Everything Else

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

By 2405

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 1284

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.

Everything Else

Notes On The Cycle

By 1467

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.

Everything Else

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

By 1369

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.

Everything Else

Russia Tries Something New

By 1474

See now this is what I’m talking about.

We have our most exciting game of the tournament, Russia-North America from last night. And while we wax poetic about the Olympics and about the two Canada-US games from 2010, how many other great games do you remember from the Olympics? Maybe one or two others? This was as good as anything that tournament has offered up.

Ok, sure, it’s one made-up team that essentially got to pick current or about-to-be All-Stars while everyone else had harder restrictions. But it was still faster than just about anything you’re going to find in an NHL game. And that’s the point. These international tournaments are supposed to be of a higher level than what we get in the league. This is why soccer fans love the World Cup and European Championships (even though the last version of each of those has been rather dogshit). It’s the best the sport can produce. That’s what we got last night.