Everything Else

Tweaks Still Needed

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The Hawks got their goalie win last night, and for a team that usually only requires its goalie to do just enough, that’s basically got to be considered a bonus. The Hawks certainly can’t count on Corey Crawford to win the series by himself, and whether we like it or not Ryan Miller probably has one virtuoso performance in him this series as well which the Hawks will have to win anyway unless they plan on being perfect in every other game. Which means there have to be some changes in their game and possibly lineup that they have to figure out. Not that they will, because “Quenneville” is becoming a synonym for “stubborn.” (becoming?)

-I guess it took 85 games, but the moment Michal Handzus was having his name chanted by the UC faithful I guess I finally came to the conclusion that he’s just a necessary evil of sorts. While I still think to a certain extent his fine work on the PK is something of a result of not being quick enough to get into a shooting lane to prevent a shot at all thus resulting in all his diving blocks, I can’t argue with the results on the PK (which is far more important than the power play). I’m sure that’s what Q’s pointing to, and the evidence is that he’s half double-shifting Ben Smith to get him between Hossa and Sharp at times to get more from them. I think we can safely conclude that Q thinks Zus’s PK work is vital, but his work at even-strength is basically something they have to overcome.

Everything Else

Get It Together There, Grouch: Hawks at Blues Game 2 Preview/Pregame Thread/Purple Wedding

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Hawk Wrestler vs. old_school_blue_l

PUCK DROP: 2pm Central

TV/RADIO: NBC, 87.7FM

GOOD GOD DON’T GO HERE: St. Louis Gametime

Guessing the legs will still be a little sore even two days after playing a game and two-thirds, but the Hawks will have to find the juice anyway as they look to even this series. While it’s not absolutely vital it would certainly behoove them to do so. I had hoped that the Hawks could jump on what had to be a fragile team after St. Louis’s finish to the season and get them questioning themselves from jump street. They couldn’t do that, so the challenge gets a little tougher with the Blues finding their feet a little. Certainly Ryan Miller will take a lot out of his performance in the last four periods of Game 1.

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Was She Asking For It? Was She Asking Nice?: Hawks 3 – Blues 4 (3OT)

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Box Score

Game Summary

Extra Skater

Well that feels like drunk sex, no? All that labor and you’re exhausted and it isn’t even really that fun but you’re supposed to be there and then you don’t even get the conclusion. Just an odd look and an admission you should probably both go to sleep.

The thing is, the Hawks could have gotten away with it in Game 1. In fact, they probably should have gotten away with it. Because they weren’t terribly good. Their passing was awful, their changes for the last two periods were simply abhorrent (which is not something we’ve seen a lot of in the Quenneville era) and for regulation they basically just looked off. And that’s being kind. Yet still, when you have the lead in  playoff game with less than five to go, you have to see that out. The Hawks cost themselves a game and 42 extra minutes of hockey by not doing so. And they got there by letting a team up off the mat, which actually has been something of a pattern at times.

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Who’s Your John Druce?

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For those new to our site, this is something we do on the eve of every playoffs. John Druce was a workman-like winger for the Capitals. In 1989-1990 he managed eight goals during the regular season, but then rode a 31.8% shooting percentage in 15 playoff games to score 14 goals. Basically, it’s who is going to be the surprise for the Hawks this spring?

A couple words on the candidates. Bryan Bickell is not on it because he’s put together three straight good playoff performances and really wouldn’t be a shock if he does again. Brandon Saad is on the list because last spring he only scored in Game 1 of the Final. So we still await the first dominant playoff performance from the Marquis.

The rest are pretty explainable. So who you got?

Who’s Your John Druce?
  
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Everything Else

Who's Your John Druce?

By 1791 0

For those new to our site, this is something we do on the eve of every playoffs. John Druce was a workman-like winger for the Capitals. In 1989-1990 he managed eight goals during the regular season, but then rode a 31.8% shooting percentage in 15 playoff games to score 14 goals. Basically, it’s who is going to be the surprise for the Hawks this spring?

A couple words on the candidates. Bryan Bickell is not on it because he’s put together three straight good playoff performances and really wouldn’t be a shock if he does again. Brandon Saad is on the list because last spring he only scored in Game 1 of the Final. So we still await the first dominant playoff performance from the Marquis.

The rest are pretty explainable. So who you got?

Who’s Your John Druce?
  
pollcode.com free polls 
Everything Else

Careful What You Wish For – 1st Round Preview: The Blues Forwards Pt. 2

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We’ll just keep rolling along with the grace from the Lord above, and finish out the Blues forwards corps.

3rd Line: Derek Roy-Patrik Berglund-Brenden Morrow

At least, this is my guess. Morrow and Berglund are injury worries. Berglund also may play on the second line with Steve Ott here before he and Morrow get into a fight amongst themselves.

Berglund is the Blues biggest enigma. You look at the size, the hands, the smarts, and he really should be one of the better centers around. Some nights, some shifts, he looks like that. But then a lot more nights, and a lot more shifts, you don’t even know he’s there. He should be the prime source of secondary scoring for the Blues, and he just isn’t enough nights. And this is when he’s healthy, which he isn’t now.

Sometimes I forget that Derek Roy is even on this team. He was hurt for a bit there, has been a healthy scratch too. He’s got nine goals. Maybe he’s their John Druce, but I doubt it.

Five years ago I would have been terrified of playing Brenden Morrow in a playoff series. There were few players better bred for playoff hockey. Nasty, big, with a knack for scoring killer goals. Now? Slow, still nasty but in all the wrong ways, and half your skaters on the ice would have to come down with vertigo for him to score regularly. He’ll be part of their thug-squad and causing ruckuses after whistles, but I don’t see where he does much else. If Berglund isn’t on this line, the Hawks could really expose Ott and Morrow with speed.

4th Line: Magnus Paajarvi-Maxim Lapierre-Dumpster Boy

I’ve always liked Paajarvi when he was an Oiler, but it took injuries and an age for him to crack the lineup, and he may be the first one out if Tarasenko plays. He’s a smart two-way player with some offensive flash that has been snuffed out in St. Louis either by Hitch’s ways or playing with utter garbage. The rest is more of the thug-squad. Lapierre can win a draw and that’s about it before he goes off to cross-check Patrick Kane in the back of the head or slash at his knee or whatever other cheap bullshit he’s going to pull before running away wetting himself when anyone with any size comes to confront him. Ryan Reaves… well, if Cieslak will allow me, lives in a dumpster behind the Purina factory (TM).

Wild Card – Vladimir Tarasenko: The story is that he is going to play at some point this series, but we don’t know when. How effective he can be after six weeks off with a broken hand is up for debate. He also doesn’t exactly have a playoff pedigree, because he was scratched for most of last year’s flameout against the Kings. But if healthy and not shying from the moment, Tarasenko is the only other source of inspiration that the Blues have. He can create his own shot and space, but he can also get buried along the walls. Maybe rested, maybe rusty, may be back after it’s too late.

Everything Else

Careful What You Wish For – 1st Round Preview: The Blues Forwards Pt. 1

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We move on from what is probably the Blues biggest strength (the blue line) to a severely banged up forward corps. And what it was at full-strength was kind of a debate among everyone to begin with. While most of the mass media in hockey slobbers over Alex Steen, David Backes, and T.J. Oshie, we have screamed at the top of our lungs about their faults and weaknesses. Through injury or whatever else, those have started to show. And while everyone loves to talk about GRITSANDPAPERHEARTFAAARRRRT on the bottom six, even if it’s healthy it looks pretty bereft of anything useful. Which really came to the fore in the season’s last month when the top six stopped scoring and absolutely no one was there to pick up the slack. So let’s dig in, shall we?

Everything Else

Careful What You Wish For – 1st Round Preview: The Blues Goalies

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This is a strange situation in a couple ways. It feels like for most of the season, the Blues and their fans were salivating at the prospect of getting the Hawks in the playoffs. They’ve been a headache for the Hawks for years, even when they sucked, and as we all know victory over the Hawks would mean more to their hilljack fans than an actual Cup. It might even be that way with their players.

For the Hawks and their fans, we just didn’t want to deal with it. Some of it was fear. Mostly it was just the high level of annoyance that would accompany a series with St. Louis. The cheapshots, the bullshit, the yapping, and the drivel that tumbles out of the gaping maws of the unwashed of Missouri and Southern Illinois. Basically, I thought I would have to turn off the internet for this series.

Until lately. Now, it feels like there’s a sense of dread coming from the Southwest with their late-season collapse and the numbers correcting and here come the bitterest enemy to simply put them out of their misery. And we’re feeling pretty good, with how the Blues are playing and the Hawks somewhat snapped into gear since Kane and Toews got hurt.

It could be a careful what you wish for situation in either direction. I’m not sure which it is. But we’ll go do our normal playoff preview, and we’ll start with the biggest question down there, the man in the mask.