Everything Else

Angry At Numbers – At The Break: Warn Jen LC, It’s Not Seabrook-Positive

By 1684

A good time to look at some underlying trends for the Hawks at the break.

40.2, 33.9, 29.9, 34.1

That would be Brent Seabrook’s last four games in Corsi. If you’re new to the stat, let me spoil the mystery. That’s real bad. Like, abhorrent. And it’s kind of been the trend for Seabrook all season.

Seabrook’s numbers, other than his offensive output which shouldn’t be dismissed, have fallen off a cliff. Overall, Seabrook has a 48.1% Corsi percentage, far down from his 53.2 career mark. What makes that even scarier is that Seabrook is facing just about the easiest competition of his career since his rookie year. His time-on-ice of competition, which is how some people measure it, is 17.3. That’s down slightly from last year’s 17.4, but in this category tenths of a minute do actually make a difference. His zone starts aren’t really any different from what’s come before either.

Everything Else

Tail Lights: Hawks 0 – Canes 5

By 1184

Box Score

Event Summary

War On Ice

If you’ve watched the Hawks for even just a few years, this was not all that hard to see coming. A single road game before the break. A more than solid effort last out over a division rival that put to rest a mini-losing streak, so there wasn’t really anything to “correct” tonight. A motivated opponent that needs every point it can get with the things that the Hawks struggle with when they’re not all there (a good coach and a mobile defense). A sick captain, and it’s hard to keep a sickness restricted to just one player on a team, so it wouldn’t be a surprise if a few guys have rumbling tummies or whatever’s bugging Toews. It all added up to an effort where the Hawks looked like they were watching the clock from the opening faceoff. And that’s exactly what we got.

Everything Else

When You Come Undone: Hawks 1 – Lightning 2

By 1200

Box Score

Event Summary

War On Ice

This harkened back to some other games. The tenets of was made the Hawks 12-game win streak were not in evidence tonight. And while it was only a one-goal game, this was as badly as the Hawks have been outplayed in a long while. Other teams had done it for a period or two during this streak, but for a whole game you’d have to go back to the loss to the Canes. The Bolts are basically the realized version of what the Canes would like to be. A high-tempo team with a couple puck-moving d-men, a band of quick, skilled forwards who play with speed at both ends. The Hawks were nowhere near tonight.

What had gotten them to this point? Let’s go through the checklist:

Everything Else

But These Go To 11: Canadiens 2 – Hawks 5

By 1367

Box Score

Event Summary

War On Ice

I was thinking tonight right before the 3rd period that at this point, the lack of drama Hawks games have when they lead going into the 3rd have. They haven’t lost one in a the past season and a half, and when they’re taking a two-goal lead into a 3rd, you basically know it’s over. This would be the very definition of hockey 1st world problems, because this is what every fandom wants. The Hawks weren’t particularly spectacular tonight, but they didn’t have to be. But at this point, no team is better at knowing exactly what it takes to get two points out of a game, and once they bunched two goals at the end of the 2nd, it was basically over.

Everything Else

Don’t Play With Your Food: Sabres 1 – Hawks 3

By 1303

Box Score

Event Summary

War On Ice

The Hawks moved to their sixth win in a row with a simple adjustment after 20 minutes, or at least a tightening of their usual plan. But even though the Hawks basically kept the Sabres under their thumb (it’s down to me) from the start of the second, they let them hang around and hang around. And as the Hawks should know by now, they can’t let any team hang around that has Ryan O’Reilly on it, because he will score against them. Luckily, a few minutes later Rasmus Ristolainen let Phillip Danault have far too much space entering the zone, and Danault was only too happy to gobble it up and bury the winner short-side. Throw in another Toews empty-netter to throw the mainstream off his scent of struggles, and you have yet another Hawks win.

Everything Else

Altitude Adjustment: Hawks at Avalanche Preview/Ball Dropping

By 1294

250px-Ozymandias vs. Avalanche Snowman Christmas

PUCK DROP: 7pm Central

TV/RADIO: CSN, WGN Radio

COMIN DOWN THE MOUNTAIN: Mile High Hockey, Anthrax Jones Twitter Feed (if you’re really into punishing yourself)

Avalanche Stats

Avalanche War On Ice

The Hawks will close out 2015 at altitude, taking on an Avalanche team that’s probably been their biggest headache over the past few years. Strangely, the Hawks have done much better in Denver than they have at home against the Avs. They won two of three there last year, and the one they lost was the last game of the year where half the team didn’t play and the Hawks certainly didn’t think it mattered in any way. Contrast that to losing both home games against the Avs last year, the first one this year, and two of three the year before that.

Everything Else

Hurricanrana: Canes at Hawks Preview/Belt-Loosening

By 1185

Hurricane Carter vs, 250px-Ozymandias

PUCK DROP: 6pm Central

TV/RADIO: WGN for both

HERE COMES THE STORY: Canes Country

The Hawks come out of the Christmas break, a day after most teams, with a pretty soft landing in catching the Carolina Hurricanes on the second of a back-to-back. They’ll be fully healthy as well, with Marian Hossa coming back from the auto-body shop to buff the dents out of his cyborg exterior and will suit up tonight.

Everything Else

‘Elo Kiddies – Oilers vs Hawks Preview, Encounter On Ord Mantell

By 1218

oil plainview vs evil empire

Game Time: 7:30PM
TV/Radio: CSN, WGN-AM 720
Tikkanese Interpreters: Oilers Nation, Copper ‘n’ Blue

With all of the talks of streaks around these parts recently, one that flew under the radar is the six game winning streak tonight’s vistors the Edmonton Oilers only had snapped on Tuesday at MSG. And in an absolute kitty-litter-covering-kindergartner-vomit-on-astroturf-carpeting Pacific Division, that’s been enough to actually have the Oilers in the playoff conversation. And all without their most recent franchise cornerstone Conor McDavid.

Everything Else

Marian Go Round In Dreams

By 1443

For the better part of this season, especially lately, we’ve been trying to sound something like alarm bells at the struggles of the Hawks at even-strength. And that’s a big deal, because you can’t be considered a very good team or have prospects of going all that far in the spring if you’re doing so on the back of special teams (unless you’re the ’06 Hurricanes). And the Hawks are a middling, at best, even-strength team right now. They have a -8 goal-difference at 5-on-5. The teams around them? The Flyers are just behind and the Maple Leafs are just ahead. That’s the seat on the bus between with the guy coughing up a lung and the woman yelling out Kentucky Derby winners randomly from the past 35 years (stick tap to friend Brendan McGowan for that line. Follow him at @BMGComedy). Their score adjusted Corsi-rate of 52.0 is solid, as is their Scoring-Chance rate. But their high-danger scoring chance rate is basically an even split of 50%, placing them 14th in the league. Again, middling.

A lot of this I’ve and we’ve laid at the feet of Jonathan Toews and his eight even-strength points this year. Maybe it’s time we look to his right a bit.