Everything Else

Game #61 – Senators vs. Hawks Preview/Ninja Warrior Class: Now That’s A Fire!

By Sam Fels 1842 0

 vs. 

RECORDS: Senators 21-28-9   Hawks 25-27-8

PUCK DROP: 7pm 

TV: NBCSN Chicago, NHL Network for some reason

WISHING THEY HAD NO RECOLLECTION, SENATOR: Brian5or6

This season, especially lately, the Hawks haven’t gotten to face too many teams that are a bigger oil spill than they are. Of course, when they have that hasn’t stopped them from getting thwacked by Arizona or Vancouver (twice). But hey, at least the Oilers haven’t gotten one over on them since like, October! Anyway, the last team the Hawks put a DLR on before Saturday’s was Ottawa back in that nation’s capital, and things seemed a touch rosier then. The Hawks would then win two games over the next 36 days. That’s how you get where we are now.

For the sake of educational purposes, the Ottawa Senators will provide an example of what a team really in crisis, in a tank and in full rebuild looks like. The only team propping them up in the East standings are the simply dizzy and confused Buffalo Sabres, and that’s in the Atlantic Division where five teams can’t touch their nose. They’re about to ship off everything that’s not nailed down, and even if they do all that their owner might just fold the team or move them because he feels like it as he might be Canada’s biggest asshole this side of Don Cherry or the Barenaked Ladies.

All the drama for the Senators over the next few days will be if they’re going to move along Erik Karlsson, which they pretty much have to. He’s at maximum value now, and though you could never get equal value for one of the greatest d-men of all time, you’ll come a lot closer now than you would in the summer, where any team acquiring him would get two playoff runs with him instead of one. It’s funny, earlier in the year we were saying the Hawks should be in on that derby. Seems so quaint now. Whether the Sens like it or not there’s really  no reason for Karlsson to re-sign there for all the money in the world unless he really loves having nothing to do and rarely playing games that matter. He’ll have 20 teams lining up to pay him what he wants soon, and few players get that chance.

Karlsson won’t be the only one packing his bags if he goes. Both Mike Hoffman and Mark Stone, two forwards who you would have heard way more about had they played somewhere else and/or ever had a real #1 center, look to be packaged goods as well, though Stone is a definite goner and Hoffman might stay. Derick Brassard is another who should get the movers ready. They’ve already packed off Dion Phaneuf because the Kings huffed some paint and decided that contract was a good idea. If the Sens were really adventurous they’d see if they could move along Matt Duchene again, because he’s not going to do them much good in the immediate future while they’re sucking hind-tit.

And then when you look at it, you see the Hawks are only a few games better, though in a far better division, and suddenly the world seems a very cold place indeed. The Hawks will be showcasing their own talent in Wingels and what looks to be Anisimov and Jurco tonight, as the latter two will skate with Patrick Kane. Either that, or Q has entered full, “Nothing Really Matters” mode and is just going to do stuff to do it and listen to a lot of Joy Division because how the hell else do you fill the time?

One intriguing line is Top Cat-Schmaltz-Duclair, because that’s something you could see being utilized in years to come. That is if Duclair closes the year strongly. You see what could be, but you also see what it is, and he’s going to have to show he can connect the two before we jump to any conclusions about where he’s going. Vinnie Smalls-Kampf-Hartman is at least a quick and entertaining fourth line, and hopefully they’re allowed to just be a kindergarten recess out there with their speed.

This is another scapler’s night off, and the Sens have never been much of a draw even though they might have the best player on the planet. Be curious to hear how many red seats are in the house tonight. This is the path they’ve chosen.

Game #61 Preview

Preview

Spotlight

Q&A

Douchebag Du Jour

I Make A Lot Of Graphs

Lineups & How Teams Were Built

Everything Else

Game #50 – If it bleeds, we can kill it – Hawks 2, Preds 1

By Adam Hess 2809 0

Box Score

Natural Stat Trick

Hockey Stats

With the exception of the early part of the second period, the Blackhawks not only skated with the Predators quite evenly tonight, but there were stretches of this game where they looked to have a lot more control than Nashville. This is the exact performance you needed against this Predators team coming out of the break. To the bullets:

– The early goings of this one were great for the Hawks, as they were able to control the puck and therefore the play a most of the first period. A good forechecking play from the Kampf line forced a turnover in deep that resulted in the titular character burying a quick and slick wrist shot past Jussi Saros, who had just turned the puck over. Taking a look at the Natural Stat Trick game flow the Hawks were +8 on shot attempts at 5v5 until Nashville started to take over a bit late in the frame. It was the exact start the Hawks needed in that building and getting that early goal was huge.

– The second period followed a similar flow but in the opposite direction. Nashville took control early, even notching a goal with a nice forechecking effort after a turnover by Anton Forsberg. The good news for Forsberg was that was pretty much the only bad play he made all night, and we’ll get to that. The Hawks were able to even things out and took the lead back later in the frame after Kane took a big hit to make a nice play, resulting in a rush with Schmaltz and My Cousin Vinnie. Schmaltz fed Hino with a nice pass, that Hino did not waste, one timing it through the Preds’ defenseman’s leg and then past Saros. That was the winner. The shot shares were even through the first two period, and Nashville dominated the third, but that was mostly score effects.

– More on Forsberg, because of course after I spend a whole bullet last Thursday talking about how he just isn’t reliable enough to keep this team afloat down the stretch and maybe they should look for a trade and yada yada yada, he turns in this gem of a game. 42 saves on 43 shots from a Nashville team that is no joke, only making the one aforementioned bad play, and doing everything else right. He was reading his angles well, tracking the puck well, and made a few big saves as Nashville turned up the attack in the third. He got some help from the post on one play, but nobody ever said you couldn’t be lucky AND good at the same time. I don’t know if I believe he can keep it up, but maybe writing for Sam’s site has resulted in me inheriting the powers of the Fels Motherfuck.

– Feather pointed this out on Twitter in the first intermisison, but Joel made some smart coaching adjustments in the first period to force Laviolette’s hand and minimize the last change advantage by double shifting his third and fourth lines. Lavi was keeping the Johanson line out against Toews, but Joel just left the Kampf line out there – and they were playing well, so it made sense – and forced Lavi to choose to either sit his top line or force himself into a mismatch.

– The biggest thing for the Hawks in this one was that they were so much more aggressive with their feet, which sounds kinda stupid but is just the reality. They skated hard the whole 60 minutes, which hasn’t been a theme this year for them. I’ve said for a while that the Q Hawks have a tendency to play to the level of their opponent, so they may have just elevated themselves against this Nashville squad, but it worked. They just need to figure out how to do this against every team every night if they’re going to go on the necessary run to make the playoffs.

– Popular opinion will tell you that the Predators are far and away a better team than the Hawks, and on paper it probably does look that way. And the sweep in last year’s playoffs certainly helps Nashville’s case. But these teams have split the season series now, with every game being decided by one goal. If Crawford is able to return before the playoffs, and if the Hawks make it – and both of those are rather large “if’s” – while this isn’t a matchup I’d necessarily ask for, it’s not one I’m afraid of either.

Line of the night: “Seabrook looks to clear, it’s taken away… this time – fails to clear again.” Foley’s starting to get it folks.

Everything Else

Before Firing Q, Ask The Right Questions…Then You’ll Probably Fire Q

By Sam Fels 4018 0

For the first time, I’ve seen a real wave of sentiment that the Hawks need to make a major change behind the bench. Some have suggested in the front office. We joke about it here a lot, and we certainly criticize the decorated Hawks coach more than most. But it’s never so simple, and before the Hawks or anyone could conclude that this would be the right course of action one has to figure out what the intent of this season and what is really going on here first.

As we’ve talked about at length on the podcast, it’s hard to know what to think when we don’t know what exactly what Stan Bowman had in mind for this season. If the Hawks thought they could or were in any way inclined to be as transparent as other teams in town, what would they have told us before the season? I can’t take credit for the idea, it’s Fifth Feather’s, but there’s two ways this could have gone.

One is that this is truly a transitional season for the Hawks. One they probably should have embarked on a year ago or maybe even right after the last Cup, but that’s another discussion. That if they’d said while they wish to be competitive and make the playoffs, the main objective of this season was to bed in Schmaltz, DeBrincat, Forsling (whoops), now Duclair, Murphy, and let’s throw in Hinostroza and Sikura at the end for funsies (Kampf too if you want). That really what they wanted to get these players reps, ingrained, evaluated, and then have whoever makes the cut ready for one last assault on the summit next year, which is all you’re going to get with the aging “Core Five.”

And on that level, some of the decisions make some sense? I have to put a “?” there because I’m not really sure. If you wanted to see how Forsling and Rutta would do in the deep end, you’d give them the most d-zone starts of everyone. Which Q did. I guess if you squint you’d see if Murphy can play both sides, which he’s proven he can. But that seems a stretch. You’d try Top Cat as a playmaker on a lot of lines instead of a finisher…maybe? This is Schmaltz’s first real run at center, which you’d definitely do.

But on this level, the mistakes are greater than that. It was clear early on that Forsling wasn’t built to start so much in his own end, and a player who openly talked about losing confidence last year was having his ravaged again by such usage. He was booted off the power play even though that should be something he specializes in. Top Cat set all kinds of records playing the left side in the OHL, and has played there for about 12 minutes here. Isn’t it more prudent to build a player up in the softest spot to have success when he’s 19? And then see what his flexibility is? You could argue it took far too long to let Schmaltz just stay in the middle.

The handling of Murphy is the real red X here, and once again speaks to discord from front office to behind the bench which is the same shit we’ve talked about for years that the Hawks were talented enough to play over in the past but aren’t now. His scratches are simply petulant, given that he’s been the Hawks best d-man over the season. This is Q still bitching that his toy in Hammer–his declining, aging, slowing toy that was about to be more expensive–was taken away. While he’s certainly within his rights to be cranky, did Stan and Q never have a meeting after last season where it was laid out what the plan was? Should your coach be so gobsmacked at a trade as Q clearly was last summer? While we’ve seen the problems when Q gets a say in player decisions, or anyone above Stan does as well, I’m not sure that he should be in the dark either.

The more I watch this team the more I think this really was the plan, because everything Stan has done has been to get younger, faster, cheaper, and open up more space for his draft picks which hasn’t always been the case. And maybe if this team is ready to “go for it” next year (highly debatable what that would actually result in), you’d want Q there because that’s what he does. He’s just not the best for development, and that ignores whether or not some of the veterans have tired of his voice (which we’ll never prove).

If you take the other tack, that this year was about “ONE GOAL” as it always is, it’s gets murkier. There isn’t much Q can do to overcome the loss of Corey Crawford. Q can’t make Toews and Saad score. But even before that, if the goal was to amass as many points as possible. then why were Forsling and Rutta in the d-zone so much and on the kill? Why is Patrick Sharp anywhere near the top six? How can you have this power play? And how can it change personnel and tactics seemingly every opportunity? The scratching of Murphy makes even less sense in this context. Gustafsson and Oesterle going from either the minors or pressbox straight onto both special teams is confounding. If it was about development, it would make slightly more sense, but wouldn’t at least Oesterle have played from jump street?

These are all answers we won’t get because I don’t know what the long term or even short term goals were here. The simplest explanation is that Stan is remaking the entire roster under that “Core Five” (yes, Seabrook doesn’t really count anymore but he’s not going anywhere) either to give them one last chance either next year or preparing the ground for when they aren’t the front of this team anymore. But it doesn’t seem like his coach is playing the same game, once again.

And if that’s going to be the case going forward, one has to go. And Stan’s never gotten to hire a coach before.

 

Everything Else

Atop the Sugar Pile – Halfway Home

By Rose Rankin 2417 0

Well, we’ve passed the halfway point of the season, and as the Hawks go into the bye week we can all take a breath following the recent win-loss-win-loss whiplash we’ve been subjected to. The organ-I-zation made a seemingly smart trade (waaat?), and with the deadline approaching and the Hawks very much a team on the cusp, one has to wonder if there is more to come. (On the cusp…I’m being generous. This team just got their ass handed to them by the fucking Red Wings yesterday.) So where are we at before the trade deadline arrives? I’m sure the Hawks brass is eagerly looking to us for the evaluation.

The Dizzying Highs

Nick Schmaltz: I’ve been waiting all season for Schmaltz to earn a spot here in the Highs and the time has come. How many times has one of us here said he was the best player on the ice in a given game? Well, I don’t have an exact count but I assure you it’s happened multiple times. More recently, in the seven games in 2018 he’s had 8 points, including two power play goals against the (admittedly shitty) Senators last week. Yes, Ottawa sucks, but power play goals have become rarer than double-digit temperatures in this frozen hellscape. In fact Schmaltz is second in points on this team, with only Kane above him and duh that’s his linemate so Schmaltz rightly gets some credit there too. In Anisimov’s absence he’s been a very capable center for what has ostensibly become our top line.

Beyond just points, his CF% at evens is 54.5. At times he, Kane and Hartman struggle in their defensive zone, don’t get me wrong. But as a whole their possession at evens is 51.5 CF%. Add to that Schmaltz’s speed, and his current muscular shooting percentage of 18.8, and he’s basically made himself the most valuable youngling along with Top Cat.

The Terrifying Lows

Jan Rutta and the Gustav Foreskin Experience: OK, we’ve been bitching about these two all season but they’re really, really not good. Maybe individually that’s an exaggeration, but as a pair it definitely is not. Their CF% as a duo is 48.2 at evens. Despite having slightly more offensive zone starts than defensive ones (both have a dSZ% at 48 and change), it isn’t nearly enough because they are positively lost in their own zone (kind of a problem when your job description is defense). Larkin’s goal yesterday for the Red Wings was a classic example: both Rutta and Forsling got mesmerized by Nyquist and he was able to calmly drop the puck behind him to to Mantha (not excusing the shitty backcheck, but still, c’mon guys). Yeah, Rutta scored against the Jets the other night, but again, their job description is defense. Every time they’re on the ice it’s nerve-wracking at best and disastrous at worst.

The Creamy Middles

The Penalty Kill: A strong case could be made for putting the PK in the Dizzying Highs. To again reference the games played in this young calendar year, the Hawks have only given up one power play goal in 2018 (seven games). And that goal came against the Rangers right after New Year’s, so it’s been six games and 23 opportunities in which they’ve prevented opponents from capitalizing on special teams. This tells me two things: 1. We are taking way too many penalties, I mean really, 23?? Wtf? and 2. This half of our special teams is one of the only threads we have to cling to in the quickly unraveling sweater that is our playoff hopes. It’s become the mirror image of the shit-stained power play.

Vinnie Hinostroza. I think our boy Vinnie deserves an honorable mention here in the Middles. In the past six games he’s had five points, including a three-point night against the maddeningly successful Golden Knights. His performance in that game was one of the few bright spots of that fuck up. He’s managed to become comfortable on the top line that was searching for someone ever since Richard Panik turned back into Richard Panik, well before the trade happened. He’s only played 14 games with the top club so I can’t really make any sweeping generalizations or bold statements (sample size and all), but the Saad-Toews-Hinostroza combo has a 63.8 CF% at evens, and hey, he’s a local boy who done good! (For the record, I was going to put Jordan Oesterle here, but then he fell into Keith á la the Three Stooges yesterday which allowed the third goal, so no dice.)

All stats from Hockey Reference and the Natural Stat Trick Line Tool.

Everything Else

Game #41 – Sippin’ Champagne While You’re Drinkin’ the Slag – Hawks 4, Oilers 1

By John Pullega 2415 0

Box Score

Hockey Stats

Natural Stat Trick

This is the outcome you expect when you’re playing a team that has scored nine goals since its last regulation win eight games ago. The Oilers, once again, have managed to be a zoo without cages despite having a generational talent in David McConnor, and the Hawks took two points they needed on a drag-ass Sunday afternoon tilt. To the bullets.

– Let’s begin with the past in front: Nick Schmaltz’s game-opening goal is the sort of thing that should give Hawks fans the same sense of anticipation we all felt in the 08–09 season. His read off Rutta’s point shot was obscene, and he made Kris Russell look like the overrated pile of hockey garbage no one in broadcast wants to admit he is. Even better, Schmaltz gave Ryan Nugent-Hopkins every reason to have the long face he has, using him as a screen en route to an embarrassingly beautiful backhand against Cam “(Used to Be a) Cha-Cha” Talbot.

– On the topic of Jan Rutta, he had himself a nice game after a four-game absence. He carried a 56 CF% (and a precisely even 0.00 CF% Rel) and racked up an assist on Schmaltz’s wizardry. But no matter what, there’s absolutely no justification for slotting Rutta in place of Connor Murphy, who, over the past month, has been the best Hawks D-man by just about every metric. I get that Murphy had a rough go of it against Vegas, but unless Murphy were hurt or had the runs, scratching him is absurd.

Going further, I don’t think that Rutta’s good performance was a coincidence. Before his streak of sitting, he had begun to look sluggish and overpowered after several hockey writers, including yours truly, were champing at the bit to anoint him the savior of the Hawks’s blue line. It’s almost as if Rutta needs some extended time off during the season to recharge. There’s another Hawks D-man who probably needs it too, but it isn’t Murphy.

I know that we probably won’t ever see Seabrook as a healthy scratch because of this bullshit LEADERSHIP narrative that’s served as nothing more than justification for Seabrook’s contract, which the organ-I-zation threw at him like a farm boy throws a wedding ring at the girl who took his virginity. But I think that you’ll get better results letting Rutta slot in for Seabrook over Murphy or Kempný (who had a 59 CF% today). Both Rutta and Seabrook are right-handed shots who have shown signs of exhaustion throughout the season, and what would be a better example of leadership for Bottomless Pete than admitting that you don’t have the energy to play 82 games a year and give other, more physically fit players a slot to play? Fantasies, I know.

– Back in reality, there’s no doubt that Cam Talbot sucks. DeBrincat’s goal had no business ending up in the back of the net, since all Top Cat wanted to do was try to center Sharp. Nonetheless, credit where it’s due, as David Struggle had no trouble shrugging off a checking attempt from EA Sports–generated name Matt Benning behind the goal line to feed Top Cat. Kampf has looked pretty alright in his six games up, and he’s made that third line work somehow, as he, Top Cat, and Sharp had respective CF%s of 57+,61+, and 64+ today. It doesn’t have to make sense for you to take it.

– We got a taste of vintage Toews on the Hawks’s third goal. After Vinnie Hinostroza horsed Darnell Intern, both by skating by him and dropping a beauty of a backhand pass to Toews, Toews did that thing that makes me hope they retire his number with a “C” someday where he overpowers a defender and makes a one-handed pass to a drooling Brandon Saad. While one play does not a season make, it was nice to see Toews see a result for all the strong underlying numbers he’s had this year.

– Saad had a goal and 60 CF% at evens, but the eye test was a bit more mixed. He got pantsed by McDavid in the first and Draisaitl in the third, and he knuckle-pucked a nice pass from Vinnie in a high-danger zone in the third. Not to say that Saad isn’t a brute force, but today looked a little less godlike than I’m used to. I get he was up against the McDavid line, but he looked a bit more janky than normal.

– Gustav Forsling had a 61+ CF% at evens spending almost two-thirds of his time in the offensive zone. IT’S ALMOST AS IF THAT’S WHERE HE BELONGS.

– Aside from the weak Nurse goal, Forsberg looked good today. His rebound control is a much needed salve after watching Good Story Glass Jeff bounce biscuits off his pads for far, far longer than is acceptable for a team looking to vault into a wild card spot. Still, without Crawford, this team is going to run in place.

– I’m glad Eddie O. is healthy enough to do games again, but the way he toed the company line today made me look forward to Konroyd’s opium-den droning in Ottawa on Tuesday. Between blowing kisses at StanBo for signing Bouma and Wingels while the Hawks sit in last place in the division, lauding Seabrook for tapping on Forsberg’s pads after a bad goal, and chiding Kempný for an aggressive pinch in the second period (despite the fact that that’s what Kempný is good at doing), it almost made me miss Konroyd at home. I’m getting awfully tired of this SEABROOK IS A LEADER justification for his shit performance, and Eddie O. is the prime evangelist.

Oh, Jordan Oesterle had an unassisted goal today. To piggyback off this feat, the mantra of the upcoming week of hockey can only be KEEP FIRING, ASSHOLES!

Beer du Jour: Two Hearted

Line of the Night: “I love that play from Brent Seabrook.” –Eddie O. commenting on Brent Seabrook tapping Anton Forsberg’s pads after a soft goal, which is neither a play nor a way to justify Seabrook’s piss-poor performance anymore. It’s 2018, not 2013.

Everything Else

Game #39 Makes You Think All the World’s a Sunny Day – Hawks 5, Rangers 2

By Rose Rankin 2882 0

Box Score

Natural Stat Trick

Corsica

This year is only three days old but it’s basically been one big dick kick for most of those 72 hours. One merciful exception is the Blackhawks winning a game—and in regulation too. It wasn’t always pretty, despite the fact that the Rangers blow in possession which played to the Hawks’ strength. The score makes it seem easier than it was. To the bullets:

– The theme of the night for the Hawks was dumb penalties. Sure, their PK is good, but jesus do you have to make it so hard on yourselves? Toews had two penalties in the first, Seabrook and Glass tag teamed in the second to allow the Rangers a 5-on-3 on which they promptly tied the game, Bouma took a dumbshit penalty late in the second in the offensive zone—it just wouldn’t stop. It also must be pointed out that Glass made pretty much the stupidest mistake possible by lofting the puck into the stands while they were already on the PK. And I had to concede that Dave Lozo made a funny when he called him Jeff “I shoot the puck over the” Glass. In any case, penalties let the Rangers tie the game in the second and nearly again in the third. Penalties like the too many men in the third, or delay of game in the second (and which Seabrook nearly managed in the first as well), are often just dumbass moves. They certainly were tonight.

– And then there was the dumb non-call in the second period: Hartman’s cross-check on Marc Staal that sent Staal hurtling into the net while taking the puck with him. Not that I’m unhappy with the result, of course. We need all the help we can get right now.

– If a line was going to get lucky, it had to be Hartman-Schmaltz-Kane. They were the best line all night with all three of them hovering around a 70 CF%. All of them had multiple shots (three for Schmaltz, five for Kane, two for Hartman), and if it hadn’t been for Lundqvist robbing Kane repeatedly, it would have been a different story tonight.

– But no, it was largely the same scenario we’ve become used to: the Hawks dominated possession (64.6 CF% at evens, with the first two periods being over 70%), they had a huge lead in shots (35 to 25), yet they had to eke out goals until the last couple minutes when they got two empty-netters. Now, granted, I’m not looking this gift horse in the mouth (OK, maybe I am a little), and if this is how we have to claw our way to victory then fine, so be it. The Saad-Toews-Hinostroza thing was working. But if Kane and Schmaltz had had a little more finish on those shots, this could have been a DLR. But whatever. They did what needed to be done.

– Speaking of doing things the hard way, Jeff Glass did himself very few favors, such as the aforementioned dumb penalty, and his habit of losing his net (and occasionally his stick). His rebounds weren’t as atrocious tonight as previously, and he finished with a respectable .920 SV%. But I certainly wouldn’t call his positioning reliably good. The announcers (whoever the fuck this B-team was that the NHL trotted out for their beloved Rivalry Night along with noted asshat Pierre McGuire) kept fluffing him all night, but really they were just pushing this feel-good storyline. The scrambling in front of the net that the Hawks had to periodically resort to stands as a reminder that this isn’t a long-term solution during Crawford’s absence, or at least, it shouldn’t be.

– David Kampf got his first point, so way to go. It came as an assist on Patrick Sharp’s go-ahead goal, which is…good? I’m conflicted by Sharp getting to stay in the lineup and bump Top Cat to his off side, but again, that gift horse thing….

So despite the warts this was a badly needed win, as they all will be from here on out. This game really had the feel of one that would get tied late in the third, and which the Hawks would lose in OT, so I’d rather be sitting here complaining about how many more goals they could have scored, rather than bitching about them blowing it.

Beer de Jour: Crushinator by Maplewood Brewing (an IPA that’s 4.5%? Hello, weekday beer!)

Line of the Night: “Chicago…way too many men.” –Pierre McGuire in a most Freudian-sounding statement.

 

Everything Else

Game #37 – Hawks 3 – Oilers 3 (Hawks win Quarters): They Don’t All Have To Hang In The Louvre

By Sam Fels 1864 0

Box Score

Natural Stat Trick

So no need to intro this. Shared a few thoughts on Twitter last night so a couple new ones and expounding on what we talked about before. Sorry for the delay. Technology is not my friend.

-We bitched about Duncan Keith’s lackluster effort on Thursday in Vancouver. And apparently he wasn’t pleased with it either, or got the message that his coaches weren’t. However, Duncan Keith trying to do everything is only slightly better than Duncan Keith doing nothing. He makes things happen, like Top Cat’s power play goal by standing up at the blue line that was vintage Keith. He also leaves his partner out to dry a few times. Or he doesn’t make the simple play like in the last minute when he was a foot from the red line and could have just dumped the puck into the Oilers’ zone.

You can see the thinking. If Keith can successfully cycle back into his own zone and hold onto the puck they kill more time. But it could also lead to what it did, which is a scramble, a turnover, and then a goal you can’t give up.

Keith has been put in a tough spot all year, as the only player that can play with him and allow him to do all the things he’s done is Connor Murphy, and that would frontload the defense too much. So he’s having to make up for all sorts of deficiencies. And I guess we’d rather have the super locked in and super hyper Keith than the one that’s just kind of there.

-I guess I could warm up to Jordan Oesterle’s “KEEP FIRING, ASSHOLES!” approach to the game in the offensive end. The Hawks lack any sort of threat from back there now that Seabrook can’t move and Forsling is usually in quicksand in his own end. And Oesterle usually gets his shot through. It would be better served on a third pairing. But then again, we can say that of six of the eight d-men on the Hawks right now.

-Michal Kempny once again had a 60+% Corsi. I’m sure he’ll sit on Sunday so we can see more of Cody Franson pinching in the neutral zone to a puck he won’t get within five feet of.

-As I said last night, I’m sure a lot of people expect me to point out that Jeff Glass’s rebound control was awful. Or that he lost his net too many times. Or that his glove seemed to be made of superballs. But let’s leave that aside. At the age of 32, he won his first NHL start. He spent seven years in Russia for this. Sometimes, it’s just a good story.And this one is. There’s certainly a place for it, and it’s one of the big reasons we love sports. Let’s just hope the coach doesn’t fall in love with it.

-That said, in the pregame they had a clip of Q’s pregame presser where he said he hoped that it would cause a spark and the team to rally. Clearly he wasn’t thrilled with the team’s effort in games this year. But I don’t think he’s talking to the kids. Forsling’s problem isn’t he isn’t playing hard enough. Neither is it Rutta’s. Certainly not Schmaltz’s or Top Cat’s. So where do you think that was aimed?

-Still, Q didn’t do Glass or his team any favors again. Three times in just the 1st period, he sent Schmaltz out for a defensive zone draw. You know McDavid is coming out for those. Yeah, sometimes the rotations don’t leave you much choice. But two of these were after TV timeouts. Is that a matchup you really want? Thankfully it didn’t result in any goals.

Anyway, onwards…

Everything Else

Game #36 How Far Will We Fall If There’s Nothing Below – Hawks 2, Canucks 5

By Rose Rankin 2281 0

Box Score

Natural Stat Trick

Corsica

A few days off, some time away with family members, a little breathing space—all of these things should have helped the Blackhawks to bounce back from two crappy losses, right? Wrong. The break clearly did little to cure what ails the Hawks right now. To the bullets:

– Anisimov went down with an injury early in the game, but I gotta tell you, I didn’t even see it. Suddenly, he was just gone. Maybe he tripped over his own wide dick and needed to ice it for a while. Who can say in this league where they tell you nothing? But what it led to was Q hitting the blender extra hard tonight. Unfortunately, it was mostly a shit smoothie that he got out of it. And should anyone be surprised? Throwing combinations of guys who haven’t played together and not even giving them three shifts to figure stuff out? I, for one, am shocked this isn’t working.

At first, we saw Kane-Schmaltz-DeBrincat, and I thought I might weep with joy. But nope, that didn’t last, although they did make a brief reappearance in the third. Next up was Kane-Toews-Saad (nothing doing). Then it was Kane-Schmaltz-Kampf (huh?). And in case you didn’t notice a pattern there, Garbage Dick led the team in ice time through two periods, and he finished second only to Keith by the end of the game. So clearly, Q has a lot of confidence in his supporting cast and it’s definitely sustainable to quadruple-shift Kane.

– The Gustav Forsling Experience needs to draw to a close. Seriously, he’s lost in his own zone, useless on special teams apparently, and thus generally worthless at this point. It’s especially poignant against the team from whence he came. Pairing him with Jan Rutta is aggravating the situation, as we saw for example on Vanek’s second goal where the two of them couldn’t find either one of their asses with any of their hands. I’m tired of sounding like the president of the Michal Kempny Fan Club over here, but this is getting ridiculous. And if Connor Murphy turns out to have a case of brown brain after Biega flattened him into the glass, we’d better not see Cody fucking Franson in his place.

– Continuing his run of worst luck in the NHL, Anton Forsberg played decently through much of the game until the wheels really fell off in the third. He could have stopped the first goal, but a bunch of the ones in the middle were due to his defense crapping the bed yet again. The second goal was the aforementioned Foreskin-Rutta defensive breakdown, and the third goal he was screened by Seabrook’s nacho-laden ass. Forsberg isn’t blameless in all this, don’t get me wrong, but he got little help defensively or offensively. Because also of note, the Hawks had five power plays and only converted on one.

– Ah, the power play. Still as shitty as before Christmas. For a moment it seemed like they got things figured out as Schmaltz and Kane’s positioning took advantage of their right hand/left hand combo. But the man advantage quickly returned to form as they couldn’t manage a zone entry on their next four power plays.

– I was interested to see wunderkid Brock Boeser in action, and lo and behold he had a goal and three assists. He and Thomas Vanek connected for three goals between them, and they both assisted on Gagner’s goal. Gee, it must be nice for a rookie with a hot hand to play with teammates that complement his skills while he also has the confidence of his coach.

– Despite one dumbass move on a power play, Ryan Hartman was pretty much the Hawks’ best player tonight (Nick Schmaltz and Patrick Kane could also make a case, I know). He was all over the ice, either repeatedly getting shoved into Markstrom, or more importantly keeping the puck in the zone while his linemates did everything they could to cough up control of it. He finished with a 77.8 CF%, which led the team, plus a pyrrhic goal at the end to make things look a little less pathetic.

– OK, so this isn’t directly game-related, but the Hawks have been running some promotion or attempt at a social media campaign called “Blackhawks Authentic Fan” which cracks me up because 1. we’re called Real Fans Program here so nice try, and 2. they’re using “BlackhawksAF” as the hashtag. I don’t know about you, but I don’t think of “authentic fan” when I see something as “af.” However, it’s actually perfect—we should take advantage of the description “Blackhaws as fuck.” To wit: That zone entry where they fell over the blue line and Saad and Hartman ran into each other? That was Blackhawks as fuck. Or: That power play where everyone stood in place doing jack shit? That was Blackhawks as fuck. So thank you, Hawks, for giving a description to the frustrating shit you pull night in and night out.

It’s obvious that every point counts, and that winning these games against the rest of the western dregs with whom we’re fighting for a wild card spot is damn near crucial. And yet, we’re picking up right where things left off. If a shitty Canucks team on a 3-game losing streak isn’t the antidote right now, then what is? Maybe the Oilers? We’ll find out soon enough.

 

Everything Else

Grinds My Gears: Christmas Reset

By Sam Fels 2286 0

Hey all, it’s been a few days. Had a good break, I hope. Spent it with your family either arguing about minuscule stuff or just being drunk… and arguing about minuscule stuff. As Hawks fans, or just Hawks watchers, you even get an extra day before we dive right back into it all. Good thing, too. Anyway, thought it would be time to air all our previous grievances from before the break to see where we are. Post-Festivus, let’s say.

These will probably sound familiar to most of you, but hey, sometimes you can’t get blood from a turnip or stone or rock or whatever the fuck these freaks are trying to get blood from. Which is actually very weird. I don’t want blood. I’m not a fucking vampire. Fifth Feather, he’s the vampire wannabe.

BUT THAT’S NOT WHY YOU CALLED.

Basically, everything that follows is my complaints about how this team has been managed. And yes, I think Q has done a borderline shitty job this year after doing yeoman’s work the past two years, I would argue. Whether he has just nothing to work with (and I really don’t believe that), is still in a snit from watching pet projects Hjalmarsson and Panarin dealt, or quite simply just doesn’t quite care as much anymore, I have no idea. But here’s where he’s losing me:

-The distribution of zone starts to his defense. This has been the dead horse we’ve already turned into paste at this point. But to repeat: the two d-men who have taken the biggest percentage of their shifts starting in the defensive zone are Jan Rutta and Gustav Forsling. They also might double as the two worst defensive players on the Hawks blue line, though Seabrook or Franson could poke their head into the room and say, “Is that your final answer?” in some awful, CBS-sitcom fashion that this season has felt at times.

This is just plainly stupid. Despite the broadcast’s/organization’s Pravda-like spreading of the gospel of Forsling, he sucks in his own zone. Like, out loud. And that’s fine for now. That can take some time to learn, and especially when the Hawks have other options. Take Forsling’s use with that of Will Butcher’s on New Jersey. He and Forsling are about the same size, similar skill-set. Butcher almost never starts in his own zone, and has 23 points. Forsling has 12. You can’t tell me that Butcher is that much more talented than Forsling.

Q might sit here and say that Forsling and Rutta aren’t the only ones who need to be kept out of their own zone, that Seabrook and Franson need the help, too. That isn’t necessarily wrong, but A. Franson shouldn’t be playing that much and B. Seabrook’s bigger problems are in transition so maybe just planting him in his own zone where he doesn’t have to worry about streaking forwards or puck retrievals might actually be the safer plan.

Duncan Keith is still good. He can take it on. He can probably save Rutta from himself, which Forsling most certainly can’t. Or if you’re still in love with Connor Murphy on his off-side, you can pair him with Rutta. Because if Murphy can keep Seabrook from choking on a ham-bone, he certainly can do the same with Rutta. Or better yet get Kempny out of the doghouse and just let him play because he’s good and shoots himself in the face with a bazooka less than Forsling does.

-Nick Schmaltz is a center, Ryan Hartman is not. Yes, I know Hartman played some center in junior. Yes, I know that Q loves to come up with solutions out of nowhere to satisfy is giant, throbbing brain. But if the Hawks ever thought Hartman could play center at this level, they should have at least had him do it some of the time in Rockford. So not only are you asking him to play a spot he hasn’t as a pro, you’re also asking him to do it after four seasons of not.

I understand the problems with Schmaltz at center. He can’t win a draw, and he’s slight. And yet there he is on the penalty kill, so Q must think he’s not completely helpless defensively. Yes, I know Arty The One Man Party is kind of useless if he’s not playing with Kane, and that’s another problem. But the world is dying for Top Cat-Nick At Nite-Kane. Let us just see it for a game or two.

This gets into a larger, organizational discussion, because Vinnie Smalls was brought up to play center, except he hasn’t played center at Rockford all season. Does Q know this? Whatever the answer is, I don’t feel good about it. Imagine the Cubs or Sox bringing up an infielder and then sticking him in center without him ever playing there in the AAA. Yes yes, stick your Kyle Schwarber jokes here.

-Saad and Toews need a playmaker. This has been obvious all season. The three seasons we had of Saad-Toews-Hossa scoring simply because they willed it into being are gone. Hossa has leprosy, Toews just isn’t that player anymore. They’ll keep the puck in the right areas, they just need help making that count. We saw Top Cat on the left side for like two games, and then it was abandoned so he could return to playing with corpses. Give it five, give it ten, because if you don’t get Toews and Saad scoring regularly, we can just dock this showboat right now.

-Did they rush Crawford from injury? The easy way out of this is to say that decision is the Hawks medical staff’s and Crawford’s. And yet this would hardly be the first time we’ve seen this under Q. Well, now Crow is out again. I guess it was necessary for those games against Buffalo, Arizona, and Florida with how they went, but it shouldn’t have been.

Look, I get it. Q’s cards aren’t great. He has no third line because Patrick Sharp died and Richard Panik had the temerity to turn back into Richard Panik (by the way Josh Jooris is kicking ass for the Canes, and is younger, faster, and cheaper than Patrick Sharp. I’m just gonna sit here and cry). That’s forced the fourth line into harder assignments than you’d like. The defense is a bit mismatched, but Q’s making that worse.

The Hawks only sit one point out of a playoff spot and have games in hand on everyone. It’s hardly disaster, it’s just not where we’re used to being. But it it’s going to get better, removing head from anus is always a good start, as my father used to tell me regularly.