Continuing through the Metropolitan division, we now find a team that most of the Sharpest Minds agree that is due for a serious regression in that midwestern Big 10 city known for its cosmopolitan nightlife and culture, Columbus, Ohio.
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PUCK DROP: 6pm Central
TV: CSN
THE HOCKEY BLOG: Jackets Cannon
Projected Lineups
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SCORE ADJUSTED POSSESSION: Hawks – 50.3 CF% (11th) Jackets – 48.2 CF% (20th)
POWER PLAY: Hawks – 35.7% (3rd) Jackets – 40% (2nd)
PENALTY KILL: Hawks – 47.1% (Dead ass last) Jackets – 85.7% (12th)
Trends: Cam Atkinson only has three goals and seven points in 10 games agains the Hawks. It only feels like has 27 and 43.
The Hawks take it out on the road again tonight, to face a certainly well-rested if oddly-cobbled Blue Jackets squad in the Ohio capital. It’ll start a three-in-four stretch for the Hawks, who return home tomorrow for the Leafs Saturday and Flames Monday. What they’ll find in Columbus is a team built to play a game that no longer wins in the NHL, and one under that that could be a useful NHL team if they let it.
We come to the end of our World Cup preview with the team that’s probably going to be the most heavily watched and the most confusing. There’s no question that Team North America is going to be the most entertaining team, at both ends. Just like a good curry. But a lot of us won’t be able to shake the feeling that this team quite simply shouldn’t exist. And seeing as how, as Feather pointed out, the US’s second and third line in on this team, it’s kind of infuriating.
The reasoning behind this team, if you squint really hard, is to market the game’s younger stars. But if you hold that theory up to any kind of light it falls apart in a hurry. One, Gaudreau, Saad, Matthews, Eichel, Larkin, Jones and Trouba would just as easily be marketed on Team USA, the team with the audience that the NHL is really trying to get to pay attention to this fucking thing and this fucking sport. Is that audience more likely to do that when they can wave the flag a bit and root for their home nation or when they look up to the bar TV and see a bunch of guys dressed as if they’re straight out of Tron? I’ll give you a minute to decide.
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Game Time: 7:00PM Central
TV/Radio: CSN, NBCSN, SportsNet East, WGN-AM 720
Napalm The University of Tennesee Athletic Department: On The Forecheck
Tonight’s game will conclude the season series between the Hawks and Preds. And while the Hawks have already won the season series outright(3-1-0), the Predators have exposed some of the flaws in the composition of the Hawks’ roster in the process. And they’ll catch the Preds during their most productive streak of the season, having taken points in 7 straight games, and winning four straight games on the road, and eight of their last nine.
This ran in last week’s C.I. program for the Preds’ game.
It’s hard to fathom that for pretty much their entire existence, the Nashville Predators have never had a true #1 center. They drafted David Legwand to be that with their first ever pick. You know how that went. Their highest scoring centers over the years are names like Greg Johnson, Yanic Perrault, aging and one-footed Peter Forsberg, and Rich Peverly. The team that lost to the Hawks in 2010 was trotting out Jason Arnott at 35. Colin Wilson as a rookie was the team’s best center the first time they won a playoff round. Mike Ribeiro was as close as they came last year. So you can see what the attraction is for acquiring Ryan Johansen at this age to finally lock down that spot. When you haven’t had something in so long, you’ll drink the sand.
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Game Time: 7:30PM Central
TV/Radio: CSN Plus, SportsNet, WGN-AM 720
All The Young Dudes: On The Forecheck
Tonight with the visiting Predators on the frigid near west side, the Hawks will close out a four game homestand before a swing through the two self-appointed capitals of the hockey universe in Toronto and Montreal, and close out January playing 6 of its final 8 games on the road. And the team the Preds ice tonight is drastically different than the one they brought about a month ago, and not necessarily for the better.
We have Kristopher Martel from OnTheForecheck.com (@kmartel_sports) and JRLind from NashvillePost.com (@JRLind) to answer our questions about the Preds before tonight’s game.
Easy enough to know where we’ll start. Your feelings on Johansen-Jones? We know the Preds have never had a #1 center and Johansen is very good, but Jones looked to be a future Norris winner and it seems at least a little steep.
JR: Obviously Seth Jones is already amazing and is going to be amazing for years to come. What this trade tells us is A) David Poile is comfortable with Ellis and Ekholm long-term and B) Shea Weber isn’t for sale. The trade upset me for a lot of non-hockey reasons – Seth was great with kids, good in the community, really committed to growing the game and really easy to deal with – but from a hockey standpoint, the Preds obviously felt like Jones was going to get in a traffic jam and the franchise has needed a center for 18 years now. With Johansen at 23, under contract for a couple of years and headed into another RFA period, it’s a good deal to make.
Martel: Plenty of folks weren’t bothered at all that Nashville gave up Jones for Johansen, however I may be one of the few that felt as if the price was steep, but necessary, for a player of Johansen’s caliber. Johansen has already shown Nashville what he’s capable of and how dynamic of a center he is, but was it worth giving up Jones? Right now, it’s impossible to tell. Jones had a definitive ceiling with Nashville in the name of Shea Weber — as long as he was around, Jones would never see his true potential realized with the Predators. Now with Columbus, he’ll be able to play those top minutes. Ultimately, I think Nashville wins the trade now, but it could even out as time goes on.
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PUCK DROP: 7pm
TV/RADIO: CSN, WGN Radio
GIMME GIMME GIMME THE HONKY TONK BLUES: On The Forecheck
The ol’ home and home. This used to be a staple of the NHL schedule when you had to play everyone in your division 12 times or whatever it was back in the day. They were usually on Saturday and Sunday nights, and the Sunday nights at the Old Stadium against either the North Stars or Leafs generally became something our Lord Jim Ross would describe as “Looks like a Saturday night on a payday weekend in Muskogee!” Why yes, I do have a requirement of how many times I use that phrase per season. And yes, I did go the long way round to get to it today. And I don’t care!
One or two more and this could a habit! Anyway, sorry for the delayed wrap. A flat tire cost me the urge to do it last night. I need that Bond auto-inflate tire from Tomorrow Never Dies. Or all of them. All those cars probably had that feature. Anyway…
The Hawks once again got a win with their do-it-all second line merely adding an empty-netter, though they were the best on line on the ice for either team most of the night. Unlike Sunday’s win though, this one is thoroughly pinned on Corey Crawford, who might have had his best game of the year. And not only that, he made it look easy at times. Without him, this probably looks a lot different.
The Hawks got goals from other lines as well, if you can believe that, to keep the spiraling Preds… well, in a spiral. Downwards. Though it is possible to spiral upwards. But we rarely use that term for that motion. Whatever. Let’s get to it:
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Game Time: 7:30PM Central
TV/Radio: CSN, WGN-AM720
Still Waiting For ALL THE FACTS on Mike Ribeiro: On The Forecheck
In between games with the Jets bookending this week, the Hawks get a home-and-home with the typically competent Predators, starting tonight on United Center ice.
