Everything Else

Dance Party Plus – Islanders vs Hawks Preview, Pregame Thread, Webinar

By Matt McClure 1263 0

islanders_fisherman vs oldschool

Game Time: 7:00PM Central
TV/Radio: CSN, WGN-AM 720
The Longshoreman’s Lament: Lighthouse Hockey

It seems like a lifetime ago that the Blackhawks were in the same position as the Islanders are right now. Coming off of years of embarrassing futility with a cadre of high draft picks only needing time to get their feet underneath them, only to finally make the playoffs and eventually run into a superior opponent and have the whole thing chalked up to a learning experience. There’s a lot to make the Islanders easy to root for, but that won’t be the case tonight as they make their first trip to the UC in nearly two calendar years.

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Atop The Sugar Pile 10/7

By Sam Fels 1280 0

It’s back. Our weekly feature… or one of them, at least. Let’s get to it.

The Dizzying Highs

Brandon Saad – Well this was easy, wasn’t it? Four points in two games, and when he wasn’t piling up points on the third line he was dominating pretty much every shift. As we suspected, Saad is relishing being away from the other teams’ top pairings, not that he did all that badly when he had to deal with them last year. A physical force, and turning into a premier power forward right before our eyes. While Smith and Nordstrom have been tested on the top penalty killing pair with Kruger, will it be too much longer before Saad gets his chance? I doubt it.

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Strange Games, Indeed: Lightning 2 – Hawks 2 (Ning win Cutthroat 1-0)

By Sam Fels 1256 0

Well, that was weird.

I had remarked on Tuesday how October hockey can be disjointed, sloppy, and a ragged. It can also devolve into what we saw tonight, which is just strange, like when streets are uneven. Obviously, it’s hard to say the Hawks did much wrong. Holding a team with exactly no shots is how you’d draw coming out in the first period at home, even if you don’t score yourself. Outshooting them by over 20 for the game is another thing you’d settle for.

And yet, it was only one point. Why? The only reason has to be… THE BISHOP! It’s been a while since the Hawks had a complete goalie steal against them, and this was one. We could moan about the Hawks not putting a team away, but Bishop came up with everything he needed to in the 2nd and 3rd periods to keep the Hawks from getting away. That kept the Lightning it bloop-and-a-blast range, and they found that. The Hawks had their chances, at both even-strength and the power play, but just couldn’t solve… THE BISHOP! We was too late….

Let’s get to the bullets:

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And So It Begins – 2013-2014 Blackhawks Season Preview – The Line Blender

By Matt McClure 1158 0

It had to come down to this eventually, but it’s time to take a look at how the lines figure to shake out given the roster turnover. At least for how they’ll probably look for the first 10 minutes of Banner Night against Washington, before Quenneville gets impatient and plays Handzus 18 minutes.

The inimitable Laaarmer wants to know:

Saad, Pirri, Shaw, Kruger, Toews. Who’s gonna play where and with whom?
(you all know this is the question you want answered)

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And So It Begins – '13-'14 Hawks Preview: Players A-Leaping

By 1038 0

Hello my pretties. I’m back from a brief hiatus, and I’ve returned to bathe in a stream of contract extensions! Oh the paper cuts! Anyway, it’s time to keep rolling with our preview of the upcoming season (can it really be less than a month?) So let’s not waste any more time, yes? Yes. Indeed. How so. Indubitably.

If, as Hawks fans, you could pick one player to make the leap to becoming a better player, whose leap would be most beneficial to the team? -Why?

Everything Else

And So It Begins – ’13-’14 Hawks Preview: Players A-Leaping

By Sam Fels 1187 0

Hello my pretties. I’m back from a brief hiatus, and I’ve returned to bathe in a stream of contract extensions! Oh the paper cuts! Anyway, it’s time to keep rolling with our preview of the upcoming season (can it really be less than a month?) So let’s not waste any more time, yes? Yes. Indeed. How so. Indubitably.

If, as Hawks fans, you could pick one player to make the leap to becoming a better player, whose leap would be most beneficial to the team? -Why?

Everything Else

Wrap It Up, We'll Take It

By 1187 0

Over the weekend, the Hawks pretty much wrapped up their offseason activities by re-signing Marcus Kruger for two years at $1.3m per. It’s another bridge contract, just like Nick Leddy received, however neither one takes Leddy or Kruger to unrestricted free agency. They’ll both be restricted in the summer of 2015, which is shaping up to be quite the eventful summer (though expect Toews and Kane to be locked up way before then anyway).

About the only thing left on Stan’s to-do list is perhaps a two-way deal for Drew LeBlahBlah, but that’s not a guarantee either. Seeing as how the Hawks chased Bob Loblaw for a couple seasons, I’d fully expect them to bring him back and stick him in Rockford as Pirri insurance.

So how did Stan do and where do the Hawks stand?

Everything Else

Wrap It Up, We’ll Take It

By Sam Fels 1281 0

Over the weekend, the Hawks pretty much wrapped up their offseason activities by re-signing Marcus Kruger for two years at $1.3m per. It’s another bridge contract, just like Nick Leddy received, however neither one takes Leddy or Kruger to unrestricted free agency. They’ll both be restricted in the summer of 2015, which is shaping up to be quite the eventful summer (though expect Toews and Kane to be locked up way before then anyway).

About the only thing left on Stan’s to-do list is perhaps a two-way deal for Drew LeBlahBlah, but that’s not a guarantee either. Seeing as how the Hawks chased Bob Loblaw for a couple seasons, I’d fully expect them to bring him back and stick him in Rockford as Pirri insurance.

So how did Stan do and where do the Hawks stand?