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Well That’s A Funny Looking Strike: Blues 5 – Hawks 2

By 2573

Box Score

Hockey Stats

Natural Stat Trick

Should have taken the left at Albuquerque.

I’m not sure we learned anything we didn’t already suspect is going to be some of the issues early this season. First off, you can’t take five straight penalties when Tarasenko and friends are loitering around the other side. And you can’t have TVR anywhere near there either. So there are two problems.

But we knew the Hawks are a bit mismatched at forward, and there’s going to have to be a level of patience while they see if some of the kids can figure it out. Hinostroza and Motte looked quick, but it was in every direction. Schmaltz looked hesitant as the enormity of the task of being an NHL center sunk in. Forsling showed some really promising flashes, and some flashes the other way. That’s just how it’s going to be. So for now and once again, the Hawks are a one-line team.

Everything Else

Let’s Kick This Pig: Blues at Hawks Preview/Street Cleaning

By 1361

get-a-brain-morans vs. Hawks Culture Club

PUCK DROP: 7pm

TV: NBCSN

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

Projected Lineups

blues-lineup-cardblackhawks-lineup-card

Power Play (’15-’16): Hawks – 22.6% (2nd)   Blues – 21.5% (6th)

Penalty Kill (’15-’16): Hawks 80.3% (22nd)  Blues – 85.1% (3rd)

Trends: Tarasenko has 13 points in 15 regular season games against the Hawks, Allen has a .934 career SV% against the Hawks

It’s finally here, after the World Cup made an already interminable-feeling training camp feel even longer. And as the preseason has gone on I’ve felt better about the Hawks and worse about the Blues, which is actually better, because no one wants to feel good about the Blues. That probably goes for the music as well.

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Tell Your Statistics To Shut Up: The Analytics Debate Now

By 1348

Wednesday will kick off our ninth season doing this, and in that time it feels like we’ve gone from one side of the statistical debate to the other. I know we were one of the first to start using Corsi and zone starts and whatever else to try and get to the truth of what we were seeing. And now it feels like we spend a lot of time trying to convince people that yes, Mark Arcobello does indeed suck and stop trying to get us to believe otherwise.

When trying to explain this to my non-hockey inclined friends, I used to try and tell them that hockey was anywhere from five to ten years behind baseball in its statistical revolution. That seems pretty silly now, and there’s a big reason why. If only it were that close.

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Notes On The Cycle

By 1552

Just a few quick notes on tonight’s what-have-ya, contested mostly by guys who will be running a rink in Medicine Hat or the like in five years.

-I was most interested in watching Forsling and Kempny. Both showed composure on the puck, especially Kempny. It’s hard to get a read on him in particular when he’s still not facing the quality of players he’s going to in a couple weeks, but at least he showed a willingness to skate himself out of trouble and try and find a pass. Unfortunately for him, there were like two forwards on his team who could receive said pass cleanly.

As for Forsling, same thing but man is he small. Even if he’s willing he’s going to get crushed by NHL bodies. This is probably what will send him back to Sweden this year. There are small d-men around the league. Jared Spurgeon comes to mind. Toby Enstrom is another. Spurgeon is quite sturdy though, something of a fire hydrant. Enstrom is just really smart with great hands. Forsling has maybe two or three games to show he has the latter.

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Maybe They’re Lookin’ For Answers – C.I.’s Season Preview: Cleaning Up The Rest

By 1449

We’ve been through the biggest questions the Hawks face coming into this season. Next week we’ll spend tooling around the Central Division and Western Conference to see what the Hawks are up against. But for today, let’s try and clear up whatever we haven’t gotten to for the Hawks.

-The working theory for most of the summer, and until they actually show up in camp we have no reason to think any different, is that Marian Hossa is going to slide down to the third line to form some kind of checking line with Marcus Kruger and GTBD (goofus-to-be-determined). Quenneville mentioned it at the convention, Hossa and Kruger have talked about it at the World Cup. Where there’s smoke, there’s fire and all that.

On the surface, this seems like a pretty good idea. Hossa is slowing down, he still has defensive instincts matched by very few, Kruger does as well, and perhaps if they really wanted it to they could free up Toews to not have to keep battling the Kopitars, Seguins, Getzlafs, and whoever else’s of the world. That might free Toews to do more scoring, even if there’s just farmland runoff on his wings.

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Maybe They’re Lookin’ For Answers – C.I.’s Season Preview: Can Patrick Kane Repeat Last Year?

By 1409

Well, probably not. But these posts can’t be three words long.

It’s amazing what can happen for a player like Kane when he gets an actual line with which to play. After spending years with the likes of Michal Handzus and Andrew Shaw and Kris Versteeg or centering a line or whatever other jokers and punters the Hawks could drudge up rather than just playing him with Toews, Kane got Brad Richards two years ago and finally a center and other winger in Panarin and Anisimov. It resulted in an Art Ross and Hart Trophy.

And the Hawks needed all of it with Saad and Sharp gone, Hossa falling off, Toews not being able to produce a top line’s production all by himself, and basically no bottom six for most of the season. The problem for the Hawks is that they might find themselves in the same bind again this year. And this time, other teams are not going to be fooled by the names of Toews or Hossa and leave their best out against them instead of Kane’s line.

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Maybe They’re Lookin’ For Answers – C.I.’s Season Preview: Schmaltz Sounds Like A Delicious Drink

By 1701

I don’t know if there’s excitement over Nick Schmaltz’s potential to contribute to the Hawks or more desperation after looking up and down the forwards and realizing he’s about the best chance for any secondary scoring. If it’s the latter… that’s not a good thing, as Corky St. Clair would tell us.

It’s hard to gauge what to even expect out of Schmaltz. The Hawks seemed pretty frantic to get him out of Grand Forks (sidenote: shouldn’t it be easy to convince someone to get out Grand Forks), which gives you the idea that they want him here and  not Rockford. Perhaps they think that much of him, perhaps they see the lack of anyone who can make a play in the offensive zone outside of Toews and The Fun Time Boys on the second line. Most likely, it’s a combination of the two.

But it isn’t exactly easy to make the jump from a sophomore in college to contributor in the NHL. Is there recent precedent?

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Maybe They’re Lookin’ For Answers – C.I.’s Season Preview: 51 Phantom And The Defense

By 1612

When the Hawks opened camp on Friday, we discussed what their biggest problem is, and that’s forward depth. Today might be a good day to swing at the other side, before we spend the rest of this in the middle (sounds like life). And that’s the Hawks’ defense.

Which sounds strange to say, because the Hawks’ defense last year was most certainly not a strength. And some of those problems could be problems this year, too. Duncan Keith’s knee is not really ever going to be “better.” That may be nothing or it may be something, and that something may be down the line. Once you remove that cartilage though, it’s not like it regrows. And he was clearly off by a half-step last year.

Secondly, if Brent Seabrook is still ordering the menu at Manny’s on the way to the morning skate, then there are still issues that Brian Campbell is not going to solve. So far so good, on that front, but we’ll see what the real games have to say.

What we do know is that the signing of 51 Phantom is going to solve a lot of problems.

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Maybe They’re Looking For Answers – C.I.’s Season Preview: The Left Wing Problem

By 1471

I never know quite what to do with these season previews. To go player-by-player gets monotonous for you and for us, but there isn’t really way to do something every day either. We’ve tried multiple paths, so this year we’re just going to blend them all. Over the next couple weeks before Meth County shows up on the 12th to kick things off, we’ll look at certain players, certain questions, and certain other factors on how this season will go. We can’t be contained.

So today, it feels right to look at the Hawks biggest problem, and that’s their forward depth and specifically, who the fuck is playing  the left side on any of these lines?

Everything Else

The Program, A Couple Other Announcements, And World Cup Weekend

By 1445

So as training camp approaches, it’s time for us to announce a couple changes going on here at our humble home.

First and foremost, the gameday program I have done for the past eight seasons is not coming back this season. I have a couple other projects I’m working on that really wouldn’t allow for the time to do it, and more importantly I just don’t feel it anymore. Those of you who read it every game are owed a level of dedication and focus that I just don’t think I’m capable of right now.

However, I won’t leave you totally bereft. If you feel the need to “complete the set,” I’m making every back issue available here.  It’s $10 bucks for each season, and all three commemorative issues are included with the three seasons they won the Cup. If you feel you need it, it’s there.