For his Blackhawks career, Seabrook was a key member of the core that won three Stanley Cup championships. In the regular season, Seabrook was a warrior who appeared in 1,114 games and averaged 21:56 minutes of ice time per game. He appeared in all 82 games five times during his career and was a fixture on the Blackhawks’ blue line.

While a regular season warrior, he stepped up his game during the playoffs. Seabrook will go down in Blackhawks lore for his playoff heroics, highlighted by his game-winning goal against the Detroit Red Wings in Game 7 of the 2013 Western Conference Semifinals. While he did serve as an alternate captain, all members of the Blackhawks looked to Seabrook for his leadership. The moment where he calmed down Jonathan Toews in the Detroit series in 2013 stands out in terms of his leadership on the ice.

Brent Seabrook played 15 seasons for the Chicago Blackhawks before announcing the end of his playing career on Friday morning. (Photograph courtesy of the Chicago Blackhawks)

General Manager Stan Bowman said it best about the franchise icon in a statement on Friday.

“Without Brent Seabrook, the Chicago Blackhawks would not have three Stanley Cups. He concludes his career as not only one of the best defensemen in franchise history, but one the greatest Chicago Blackhawks of all time.”

Needless to say, despite his injury woes and large contract, the three-time Stanley Cup winner will be missed and should be remembered as the champion he is.

The post Brent Seabrook announces end of playing career appeared first on The Rink.

The-Rink.com co-hosts “Gatekeeper” and “JJ” call a last-minute audible with Steel feature writer Ray Napientek, following the big injury news of the holiday.

• Brand new review from Jackie Davis
• Brent Seabrook and Calvin de Haan are on LTIR and done for the season.
• What could this mean for Brent Seabrook’s career?
• Where to go now?
• It wouldn’t be a Rinkcast without some goalie talk.
• We wrap with a short Rinkrat PuckBag segment.

Please subscribe, rate this episode, and even write us a review. Reviews will be read on the air.

Also, please help spread the word to more #RinkRats and visit our sponsor www.PUCKHCKY.com. Use the discount code “THERINK” for 10% off all orders.

The Rinkcast is brought to you by the Overtime Podcast Network

The post Blackhawks Rinkcast – Season 3, Episode 8 – Seabrook eulogy appeared first on The Rink.

MEDICAL UPDATES:
• Saad (right ankle) out 3 weeks
• de Haan (right shoulder) & Seabrook (right shoulder) to both undergo surgery, miss remainder of 2019-20 season
• Seabrook also to undergo surgery on each hip in 2020
• de Haan, Seabrook placed on LTIR#Blackhawks

— Chicago Blackhawks (@NHLBlackhawks) December 26, 2019

First of all, the team announced that Brandon Saad would be out for three weeks with a right ankle injury, which is actually good news for Saad and the team based on what could have ended up being a much more severe injury.

Despite the good news for the forwards, the Blackhawks defense took a big hit as the team announced that Brent Seabrook and Calvin de Haan will both undergo right shoulder surgery tomorrow, December 27, 2019. Both players will miss the remainder of the 2019-20 season, and could potentially be out even longer. As a result, Seabrook and de Haan have both been place on long term injured reserve.

De Haan was acquired on June 24, 2019 with Aleksi Saarela, for the RFA rights to Anton Forsberg and Gustav Forsling. At the time of his injury he was one of the top defenders for the team. He is signed for two more years with an annual cap hit of $4.550 million.

Seabrook will also undergo surgery on both hips, one in January and the other in February, which could potentially combine with his shoulder issue to put an end to his Blackhawks career. His heavily debated contract has four years remaining at an annual cap hit of $6.875 million.

The Blackhawks will face the New York Islanders tomorrow night at the United Center and puck drop is scheduled for 7:35 pm.

Can exceed cap by 11.425M + $5.4M for Caggiula/Shaw while those two are out.

Since they’ll be over cap for year, any performance bonuses earned will carry over as cap hit for following year. With bonuses for Dach, Strome, DeBrincat likely, may not want to exceed cap & use LTIR

— PuckPedia (@PuckPedia) December 26, 2019

The post BREAKING: Blackhawks’ Seabrook and de Haan out for the season, Saad spared appeared first on The Rink.

The Blackhawks lines and pairings were as follows:

Brandon Saad — Jonathan Toews — Alexander Nylander

Alex DeBrincat — Dylan Strome — Patrick Kane

Kirby Dach — Andrew Shaw

Ryan Carpenter — David Kampf — Zack Smith

Duncan Keith — Calvin de Haan

Olli Maatta — Connor Murphy

Erik Gustafsson — Brent Seabrook

Slater Koekkoek

Prior to puck drop, former Chicago Blackhawks defenseman Brian Campbell took the ice for One More Shift. It was an awesome moment no one will ever forget.

What are the chances they're talking about 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘰𝘯𝘦 𝘨𝘰𝘢𝘭 from the 2010 Stanley Cup playoffs?#10neGoal #OneMoreShift pic.twitter.com/HGGC8tSe49

— Chicago Blackhawks (@NHLBlackhawks) November 22, 2019

First period

With only 11 forwards for the Blackhawks in this matchup, Patrick Kane took on the task of double-shifting on the third line. Slater Koekkoek and Erik Gustafsson seemed to be alternating shifts on the third pairing with Brent Seabrook.

The game was pretty much even for the Blackhawks and the Lightning in the first 20 minutes. Both teams stifled transition opportunities against each other and whenever one team managed to get some offensive zone time, they didn’t allow many chances. With around 9 minutes remaining in the first period, the Lightning had a couple of great scoring opportunities, but Corey Crawford stood tall and stopped them.

After Slater Koekkoek drew a cross-checking penalty on Alex Killorn, the Blackhawks new power play units got to work. The first unit of Erik Gustafsson, Jonathan Toews, Patrick Kane, Alex DeBrincat, and Andrew Shaw got a couple of good looks. Kirby Dach got his chance on the second unit, but the Blackhawks couldn’t convert on the man advantage.

Directly after the Lightning killed the penalty, Duncan Keith sat for interference on Brayden Point. While the kill looked good to start, Ryan Carpenter blocked Corey Crawford’s view of Mikhail Sergachev‘s point shot and it found its way into the net to give the Lightning the lead.

POWER PLAY GOAL!! @TBLightning's Mikhail Sergachev scores on a Power Play! #GoBolts

Don't miss any more of the action! Watch now on FOX Sports Sun or FOX Sports Go here: https://t.co/8RrQyQUIjk pic.twitter.com/FkmGBrL2mU

— Bally Sports Florida & Bally Sports Sun (@BallySportsFL) November 22, 2019

Within the last five minutes, the Blackhawks put the pressure on the Lightning and earned a power play opportunity with under 15 seconds left. After the first period, Tampa Bay held a 1-0 lead over Chicago and a 14-12 advantage in shots.

Second period

The trends from the first frame continued into the beginning of the second. When each team had the puck, they maintained pressure but couldn’t create prime scoring chances. That changed as the Lightning held onto the puck more as the period continued.

Everything seemed really boring this period, until the Blackhawks coughed up the puck with around five minutes left in the period. Chicago allowed a two-on-one but Crawford stymied Anthony Cirelli before the rebound hit the crossbar. That was the best chance for either team during the second period.

With four minutes remaining, Chicago circled the puck around Tampa Bay and Patrick Kane generated what was the Blackhawks’ best chance of the period. This all led to the Lightning taking their third penalty of the game with four minutes remaining. A good opportunity to tie the game for the Blackhawks was wasted, as they could not find shooting lanes for themselves. While the power play units sustained control in the offensive zone, the theme seemed to be a lack of shots with the advantage.

At the end of 40 minutes, the Lightning continued to lead the Blackhawks 1-0 and shots were 24-20 in favor of the visitors.

Third period

The Blackhawks didn’t get off the greatest start after the puck dropped for the third period. David Kampf was called for boarding around the three-minute mark and Zack Smith left the ice after taking a puck up high. So, Chicago was without one of their penalty-killing forwards, but they managed to kill the minor.

Then came the third-period push for the home team. Puck possession for the Blackhawks actually led to scoring chances when they were in the offensive zone. They circled the puck around the Lightning and it founds its way to Brent Seabrook. He went down low, almost below the goal line, and shot the puck off Curtis McElhinney‘s back to tie the game at one with just over ten minutes left in the third.

Seabrook threads the needle to tie it up pic.twitter.com/Ym9zt0cJJL

— Blackhawks Talk (@NBCSBlackhawks) November 22, 2019

What looked to be a momentum swing was quickly washed away when the Lightning were able to grab the puck again just over a minute later. Mathieu Joseph and Olli Maatta crashed together and the refs missed a blatant high-sticking call as Joseph got his stick up around Maatta’s face. That allowed the puck to slide past him to Alex Killorn, who found an open Victor Hedman at the point. His shot was tipped by Anthony Cirelli and the Lightning regained the lead.

Although the Blackhawks continued to pressure, the Lightning took advantage of their defensive breakdowns yet again. A puck battle in the neutral zone was lost by the Blackhawks and Ondrej Palat came up with the puck. Maatta, the only defenseman back, slid to his stomach for the stick check, but Palat went around his skates and slipped the puck to an uncovered Brayden Point. He gave Tampa Bay a 3-1 lead with 7:30 left in the game.

It looked as if things were over for the Blackhawks when Brandon Saad sat for hooking, but they pulled Corey Crawford early after the penalty kill pushed momentum their way. With just under three minutes left to play, Chicago won a faceoff with six attackers on the ice. Patrick Kane patiently waited until he found a shooting lane, and the puck found its way through multiple bodies in front. McElhinney stopped the original shot, but Dylan Strome corralled the puck and slipped it above the right shoulder of the Lightning goaltender to bring the Blackhawks within a goal.

The #Blackhawks won't go quiet into that good night!

Strome brings them within 1! pic.twitter.com/Jy7YSYOZMp

— Blackhawks Talk (@NBCSBlackhawks) November 22, 2019

But all hopes of tying the game were cut short when Anthony Cirelli single-handedly worked the puck out of his own zone and found Cedric Paquette, who buried the empty-net goal to seal the 4-2 win for the Tampa Bay Lightning.

Overall, the Lightning outshot the Blackhawks 35-34 in what turned out to be a close game.

Pluses

• Patrick Kane extended his point streak to 11 game with an assist on Dylan Strome’s goal. After a rough start to the season, he’s looking to be back to normal. He was an absolute beast in this game, double-shifting on the second and third lines and accumulating the most time on ice of any player on either team (27:52).
• After a rough game against the Hurricanes, the Blackhawks seemed to put together a better defensive effort this time out. They kept up with the Lightning in terms of shot attempts, scoring chances, and high-danger chances. If they can continue this pattern and score more at the same time, they just might win some of these close games.

Minuses

• I don’t know what Jeremy Colliton was thinking going with 11 forwards and seven defensemen tonight, and it’s clear by the post-game comments from Jonathan Toews the team didn’t get it either. I get that the team struggled against Carolina, but you won four in a row prior to that with the same lineup. Why would you switch something that was working all that time just because it fell short once? This tactic almost never works, and it was obvious the Blackhawks looked extremely disjointed throughout the majority of the game with a disjointed lineup.

The Blackhawks will head to Dallas to take on the red-hot Stars Saturday night at American Airlines Center. Puck drop is scheduled for 7 p.m. CST.

The post RECAP: Blackhawks drop second straight game, fall to Lightning 4-2 appeared first on The Rink.

Four or five years ago, tonight’s matchup between the Blackhawks and the Kings would have featured two dynastic NHL powerhouses at the top of their games. Tonight, it featured two sub-.500 teams struggling to score and establish any kind of consistency.

Prior to the game on the NBCSN warmup, Hawk color man Ed Olczyk pronounced that the Kings are “in a rebuild.” Well, perhaps the same should be said of the Blackhawks.

Robin Lehner, who has clearly been the better of the Hawks’ two goalies early this season, took the net for Chicago, facing Jack Campbell for the Kings.

Of note, veteran defenseman Brent Seabrook was a healthy scratch—something to watch as the season progresses.

The Hawks’ lines and pairings were:

Drake Caggiula — Jonathan Toews — Patrick Kane
Dominik Kubalik — David Kampf — Alexander Nylander
Brandon Saad — Kirby Dach — Andrew Shaw
Dylan Strome — Ryan Carpenter — Alex DeBrincat

Duncan Keith — Calvin de Haan
Olli Maatta — Dennis Gilbert
Slater Koekkoek — Erik Gustafsson

First period

If Chicago head coach Jeremy Colliton was trying to send a message to Alex DeBrincat and Dylan Strome by demoting them to the fourth line, it seems to have worked—Strome took a DeBrincat set-up off transition and buried it from the slot at just 2:33 into the contest, making the score 1–0 Chicago.

The Kings then took a minor penalty at 3:36, which Chicago failed to capitalize on.

Broken record time (and prepare for more of it): The Kings’ bigger forwards had a target on 18-year-old Kirby Dach’s back from the get-go. Overall, the early going featured a fair amount of banging, with Drake Caggiula and (go figure) Andrew Shaw running around quite a bit for the Hawks.

Calvin de Haan took an unintentional delay of game at 10:56, giving the Kings their first power play of the night. After extended LA offensive zone pressure, Lehner made back-to-back strong saves at 11:43. But, King left wing Ilya Kovalchuk evened it up with a tripping penalty 195 feet from his own net at 12:14, which eventually turned into a brief Blackhawk man advantage that was then killed off by LA.

The Hawks mounted another flurry late in the period led by Jonathan Toews and Brandon Saad, but the period ended with the Hawks up by one. Shots were 12–11 Chicago.

Second period

The Hawks struck early again, with David Kampf corralling a pass from a falling Alex Nylander and putting it past Campbell at 2:26 for a 2–0 Chicago lead.

Shaw took a holding the stick minor at 5:24, putting LA on the man advantage, which the Hawks killed with Lehner strong on a few late King chances.

Nylander and Dominik Kubalik had a nice two-on-one opportunity at 9:46 that Nylander could not squeak through Campbell’s pads.

There was a bit of controversy when Saad was caught in the face by the follow-through of an LA player’s stick after taking a shot. Saad fell to the ice, but play continued until the refs blew it dow with the Hawks offside at 15:19. The Hawks cashed in just seconds later when DeBrincat picked up a puck behind the LA net and fed Strome again in the slot, which Strome held on to long enough to draw Campbell down then converted up high at 15:55, extending Chicago’s lead to 3–0.

Strome and DeBrincat clicked yet again at 19:52, this time with Strome feeding DeBrincat out front to make it 4–0 Hawks, which was how the period would end. The Kings outshot Chicago 12–8 in the frame.

Third period

Strome almost made it three goals for the night at 2:35 when he got in behind the King defense. But Campbell was up to the challenge to deny the hat-trick bid.

The Kings finally solved Lehner at 3:35 on a Sean Walker blast from the right circle to cut the score to 4–1.

Toews took a hooking minor at 12:18 which the Hawks effectively killed. DeBrincat and Strome again almost converted a two-on-one at 16:00, but to no avail. But, at 17:43, Drake “Caligula” Caggiula finally broke the Cat-Strome spell and tipped a puck home, making it 5–1 Chicago, which would prove to be the final score.

The good

The Strome, Ryan Carpenter, DeBrincat line. Crazy good. Three goals, seven points. Lehner was also very strong (38 saves, .974 save percentage). Nylander made plays all over the ice.

The bad

Hard to find on a night like this against a really bad Kings team. So, yeah, the Kings. Well, the Hawks were yet again outshot, 39–26.

The ugly

The guys in black, again.

All we have on this one. Comment below.

The post RECAP: Blackhawks down Kings 5–1 appeared first on The Rink.

6:00 p.m. CDT
United Center
TV/Radio: NBCSN/WGN

Projected starting goaltenders

Chicago — Robin Lehner (1–1–2, .922 save percentage, 2.44 goals-against average)
LA Kings — Jack Campbell (2–2–0, .897 save percentage, 2.76 goals-against average)

Team statistics

Power play
Chicago (10.3%, 26th)
LA Kings (9.5%, 28th)

Penalty kill
Chicago (70.4%, 28th)
LA Kings (72.5%, 25th)

Shots for/against
Chicago
32.2, 12th
32.2, 10th
LA Kings
37.1, first
28.5, second

Shooting percentage
Chicago (6.9%, 30th)
LA Kings (7.35%, 28th)

Face-off percentage
Chicago (49.9%, 18th)
LA Kings (51.4%, eighth)

Average height and weight
Chicago — 6-foot-1, 196 pounds
Los Angeles — 6-foot-1, 203 pounds

Projected lines and pairings

Chicago Blackhawks

Alex DeBrincat — Jonathan Toews — Patrick Kane
Dominik Kubalik — David Kampf — Alexander Nylander
Brandon Saad — Kirby Dach — Andrew Shaw
Dylan Strome — Ryan Carpenter — Drake Caggiula

Duncan Keith — Calvin de Haan
Olli Maatta — Dennis Gilbert
Slater Koekkoek — Erik Gustafsson

Los Angeles Kings

Alex Iafallo – Anze Kopitar – Dustin Brown
Jeff Carter – Blake Lizotte – Tyler Toffoli
Ilya Kovalchuk – Adrian Kempe – Trevor Lewis
Kyle Clifford – Michael Amadio – Austin Wagner

Ben Hutton – Drew Doughty
Alec Martinez – Sean Walker
Kurtis MacDermid – Matt Roy

Analysis

After laying a big fat goose-egg in Carolina, yesterday, the Blackhawks lick their wounds and try to get themselves a win against the equally struggling LA Kings for the Hockey Fights Cancer event, tonight at the United Center. Head coach Jeremy Colliton shook up the lines against the Hurricanes but it did little good. As a result, fans will immediately notice that assistant captain Brent Seabook is a healthy scratch for the contest. The active franchise leader in games played (1091) has only been a healthy scratch only one other time in his Blackhawks career.

The last time Brent Seabrook was a healthy scratch, I was 27 years and 364 days old. He also has yet to reply to my ‘How are you doing?’ text, which he CLEARLY read as this picture shows.#Blackhawks #NHL https://t.co/zJaFXCHlGW

— Mario Tirabassi (@Mario_Tirabassi) October 27, 2019

Additionally, winger Drake Caggiula will draw back into the lineup after sitting in Carolina in favor of veteran Zack Smith. With $10.125 million of players sitting in the press box, the Blackhawks are running out of time to get this year’s ball rolling. While their goals against are in the top third of the NHL, they are dead last in goals for. Part of this is bad puck-luck but a portion of this can be attributed to their anemic power play, which is a dreadful 10.3% (3-for-29).

Birthday boy Brandon Saad has been one of the best overall players for the Blackhawks this season and looks to have a big night to celebrate the big two-seven.

The Kings are coming off a terrible 5–1 loss to the one team in the central division that might be worse than the Blackhawks, the Minnesota Wild.  Minnesota was only 3–7–0 coming into last night’s game, yet the Kings came in and gave up four unanswered goals to lose despite leading in shots on goal and dominating the faceoff circle.

This matchup defies logic. The Kings are first overall in shots-on-net per game and second overall in fewest shots given up per game, yet they are only 4–7–0 on the season. Special teams will be an interesting part of tonight’s game, as both teams show up in the bottom third of the league on both the power play and penalty kill.

Both goalies, Robin Lehner and Jack Campbell, have played better than their “starting” counterparts in the opportunities given. Lehner boasts a 92.2 save percentage, while Campbell has a below league average 89.7 save percentage but has a respectable goals-against average of only 2.77.

Individually, Kings’ center Anze Kopitar needs just one point for 900 in his career and wing Ilya Kovalchuk is just one game behind Pavel Bure for fourth overall in games played by a Russian born player.

Will this game be a battle of attrition with both teams struggling to score or a wild west type shootout where 10-plus goals are put up on the board?

Comment below in our live game thread tonight!

And, be sure to look for the internet’s most robust recap of the game by John Jaeckel right here on The-Rink.com.

Additional special game notes:
The Chicago Blackhawks and the Chicago Blackhawks Foundation are hosting “Hockey Fights Cancer” night this evening. During warmups, players will wear newly-designed “Hockey Fights Cancer” jerseys, which will each be autographed and auctioned off online to benefit various local cancer-related organizations through the Chicago Blackhawks Foundation. Coaches and broadcasters will wear purple ties, which will also be included in the auction accompanied by an autographed photo.

The auction will begin on Sunday, Oct. 27 and run through Monday, Nov. 4 at noon. Interested fans can visit Blackhawks.com/HockeyFightsCancer for more information. Through the team’s partnership with Make-A-Wish Illinois and Bear Necessities, five local children battling cancer will accompany the Blackhawks starting lineup on the blue line for the National Anthem

Additionally, Benoit Savard, a 12-year-old from Lévis, Québec, who is battling Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia, will perform the ceremonial puck drop prior to the game as part of his Children’s Wish Foundation of Canada experience.

The post Preview/Game thread Chicago Blackhawks vs. Los Angeles Kings appeared first on The Rink.

The only major change to the line combinations was the insertion of Slater Koekkoek for Connor Murphy on defense. 

DeBrincat — Toews — Caggiula

Shaw — Strome — Kane

Saad — Kampf — Kubalik

Smith — Carpenter — Nylander

Keith — de Haan

Maatta — Seabrook

Koekkoek — Gustafsson

Lehner

First period

The first period started off pretty well for the home team. The Blackhawks were flying around early, and two excellent scoring chances for Dominik Kubalik and Andrew Shaw came via cross-ice passes from Brandon Saad and Jonathan Toews. 

Just over six minutes into the period, it appeared the Flyers took the early lead after an excellent tip from Kevin Hayes, who beat Robin Lehner five hole. However, excellent eyes from the Chicago video coaches spotted Hayes offsides before the puck entered the zone. After official review, the goal was deemed no good and the score remained deadlocked at 0–0.

Unfortunately not long after the no goal, the Blackhawks were caught in a bad situation after a pinch by Duncan Keith. The puck was poked ahead by Travis Konecny and created a two-on-one. The play could have easily been a free breakaway for the two Flyers’ forwards if not for Calvin de Haan’s hustle. Once de Haan committed to Konecny, Konecny found Oskar Lindblom wide open and he put the puck top shelf to give the Flyers the 1–0 lead.

Top cheese and no review necessary. #PHIvsCHI | #FlyOrDie pic.twitter.com/DFcGTdO0fK

— Philadelphia Flyers (@NHLFlyers) October 25, 2019

Late in the period, the Toews line had arguably the best passing sequence this team has had all season, but unfortunately an Alex DeBrincat one-timer from the slot was denied by Brian Elliott. 

The Blackhawks entered the first intermission down 1–0 to the Flyers despite outshooting the Flyers 7–5 in the opening frame.

Second period

The beginning of the middle frame did not start well for the Blackhawks. Not even a minute in, Travis Sanhiem setup Claude Giroux in front of Lehner and the elite goal scorer quickly put the Flyers up 2–0 early on a redirect.

G breaks through. #PHIvsCHI | #FlyOrDie pic.twitter.com/IO1aJhk7i5

— Philadelphia Flyers (@NHLFlyers) October 25, 2019

The best chance for the Blackhawks in the early portion of the period was generated by the Kampf line, which has undoubtedly been the best line of the season. Kubalik charged up the ice and found Saad crashing the net. Unfortunately, Saad’s shot went wide and the opportunity was wasted. 

The Blackhawks’ power play was certainly still a huge problem during the second period. The Blackhawks could not get anything going with the man advantage, allowing the Flyers to hang on to their two-goal lead.

Chicago entered the second intermission only registering one shot on net the entire period. The Blackhawks offense reverted to their ways the fans witnessed in the first few games this season. The Flyers completely dominated the period and left the Blackhawks in a bad spot entering the third period.

Third period

The third period began surprisingly well for the Blackhawks. The team had tons of momentum coming out of the intermission and finally found a sense of urgency. That exact energy led to the Blackhawks being rewarded.

Just a minute into the period, Andrew Shaw was on the left wing and received the puck after Kirby Dach won a board battle at center ice. Shaw found an open Saad at the blue line for an excellent opportunity. Saad was in all alone against Elliott and, with a nifty backhand-forehand move, Saad found the back of the net to cut the Flyers’ lead in half at 2–1.

Kneel before Saad! @NHLBlackhawks are on the board! #AuthenticFan pic.twitter.com/TxEKDT8fvd

— Blackhawks Talk (@NBCSBlackhawks) October 25, 2019

However, the Flyers responded. Four minutes later, Hayes found himself on a breakaway after beating Brent Seabrook up ice. Hayes buried the puck behind Lehner and once again gave the Flyers a two-goal lead at 3–1. The play was a tough break for the Blackhawks as they looked to regain momentum.

RARE TONIGHT: A Philly goal that *wasn’t* overturned. #PHIvsCHI | #FlyOrDie pic.twitter.com/4Vaau0cYIk

— Philadelphia Flyers (@NHLFlyers) October 25, 2019

Two minutes later, it appeared that Joel Farabee registered the first goal of his young career. However, the Blackhawks challenged again. For the second time in this game, Hayes was offside on a potential goal for the Flyers. The lead remained at two for the visitors.

The Blackhawks finally found some momentum and were controlling play for most of the period. However, with just over three minutes remaining, Erik Gustafsson turned the puck over in the defensive zone and it ended up on the stick of James Van Riemsdyk. Van Riemsdyk found himself on a breakaway and completely fooled Lehner with a nifty move to give the Flyers the 4–1 lead late in the third.

He’s back. #PHIvsCHI | #FlyOrDie pic.twitter.com/ioYJRQQEEt

— Philadelphia Flyers (@NHLFlyers) October 25, 2019

The Blackhawks were unable to generate anything else the remainder of the period, and ultimately fell to the Flyers by a 4–1 final. 

Quick hits

• Where is the energy? The Blackhawks simply did not show up in the first two periods. They look lazy, tired and pathetic. Eight shots on goal through two periods is not a recipe for winning hockey games in the NHL. They finally showed up in the third period, but it was too late.
• Saadfather: Brandon Saad continues to look like one of the best players night in and night out. He is playing with that same energy and relentlessness that made a deadly force before being traded to Columbus. Now in his third season since returning from Columbus, he is finally starting to look like his old self. He could be on pace for a career year if his play remains at this level. It also does not hurt that the only goal of the night came via Saad and it was a beauty.
• Missing the Murph: It is interesting to say, but the Blackhawks miss Connor Murphy on the back end. John Dietz tweeted the Blackhawks’ goals against average with and without Murphy. It is 4.4 to 2.2, respectively. That is a big difference and it especially helps that he and Duncan Keith had become a formidable top pair. Now, the depth is not as strong with Calvin de Haan playing on the top pairing.

The Blackhawks will fly to Raleigh, North Carolina, to face the Carolina Hurricanes on Saturday. The game will be the first of back-to-back games for the Blackhawks. Puck drop is scheduled for 12 p.m. CDT.

The post RECAP: Blackhawks refuse to show up, lose to Flyers 4–1 appeared first on The Rink.

The-Rink.com co-hosts “Gatekeeper” and “JJ” step back into the dusty Rink podcast studio to discuss the prospect camp and the Blackhawks fan convention with staff writers Mario Tirabassi and Aaron Goldschmidt.

• Blackhawks traded Artem Anisimov to Ottawa for Zack Smith
• Thoughts on Development camp
• Fan convention came and went.
• Chris Kunitz retires and joins the Blackhawks player development staff
• New jersey leak?
• Ian Mitchell corner, Brent Seabrook’s trial, Gus’s garage, Sekac street.
• We are only scratching the surface.  Many good things and guests to come!!!!
• We wrap with The-Rink #RinkratPuckBag segment.

Please subscribe, rate this episode, and even write us a review. Reviews will be read on the air.

Also, Please help spread the word to more #RinkRats and visit our sponsor www.PUCKHCKY.com. Use the discount code “THERINK” for 10% off all orders.

The Rinkcast is brought to you by the Overtime Podcast Network

The post Blackhawks Rinkcast – Episode 56 – Gus bus to Camp Colliton appeared first on The Rink.

6:30pm CST
Little Caesars Arena
TV/Radio: NBCSN/WGN

PROJECTED STARTERS

Chicago – Cam Ward (13–9–4, SV%: .895, GAA: 3.69)
Detroit – Jimmy Howard (17–16–5, SV%: .913, GAA: 2.80)

TEAM STATISTICS

Power Play
Chicago (21.9%, 10th)
Detroit (16.1%, 25th)

Penalty Kill
Chicago (73.4%, 31st)
Detroit (77.7%, 25th)

Shorts for/against
Chicago (31.9, 15th; 35.4, 30th)
Detroit (29.8, 25th; 32.8, 24th)

Shooting %
Chicago (10.4%, 9th)
Detroit (9.3%, 19th)

Faceoff %
Chicago (49.8%, T17th)
Detroit (51.1%, 9th)

Avg. height/weight
Chicago 6’1”, 195lbs
Detroit 6’2” 201lbs

PROJECTED LINES/PAIRINGS

Chicago Blackhawks

Drake Caggiula–Jonathan Toews–Patrick Kane

Alex DeBrincat–Dylan Strome–Dominik Kahun

Brandon Saad–Artem Anisimov–Dylan Sikura

Chris Kunitz–Marcus Kruger–Brendan Perlini

Duncan Keith–Erik Gustafsson

Carl Dahlstrom–Connor Murphy

Slater Koekkoek–Gustav Forsling

Detroit Red Wings

Tyler Bertuzzi–Dylan Larkin–Anthony Mantha

Thomas Vanek–Frans Nielsen–Darren Helm

Christoffer Ehn–Luke Glendening–Andreas Athanasiou

Justin Abdelkader–Jacob de la Rose–Michael Rasmussen

Niklas Kronwall–Mike Green

Dan Dekeyser–Nick Jensen

Trevor Daley–Filip Hronek

Analysis

After a wild shootout win over the Ottawa Senators on Monday night at the United Center, the Blackhawks travel to Detroit to take on the Red Wings for the second and final time this season. Sadly, the rivalry has lost its luster since the Red Wings moved to the Eastern Conference, but Wednesday’s game has a lot of meaning for the Blackhawks as they push for a playoff spot.

The Blackhawks sit one point out of a playoff spot. A large part of that spot in the standings has to once again be credited to the excellent play of Patrick Kane. His now 18-game point streak and 17-game assist streak continue to roll on as the season closes in on the playoffs. Other notable performances come from Dylan Strome and Alex DeBrincat as both players are among the top point getters (along with Kane) in the month of February.

The Red Wings see the Blackhawks for the second time in ten days since their 5-2 loss at the United Center on February 10th. Since then, the Red Wings are 2-1-1 beating quality opponent Nashville and not so quality opponent Ottawa (beating both teams by a score of 3-2). Back to back losses to Philadelphia over the weekend bring the Red Wings into Wednesday night’s matchup looking to get back in the win column.

The last time the Red Wings and Blackhawks played, Dylan Larkin and Gustav Nyquist (who we noted in our preview as players to watch), both had a major impact on that game. The game was much closer late than the 5-2 score suggested to the box score scanner. Another notable player the Blackhawks need to watch is Andreas Athanasiou. “AA” has the speed to break the game open and get behind the Blackhawks defense, especially with the chance that Brent Seabrook once again misses the game due to injury.

Comment below in our live game thread tonight!

And look for the internet’s most robust recap of the game tomorrow morning on the-rink.com.

The post Preview/Game Thread: Blackhawks at Red Wings appeared first on The Rink.

7:30pm CST
United Center
TV/Radio: WGN

PROJECTED STARTERS

Chicago – Cam Ward (11–8–4, SV%: .895, GAA: 3.67)
New Jersey – Cory Schneider (0–6–2, SV%: .868, GAA: 4.12)

TEAM STATISTICS

Power Play
Chicago (21.1%, 12th)
New Jersey (18.8%, 17th)

Penalty Kill
Chicago (73.5%, 31st)
New Jersey (84.0%, 4th)

Shorts for/against
Chicago (31.4, 19th; 35.3, 30th)
New Jersey (31.4, 20th; 31.5, 19th)

Shooting %
Chicago (10.3%, 10th)
New Jersey (9.2%, 19th)

Faceoff %
Chicago (49.6%, 17th)
New Jersey (48.5%, 25th)

Avg. height/weight
Chicago 6’1”, 195lbs
New Jersey 6’1” 195lbs

PROJECTED LINES/PAIRINGS

Chicago Blackhawks

Drake Caggiula–Jonathan Toews–Patrick Kane

Alex DeBrincat–Dylan Strome–Dominik Kahun

Brandon Saad–Marcus Kruger–Dylan Sikura

Chris Kunitz–Artem Anisimov–John Hayden

Duncan Keith–Brent Seabrook

Carl Dahlstrom–Connor Murphy

Gustav Forsling–Erik Gustafsson

New Jersey Devils

Joey Anderson–Nico Hischier–Jesper Bratt

Marcus Johansson–Travis Zajac–Kyle Palmieri

Kenny Agostino–Pavel Zacha–Nick Lappin

Brett Seney–Kevin Rooney–Kurtis Gabriel

Andy Greene–Damon Severson

Will Butcher–Ben Lovejoy

Mirco Mueller–Eric Gryba

Analysis

After seven wins, the Blackhawks win-streak was snapped in Boston on Tuesday night. The Blackhawks welcome the lowly Devils to the United Center on Thursday night for a Valentine’s Day showdown.

Chris Kunitz will likely take Brendan Perlini’s place in the lineup, as tonight’s game will mark the 1,000th of Kunitz’s career. The Blackhawks have had the ability to host two of these ceremonies in the last calendar year, as both Brent Seabrook and Duncan Keith reached their 1,000th games with the team.

The Blackhawks will look to start a new win-streak on Thursday evening. Cory Schneider (unless there is a last minute change) will be starting in net. His poor stat line may be deceiving, but the Devils have struggled as a team this year, so Thursday presents a great opportunity for the Blackhawks to get back on track.

The Devils are licking their wounds as they enter Thursday’s matchup. Their 8-3 loss to the Blues was not nearly as close as suggested. The Devils were completely manhandled by the red-hot Blues, and look to avoid such an outcome against the Blackhawks, fresh off their seven-game win-streak. In the Devils’ last seven games, they are 2-4-1, helping them slip to within three points of the Ottawa Senators and the best odds to win the draft lottery.

The Devils will still be without their MVP and perennial superstar, Taylor Hall, for Thursday’s game. Although expected back sooner than later, the Devils lack a huge presence in their lineup.

A small bright spot for the Devils’ organization is the homecoming for forward Kenny Agostino. Agostino spent time this year with the Canadiens, after time last season with the Bruins organization and the Blues organization before that, before being claimed off waivers by his hometown team. The former AHL leading scorer will look to help his hometown club rebound after his first game with the club did not go so well on Tuesday.

Comment below in our live game thread tonight!

And look for the internet’s most robust recap of the game tomorrow morning on the-rink.com.

The post Preview/Game Thread: Blackhawks vs Devils appeared first on The Rink.

7:30pm CST/5:30pm PST
United Center
TV/Radio: NHL Network, NBCSCH, FS-W/WGN

PROJECTED STARTERS

Chicago – Corey Crawford (4-6-0 W/L, SV%: 0.911 GAA: 2.76)
Los Angeles – Peter Budaj (0-1-0 W/L, SV%: 0.833 GAA: 5.50)

TEAM STATISTICS

Power Play
Chicago (13.8%, 28th)
Los Angeles (14.3, T-26th)

Penalty Kill
Chicago (74.6%, 26th)
Los Angeles (78.4%, 19th)

Shorts for/against
Chicago (32.5, T-9th, 33.1, 24th)
Los Angeles (27.6, 29th, 30.2, 9th)

Shooting %
Chicago (8.4%, 26th)
Los Angeles (7.4%, 30th)

Faceoff %
Chicago (49.9%, T-17^th)
Los Angeles (52.3%, 4^th)

Avg. height/weight
Chicago 6’1”, 195lbs
Los Angeles 6’1” 206lbs

PROJECTED LINES/PAIRINGS

Chicago Blackhawks

Nick Schmaltz–Jonathan Toews–Patrick Kane
Alex DeBrincat–David Kampf–Dominik Kahun
Brandon Saad–Artem Anisimov–John Hayden
Chris Kunitz–Marcus Kruger–Andreas Martinsen
Duncan Keith–Brent Seabrook
Erik Gustafsson–Henri Jokiharju
Brandon Manning–Gustav Forsling

Los Angeles Kings

Alex Iafallo–Anze Kopitar–Dustin Brown
Ilya Kovalchuk–Jeff Carter–Tyler Toffoli
Carl Hagelin–Michael Amadio–Trevor Lewis
Kyle Clifford–Adrian Kempe–Nate Thompson
Derek Forbort–Drew Doughty
Jake Muzzin–Alec Martinez
Dion Phaneuf–Oscar Fantenberg

Analysis

Chicago ended an eight-game losing streak, shutting out the Blues on Wednesday, and look to start a winning streak against a struggling Kings team.

Willie Desjardins, hired as head coach after the firing of John Stevens, has the Kings coming in on a three-game losing streak. Los Angeles managed a measly two goals in those three losses.

The offensive hindered Kings are led by forward Ilya Kovalchuk, signed this summer after a stint in the KHL, with five goals and fourteen points.

Do not adjust your televisions, that was a power play goal on Wednesday. Blues’ defenseman Jay Bouwmeester did kick the puck into his own net, but they all count the same for the Hawks. Brent Seabrook was credited with his third goal of the season, and all things considered, the Hawks’ power play will take it.

Corey Crawford is expected in net tonight. Crawford played excellent in his first shutout of the season. Los Angeles will really on goalie Peter Budaj tonight, both Jonathan Quick and Jack Campbell are out with injuries, and stopped only 15 of the 19 shots he faced on Tuesday.

Comment below in our live game thread tonight!

And look for the internet’s most robust recap of the game tomorrow morning on the-rink.com. 

The post Preview/Game Thread: Blackhawks vs. Kings appeared first on The Rink.

Jeremy Colliton wasted no time getting a healthy Gustav Forsling into the lineup. The 22-year old defenseman forced Brandon Davidson and Jan Rutta into the press box for the evening.

This was your Blackhawks starting lineup:
Nick Schmaltz–Jonathan Toews–Patrick Kane
Alex DeBrincat–David Kampf–Dominik Kahun
Brandon Saad–Artem Anisimov–John Hayden
Chris Kunitz–Luke Johnson–Andreas Martinsen
Duncan Keith–Brent Seabrook
Erik Gustafsson–Henri Jokiharju
Brandon Manning-Gustav Forsling

The action early on was uneventful on both ends of the ice. At the first television timeout, the Hawks were outshooting the Blues 3-2. A slow start, in hindsight, was a great thing for Chicago as they looked more committed to the defensive end.

With just over eight minutes in the period, Blues forward Vladimir Tarasenko, on a 2-on-1 with winger Jordan Schmaltz, was stopped by Crawford. Crawford made a nice read as Schmaltz was forced to his backhand before shoveling a pass over to Tarasenko, who found himself in too deep, and could not tuck the puck in short side.

Exhibit A: pic.twitter.com/p5OCQA10GT

— Chicago Blackhawks (@NHLBlackhawks) November 15, 2018

Following some end-to-end action, the Hawks generated an excellent opportunity after Brandon Saad made a nice play along the wall. John Hayden was the recipient of the Saad touch pass and threw an innocent looking shot on net at goaltender Jake Allen. A soft rebound found Artem Anisimov’s stick but the center could not bury home the rebound.

The period ended with the Blackhawks leading their opponents 10-8 in shots.

St. Louis came out gunning early in the second period. Center Ryan O’Reilly missed a great opportunity when his shot attempt went wide of the net. Crawford appeared to be in desperation mode but the Blues could not find the back of the net.

Less than a minute later, forward Tyler Bozak generated another quality chance for the Blues but was stoned by Crawford.

The Blues third early chance of the period, generated when Crawford misplayed a puck behind the net, also resulted in a nice save. Forward Robert Thomas found the puck on his stick, as Crawford scurried back into his net, but could not slip one past.

Three and a half minutes into the period, Tarasenko took a hooking penalty on Nick Schmaltz. The Hawks went on the power play for the first time tonight.

On the man advantage, Patrick Kane made a nice play along the boards, shaking loose from defenseman Ivan Barbashev, and found Jonathan Toews goal line extended with the pass. Toews took the puck hard to the net, only to find Brent Seabrook coming backdoor with a nice pass. Seabrook’s shot, initially stopped by Allen, ricochet off Jay Bouwmeester’s skate and into the Hawk’s net.

A goal's a goal!#CHIvsSTL pic.twitter.com/pJJlZ7lyfo

— Chicago Blackhawks (@NHLBlackhawks) November 15, 2018

Seabrook’s goal, assisted by Toews and Kane, was his third of the season and a much needed power play goal. Hawks lead 1-0.

Midway through the middle frame, John Hayden put the Blues on the power play, after hooking Robby Fabbri. With not much action happening, it seemed the last thing the Hawks needed was to be shorthanded after taking the lead.

The penalty kill did an excellent job keeping the Blues from sustaining any pressure on Crawford, allowing only one shot on goal. Successfully killing off the penalty, after taking the lead, was a huge boost.

After a Blues turnover, with less than two minutes in the period, Toews found Kane streaking toward the net with a pass, only to have Kane hit the post with his shot. This would not be the last time the Hawks would draw iron.

After two periods, the Blues led in shots 18-15.

Committing to defense continued to be the Blackhawks’ theme. This was never more evident than in the third period. The Hawks would only generate four shots on goal in the last frame, however, went into their best lockdown mode of the season on defense.

The opponents generated some shots early but nothing too difficult for Crawford. With 7:49 left in the game, the Blues had only generated seven shots on goal for the period, none considered a high percentage chance.

The Hawks best offensive chance happened when Henri Jokiharju almost gave his team an insurance marker, with just under three minutes left to play. Schmaltz raced down the left wing and found Jokiharju trailing the play with a nice drop pass. The defenseman ringed a shot off the post, keeping the advantage 1-0.

Blues Coach Mike Yeo pulled the goaltender with 1:20 on the clock, but did not generate much action, until David Perron found himself on the doorstep with :18 to play, only to be denied by a sliding Crawford.

As the horn sounded, Crawford celebrated his 24^th shutout of his career, all the while, Jeremy Colliton quietly shook his assistants hands and walked off with his first NHL coaching victory.

#HAWKSWIN https://t.co/VM1IseBkTQ

— Chicago Blackhawks (@NHLBlackhawks) November 15, 2018

The GOOD:

Corey Crawford bounced back after five straight losses in the crease. The veteran faced only 28 shots tonight but looked to be in great position all night. His confidence level looked great.

A power play goal. The Hawks may have received a little help from Bouwmeester but a power play goal is a power play goal.

Jeremy Colliton’s first NHL win. The 33-year old has been thrust into a difficult spot for any coach, let alone a rookie younger than some veterans.

THE BAD

Outshot 28-19. May be nitpicking here – especially after applauding the defensive effort – but the Hawks had been generating over 33 shots a game.

The post RECAP: Blackhawks Blank The Blues 1-0 appeared first on The Rink.

Blackhawks head coach Jeremy Colliton decided it was time for a change and shook the lines up.  This carried on into the overtime as well.  Marcus Kruger was ruled out early in the day on Monday and Brandon Saad was ruled out just before puck drop.  The starting lines were as follows:

Schmaltz – Toews – Kane

DeBrincat – Kampf – Kahun

Fortin – Anisimov – Hayden

Kunitz – Johnson – Martinsen

Keith – Seabrook

Gustafsson – Jokiharju

Davidson – Rutta

Ward

First Period:

The game began with the Blackhawks showing some life after the line shake up. The lines were playing fast and with pace, which is normally a positive, and paced play in the beginning of the period. Cam Ward looked inspired by the Carolina return and played solid early.

At the 9:07 mark the Blackhawks opened the scoring.  Patrick Kane took a pass from Nick Schmaltz into the offensive zone, who turned back and found an oncoming Henri Jokiharju at the blue line. While the pass found its way to Jokiharju’s blade, Jonathan Toews set up in front of Scott Darling with no Carolina defenders to be found. Jokiharju ripped a slap shot on net and Toews was able to tip in the shot past Scott Darling.

Jeremy Colliton's plan pays off early with a Jonathan Toews tip-in!#Blackhawks are up 1-0 : https://t.co/m8Q3ZuUfON pic.twitter.com/RnymXioayv

— Blackhawks Talk (@NBCSBlackhawks) November 13, 2018

The goal was encouraging for Chicago because the defense got involved and there was net front presence, both keys to success on the ice.

Even though Chicago looked good early on, Carolina put together some strong chances late in the period. Fortunately for Colliton and the Blackhawks, Cam Ward showed well in the return to his home of a decade plus, and sent the visitors into intermission with the 1-0 lead. The lead would mark the first lead the Blackhawks have had since Colliton took over.

Second Period:

As opportunities traded back and forth between the Hurricanes and Blackhawks, both goaltenders were very solid early in the second. Cam Ward made some incredible saves to keep the visitors on top, while Darling help the Blackhawks lead to just 1-0.

At the 10:49 mark of the second, Chicago’s new second line (DeBrincat, Kampf, Kahun) had a strong rush into the Hurricanes end. David Kampf led the charge with a solid forecheck to force a turnover in the offensive zone. Dominik Kahun followed up on the loose puck and dropped the puck back for Alex DeBrincat, who ripped a quick wrist shot and beat Darling to give Chicago the 2-0 lead.

Two between-the-legs passes lead to a goal by the !

It's 2-0 #Blackhawks : https://t.co/k9m1Wg1GWU pic.twitter.com/on9SbePZ2J

— Blackhawks Talk (@NBCSBlackhawks) November 13, 2018

Just when all looked well for the Blackhawks, Brent Seabrook got called for a ill timed delay of game penalty and Carolina went on the power play. This was the first power play for either squad all game. Not more than a few seconds into the power play, after a Carolina face-off win, Teuvo Teravainen fired home a quick shot to cut Blackhawks lead to just one.

The play was bittersweet for Blackhawks fans everywhere and left them wondering what could have been if he was still in Chicago.

Shortly after the first successful power play, Carolina returned to the power play once again, after slashing call on Henri Jokiharju. Jokiharju was targeted heavily by Carolina coach Rod Brind’Amour and looked overwhelmed on numerous occasions.

At the 15:13 mark, 2018 2nd overall pick Andrei Svechnikov drove the puck hard to the front of the net. Before getting to Cam Ward, he drew both Blackhawks defenders and found a wide open Michael Ferland on Ward’s doorstep. Ferland found the back of the net and tied the contest at two goals a piece. \After working so hard to get themselves a 2-0 lead, it took just 66 second for it all to fall apart.

Third Period:

Despite no scoring in the third, Carolina continued to make a huge push on Chicago’s defense. Although only registering eight shots (to Chicago’s seven) the Hurricanes generated several scoring opportunities.

That said, the Blackhawks did not lack good opportunities either. Most notably, the new top line of Schmaltz, Toews and Kane generated a few odd man rushes during the third period. However, every rush led by Nick Schmaltz seemed to end in an unneeded pass instead of a shot on net.

The third period ended in a 2-2 tie, which led to 3-vs-3 overtime for the extras point in the standings.  Carolina led in shots on goal through three periods 37-35.

Overtime:

After a few chances were traded early in overtime, Sebastian Aho was the trigger man on a 2-on-1 going in on Cam Ward. Ward was able to make a beautiful save and send the Blackhawks in the other direction. The next rush up ice for Carolina looked very similar to the first rush. Aho was once again the trigger man as the Hurricanes had an opportunity to win the game. David Kampf followed Justin Faulk as he crashed the net, giving Aho a 1-on-1 with Brent Seabrook. Seabrook hit the deck in attempt to prevent an Aho shot. However, Aho danced around Seabrook and fired the puck though Ward’s five-hole to send the Blackhawks away disappointed with a 3-2 loss.

The Good:

• New Lines, New Energy: The team energy seemed to be much better with the new lines. The Kampf line was able to produce a goal and get Alex DeBrincat back on the score-sheet. He and Kahun seem to have developed chemistry without Toews, although they were very effective early in the season with the captain. The top line was also buzzing as well.
• Cam Ward: Ward was very good in his return home to Carolina. Ward helped the Blackhawks salvage a point in a game where, quite honestly, they probably should not have gone to overtime after the collapse on the penalty kill in the second period. In the end, his solid performance was wasted after numerous missed opportunities from the young forwards for Chicago.

The Not So Good:

• The Usual Suspects: Not to beat a dead horse, but Chicago’s special teams continue to underwhelm. Anytime Chicago goes on special teams, bad things happen. Lack of chances for themselves and too many quality chances for their opponents have allowed special teams to be their Achilles heel. The defense has also been bad. As an example, Jan Rutta made an errant pass to the middle of the ice, at his own blue line, that was picked off and gave Carolina a partial breakaway. Cam Ward made the save, but too many chances like that will not help Chicago win games as the season progresses.
• Doing Too Much: There were too many wasted plays by the young forwards for Chicago. They were just trying to do too much. Nick Schmaltz on had many quality chances to shoot but passed for the “cute play” with a pass. John Hayden also had a similar opportunity. He had a chance to put a shot on net with teammates crashing the net, but instead, turned back and ultimately lost possession of the puck. Sometimes the simple play is the best play and the young Blackhawks forwards haven’t bought into that idea yet.

Photoshop created by Jeff Osborn

The Blackhawks return to action on Wednesday, November 14th at home against the St. Louis Blues, and will remain at home for a contest with the Los Angeles Kings on Friday, November 16th. The games begin at 7:00pm CST and 7:30pm CST, respectively.

The post RECAP: Blackhawks Lose in Ward’s Homecoming 3-2 appeared first on The Rink.

Late in Thursday’s game, Chicago played with much better pace than they did in the opening frame. They played with the pace needed to be competitive against good teams. Going into Saturday’s action, Brandon Saad (arguably one of the best players in their last game) was inactive with an apparent arm injury. The lines were as follows:

DeBrincat – Toews – Kahun

Schmaltz – Anisimov – Kane

Hayden – Kampf – Fortin

Kunitz – Johnson – Martinsen

Keith – Jokiharju

Gustafsson – Seabrook

Manning – Rutta

Crawford

Notable changes to the lineup included John Hayden taking Saad’s place, Luke Johnson taking Marcus Kruger’s place and Brandon Manning being in for Brandon Davidson.

A very cool gesture but the Blackhawks today to wear Ray Emery’s #29 that he wore in Philadelphia on their helmets during the game.

Flyers and #Blackhawks both paying tribute to Ray Emery today. pic.twitter.com/8MfhliM1u6

— Chicago Blackhawks (@NHLBlackhawks) November 10, 2018

First Period:

The period began in quiet fashion from a scoring perspective. The Blackhawks were able to generate shots early on Brian Elliott, but Elliott was good enough to deny any scoring from the visitors early on.

Blackhawks defensemen were jumping into plays early and often during the first period, which is a noticeable style for Jeremy Colliton coached teams. About mid-way through the period, Brent Seabrook dangled his way into the slot, sending a quality chance on net. Elliott made a great save on the play.

About five minutes later, at the 14:56 mark, Duncan Keith attempted to clear a puck to a teammate from deep in his own zone. Keith made a no look pass to no one wearing an Indian Head sweater. Instead, Flyers captain Claude Giroux picked up the errant pass and scored on a backhand past an out-of-position Corey Crawford, which gave Philadelphia the late 1-0 lead in the first period.

A critical penalty kill late by Chicago, which saw numerous high quality chances from their opponent, saved what could have been a 2-0 deficit and sent teams into the first intermission by the score 1-0, Flyers. Chicago outshot Philadelphia 13-10 in the opening frame.

Second Period:

The middle frame opened with a bit of back and forth action. Crawford made some good saves on odd man chances for Philadelphia to keep the game even.

The Blackhawks went to the power play on a tripping penalty around the eight minute mark giving Chicago some hope to even the game. However, rather than Chicago dominating the time with the extra man, it was the Flyers who were the more inspired team. A near breakaway was prevented when Crawford came out to clear a puck. A moment or two later, Sean Couturier found a puck at his own blueline and went in on a breakaway to score, giving the Flyers a 2-0 lead.

Chris Kunitz was defending Couturier on the play and did not recover well. Kunitz lazily attempted to knock Couturier off the puck but did not succeed. He was bullied and did not help Corey Crawford at all to prevent the 2-0 deficit.

Quickly following the goal, Philadelphia would go to the power play after a penalty by Henri Jokiharju. Philadelphia held possession for 1:40 of the power play before the Blackhawks could finally clear and change. Brent Seabrook made a great play on a pass heading for Nolan Patrick backdoor. He tipped the pass just enough to miss Patrick’s blade, who would have had an easy tap-in otherwise.

Chicago wouldn’t do much to end the period. Notably, after Radko Gudas continued to bully Blackhawks forwards, John Hayden was the only Blackhawks forward to even have words with Gudas, but they did little to change his physical prowess.

The shot totals were 22-21 in favor of Philadelphia after two periods.

Third Period:

The Blackhawks did not look good to open the third period, lacking pace and hustle early on.

At the 4:16 mark of the third, Sean Couturier struck again for the Flyers. Couturier was all alone coming down the left wing boards and threw a shot on Crawford. On the save, the puck bounced off Crawford, off Brandon Manning’s skate, and into the net to giving Philadelphia a 3-0 lead.

The Blackhawks could not accomplish much of anything during the third period. Philadelphia was just sitting back, challenging Chicago to try and enter the zone. However, the Blackhawks could not get any clean entries that led to quality chances.

The Blackhawks pulled Crawford with roughly 2:30 remaining in favor of the extra attacker. In similar fashion to the rest of this game, Chicago could not get any sustained pressure on Elliott late as Philadelphia continued to ice the puck.

At the 18:59 mark, the Flyers gained possession at the blue line and Nolan Patrick skated in and scored on the empty net. The score was 4-0 as Crawford re-entered the net with around one minute remaining.

The Blackhawks went on the power play late, but it did not matter. The shot advantage belonged to Chicago (33-25) but Brian Elliott and the Philadelphia Flyers shutout the Chicago Blackhawks 4-0.

The Good:

• Crawford: Corey Crawford certainly kept the score from being any uglier than it was. Philadelphia could have easily won this game 7-0, but in the end, his strong effort didn’t mean much. Crawford has been solid, but he needs help if this team is going to win games in front of him.

The Not So Good:

• Effort: Blackhawks players do not look like they want to play, especially today. The stars give okay effort. Seabrook made some good plays, Kane has been playing superhuman minutes, but the team is not playing the way they need to. Late in Thursday’s game, Chicago looked good. They were playing with pace and effort but the could not find that today. It’s arguable they missed Saad today.
• Special teams: Chicago continues to struggle on special teams. The power play looks awful, giving up more chances than they create and the penalty kill cannot clear the zone. If not for Crawford and Seabrook, there were two clear chances that could have resulted in goals for the Flyers on the power play.

The Blackhawks looked deflated in this game. They missed Brandon Saad who looked very good against Carolina on Thursday. Radko Gudas was able to push around many of the Blackhawks star players without any kind of retaliation from players such as Hayden, Manning, Martinsen and more. Hayden exchanged a slight shove with Gudas, but that was just about it. This team needs to figure things out quickly, or they may end up with a really high draft lottery position.

The Blackhawks return to action on Monday, November 12th against the Carolina Hurricanes in Carolina, as the Father’s trip continues. Puck drop will be at 6:00pm CST.

The post RECAP: Blackhawks Fall to Flyers in Saturday Matinee Action appeared first on The Rink.

My first task is to break down the Blackhawks defensive corps, which was a chore. The first thing most people were concerned about coming into this season was the inexperience of the defense, and those concerns were proven to be valid as this season went on. The easy thing to do would be pile on these players and write them off. There were positives and faint glimmers of hope that can easily be overshadowed by the dark cloud of doom and gloom.

That said, despite what General Manager Stan Bowman has fed the media and fans, the Blackhawks will need to upgrade the defense in the offseason, somehow. Rolling out the same exact defense and expecting a different result is, as the cliché goes, the definition of insanity.

The good news is that Bowman will have cap space to play with and can clear up even more with some minor moves. There is potential to turn this rickety old ship around with a trip to the dry dock this summer to look under the hood and pull the right strings. Coming from me, you might all be surprised, but I see light at the end of the tunnel and this team; without a painful tear down.

Let’s jump into this murky pool and work our way up from the filthy silt to fresh air:

Michael Kempny (D+) – Maybe one of the most enigmatic, misunderstood and maligned defenseman the Blackhawks have had in quite a while. He has the size, the speed and the raw talent, but seemed to get into the black hole of Joel Quenneville’s doghouse early in his Hawks career. As we all know very well, that dark place is somewhere that players rarely return from.

Kempny was no different.

When he played, his numbers were better than average. One goal, six assists and a plus 13 (one of the few plus players) in 31 games is a respectable stat line. Kempny had a respectable 53.9% even strength Corsi and 52.6% Fenwick. All signs point to this guy deserving more of a chance.

I really had high hopes for this Czech defender, but once he was banished to “Pay-No-Mindland” his Blackhawks career was ostensibly over. He had stretches of solid play, once he was actually allowed to dress, but then would be excommunicated to the Joel Quenneville Shrimp Cocktail suite for weeks at a time. I hope he continues to grow in Washington, or some other city, and make the way he was handled in Chicago look even worse.

Gustav Forsling (C-) – With Ville Pokka finally jettison this year, Gustav Forsling is looking more and more like he is taking that title on. Of course he is younger and quicker that Pokka, but he seems to be stuck in that frustrating purgatory between the NHL and AHL. He has some really impressive talent but he has yet to really figure out the NHL game. He is still really young, though, and he has time to develop.

The problem is that Stan Bowman keeps retaining these other middling defenders like Rutta and Gustafsson which keep Forsling in the AHL. My fear with Forsling is that next year will be another lost year because he is probably at least 7th on the organizational depth chart, not counting Carl Dahlstrom, Blake Hillman, Dennis Gilbert, Henri Jokiharju or any of the other young prospects or pending draft choices.

Forsling played 41 games before the Blackhawks finally had enough and sent him down to Rockford for some seasoning. Both his Corsi (49.1%) and Fenwick (45.7%) numbers were the worst on the team for any regular defenseman. His three goals and ten assists were certainly commendable, but the possession number really need to improve.

His development and possession metrics could have been hindered a bit by the fact that Joel Quenneville did not shelter him excessively as far as zone starts, which were fairly even.

It is crucial that Forsling has a good summer and forces the Blackhawks hand or he may very well end up the next defenseman that ends up as an extra player in future trade.

Connor Murphy (C) – If it were not for Brent Seabrook, Connor Murphy would probably hold the infamous irrational hatred award. Murphy is a young, big, third or fourth defenseman. His biggest crime, though, is not being Niklas Hjalmarsson.

Niklas Hjalmarsson is not even Niklas Hjalmarsson anymore, but Murphy will unfortunately always be held to that unattainable standard.

As the season began, it is no big secret that the young defenseman struggled to adjust. Once Quenneville started playing mad-scientist and moved Murphy over to the right side (which he had never played) something clicked in his lizard brain, and he turned a corner. He still isn’t (and probably never will be) Hjalmarsson but, then again, who is? Stop comparing him to the player he was traded for, and life will be much easier.

Jordan Oesterle (C) – Of all the surprises in 2017-18, on the defensive side of the house, Jordan Oesterle might be the biggest of them all. When he was signed last summer, the impression was that he was a depth tweener that could be shuttled between Rockford and Chicago. He boasted a grand total of 25 NHL games over three seasons with an organization that had mostly been a mess in their own end. Oesterle’s numbers were comparable to Erik Gustafsson in Rockford, while the defenseman was with Oklahoma City and Bakersfield.

He started the season sitting in the press box for a majority of the first couple of months and seemed to be that elusive “never seen nor heard from 8th defenseman.”  The fact that he eventually dressed and played significant minutes for 55 regular season games of pretty remarkable. Playing with Duncan Keith a vast majority of the season probably helped his numbers a bit, as well. Those numbers are not as gaudy as you might recall, but 5G-10A-15P is decent.

Certainly more than most might have expected from Oesterle.

As the season wore on, we began to see the true holes in his game. Like a lot of the other average sized, mediocre, puck moving defenseman in the organization Oesterle was an adventure in his own end of the ice, and this became more evident as the book got out on him.

As far as possession metrics go, he was only better than Brent Seabrook, Jan Rutta and Gustav Forsling on defense. Oesterle’s 52.4% Corsi and 51.1% Fenwick at 5v5 look alright on the surface, but the entire Blackhawks team had really good shot metrics overall.

Again, much of that was the fact that he played with the best defenseman in the organization for most of the year. Oesterle is another fine tweener defenseman, but the Blackhawks still need to add some meat to the middle of their depth chart if they want to turn things around next season.

Brent Seabrook (C+) – We go from one of the misunderstood players to (possibly) the most irrationally hated Blackhawks player. Brent Seabrook is a warrior; a leader; a long time under rated player in this league because of the flash of his old partner Duncan Keith.

And he makes too much money.

Fans need to get used to the fact that Brent Seabrook will not be going anywhere unless he retires or is bought out through some kind of compliance/amnesty buyout. Learn to forget his salary cap hit. Get one of those “Men In Black” flashy doohickeys.

His overall numbers were just “OK” and he clearly has lost a step; or five.

Seabrook is still one of the few defenseman on the Blackhawks that can get a cannon of a shot through to the net, especially on the power play, though. It is really unfortunate that the coaching staff will need to work around him but this is the hand their general manager has dealt them.

Carl Dahlstrom (C+) – Dahlstrom is an interesting case, and his long trip to the NHL has been well documented by Chris Block of The Third Man In. He was forgotten about and virtually cast away, but has fought back and played some significant NHL minutes this year. That was all after having an excellent AHL season and being selected as an AHL All-Star.

My notes on him in prospect camp over the past few years were as follows:

• 2013 – Looks bigger than his size, and big shoulder pads make him look very broad shouldered. Lumbering. More slow and smooth. Would get walked at the pro level.
• 2015 – Tall, has size and some bulk. Not overly quick. Seems like an adventure in his own end when pressured.
• 2016 – Moves like Frankenstein. Has great size, but struggles to keep up. Looks like a younger Rozsival with equivalent speed.

His footwork has definitely improved over the years, and his size is something the Blackhawks have lacked on the back end. With new confidence to jump into the play, he has turned himself into a pretty surprising borderline NHL player. At 6’3” and 240 lbs he is never going to be a speedster, especially next to players like Gustav Forsling and Duncan Keith.

Those players are carrying at least 50 lbs less meat around, though.

As far as his numbers go, Dahlstrom only registered three assists and a -3 in his 11 games. His Corsi (52.9%) was right in the middle of the pack and his Fenwick (49.8%) was in the bottom third. Part of this can be attributed to his usage. Joel Quenneville gave him a healthy 53.4% of defensive zone starts which was the most of Blackhawks defensemen.

Going forward, with the crowded clown car of mediocre defensemen, I really cannot see where he fits in, but Dahlstrom’s size and the proof that he can hang against NHL players might make him an enticing trade piece. Personally, I would like to see them clear out some of the carbon copy smaller guys and develop some of the bigger guys.

Erik Gustafsson (C+) – Nobody, including me, thought that we would be seeing Erik Gustafsson logging 35 games with the Blackhawks this year, but that is exactly what transpired. Gustafsson was the “forgotten guy” after not playing a single game for the Blackhawks and spending all of 2016-17 in Rockford. During that season with the Icehogs he had pretty solid offensive numbers (5G-25A-30P), but had a horrid -27 hung around his neck.

When the season began, he was probably looked at as an 8th or 9th option, but a solid start to his 2017-18 season (3G-14A-17P in 25 games) and a mediocre Blackhawks defense forced management’s hand. Gustafsson was recalled on January 9th never to return to Rockford.

He never went back to Rockford because of his impressive offensive numbers. In only 35 games, the 26-year-old Swedish defenseman put up 16 points (5G-11A). His 5v5 Corsi was 5th best on the team (55.4%) and his Fenwick was 2nd best, after Cody Franson, at 54.9%. This might lead you to believe that Quenneville was sheltering him with offensive zone starts but, shockingly, his zone starts were relatively even (57.4% offensive).

This unexpected jump in production eventually led to a two-year extension for Gustafsson. Like so many of the others in this group, I’m not entirely sure where he fits into this cast of misfits, but it will be a crowded group. He would be fine as a 5th/6th/7th guy but, as a top four defenseman, the Blackhawks may be in trouble.

Cody Franson (B-) – I told everyone in the interwebz that Cody Franson would surprise them with what he could provide, and he did; for a little while. He came into camp on a PTO and clearly had an “under the table” deal with Stan Bowman, once the Marian Hossa LTIR room kicked in. If you watch hockey and do not just judge players from a stat line with no context, you probably would have had a good idea of what Franson could bring.

He is a big commanding veteran presence that has a booming shot from the point. He knows his limitations and adjusts for them. Joel Quenneville was clearly aware of Franson’s limitations too. He gave Franson a team high 65.8% offensive zone starts. As a result, the 30-year-old defender had the team best 5v5 Corsi (59.9%) and Fenwick (60.2%).

On the offensive side of the ice, in his 23 games, Franson had 1G-7A-8P and half of his points were on the power play. These are all respectable numbers for a guy that came in on a try out and only made $1M this season.

As the season went on and the Blackhawks continued to take on water, Franson was sent to Rockford to mentor that group and allow some of the younger kids at the NHL level to get some long looks. Frustrating, for certain, but Franson went to Rockford like a good soldier and was eventually voted the Icehogs best defenseman.

Overall, he played within his means and did what was asked from him. His examples of how to be a pro will probably reflect on those young Rockford kids for years to come, which was well worth his $1M price tag.

Jan Rutta (B-) – While Michal Kempny might have left a bad taste in your mouths regarding Czech defensemen, Jan Rutta might bring you back to the other side of the tracks.  Kempny played in that World Cup of Money that the NHL held two years ago, and played a lot. Unlike Kempny, Rutta came in as a relatively unknown player.

Rutta is slightly bigger and came in a year older. Right away he showed that he can fit in the NHL. He was more reliable than his countryman, and showed an added offensive element. As a result, the Blackhawks coaching staff appeared to take a real liking to this rookie defenseman. So much so that Bowman signed him to a pretty large raise after only 57 games in North America.

In Rutta’s 57 games, he amassed six goals and 20 points, which is good for 3rd overall with Blackhawks defenseman. It is easy to see why the Blackhawks would want to keep him, but it is certainly curious as to why Bowman overpaid for Rutta.  His possession number certainly left a lot to be desired, and I cannot imagine that teams were breaking his door down.

It remains to be seen whether he will just be another face in the sea of average defenders next season, or if he will be worth the large raise.

Duncan Keith (B+) – There has been much angst regarding Keith this season. A lot of “dat Keith stinkz”, and questions about whether he has dropped off significantly.

Honestly, Blackhawks fans should not be worried, just yet. If you look at the cast of no-name partners he has dragged up and down the ice all year, he should get a free pass. One player, no matter who he is, can only cover for his partners so much before it starts to affect his own production.

Much like Jonathan Toews, it also might be time the Blackhawks stopped leaning on Duncan Keith so much and let him settle into a more relaxed role. Clearly, Keith is a freak of nature and can handle a physical beating, but if the organization expects him to be the mentor to all of the young defensemen coming through the system then they need to lighten the load. Otherwise, he will burn out, and it will come quickly. Keith’s ice time and zone starts have shifted in that direction (lowest since 06-07) but when he is the designated babysitter, the shift needs to probably happen a little more succinct.

The first thing they need to do is get him off the power play. Keith is not a necessity on the power play, and is not all that helpful there anyway. Some of the reason their power play was rancid was that when they put Keith out there, he just was not effective. He cannot get his shots through to the net, and has turned into more of a liability than anything. When Jordan Oesterle or Cody Franson are more effective, it is time to make a personnel change for good.

As far as his stats are concerned, of course they dipped. Dragging around unproven wild cards for most of the season will take a toll. His 2 goals and 32 points were still good enough for 6th on the team in scoring, though. His Corsi was right in the middle of the pack (52.4 %) and his Fenwick was in the bottom 3rd of the team (50.4%) at 5v5.

Honestly, anyone that suggests they trade Duncan Keith and his absurdly affordable contract better be ready for a full tear down and rebuild, because that would be the Blackhawks’ only choice. Even on the decline, as slow as it is, Duncan Keith is still far and away the best defenseman on this team.

The post Blackhawks Year End Reviews: The Defense appeared first on The Rink.

Gustafsson joining the already jam-packed Blackhawks defensive corp can be seen as somewhat surprising. Most of the defensemen were playing well and some, like Jan Rutta, were fighting to get back in the lineup despite playing well before injury. Even Cody Franson was not playing badly, per se. What this move does is give the Blackhawks better breakouts from their own end. Gustafsson might not necessarily bring the powerplay prowess that Franson did, but he moves the puck well from his own end and has better footspeed than Franson. Quenneville might simply be just trying to get quicker, after the Golden Knights exposed them Friday night.

It has also been floated that the Blackhawks may be showcasing Michal Kempny and/or Erik Gustafsson for a move in the near future, and the Senators have been linked as a potential trade partner.

This morning, our very own John Jaeckel brought up that the Blackhawks may simply be resting Seabrook, with four games in six nights before the CBA mandated bye week. Personally, I think this is all just getting blown out of proportion, and that letting an aging vet take the first night of a back-to-back off is reasonable.

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With opening night less than a week away, the Blackhawks are down to some tough decisions with their roster. We talked at length about the options on Tuesday night’s Shoutcast, but there are some real questions. I’m going to break down some of the upcoming roster decisions or at least try to lay them out in a logical manor. This doesn’t mean Joel Quenneville decide to use the logical method. Next, we look at maybe the most volatile of positions, the defense.

The Blackhawks defense became a huge point of contention the day Niklas Hjalmarsson was traded to the desert earlier this summer. As far as roster spots go, there are either slam dunks or complete question marks. Nothing in between. I will start with the top end slam dunks. Duncan Keith, Brent Seabook and Connor Murphy are all going to unequivocally be every day players for this year’s Blackhawks team.

Keith is 34 years old, and logs an inhumane amount of time on ice. He also began to have knee issues last season, and missed some time as a result. Joel Quenneville is, no doubt, going to ride his horse right into the ground, and get as many miles as he can on the way. Duncan Keith, though, is still playing at a top 10 defenseman level, so we’ll just have to take each coming season one at a time. Until he really drops off, fans can just blissfully and ignorantly believe it’ll last forever.

Brent Seabrook gets a bum rap for all he does and just keeps dragging marginal partners around on his back, like Master-Blaster from Mad Max, season after season. Sure, he makes a hefty salary, and sure he’s not 25 any more, but the guy is an anchor (not in a bad way) in helping to bring along young players. Losing Hjalmarsson was most likely a bigger loss, but Seabrook is not that far behind. Until he cannot perform as one of the top 3 defensemen on this team, he needs to be embraced. He is also not going anywhere until there is a defined replacement, and right now there isn’t anyone even close. So, get the thought of trading him out of your head right now.

Connor Murphy might be the second best defender on this team in the very near future but, at the moment, he is the third. When real games are played and he’s not lost in the rotation of bums, he will probably show us more than he has thus far. Murphy has been adequate when in the lineup, but the Blackhawks will certainly need more from him. That said, asking him to be Niklas Hjalmarsson is just unfair. Fans need to set open minded expectations for Murphy. He is only 24, and has already logged a full seasons worth of games more than Hjalmarsson did at the same age. Murphy has also been used differently, in Arizona. His defensive zone starts, last season, were higher than Nik Hjalmarrson’s ever have been at 58.5%. As a result, and not unexpectedly, his possession numbers were lower as well. I have an open mind, and I’m going to give him at least a full season, before I cast judgement. I suggest you join in.

The next wave of players are not just one notch below the top three but, probably, two notches. This is not to say that they will be awful, because there is a lot to look forward to. So, walk with me down the middle of the road…

The first player, based on experience, is Michal Kempny. I swung and missed, like Adam Dunn at the plate, on Kempny last season. I had high hopes for him to be the next Brent Seabrook type player, and he turned into the next Michal Rozsival. His possession metrics were actually good, on paper, but he was also heavily shielded from defensive zone starts. This season, the Blackhawks have another fellow countryman on the team to help him out and, more importantly, they ditched Joel Quenneville’s little buddy Mike Kitchen. Ulf Samuelsson stepping in should help Michal Kempny’s confidence. He may never reach the levels of top pair, but he can be a useful bottom 3 defender.

Speaking of Kempny’s fellow countryman, Jan Rutta will be an NHL rookie at the spry age of 27. Already, he has surprised many, with his strength, size, and composure. Rutta, at least in the preseason, has been more of what I expected from Kempny last season. If he continues to play the way he has, he will be the 4th best defenseman on this team before long. He has Seabrook size, and has a smart confidence in his game that is very comforting. This might be a real Stan Bowman find.

Gustav Forsling is an enigma, plain and simple. He has all the tools to become a top 4 offensive defenseman, but his brain needs some catching up. Much like last season, we have all watched him make some very nice noticeable plays, but then had a terrible play, like in the Bruins game, where he looks like a completely lost puppy. While I think that he should start in the NHL, the best thing for him might be some AHL time, once again. He needs to really tighten his game up. On the powerplay, he is an extremely useful player, but even strength he has been hit-or-miss. I have ragged on Alex Debrincat a lot, but if you look at the numbers, it’s Forsling that has been the bust so far. SO FAR. This is a 20 year old kid, too. I love that the media and fanbase have not piled on him yet. Give him time to grow, and I think the end result will be much better for everyone.

A lot of people are forgetting that Cody Franson is with the team on a Professional Tryout but, unless something drastic happens, Franson is going to get a contract offer once the season begins. With question marks in Kempny and Forsling, the Franson situation is that much more important. He’s a big veteran guy that can play in all situations as a bottom pair defenseman. He’s a better, older, version of Trevor van Reimsdyk. The Blackhawks will be better with him than without, so get used to seeing number 11 out there this season.

Not many people know about Jordan Oesterle. We have heard that he is a puck moving defenseman, and he has certainly gotten some playing time this preseason. I have not really noticed him do anything extremely special but, maybe, that is what we shold ask from him. Don’t be noticeable. If Quenneville goes with Keith, Murphy, Seabrook, Rutta, Kempny, Franson and Forsling, Jordan Oesterle will end up in Rockford. If they decide to let Forsling percolate in Rockford for a while, then Oesterle is your 7th defenseman. Otherwise, there just isn’t any room for an 8th defenseman.

Michal Rozsival is still technically on the team, but he failed his physical and probably shouldn’t be in the Blackhawks plans any longer, anyway. Erik Gustafsson is a decent depth player, but there are several better options in the organization.

The last player that really intrigues me is Luc Snuggerud. He had a really nice Traverse City tournament and was having a solid training camp, until he was injured against the Redwings last week. I wouldn’t at all be surprised to see him get some NHL time this season, just so the Hawks know what they have. Once he’s healthy, we should expect to see him get a boat load of time in Rockford, though.

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