Chicago Blackhawks vs Carolina Hurricanes Recap

  

Following a “feel good” win two nights previous, the Blackhawks faced off against the Carolina Hurricanes, on Wednesday. The Hurricanes came in with a nice point total of 69. With former Blackhawks players, Teuvo Teravainen, Scott Darling, Joakim Nordstrom, Trevor van Riemsdyk, and Klas Dahlbeck playing, the Blackhawks were very familiar with this squad. Another former Blackhawk, Marcus Kruger, would have made it a grand reunion, but he was waved and reassigned to the Canes AHL team a month earlier.

Newly re-signed Jan Rutta was back in the lineup, taking Carl Dahlstrom‘s spot. Jean-Francois Berube made his second start in a row, after a very solid effort against the Avalanche, in Tuesday’s overtime win.

These were the Blackhawks starting lines:
Brandon SaadJonathan ToewsPatrick Kane
Alex DeBrincatNick SchmaltzVinnie Hinostroza
Tomas JurcoArtem AnisimovAnthony Duclair
Patrick SharpDavid KampfMatthew Highmore

Duncan KeithConnor Murphy
Erik GustafssonBrent Seabrook
Jan Rutta – Jordan Oesterle

The Hurricanes controlled a majority of the play during the first six minutes of the game, but it was the Blackhawks who struck first, thanks to an egregious turnover by the former Blackhawks backup goaltender.

Darling played the puck from behind his own net, up the boards, right to his former teammate Brent Seabrook, who was waiting along the boards at the Canes blue line. Seabrook took a long shot, with traffic passing through the slot in front of Darling. Tomas Jurco got a piece of the long shot about two thirds of the way to the net and redirected it past the Carolina netminder for his third goal in six games.

Carolina was able to tie the game a few minutes later, in oddly similar fashion. Jaccob Slavin took a long shot from the Blackhawks blue line with traffic in front of Berube. The puck, which was originally going to go wide of the net, was redirected by an errant Blackhawks stick and ended up in the back of the Hawks net. Not much the Blackhawks goaltender could do about that.

Even though the Blackhawks only had half a dozen shots on net at the time, they took a 2-1 lead with five minutes left in the opening period. Anthony Duclair and David Kampf peppered Darling with a couple of shots, in tight, to his left. The Lemont native was not able to control the rebound, and it squirted out to Patrick Sharp across the crease. Sharp was able to poke the puck under a Canes defenseman and into the net.

This was how the first period ended, with the Hurricanes holding a narrow 11-9 shot advantage. Both goalies had tense moments in their own end during the first period, and it could have easily been a five goal period the way the puck was bouncing.

Just a minute into the second period the Hurricanes tied the game up, following a brutal defensive lapse, and the Blackhawks never again led in the game.

During the tail end of a carryover power play from late in the first period, the duo of Duncan Keith and Connor Murphy completely lost track of Jason Williams leaving the penalty box. When the penalty expired Williams was parked, all alone, at the Blackhawks blue line

Elias Lindholm located and hit Williams with a pass, which sent him in on a break-a-way. Once he was in all alone on the Blackhawks goalie, Williams picked Berube apart.

Of course, the broadcasting team tried to pin the blame on Berube for not alerting his defensemen by banging his stick on the ice, but failed to mention that the entire Blackhawks bench were less than 15 feet from both defenders and easily had the opportunity to remind them. Blame the guy 150 feet away though. No respect, I tell you.

Chicago Blackhawks vs Carolina Hurricanes Recap
The Blackhawks were out shot once again, this time 17-5, in the middle period which was obviously not a recipe for long-term success.

As they opened the third period, the Blackhawks defense handed the puck over repeatedly and forced their goaltender to bail them out more than a couple of times. Four minutes into the third period, the Hurricanes finally took advantage during a Blackhawks penalty, and former Blackhawks Teuvo Teravainen led the play which resulted in the goal.

As the QB of the power play unit, Teravainen found an open lane and flipped a shot toward the Blackhawks net. Sensational Hurricanes breakout sophomore Sebastian Aho tracked the shot and redirected it, mid-air, past JF Berube. The air was completely sucked out of the United Center, and the Blackhawks never recovered.

That was basically all the Blackhawks had in them. They were out shot 40-24 in total, and showed little fight as the Hawks once again ended a game with a dull whimper.

Pluses

  • Jean-Francois Berube had another great game and got little help. Two great games in a row might have given him the edge over Anton Forsberg for the remainder of the season. It certainly has for the immediate future.

Minuses

  • The Blackhawks had a chance to tie the game on the powerplay in the third period and they could barely muster a single shot on net. This sounds like a broken record, but the Hurricanes were 1/2 on the power play, and the Hawks were 0-2. That is your game, folks.
  • Jan Rutta, along with most of the Blackhawks defense, looked extremely rusty. If I had a nickel for every time Pat Foley had to say, “…turned it over” I would be a millionaire.
  • Clearly getting out shot 40-24 is a problems but, HEY, lets bring the entire defensive corp back next season (making more money) and expect Corey Crawford to bail them out and ignore the problem.

 

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Center Ice Forums Chicago Blackhawks vs Carolina Hurricanes Recap

Viewing 18 posts - 1 through 18 (of 18 total)
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  • #5960
    Jeff Osborn
    Keymaster

    Following a “feel good” win two nights previous, the Blackhawks faced off against the Carolina Hurricanes, on Wednesday. The Hurricanes came in with a
    [To continue reading full article, click here: Chicago Blackhawks vs Carolina Hurricanes Recap]

    #5961
    Alan Parsons
    Participant

    the whole effort was crap.  schmaltz was excellent though.  he made some outstanding defensive plays.  i read somewhere that he is like 3rd in the NHL in takeaways.  that bodes well for the future if the guy can learn how to win faceoffs.

    #5962
    6628
    Participant

    Schmaltz was leading the league in take-aways about a week ago. He has the reach to be good at the wrap around, needs to work on that as the puck seems to slip off his stick. No question he needs to get stronger, but also no question he has made overall progress.

    #5965
    Chico Maki
    Participant

    He needs to spend the summer in the gym. He’s built like a 12 year old boy.

    I swear to Jod I don’t know what this team is doing.

    They give up 40+ shots a night, many of those A+ chances and this GM signs the same Dmen–with raises!

    It’s not all the Dmen’s fault….the wings don’t come back to help, and there’s way too many turnovers and sh*tty passes, but how is this group gonna be better next year?

    Stan’s counting on Crawford to be the savior?

     

    #5966
    hawkeytalk
    Participant

    The whole effort was indeed crap. I got to watch in person and they just looked sluggish and disinterested. They’ll turn the jets on here and there to create a couple of good chances throughout the game, but most of the time it looks like everyone is giving about 80% in both speed and effort.

    Toews’ effort was so poor last night it was noticeable. At one point he was in on the forecheck, didn’t move his feet and 2 Canes skated right past him out of the zone unmolested. Toews then half-heartedly chased down one of them as the guy was going to the bench and gave him a dumb ass, uninterested slap with his stick. If that kind of play and effort is what these young guys are using as their model of consistency, then Toews was not helping this team last night – I expect more from him.

    Where the hell is the urgency? I understand it’s the last leg of a shitty season, but at this point the effort and resiliency of this team is utterly pathetic.

    #5967
    hawkeytalk
    Participant

    I hear you, Chico I have no idea what is going on with this organization. No matter where one’s opinion falls on what exactly is hurting this team most, everyone would agree that the defense is extremely lacking and the current team cap structure is a product of the long term/big money/no movement contracts Bowman has handed out over the year. His solution? Take 2 of your older fringe D men and give them new, multi million dollar contracts… It is asinine unless those signings are part of something bigger, which I’m willing to wait and see about. If this is the D core going into next year again, forget about it.

    #5968
    hawkeytalk
    Participant

    But all this said, Seabs was noticeable last night. Blocking shots, shoving people around and out of the crease. And given how the rest of the team looked he actually had a spring in his step. He wasn’t vintage Seabrook obviously, but if he can at least maintain his level of play from last night for a while (1-2 years, fingers crossed…) there will be less bitching about that contract.

    I’m just tired of picking out 1 or 2 solid performances in a train wreck of a game as a team. Until the older guys push themselves to be better and hold people accountable, it’s going to continue to be ugly.

    #5969
    hawkeytalk
    Participant

    Also way too many blind passes and low percentage plays, especially trying to exit the zone – most of which lead to sloppy reception of those passes or just straight missing their teammates and turning the puck over. Unbelievably frustrating.

    #5970
    Tim M.
    Participant

    I am shocked at the doom and gloom comments. Did the U.S. give up when the Germans bombed Pearl Harbor? I don’t believe the team is as bad as they have been playing since the first few games of the year; nor do I think they are as good as those first few games. I do believe a coaching change is in order, if only for one reason. And that reason is the Coach’s inability to fix the power play. The power play has sucked for the last few years. In years past, the lack of a good power play was masked by the talent on the roster. Not this year. they need to convert the power play to win. How long do you have to wait to conclude this Coach is incapable of fixing the power play? And a new coach might do wonders. ARA PARSEGHIAN in his first year at Notre Dame took essentially the same team that finished 2-7 the year before to within four points of the National Title

    #5971
    hawkeytalk
    Participant

    @Tim M. – I’ve gone back and forth between doom and gloom and hope with this team. Last night was a microcosm of the year as a whole which is frustrating in its own right. But then you add on top of it that Bowman just doubled down with a relatively high price tag on 2 very average d men that have contributed to this poor defensive season, as well as the reality that those who have carried this team for years can’t do it anymore. And like you said, they have a coach that is unwilling to adjust (in more ways than just the PP). The silver linings are there in some areas with this team, but a lot of what is going on this season is being exacerbated by Bowman/Q the last couple of weeks.

    #5972
    Tim M.
    Participant

    I hear ya.  While watching a lot of the games this year, I was wondering if I was watching a rerun. They have some nice young talent up front, although they could use some bigger forwards. They also could some good defensive forwards to form a shutdown line, and take the pressure off Toews, etc. The Rutta signing I will admit is strange. Gustafsson is a little easier to justify-they just shove most of his salary in Rockford if he doesn’t work out. And  Gustafsson, I think, might actually be decent with a new coach. And, he’s got a set of wheels; the only set on their d right now. As for Q, when he got the ax in Colorado  the G.M. said that Q couldn’t merge his coaching philosophy with the players  he had. Maybe not having the endless bizzare changes in d pairings and  not sticking guys on their offside might work wonders.  And it seems that Q doesn’t like fast d-men; look what he did with Leddy and Daley. And fast d-men are the name of the game now. Q must race the d-men at the start of training camp. Other than Keith and Seabrook who are untouchable, the ones that beat Q get the doghouse treatment.

    #5974
    Falconero
    Participant

    Some good comments.  Especially Stan Bo’s  ridiculous signings of third tier D-men.

     

    BTW- Tim.M –  The German’s didn’t bomb Pearl Harbor.  The Japanese did.

    #5977
    Chico Maki
    Participant

    See “Animal House”.

    #5980
    Under Qs moustache
    Participant

    I don’t see a problem signing either dmen to contracts. both are cost controlled and about right for bottom 4 which both are. So what’s the big deal? What you saw last night was the best players(by salary) not being the best players on the ice. Scotch StanBo all you want, they all looked like world beaters a few years back, and any team would have paid the Hawks handsomely for 19,7,2,and 20. Did the game change that much where 19 looks more like a 3rd line center, or where 7 and 2 act like pylons with glass sticks? 88 continues to perform inspite of what management has done to kill his success.

    The kids we all wanted to see play are learning the league. The core is either mailing it in or now in the prime of their careers, have nothing left to give to the game. Truth is, the kids are not NHL talented enough to win it by themselves and may never. The core doesn’t have what ever it takes to win, except at the teller’s window. The talent pool in the minors are bit players on good teams and top 6 potentially now for the Hawks. That’s how much over paying has cost this team. Stan over paid for help at the TDL’s financing the future for rentals, and with contracts that look absurd for what we’re seeing on the ice.

    Quenville could be done with this team and a new voice, young and player friendly, is needed to restore a sense of confidence to the future players. He’ll find work asap, as he is what other teams(Winnipeg) need to get to the next level.

    Will the Hawks face this reality now or wait another year pushing the rebuild down the road hoping for a miracle that won’t happen?

    3 cups is all she wrote, watch the replays and enjoy what was. The Hawks will not come close to that level of success for some time.

    #5981
    Chico Maki
    Participant

    The problem I see with signing Gustafson and Rutta is–why now?  There’s no rush to sign these 2 guys who are fringe nhl players.

    #5983
    Tim M.
    Participant

     

     

    #5985
    Tim M.
    Participant

    [quote quote=5974]Some good comments. Especially Stan Bo’s ridiculous signings of third tier D-men. BTW- Tim.M – The German’s didn’t bomb Pearl Harbor. The Japanese did.

    [/quote]

    Not according to Bluto

    #5982
    Tim M.
    Participant

    [quote quote=5974]Some good comments. Especially Stan Bo’s ridiculous signings of third tier D-men. BTW- Tim.M – The German’s didn’t bomb Pearl Harbor. The Japanese did.

    [/quote]

    Not according to Bluto

    https://vignette.wikia.nocookie.net/p__/images/b/be/Animalhouse347.jpeg/revision/latest?cb=20140131172825&path-prefix=protagonist

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