Chicago Blackhawks – Page 120 – Faxes from Uncle Dale

I’ll give you the normal intro to a wrap here, but it won’t be the normal wrap. And before I go any farther, I know there are some who think I’m always negative for the sake of it. That’s fine, I like to think I’m just realistic. And what I’m about to write I’ve only done so once in the seven years we’ve been doing this. It was also after a late-season loss at home to a Jackets team the Hawks had no business losing to. And they laughed that off and the prospect that they could miss the playoffs, except for Brian Campbell, until they did actually miss the playoffs in 2011 and had a Minnesota Wild team save them at the last possible moment. So don’t think I take it lightly.

The 2014-2015 Chicago Blackhawks are finished.

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Eyes On The Captain And Other Thoughts On This Nervous Night

By sgadmin March 26, 2015 1336 0

Lately I’ve been expressing concern over Jonathan Toews, and as I normally do I ripped it off one of my blogmates because they’re smarter (and handsomer!). Fifth Feather was the first to raise a question about Toews’s condition, noticing that he was misplacing passes and losing board battles more often than we are accustomed to seeing (basically, at all). I thought I’d dig a little deeper.

I guess the most concerning number bouncing out at me is that over the past four games Toews only has four shots. That’s his lowest stretch of that length all season. If it wasn’t for Michal Neuvirth pretty much gifting him two goals against the Islanders, he wouldn’t have scored for nine games. His only points in the last four were the result of a blocked shot leading to Shaw’s empty-netter against Carolina.

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Morning 3/26/15

By sgadmin March 26, 2015 1684 0

All is lost:HN

Ugly:LGH

956 Blocked Shots:PD

WTF: ESPN

Gone Fishin: Grantland

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Pardon Our Dust: Hawks 1 – Flyers 4

By sgadmin March 25, 2015 1382 0

I guess we should just give up on the idea that the Hawks will ever win a regular season game in Philadelphia. They haven’t done so since the Clinton administration (I guess I’m legally obligated to indicate “THE FIRST Clinton administration now). We all would make the trade of that for the one win they got there in June ’10, but really could have used this one as it was one of the games in hand the Hawks had on everyone they’re competing with in the division (and that green and red blob in the rearview isn’t going away). But thanks to another first period where they couldn’t have looked less bothered and a couple nifty tips in the 2nd, it wasn’t to be.

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Morning Links 3/24/15

By sgadmin March 24, 2015 1636 0

BAH.BAH..BAH!!!LG

Weak Ruble:TSN

This could be a movement:SI

The guy wearing #16 helps:SN

What does this mean for the Floptastic Mr.Smith? PD

Riot Retrospective:SBN

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All We Are Saying… Is Give Us The Puck… : Hawks 3 – Canes 1

By sgadmin March 23, 2015 1278 0

Not exactly how you draw it up, morons.

The Hawks got two points in just about the most unconvincing fashion tonight, giving up 44 shots to the Hurricanes (who to be fair, put up 38 in Minnesota not too long ago). And when the Hawks give up that many shots, you know something is structurally or fundamentally wrong.

Tonight, and for the second night in a row, the Hawks decisions with and management of the puck was a few zip codes away from suck. I lost count of how many times in the neutral zone they chose the wrong pass or option, or how many times they simply whiffed on either making or receiving a pass. And it was everyone. Even Toews looked like he was trying to juggle chainsaws on quaaludes at the other blue line tonight.

When the Hawks are this careless and sloppy with the puck, it basically tears down their whole defensive game. Because that is built on them standing up at their own blue line with furious back pressure forcing teams to make plays and decisions a whole lot quicker than they want to. But when the puck is just turned over, they can’t do that because their forwards get caught and beat up the ice, and hence the defense have to sink back and guard against giving up a 4-on-1 or something. They have no support from the forwards so can’t get aggressive. And that’s how they get trapped in their own zone.

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Splat: Hawks -6 — Stars 4

By sgadmin March 21, 2015 1226 0