Interest Financing Offer

     vs. 

    Game Time: 7:30PM CST
    TV/Radio: CSN, WGN-AM 720
    Cliché Guevara: Raw Charge

    As this stretch of the schedule lurches ever forward like a herd of Fifth Feather John’s beloved zombies, the Hawks welcome a team that is basically walking dead to the United Center for the penultimate game before the All Star break in the struggling Tampa Bay Lightning.

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  • Lightning Spotlight: Steve Yzerman – Super Genius

    Lightning Spotlight: Steve Yzerman – Super Genius

    When Steve Yzerman didn’t get the Detroit GM job back in 2010, as Ken Holland got an extension, there were some in Michigan who weren’t too pleased. Not that it’s gone all that well since for the Wings (god that’s so much fun to write), but they may want to come to terms with how it might have gone worse. Stevie Y might have no clothes.

    A lot of the shine for Yzerman was generated that he picked the gold medal team for Canada in Vancouver in 2010. Combine that with his playing days and there’s not much more that’s going to turn the Canadian media into a yellow puddle. But let’s be honest here, you kind of have to fuck up royally to not get a great Canadian squad (Rob Zamuner and Kris Draper, anyone?).

    In Tampa?

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  • Live From The Five Hole – Russian Spies

    Live From The Five Hole – Russian Spies

    On this week’s edition, John makes his triumphant return while Cieslak is doing god knows what in Vegas. We discuss the Hawks recent goaltending NON-troversy, as well as Artemi Panarin channeling Kris Versteeg and we eventually get around to what the hell is afflicting tonight’s opponent, the visiting ‘Ning, and what it’s symptomatic of league wide. Grab a listen after the jump.

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  • High On The Hog: Just Split It

    The Rockford IceHogs scored six goals in four games this week. Fortunately, they were able to win two of those games and earn a point in another. This came about through some improved play on the defensive end.

    As the AHL’s second half of the season gets rolling, the Hogs welcomed goalie Jeff Glass to the fold. Glass was in net for the first three games of Rockford’s current road trip, which concludes Wednesday night in San Antonio.

    Glass isn’t the only new face IceHogs fans will see when the team gets back.

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