The takes are coming in hot today (woooooo baby, are they ever) so it must be the perfect time for another Fireside Chat with yours truly.
Where to start?
How about with the All Star Game, something that this year has proven to be quite the canker sore in the gums for the league. Much of which was by their own doing and truly an incredible achievement when you think about it.
A good time to look at some underlying trends for the Hawks at the break.
That would be Brent Seabrook’s last four games in Corsi. If you’re new to the stat, let me spoil the mystery. That’s real bad. Like, abhorrent. And it’s kind of been the trend for Seabrook all season.
Seabrook’s numbers, other than his offensive output which shouldn’t be dismissed, have fallen off a cliff. Overall, Seabrook has a 48.1% Corsi percentage, far down from his 53.2 career mark. What makes that even scarier is that Seabrook is facing just about the easiest competition of his career since his rookie year. His time-on-ice of competition, which is how some people measure it, is 17.3. That’s down slightly from last year’s 17.4, but in this category tenths of a minute do actually make a difference. His zone starts aren’t really any different from what’s come before either.
If you’ve watched the Hawks for even just a few years, this was not all that hard to see coming. A single road game before the break. A more than solid effort last out over a division rival that put to rest a mini-losing streak, so there wasn’t really anything to “correct” tonight. A motivated opponent that needs every point it can get with the things that the Hawks struggle with when they’re not all there (a good coach and a mobile defense). A sick captain, and it’s hard to keep a sickness restricted to just one player on a team, so it wouldn’t be a surprise if a few guys have rumbling tummies or whatever’s bugging Toews. It all added up to an effort where the Hawks looked like they were watching the clock from the opening faceoff. And that’s exactly what we got.
at 
Game Time: 6:30PM Central
TV/Radio: CSN, NBCSN, SportsNet1, WGN-AM 720
Mike Honcho: Canes Country
Tonight the Hawks will continue their tour throughout the the southeastern US in Raleigh, where they will close out the schedule heading into the All Star break, giving the vast majority of the roster an entire week off. And as they proved a month ago, the Canes will be more than happy to kick the Hawks right in the dick if they’re planning on coasting into the break.
The Rockford IceHogs, AHL affiliate to the Chicago Blackhawks, are nearing the end of an eight-game home stand. The team has continued to pace the Central Division, going 4-1-0-1 in this current stretch and gaining points in each of its past three games.
An otherwise satisfying week was marred with an injury to backup goaltender Mark Visentin, who went down in the first period of Rockford’s game with Iowa Friday night.
It’s hard to remember the last time the Blues had zero push in a divisional game against the Blackhawks in January. Add in the bonus that a regulation win for the Blues would’ve cut the Hawks lead on the Central to two points and you almost expected the play of St. Louis to mirror their piss and vinegar stench.
Instead, after a first period that was heavily tilted towards the Blues and in which Corey Crawford said no, that was pretty much it. The Hawks grabbed the lead late in the second after they dominated possession for the majority of the period and in the third, the Blues never really had much sustained pressure.
So perhaps the Blues are learning to dial it back in the regular season. Or as McClure said, perhaps they’ve learned they’re never getting out of the division or conference with their current roster.
Either way, another one down and now a comfortable six point divisional lead on the Blues after back to back regulation losses. An excellent palette cleanser from the weekend.
vs
Game Time: 6:00PM Central
TV/Radio: WGN Ch. 9, NHL Network, TVAS, WGN-AM 720
Army Corps Of Engineers Got It Right: SLGT
After a three game southern mini-road trip, the Hawks return home for a brief one-night stand at the UC before heading back down to Carolina prior to the All Star break. It will also be the Hawks’ last home game for two straight weeks, with four straight away from the west side spanning either side of the break. Their guests for tonight’s one off will be the anthropomorphic carbunkles from West East St. Louis, the Blues.
Who knew the nightlife in Tampa Bay/St. Petersburg has grown so intense that it could put a bunch of grown men on their ass for two straight days. A night after the Hawks iced 10 forwards and were continuously bailed out by Corey Crawford, they tried playing with 12 forwards this time. This time Scott Darling was in net and he wasn’t in the mood to comply.
This game was so important that the USA Today didn’t even bother to send a photographer so that’s why we’re sans picture today. Things just aren’t the same, I know. Sadly, this does prove the old saying “If a USA Today photographer wasn’t there to document it, did it really happen?” to be false. It did happen.
You’ve waited long enough, let’s get to it.