Predictably is the operative word in that heading.

After having the misfortune of seeing in-person a good projection of the quality of hockey we as fans can count on in the upcoming season Tuesday night at the United Center, I can’t help but find myself up late wrestling with the possibility that there might be some sort of reason for the current mess the organization finds itself in.

All summer following a playoff-less season casual fans and experts alike agreed that the Hawks’ lineup as-is was simply not good enough to perform at a high level. Big moves involving some serious re-structurizing around the team’s previous winning model were anticipated. Huge names like Erik Karlsson, Max Pacioretty, and Matt Duchene were thrown around.

No players of note actually came.

Instead, a half-hearted acknowledgement that the Corey Crawford problem was as serious as many feared came in the form of Cam Ward. With him, came Brandon Manning (see last night’s effort), and a talented, but raw, long-term prospect in Adam Boqvist. You would have been hard pressed to find a hockey fan anywhere in the universe who would have told you that the Blackhawks did what was necessary this summer to get back to competitive, high-level hockey.

With that said, the next logical conclusion to draw has been that the Chicago Blackhawks will have yet another less than stellar run this year.  While we have not seen enough yet to definitively make that leap, it would be an even bigger leap to make any type of argument that involves the Blackhawks playing meaningful hockey deep into April this year. The fact is, most serious fans should be anticipating a long year; and for good reason.

Unfortunately, it feels like the effort Tuesday night is an embodiment of everything this team will be about in the upcoming season, and to tell you all anything different would be disingenuous.

See The-Rink’s Blackhawks/Wings recap from Ron Luce for more specifics on last night’s ugly finish.

First and foremost, Cam Ward, regardless of the (somewhat) revival year he is coming off, is not and will never be Corey Crawford.  This year, the Chicago Blackhawks are going to need Corey Crawford more than they ever have. Even less assuring is that, despite what the overly optimistic conventional minds will strut out on social media, Crawford is not anywhere close to game ready. In fact, I don’t imagine a scenario in which he is playing on a regular basis and at a level that even mimics that of which he was at this time a year ago until at least Christmas, which could be a generous estimation. This is the unfortunate reality surrounding the Crawford situation, regardless of whatever big brand Twitter personality threw on your timeline as they sipped their mocha frappe last week inside MB Ice Arena whilst watching Jimmy Waite fling ankle high muffins at Crawford for 25 minutes or so.

So, as more about Crawford’s somewhat controversial absence is brought into the light, and a better long-term outlook becomes visible, do Stan Bowman’s summer acquisitions (or lack thereof) begin to make more sense?

I can’t help but wonder as I become more and more certain the Blackhawks will have a less than stellar year, did Stan Bowman know his team would likely be without Corey Crawford for a sizable chunk of the upcoming season? Did that make this season futile from the start? Is he thinking even longer-term than we as fans may have realized? Nobody would have had a better, more accurate, honest assessment of Crawford’s condition than Stan Bowman all summer—and it would make sense for him to have hinged his willingness to really shake things up on whether or not Crawford would be ready to go this fall because, as we saw in the second half of last season, without their number one goalie this team is not playoff caliber.

I am beginning to think perhaps in our frustration we have underestimated Stan’s ability to read his own forecast. Could there be a more subtle reason that a recent “dynasty” of a team in a market that now demands success with urgency addressed almost none of its significant needs over the summer? Could Stan Bowman be purposely angling for a better draft pick? Is he, in a way,  “mailing it in” this season from the start?

This is a team with almost 7 million dollars in cap space to open a season. A team with realistically only 2 top-four defensemen, and only two dependable centermen. A team that seemingly “lost” every big sweepstakes this summer for free agents (or never even entered in he running). This is an unpopular proposal, and I am not certain this is the case.  I am simply stating that, at this point, this seems like the only explanation for the front office’s strange behavior during the summer, other than pure incompetence and laziness.

This theory would also mean that the Hawk GM is relatively positive that he will outlast Joel Quenneville once the heads begin to roll on another disappointing season.

What I am mildly suggesting is that Bowman has potentially known longer than anyone Crawford would not be ready to start this season (or maybe at all), and that such news produced a bit of apathy towards the impending season.  Perhaps there is a scenario where he allows this team to perform as well as it can with what it has for the first half of this tour before assessing whether it is worth investing that cap space into an immediate short-term solution at the deadline, or a long-term answer to some structural issues. Crawford’s health, once again, plays into that scenario.

Food for thought.

Then again, who knows?  The Blackhawks certainly looked capable of producing offense Tuesday night.  A halfway decent effort from Ward might have made for a good looking hockey team.  In which case, I’m jumping the gun. I suppose I will continue to helplessly hope that this is the case as we near the start of the season.

The post Chicago Blackhawks, That Feeling of Impending Doom appeared first on The Rink.

Doesn’t it just feel as though a cloud looms overhead? Have we as a fanbase been this uninvested in the beginning of a season in the last ten years?

“The Core“. It’s a term that’s been thrown around the Chicago hockeysphere for the better part of the last decade. Included within it have been arguably the same five or six names. Names that are widely considered essential to all three of the ‘Hawks’ championships since 2010, and names whose performance and maturation the organization depends heavily on. For the majority of the last decade, we as fans have enjoyed an unrivaled and steadily growing confidence in the core of this team’s ability to perform under pressure and go the extra mile to get the Blackhawks over the finish line. The core has been the most dependable group of professional athletes arguably in the world over the last decade.

Jonathan Toews, Patrick Kane, Duncan Keith, Brent Seabrook, Corey Crawford. Those five are with absolute certainty the remaining five of the core still present on this team. The players whose success the fate of the organization depends heavily on. Regardless of the supporting roles of upcoming players of the future, the Chicago Blackhawks have built their brand and success on the backs of the core; and until a complete blow-it-up Toronto-esque rebuild begins, the Blackhawks will continue to depend on them for any meaningful success. They have put their eggs in this core’s basket and in many ways it has paid off in sum. However, with the gradually degrading overall performances of the last two seasons, that aforementioned confidence in this core’s ability to dominate in the unrivaled way they once did is almost all but gone. Has the league and the game itself passed them by? Is this dynasty finished? It’s certainly hard to argue otherwise at this point.

Perhaps most disconcerting about this dilemma is the fact that, relatively speaking, the core of this team is far younger than many of us imagined they would be before they came to a screeching halt in productivity and dominance. Not one of them is over 35 years old. And by dilemma, I mean the fact that a team that went from an embarrassing first round sweep, to missing the playoffs altogether, to now yet another less than exciting start to the preseason (to be taken understandably with a grain of salt given the lineups). Still, there is something to be said about the cloud of doubt and lack of confidence surrounding this season. Almost all fans would agree they aren’t satisfied with the changes Stan Bowman made over the summer; and with an indefinite question mark surrounding the team’s star goaltender, it’s very difficult to feel optimistic.

At the same time, the core of the Chicago Blackhawks has a mix of experience and youth that has produced championships in places like Detroit, Pittsburgh and Boston. Sidney Crosby and Alex Ovechkin are both older than Jonathan Toews. The same Jonathan Toews that was once heralded as the best player in the world, over both of those superstars.

Patrick Kane continues to prove he may be the most versatile and dangerous winger in hockey, Duncan Keith remains more or less a model of consistency on the back-end as he fits into a more nuanced veteran role, and rumors of a rejuvenated, lighter, quicker Brent Seabrook have been circulating pretty rapidly throughout the Blackhawks blogosphere.

This season feels different because a majority of the evidence points to an indication that the hard miles of a decade of success and championships may have done irreversible damage to the core of this team. Damage that, if irreversible, marks the definitive end of an era. An end that would with blunt punctuality call for years of full rebuild and playoff-less hockey in Chicago. An end that came earlier than many would have guessed. All the same, we as a fanbase have largely surrendered to this unfortunate reality at this point; and unless the core of this team rallies and proves otherwise, this season could be the beginning of another dark period in Chicago hockey history.

The post It Just Feels Different With These Blackhawks appeared first on The Rink.

Did we see some shades of life in this game? The ‘Hawks effort Wednesday night at home as they hosted Erik Karlsson and the Sens eerily resembled professional hockey.

I felt like the Hawks were visibly battling their own deficiencies in this one, and searching for ways to hang on and get the job done at home despite them. It was a grittier effort, and one that, dare I say it, actually had a little heart to it. Patrick Kane played a little ticked off in this one, and his frustrations with himself, this team, and this season were visibly lifted for a moment when he was able to bury his own rebound after another great effort from Vinnie Hinostroza.

Artem Anisimov also tallied in this one amongst increasingly loud rumors that he may be on the move within the next few days.

Above all, Anton Forsberg stood on his head tonight. Forsberg stopped 32 of 34, bailing the Hawks out of a few meltdowns in overtime, and stood tall in the shootout when needed.

I thought Duncan Keith looked better in this game, too. He was winning those split-second battles in the corners and finding safe and efficient outlets.

Hard to get very analytical in a recap at this point without feeling like the violin crew hopelessly playing aboard a sinking Titanic.

That said, even in a gritty, solid effort the Blackhawks’ holes were ever visible. Their transition game continues to be a problem as they were caught sleeping on a few stretch passes, and their inability to capitalize on Grade-A opportunities is hard to watch. Furthermore, I have to say I think that clip of Erik Karlsson stopping Brandon Saad’s backhand as it literally partially crossed the goal line might be the microcosm of this entire season. The ‘Hawks, as bad as they’ve looked this season, have also had some horrible puck luck.

I suppose all we can do for now is sit and wait to see if one of these “blockbuster” rumors pans out, and hope for a miracle as the clock winds down on the 2017-18 Blackhawks.

The Blackhawks lines for this game were:
Brandon Saad – Jonathan Toews – Tommy Wingels
Tomas Jurco – Artem Anisimov – Patrick Kane
Alex DeBrincat – Nick Schmaltz – Anthony Ducliar
Vincent Hinostroza – David Kampf – Ryan Hartman

Duncan Keith – Jordan Oesterle
Connor Murphy – Brent Seabrook
Erik Gustafsson – Carl Dahlstrom

The post Recap: Blackhawks vs Senators 3-2 SO Win appeared first on The Rink.

These recaps are getting increasingly frustrating to write for us bloggers, and I think I speak for everyone when I say that the recurring issues on this team can only be covered so many ways. With that said, let’s break down some of the good and ugly from this one.

First and foremost, I thought Patrick Kane was visibly agitated in this one. Kind of a more hot-takeish point to raise, but I think it’s worth mentioning. He was seen on more than one occasion palms-up after some tough offside calls, and looked to me a little more vocal on the bench. I like this from Kaner, because frankly, he is the only player on that team who has the authority to get on his teammates and back it up with his performances on-ice.

I wonder then, if Ryan Hartman’s enthusiastic second period performance might’ve been jump started by a little more renewed sense of urgency on the bench. In the second he laid a great open-ice, clean hit on Jakob Silfverberg and was immediately jumped by a plethora of Ducks players. Hartman had the awareness to resist getting into a scrap with either of them, and drew the Hawks a power play (that should’ve been longer). The building felt refreshed when the camera panned to Hartman during a brief stoppage in play immediately after. It almost (almost) felt like a page may have been turned.

But it hadn’t.

The Hawks’ defensive play once again doomed them here. Some absolutely pathetic performances from Murphy, Seabrook, and even Keith to an extent were difficult to watch at times. Perhaps the most disheartening part of watching the Hawks drop another one last night was the fact that they were beaten by a play style they once dominated the league with. They were caught time and time again in sloppy transitions that led to breakaways or odd-man rushes. D-men were getting sucked into the play and simply don’t have the wheels to get back in time to prevent a scoring opportunity.

Duncan Keith finally scored. That’s all I’ll write on that. Aside from it he was sloppy in my opinion.

Anton Forsberg really wasn’t awful in this game. He bailed the Hawks out of a few of those breakaways and odd-man rushes. I thought he played well enough to win.

I’m going to emphasize one more time how ridiculously horrible of a professional hockey player Brent Seabrook has become. He is slow, lazy, and completely unaware of the players around him. Pucks are passed straight through him on a regular basis these days. It’s agonizing to watch.

Aside from that, I don’t know what else to analyze at this point. I’ll leave it to Jaeckel to inform you all that this season is a confirmed DOA.

The post Recap: Blackhawks vs Ducks 3-2 Loss appeared first on The Rink.

A gritty 2-1 Hawks victory Tuesday night in Nashville came complete with some depth scoring and phenomenal goaltending.

How about this Tomas Jurco / Vince Hinostroza / David Kampf line, though?

Vince Hinostroza was the Blackhawks’ offense in this game. He has an extra stride to his step going right now, and the puck is inevitably finding him. David Kampf’s awareness in both end zones was also noteworthy, as well. On the first goal of the night, Kampf picked up a lose puck and had the presence of mind to wire it high and hard over the shoulder of Predators goalie Juuse Saros.

About three minutes into the game, Hinostroza made a play in the neutral zone where he pulled the puck out of traffic, created space by going East-West, and walked the puck back to safety in his own zone.  This allowed the Hawks to regroup and produce a play that eventually led to Kampf’s goal. The Hawks have been lacking in this safe, sure-play department all year.

Duncan Keith looked himself again in this game, as he did in Detroit. He and Jordan Oesterle went D-to-D a few times in the first period without having to make painfully direct eye-contact—a sign that they are progressing chemistry-wise as a pairing. They were both +2 on the night.

The Hawks also showed a little fire and life in this divisional game, particularly when Tommy Wingels danced with Austin Watson for a bit following a late hit that Watson unleashed on and unsuspecting Ryan Hartman.

Otherwise, there is not a whole lot of meat to this game. The two defining stories were, without question, Anton Forsberg and Vince Hinostroza. Subtract an ill-advised turnover that ended up in his own net, and Forsberg pitched a perfect shutout. His rebound control was the best we have seen in recent memory, and he did a great job of staying square to the shooters. When Forsberg plays well, he has a way of making tough saves look routine purely on positioning. It is a similar style to Carey Price (no comparison there, relax).

Forsberg stopped 42 of 43 tonight which, unfortunately, means the Blackhawks were thoroughly out shot once again, 43-31. Faceoffs went the Preds’ way too, 33-25. This painfully common theme continues to solidify the theory that if the Chicago Blackhawks have even a glimmer of hope this year, it probably lies in a healthy Corey Crawford (is that a thing?).

The post Recap: Blackhawks at Predators 2-1 Win appeared first on The Rink.

Plenty of positives to take away in this one as it pertains to both collective and individual efforts, but a few are especially noteworthy. My first note is that Corey Crawford has become an absolute machine. Seriously, can you recall a time in recent memory when the Hawks had a more dependable goaltender? Excluding some untimely injury issues, Crow has really found himself between the pipes. He is always square to the puck, is spot-on as far as the ideal depth in his net, and has his rebound control looking the best it ever has. He is far and away the most valuable player on this team so far.

Nick Schmaltz gets some praise in this one as well. Throughout this winning streak the ‘Hawks have put together, I’ve noticed that they are doing a much better job using all 85 feet when passing East/West. Schmaltz had the vision and the awareness to blow the play wide open with a home-run pass to Kaner for the first goal, even my eyes were sucked into the corner when he fed that one all the way across.

The Hawks collectively as a team transitioned well in this one. When they were able to force turnovers they were quick to gain numbers on the counter-attack. They played a rush-oriented offense that is innately less predictable than the boring perimeter passing we were getting for a lot of November and earlier this month.

Next, how about Jordan Oesterle? He’s a +4 in 8 games played so far and looked super competent and poised with the puck tonight. He made a great play midway through the second when he was able to kick stick-to-puck on a keep in at the blue line all while setting himself up in the slot for a one-timer that caught the inside of the pipe. Aside from that, he had that heads-up 80 foot saucebomb to spring Kaner on a breakaway that led to the Hawks’ second goal. That one was reminiscent of 2010 Brent Seabrook.

Ryan Hartman looked strong as well. He’s at his best when he’s lowering a shoulder muscling his way towards the net. Beautiful finish on that goal.

Could all not be lost with this team? It’s hard to say at this point. It’s nice to see them making formal adjustments in practice that are translating into sharper play, but the jury is still out on whether or not they have the horses to make a deep run. One thing is for sure though, should they continue to play well, Stan Bowman will inevitably become yet again a buyer in a seller’s market come the deadline.

The post Recap: Every Night Should Be Duncan Keith Bobblehead Night appeared first on The Rink.

Unfortunately, aside from that fact, there isn’t much good news to be spread about the ‘Hawks’ performance tonight at home.

And while it is certainly beginning to feel a little futile to nitpick the issues with particular performances, I’ll do my best here to analyze what went wrong tonight.

To start, this power play is becoming unbearable. It’s almost as if they’ve got a playbook of about three or four set plays; and if none are viable options, they default to boring perimeter passing that is as predictable as anything I’ve seen at the NHL level. This of course is all contingent on their (in)ability to gain clean entry into the offensive zone. There is almost zero offensive spontaneity to the Blackhawks’ power play or in their offensive efforts simply in general these days. They are entirely deliberate and their statue-like movements prior to making passes absolutely broadcast what’s coming next from a mile away. It seems as though the days of the Chicago Blackhawks fooling the eyes of even us watching at home with unpredictable magic in the offensive zone may be over on all fronts.

Next, Richard Panik is going to get his own sub-paragraph because the man has become completely invisible. He has been a non-existent factor offensively nearly all season, and quite frankly he has been a microcosm everything I just described as negative about the Hawks’ offense. He’s painfully deliberate and robotic with the puck when he has it and I’m also beginning to take note of how often he sails his shots wide as well. Unacceptable.

The homecoming hero Patrick Sharp also gets his own rap sheet here. Sharpie is unpredictable with the puck in a very very bad way. Tonight his giveaway to Marian Gaborik actually made me cringe. It gave me eerie flashbacks of that 2011 Chris Campoli Game 7 overtime turnover that led to the infamous Alex Burrows clapper that ended the Hawks’ season. #10 is not in any way his former self.

Finally, I hate to come off as a complaining meatball with a hot take, but I really feel like we need to begin to emphasize the bigger picture stuff. It’s safe to say we have reached that point. Is it the end of an era? I can’t be sure. I certainly don’t like to think so, but this team is not getting any younger, and it’s beginning to look and feel like they simply lack the talent. It’s a new and different type of dilemma for this organization to deal with, and to be perfectly honest, I’m not at all sure what the best route to go is. How long-term should the Blackhawks begin to look as they come to the inevitable conclusion that a partial or full rebuild is becoming necessary? I can’t but help but feel that the Bowman-patented deadline tweaks are not going to be enough this year. I hope I’m wrong.

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DA BEARS.

DA BULLS.

DEBRINCAT.

Strange winter hats reminiscent of World War II Russian Snipers rained down onto the ice tonight as Alex DeBrincat potted the finishing touch on his first career hat trick. Also noteworthy was the fact that Patrick Sharp, despite his best efforts to make John Gibson (and all three goalposts) look like all stars, found the net himself—ending a long schnide.

I jokingly sent the-rink writers’ group a text halfway through the game that the recap was practically writing itself—and truthfully it did just about that.

Let’s break this down a little further.

The first note I have here is from the ‘Hawks’ first power play. I thought they managed the puck excellently. I actually took note of DeBrincat at this point in the game. He looked very comfortable on the left side along the half-wall. He seemed to be aware of his outlets and he was very deliberate in his finding them. I thought, strangely enough, Gus Forsling looked solid here too. He was able to drop at times below the hash-marks without leaving a giant vacuum at the point. The chemistry and subsequent on-ice communication on this team is improving. The Blackhawks didn’t play a whole lot in their own zone tonight, but when they did, I thought Richard Panik and Duncan Keith played textbook defense. Panik showed a willingness to step in front of shots without leaving himself in no-man’s land, and he was always giving himself space to be an ideal outlet pass.

Now I’m a bit biased, because he’s my favorite of all time, but Duncan Keith’s edge work in the corners behind Corey Crawford is second to none. Tonight he made space where there wasn’t any, all with his head up and finding the open man for a clean escape.

Finally, the Blackhawks looked at times tonight like they’ve had a massive revelation. Scoring in this league is not rocket science, it takes players who are willing to win battles in the tough areas of the ice, areas that aren’t fun to go to and where highlight reel plays aren’t necessarily made.

The Blackhawks on their first three goals set up plays from behind the goal line. Names like Schmaltz and Hartman utilized the Olcyzk patented “take a hit to make a play” mentality and it paid dividends.

This team showed improvement tonight. It was refreshing to see them spending extended periods of time in the offensive zone. It’s funny how names like Murphy, Forsling and company don’t come up as often in wins like this, because they aren’t forced to defend quite as much. Tonight was also Hockey Fights Cancer Night. I think this is worth mentioning. There was a pretty tear-jerking ceremony before the game that included Edzo, who we’re certainly all pulling for.

All for now, go check out the preview of tonight’s game in Nashville at Center Ice on the-rink. We’ll recap that game tomorrow.

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