Faxes from Uncle Dale

Tag: Duncan Keith

  • Take Me To Your Backwoods: Looking Behind The Curtain Of Game 1

    Take Me To Your Backwoods: Looking Behind The Curtain Of Game 1

    Just cleaning up some discussion points from Sunday’s opener.

    -While some are claiming the Hawks won yet another game where they were outplayed for long stretches, I’m not so sure. Yes, the 2nd period wasn’t pretty (and that’s something the Hawks will have to correct), but everything around that looks pretty all right. The first period saw the Hawks better in Fenwick 10-7, and the 3rd period was even at 6-6.

    What is more encouraging is that once the Hawks took the lead, the shot-attempt per Fenwick was only 11-8 in favor of the Kings. Being even in the 3rd when the Hawks had the lead they weren’t completely bombarded, though maybe it felt like that at times. We know this was an issue against the Blues, and against the Wild the Hawks actually didn’t have the lead that much late (only in Game 5 did they protect a one-goal lead late, and once they did they were out attempted 12-5).

    We lamented about the shell in the first two rounds, but yesterday the Hawks saw it out through suffocating, aggressive defense which then got the killer goal as the Kings pressed at the wrong time (thank you, Jake Muzzin!). I like that.

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  • This Traffic Is Hell Can You Give Me A Lift?: Kings at Hawks Game 1 Preview/Pregame Thread/Disco Brunch

    King Jerry Lawler vs. Hawk Wrestler

    FACEOFF: 2pm Central

    TV/RADIO: NBC, 87.7 FM

    SITTIN’ ON THE THRONE: The Royal Half, Jewels From The Crown

    Seems so familiar. A presence we haven’t felt since… well, last year.

    The Kings roll into the United Center a mere 40 hours after clocking a fellow California team in a Game 7, though this time the Hawks only needed six games in their previous round. And that’s starts a bit of a train of things that are different this time around, which is going to make for a very tough series.

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  • Minnesota Post Mortem

    Minnesota Post Mortem

    I’m not too sure there’s been a series in this era of Blackhawks Era that when it was over the overwhelming feeling was relief. But that’s how it goes when you’re outplayed, and at times massively, for at least three and probably four games and yet you still come out of it. Life finds a way.

    All of it leaves Hawks Nation in a strange position of being delighted to be back defending the Western conference championship but pretty urpy about what might come next. Probably a pretty good time to take a state of the union as the Hawks sit halfway to another parade.

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  • First The Lights, Then The Collar Goes Up, And The Wind Begins To Blow: Wild 1 – Hawks 2 (Hawks lead 3-2)

    First The Lights, Then The Collar Goes Up, And The Wind Begins To Blow: Wild 1 – Hawks 2 (Hawks lead 3-2)

    Box Score

    Event Summary

    Extra Skater

    The Wild were never going to let it be pretty. While they’ve varied their approach in the first four games, from period to period even, a pivotal Game 5 on the road saw them fall back into the trap that gave the Hawks headaches in Game 3. But after a jittery opening 5-10 minutes, the Hawks started to come to grips with what they saw. And despite conceding the opener as a direct result of a pick play that Stockton and Malone would have been proud of that opened up space for Terror From Hell Erik Haula, the Hawks began to get a tighter and tighter grip on this one.

    It was far from perfect. While the Hawks support was better, they were more willing to try the middle of the ice to get out of the zone, to chip and chase, the execution was off. Every time Oduya tried to field a pass or puck along the boards, my eyeballs rolled back in my head. Keith was trying far too much dip-trip-rip-fantasia behind his goal line and at Minny’s blue line. Nick Leddy looks terrified to make a mistake (wonder why that may be). Because what the Hawks have to do when a team pinches down on them along the boards in their zone has to be so precise, when it doesn’t work it can get urpy.

    But they slowly got better, got their goal to tie it, worked to get their second and then squeezed the rest out. They had to get through some chances but it didn’t feel like Crawford had to drink the blood of virgins to get through the final 10 minutes.

    All that adds up to a series lead.

    Let’s do it.

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  • Let Me Guide You To The Purple Rain: Hawks at Wild Game 4 Preview/Pregame Thread/Sauna Time

    Hawk Wrestler vs. Zakk-Wylde-by-Ivan-Chopik

    FACEOFF: 8:40pm Central

    TV/RADIO: NBCSN, 87.7 FM

    ON THE SKYWAY: Hockey Wilderness

    As they did last year, the Hawks find themselves having passed up one chance to strangle the life out of this series in St. Paul but with another to do so in  Game 4. This time, however, they have a spikier Wild team to deal with (one that’s already escaped this dungeon this spring) and not quite the doomsday arsenal they once did.

    If we go off yesterday’s practice, it would appear that Joel Quenneville is going to hit the blender again and try and spread out his scoring (or watch Sharp’s and Hossa’s usefulness get completely erased by Michal Handzus getting beaten silly by Granlund, Koivu, or Haula. Take your fucking pick). That’s if you believe this wasn’t just subterfuge. Even if he’s serious about putting Ben Smith up top and Kane with Kruger and Saad, you know it won’t last much more than a period if the Hawks aren’t up 3-0 and we’ll go back to what the lines have been this series anyway.

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  • Morning Links 5/8/14

    Morning Links 5/8/14

    Pitt Rolls: TSN

    The “reformed one” returns: MST

    Swedish Silence: CSN AP

    Still confident: Chicago Daily Tribune

    Iron Mike happy behind the once Iron Curtain: CBC

  • Morning Links 5/6/14

    Morning Links 5/6/14

    I’m back and no I didn’t get pushed into the Grand Canyon by my wife!

    3: ESPN

    Shaw out: Chicago Tribune

    Penguins Win: Sportsnet

    Fountain of Youth: TSN

    Kings win: LA Times

    I think this is awesome?? Puck Daddy

    Finalists for the players MVP: Globe and Mail

     

  • Victory Monday

    Victory Monday

    Looks like we’re going to have a few days to kill and clean up whatever’s lying around after Sunday’s snuffing of River Scum. So just some points I wanted to get through in the wake.

    -I didn’t really have any numbers to back up just how good Duncan Keith was yesterday. I checked them out today. Thanks to Ryan Lambert’s “What We Learned” on Puck Daddy as well for pointing this out. Keith had a 60.6% Corsi-percentage in a game where his team didn’t come close to winning that battle. Even Toews got his head kicked in in terms of possession. Keith’s Relative Corsi Percentage was +27.3%.

    Interestingly enough, Keith saw most of his time with Saad, Kruger, and Shaw, and it’s no coincidence that that line had its best game of the series, culminating in the last two goals. Perhaps this was a ploy by Q to get the bottom of the roster going. Or maybe that’s just how it worked out.

    Keith also was deployed against Tarasenko and Schwartz. It says they combined for five shots. I certainly don’t remember any of them so I’m guessing they all came on the PP. And look, that line didn’t score, and the Blues are done playing hockey for the season. Easy how that works, no?

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  • I’m A Bad Motherfucker And You Know This: Blues 1 – Hawks 5 (Hawks win series 4-2)

    I’m A Bad Motherfucker And You Know This: Blues 1 – Hawks 5 (Hawks win series 4-2)

    Box Score

    Event Summary

    Extra Skater

    All series long, we kept saying and thinking that at some point the Hawks were going to grab this by the scruff, play their game, and wipe the Blues right out of the equation. We saw flashes of it. The first 38 minutes of Game 4, but that was undone by 15 minutes of pissing down their leg. There were moments in Game 5, but that was undone by surges by the Blues. Then you started to worry that the Hawks didn’t have it in the holster any more, that something was missing.

    And then the 3rd period happened.

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  • I'm A Bad Motherfucker And You Know This: Blues 1 – Hawks 5 (Hawks win series 4-2)

    I'm A Bad Motherfucker And You Know This: Blues 1 – Hawks 5 (Hawks win series 4-2)

    Box Score

    Event Summary

    Extra Skater

    All series long, we kept saying and thinking that at some point the Hawks were going to grab this by the scruff, play their game, and wipe the Blues right out of the equation. We saw flashes of it. The first 38 minutes of Game 4, but that was undone by 15 minutes of pissing down their leg. There were moments in Game 5, but that was undone by surges by the Blues. Then you started to worry that the Hawks didn’t have it in the holster any more, that something was missing.

    And then the 3rd period happened.

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