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Game #25 Lost My Shape Trying to Act Casual – Hawks 3, Stars 4

By Rose Rankin 2321 0

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Tonight was a bit of a tutorial in what not to do in a hockey game. Malaise on special teams and defensive stupidity thwarted the Hawks tonight, making it fortunate they at least got one point. It wasn’t like Ben Bishop did anything to write home about (his SV% was a whopping .864), so we can’t say it was one of those miraculous goalie performances. To the bullets:

– Admittedly, I didn’t see much of the game against the Predators, so I’ll reference the two games prior: If in those games against the Panthers and Ducks the offense masked the ugliness of the Hawks’ defense, tonight said ugliness was fully exposed. Cody Franson was a hot mess on the power play. On their first man advantage early in the first period he had a shitty pass get picked off and Crawford had to bail him out. That turned out to be a veritable Power Play of Christmas Future because a couple power plays later, he did the exact same thing that led to Patrick Kane’s desperation hook, and the resulting penalty shot. The power play in general was a disaster, but that’s another rant. Franson single-handedly ruined two.

Second, there was the obligatory Seabrook fuck up, which this time led directly to Dallas’ third goal. He fumbled an attempt at pinching (at least, I think that’s what he was going for?) at the blue line, and Remi Elie (who??) waltzed right by him and caught Crawford off-guard.

And for good measure, Forsling shared some blame too. Yes, he had a key assist in the third, don’t get me wrong. But before those heroics were necessary, he splayed out in a stupid block attempt way back in the first, and Mattias Janmark was left open to score the first goal. So there’s a taste of our defense tonight…need I go on?

– On a related note, tonight wasn’t Crawford’s worst night but it also wasn’t his best. He was spectacular on a series of shots by Elie (again, who the fuck??) in the third, but he ended the game with a .886 SV%. He got frozen on the penalty shot and wasn’t the absolute monster we’ve come to both expect and rely on. It’s nights like these when the rest of the team needs to return the favor and bail him out. Goaltending is not the problem here, I think we can all agree on that.

– The second line played the role of top line tonight. There was yet another goal from ‘ole Wide Dick—in fact it was the only power play goal out of their seemingly endless chances when Kane made a beautiful pass to Anisimov who was positioned right at the top of the crease. Kane then had a redirect to tie it in the third (that aforementioned Forsling assist), and Schmaltz drew about 85 penalties. At least we have one line, eh?

– Alex DeBrincat is good. I just thought you should know that.

– The Hawks power play is not good. I just thought you should know that too. No, really, they were 1 for 7 tonight, including over two minutes of a man advantage thanks to John Hayden’s face getting mauled by Klingberg’s stick and they still couldn’t score. The Hawks had four power plays in the first fucking period, and yet their shots remained in the single digits until well into the second (and a few more power plays). With the exception of the Garbage Dick—Wide Dick play in the second, it was clown shoes all night.

–Something on the Stars is named Pitlick. So, ya know, whenever you think you’ve got it rough, imagine going through life with that name. It’s helping to cheer me up right now.

–Beer de Jour: Fistmas by Revolution. Because I’m in the holiday spirit, damnit.

The Stars are an eminently beatable team, and we’ll get another chance on Saturday. I don’t know if tonight’s fuckery will lead Q to #FreeKempny, but if this doesn’t do it, I don’t know what would. Or rather, I don’t want to know. Onward and upward.

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Game #25 – Stars vs. Hawks: Spotlight – THE BISHOP!!

By Sam Fels 3448 0

There have been plenty of reasons to laugh at Stars GM Jim Nill. Every offseason, he’s the darling of the hockey world because he’s always doing SOMETHING. But as Dan McNeil once told us, “Don’t mistake activity for achievement.” Or if you prefer, Nill has had quite the Shakesperean time as GM, full of sound and fury but signifying nothing.

The biggest failing of Nill’s has been the way he has completely mangled the Stars goaltending. To be fair to him, it was his predecessor Joe Nieuwendyk who signed Kari Lehtonen to a purely insane five-year extension for $5.9 million per year, a deal that Nill will get out from under after this season. Let-One-In had only one year of being anything above average before that extension, but Nieuwendyk bit anyway and saddled Nill with a Finnish millstone.

That didn’t mean Nill had to compile the mistake, but there’s nothing he can’t go overkill on if you let him. So he decided that paying one middling goalie an exorbitant salary was so much fun, he’d pay a bad one an exorbitant salary as well, but this time he’d get to pick it! So in came Antti Niemi, who proceeded to almost single-handedly torpedo their division-winning team in the postseason two years ago and then basically all of last year. Lehtonen certainly wasn’t going to bail them out, as you don’t try and put out a fire by throwing a dead cat at it.

Nill didn’t help matters by having Lindy Ruff as coach, whom always employs a system that leaves goalies exposed, helpless, lonely, and longing for the abyss. Even good goalies struggle with it, and you need look no further than Ryan Miller as evidence. So when Ken Hitchcock was hired, you best believe he was assured that Nill would improve the goaltending. Jabba The Hitch isn’t going to have his genius undermined by leaky goaltending, you’d best believe. That certainly never happened in St. Louis. Nope, nosiree bob.

The question then becomes is Ben Bishop really the answer? On the surface you’d be inclined to say yes, with two Vezina finalist seasons in three from ’14-’16. But those are the only standout seasons on Bishop’s resume, and even then they might be a touch misleading.

Hockey in general struggles for a tried and true system or way to evaluate goaltenders, which is quite strange considering their outsized importance to teams. Still, comparing a player’s save-percentage and their expected save-percentage at least gives us some idea of how much they’re lifting their teams and how much they’re benefitting from the team in front of them. And Bishop’s ’15-’16 was only ok in that department, with a difference between the two of +0.22. But that doesn’t put him near the elite. For example, Corey Crawford’s difference averages +1.2 over the past five years. Sergei Bobrovsky has been above +1.8 the past couple years, which is why he’s carrying hardware. Braden Holtby has been over +1.0 the past two years. Matt Murray was +1.6 last year.

Even Bishop’s first Vezina-finalist season of ’13-’14 he was only +0.5, so the Lightning were doing some work for him in front of him. Work this Stars roster is almost certainly not capable of no matter what elixir Hitch is cooking up in the cauldron in his office. Yes, he almost certainly has a cauldron and you know it.

There are other concerns with Bishop. He had groin-injury problems in the previous couple of seasons, and at 31 and at 6-7 those don’t figure to get much better. Signing him until he’s 37 wasn’t exactly the stroke of genius. A $4.9 million hit isn’t going to cause anyone to reach for an oxygen mask, but it’s not brilliant either. It could be in two years that Nill is going to have to once again pay for two starting goalies, if not sooner. Which is how they got into this mess in the first place.

Still, it’s not like there were tons of options for Nill. Scott Darling was out there but the Hawks might have been antsy trading him within the division and hence would have probably asked the Stars for way more than they got from Carolina for just the right to negotiate with him. Brian Elliot? Steve Mason? Trade for Mike Smith? These are not franchise turners.

If Bishop doesn’t work out, Nill is probably going to pay with his job. Goalies are the new quarterbacks it would seem. And Bishop is good enough to not let you down. It’s just that he might not rise a team up to a level it might not quite deserve. And that’s probably what this Stars squad needs.

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Game #25 – Stars vs. Hawks: Q&A With Taylor Baird

By Sam Fels 2330 0

Taylor Baird is the editor of DefendingBigD. com. You can follow her on Twitter @TaylorDBaird.

The Stars have had something of the same wonky start that the Hawks have. Why hasn’t Hitchcock’s charms worked miracles yet (we’re not exactly Hitch fans, if you can’t tell)? 
It’s not just a coach and his system that was overhauled this offseason. The Stars have several new faces this year, and some old faces that have struggled mightily so far (::side-eyes Jason Spezza::) It’s a lot to juggle while learning what this system needs every night. Their start reflects that.
On the plus side, John Klingberg is nearly a point-per-game, and his metrics have bounced back to where they were two seasons ago. He definitely had a dip last year, what’s been different this campaign?
It’s maybe more a continuance of the end of his previous season. After Klingberg got over his struggles, and found a consistent partner that complemented him in Esa Lindell, he played well down the stretch. He brought that confidence into this season.
The Stars have a secondary scoring problem. Radulov, Seguin, Benn, and Klingberg all have over 20 points, but no one else has over 11. Who needs to pick it up? 
Jason Spezza is the key to secondary scoring, and he has been very snake bitten to start the season. Radek Faksa, who had himself a good night against Vegas with a hat trick, would be another pick as someone that needs to step up (and when he does, natural hat tricks occur. Who knew?) 
We like to ask about our lost boy Stephen Johns. It felt like Lindy Ruff completely underrated him even while giving him human shield starts and competition. What does he look like under Hitch? 
He has been up and down this season, but that’s not exactly surprising given the way the Stars have played so far as a whole. It feels like he’s really stepped up after Marc Methot went down with injury. He is one player that I believe will benefit from Hitchcock’s system, and it’s possible that we are starting to see it consistently now.
 
Ben Bishop has disappointed since coming over in the summer. What’s been his problem? Is the Dallas crease just cursed?
Whoever stuck a pin in the Dallas goaltender voodoo doll, we’d like to have a word with you. Bishop looks better to the eyeball than his stats may show. It’s because he makes the key saves in the key moment, something that doesn’t show on a box score. He’s been the reason the Stars haven’t been slaughtered in some games, and he’s the reason the Stars are often still in others. He’s rarely been the reason for a loss. The guys in front of him have struggled and therefore he has at times too. But overall, I personally feel more confident with Bishop in net – a feeling that’s been missing in Dallas for a few seasons now.
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Game #25 – Stars vs. Hawks: Douchebag Du Jour – Pepe, Henri, Fernand, Lestat, Antoine

By Sam Fels 1827 0

One of the wonderful things about hockey is its propensity to toss a real villain at you. While other sports have a player or two that certain fanbases loathe, it’s not as prevalent. In hockey, every fanbase has at least one player on another team that could very well end up with their picture in the local post office. They probably have one per team. They live on long after their playing careers are over as a fire ant stinging a part of the memory. Say “Dino” or “Burr” or “Burrows” to any Hawks fan and they’ll involuntarily spit on the ground.

Antoine Roussel certainly wants to be in that group. And he’s pretty good at getting there. It’s like a mission with him, and while the effort put in kind of ruins it, he’s going to be remembered either way. The villainy he aspires to should come naturally. You shouldn’t see the gears turning within, but with Roussel you do. He never shuts up. He’s dirty. He actually does fight people much bigger than him and holds his own. And he also occasionally pops up with an annoying goal or two to make it worse. Hockey fans won’t tell you this but pests and rapscallions that can actually play only angry up the blood more.

Roussel gets another rub in that he’s actually French. Not fake-French like David Perron or whichever other dink comes from Quebec and tries to act European to have some sort of superiority over the rest of the continent that makes them speak English anyway. But it’s easy for the French to play the villain, because it’s what we’re used to. Not that we ever have a particular beef with the French, but both sides have always acted like it. The only way Roussel could do this better was if he was British. We’re attuned to boo the French, and they’re attuned to soak it in.

Roussel is a confluence of hockey villain and French. It really couldn’t be more perfect. And he seems to know it. Which only makes it better. Hockey could use more characters.

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Your Friends In Neighbors – ’17-’18 NHL Team Previews: They Lost A Leg In Dallas They Were Dancin’ With A Train

By 1819

Ah yes. Everyone’s darling, the Dallas Stars. Another offseason championship for the Dallas Stars, as they upgraded behind the bench from Lindy Ruff to Ken Hitchcock, going from one coach who hasn’t won anything in over a decade to… another coach who hasn’t won anything in over a decade. They signed a winger who until last year was considered “enigmatic” and then went bonkers in his free agent year, because that always sustains after he cashes in. They upgraded their goalies, which tells you something as signing an over-30 goalie who has had hip and groin issues being considered a massive upgrade lets you know just how woeful their goaltending was. And there are a raft of kids who haven’t quite proven to be ready to take up the slack, with a coach who hasn’t always shown patience. Surely it’s going to work this time!

DALLAS STARS

’16-’17 Record: 34-37-11  79 points (6th in Central)

Team Stats 5v5: 50.0 CF% (17th)  50.7 SF% (11th)  48.9 SCF% (20th)  7.5 SH% (17th)  .919 SV% (23rd)

Special Teams: 17.9 PP% (2oth)  73.9 PK% (Dead Ass Last)

 

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Orgasm Addict: Stars 2 – Hawks 2 (Hawks win Shadowrun)

By 1151

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“Well, you tried it just for once found it all right for kicks
But now you found out that it’s a habit that sticks”

For the third game in a row the Hawks couldn’t raise their give-a-fuck level much beyond tepid against one of the products of the league’s sludge factory. And once again they came out of it with points, this time maximum. Only a possible goalie-interference denied them six points out of six from three games that they played as a bar bet. It’s a neat trick if you can pull it off. With the win the Hawks move eight points up on the the Zack Wyldes with nine games to play. They’re almost dormie!

This isn’t one that anybody would use as an example of what the sport can be. The Hawks weren’t bothered, the Stars didn’t seem interested in anything more than getting to the end of the season quicker. It was like an exchange at a 4am bar where the invitation to go home together is out there but the other party realizes they’re too drunk and stupid to do much good if they take it (just me?). The Hawks surrendered 40+ shots again to a team they shouldn’t be doing that against, but we’ll chalk it up to late season, nothing-to-play-for malaise than anything structural or worth worrying about.

As he’s been most of the season, Crawford was able to bail the Hawks out. Because that’s a thing he does.

Let’s clean it up:

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Yeah, She’s Doing The Lindy Hop: Stars at Hawks Preview/Vinyl Swap

By 1260

 vs. 

RECORDS: Stars 29-33-10   Hawks 47-20-6

PUCK DROP: 7:30pm

TV: CSN

YU DARVISH FAN CLUB: Defending Big D

PROJECTED LINEUPS

TEAM ADJUSTED CORSI%: Stars – 49.3 (2oth)  Hawks – 50.8 (11th)

TEAM ADJUSTED xGF%: Stars – 48.3 (20th)  Hawks – 49.2 (18th)

POWER PLAY: Stars – 18.1 (19th)  Hawks – 19.1 (15th)

PENALTY KILL: Stars – 74.0 (Dead Ass Last)  Hawks – 77.7 (26th)

What a strange little stretch for the Hawks. They saw teams at the top of the standings, didn’t play well for the most part, won all of them. They returned home to face two things from the bog in the Avs and Canucks, and had to pull a rabbit out of their hat to get a win and a point against them respectively. So where their attention level is going to be tonight is best estimated by throwing a dart at any wall in your office/apartment (and if you’re wondering if I really mean “coworker” instead of “wall”… I leave that to you). They get another look at sludge tonight in the Dallas Stars.

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Stars Spotlight: Do We Miss Stephen Johns?

By 1296

No, you don’t. You haven’t thought about him at all this year, other than to laugh at the Stars’ blue line and goaltending. With the Hawks surging to the top of the league, you haven’t thought about the holes on the blue line because they haven’t quite mattered as much as they did last year. And while he can’t seem to convince his coaches yet, Michal Kempny has at least shown a flash here or there of maybe, possibly filling whatever spot Johns might have. But that might not be the whole picture.

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You Used To Be Silver: Hawks at Stars Preview/Band Camp

By 1365

 vs. 

RECORDS: Hawks 31-17-5   Stars 21-21-10

PUCK DROP: 7pm Central

TV: WGN locally, NHL-N for you elsewhere

RIDE ‘EM IN: Defending Big D

PROJECTED LINEUPS

TEAM ADJUSTED CORSI %: Hawks – 50.3 (16th)  Stars – 49.4 (2oth)

TEAM ADJUSTED xGF%: Hawks – 47.8 (24th)  Stars – 49.3 (18th)

POWER PLAY %: Hawks – 18.1 (17th)  Stars – 18.1 (18th)

PENALTY KILL %: Hawks – 75.9 (28th)  Stars – 73.4 (Dead Ass Last)

The Hawks get the chance to back up their streak-snapping win on Thursday by playing another expressway of a defensive team, the Dallas Stars. It would behoove them to get it, because next week’s slate of Wild-Jets-Oilers before the bye week is looking a bit nasty at the moment, considering either the standing of those teams or their previous record against the Hawks the past couple seasons or both.

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Green Hell: Stars at Hawks Preview/Spin Class

By 1283

 vs. 

RECORDS: Stars 11-12-6  Hawks 17-8-4

PUCK DROP: 6pm Central

TV: CSN

HOW BOUT DEM COWBOYS?: Defending Big D

PROJECTED LINEUPS

ADJUST TEAM xGF%: Stars – 49.5 (17th)  Hawks – 47.7 (22nd)

ADJUSTED TEAM Corsi %: Stars – 49.0 (19th)  Hawks – 50.0 (15th)

POWER PLAY: Stars – 17.4 (15th)  Hawks – 16.1 (19th)

PENALTY KILL: Stars – 76.7 (27th)  Hawks – 72.1 (Dead ass last)

For the second game in a row, the Hawks will play an already beat-up team on the back end of a back-to-back. This time instead of blue it will be green. as the Stars coming in licking their wounds after blowing a third period lead to Brayden Schenn yesterday afternoon in the Illa-delph. Not that the Hawks are anywhere near full-strength themselves.