On the ice, this Sunday evening game featured a desperate Blackhawks team and a Central Division leading St. Louis Blues.

First Period:

In a lackluster first period, both teams put up seven shots apiece. There was one grade-A chance for either team and no goals scored. The lone standout for the Blackhawks was wing Drake Caggulia. Caggulia had three hits and one shot on net in one spirted shift. Craggulia hit the post on his chance which was the best chance for the Blackhawks in the period.

Second Period:

The second period started with a Blackhawks power play, early on. In typical Blackhawks fashion, their powerplay failed to generate offensive chances and yielded momentum to the Blues. At one point there was an audible “Let’s go Blues Chant” during the Blackhawks powerplay.

At 13:20 into the second period, the Blues scored the game’s first goal. Following a Blues rush, the Blackhawks yielded a second chance opportunity. Defenseman Robert Bortuzzo blasted a tough angle shot past Corey Crawford for the goal.

This period was defined by the Blackhawks’ inability to capitalize on power-play chances, which has not been unusual for the home team. They have only converted on 12.6 percent of their chances since Dec. 14.  The most notable moment of the game came in the second period when Oskar Sundqvist delivered a flying elbow to defenseman Adam Boqvist.

No one throws Boqvist a flying elbow and gets away with it pic.twitter.com/qaUpln4gA0

— Blackhawks Talk (@NBCSBlackhawks) March 9, 2020

The hit on Boqvist caused a bit of a line brawl, as the Blackhawks took exception to the seemingly illegal hit. The brawl was highlighted by Drake Cagguila and Vince Dunn dropping the gloves. Boqvist did not return after the hit and the team reported that he had entered concussion protocol. Cagguila also suffered a hand injury during this scrap with Dunn.

Both Boqvist and Cagguila did not return. The second period ended with the Blackhawks trailing 1–0.

Third Period:

In the third period, the Blackhawks sorely missed Boqvist and Cagguila. Without two key young players, the Blackhawks offense came to a screeching halt, failing record a shot on goal for the first 12 minutes of the period. The Blues, with a one-goal lead, put the game out of a reach with an insurance goal. Alex Pietrangelo doubled up the Blackhawks with a goal at 5:37 into the third period.

A beautiful give-and-go between Schwartz and Pietrangelo leads to an open net for #27. #stlblues pic.twitter.com/p7C5kVAa19

— St. Louis Blues (@StLouisBlues) March 9, 2020

Despite a lackluster attempt to come back, the game finished with the Blues defeating the Blackhawks 2–0. After dropping two consecutive games, the Blackhawks already low playoff chances have dwindled away.

Along the Boards:

• The Blackhawks were swept by the Blues for the first time in franchise history.
• Blues goalie Jake Allen recorded his second shutout of the season.
• Corey Crawford has started his eighth consecutive since Robin Lehner was traded to the Golden Knights.

The Blackhawks return to the ice on Wednesday, March 11th against the San Jose Sharks.

The post Along the Boards: Blackhawks fail to show up at home against the Blues appeared first on The Rink.

If the Blackhawks wanted to beat the Ducks, they would need to do what they do best and that is to score, preferably first. They did exactly that when Kirby Dach skated to the front of the net and dished the puck of to Adam Boqvist, who found Drake Caggiula to the side of Ducks goalie John Gibson for his ninth goal of the season. Of note, it was the first goal in NHL history involving two players born in the 2000s in Boqvist and Dach, who recorded the assists. The Blackhawks ended the first period up 1–0.

Pass that thing and watch me flex
Behind my back, you know what’s next

Watch #CHIvsANA live on the #MyTeams App: https://t.co/mfQ1ZBTGTC pic.twitter.com/5kvPz80JL0

— Chicago Blackhawks (@NHLBlackhawks) March 4, 2020

Most people thought the Blackhawks traded the wrong goalie at the deadline and there is evidence on both sides of the argument, but to Crawford’s credit, if the Hawks do by some miracle somehow sneak into the playoffs, it would be in part to his willingness to sacrifice his whole body to keep his teammates in the game. For a goalie that has missed a lot of time the past two seasons due to injury, he gave the Blackhawks everything he had in the first period.

Crawford’s numbers this season only tell one side of the story. The Blackhawks’ defense has been terrible this season so the goalies are saving more shots. The more shots there are, the more likely the opposing team scores. Simple percentages. The home team may have scored the lone goal of the opening period, but the Ducks out shot them 16–6 and were taking better shots due to the Blackhawks’ mismanagement of the puck, a story that has had many chapters this season.

The Blackhawks came out for the second period with a lot more energy and fast-paced play almost as if they knew they were lucky to escape the first period with a lead. A deflected shot off the stick of Duncan Keith took a fortunate bounce off the end boards, right in front of Dylan Strome, who fired it past Gibson’s right side for his 11th of the season for a 2–0 Blackhawks advantage.

Dylan Strome ends a 14-game goal drought and records his 100th career NHL point. #Blackhawks pic.twitter.com/0PDWMd7lKP

— Charlie Roumeliotis (@CRoumeliotis) March 4, 2020

Shortly after, however, Christian Djoos fooled everyone, including Crawford, into thinking he was taking a shot and he drew the Blackhawks defenders all away from the net in time to pass it to Danton Heinen, who shot it in the gaping net for his ninth goal of the season. The Blackhawks’ lead was down to just one goal, once again, at 2–1.

Crawford continued his fancy footwork when Adam Henrique had a prime scoring opportunity, but the goaltender stretched wide and got his left leg pad in front of the shot. Henrique had about two or three opportunities before the whistle.

The Blackhawks had two good shorthanded chances from Brandon Saad on a breakaway and later Caggiula, but Gibson was there to hold the deficit at one. That was when the Blackhawks’ best puck handler, Patrick Kane, got just past the Ducks’ blue line and fired a pin-point pass to Strome in stride, who redirected the puck past Gibson for his second goal of the game and 12th overall for a 3–1 Chicago lead. Lucas Carlsson got his first career point on the goal, as he set Kane up with an exquisite lead pass to start the play, as well.

Patrick Kane finds Dylan Strome for his 2nd goal of the night! pic.twitter.com/Y43wDqq4fR

— BlackhaWWWks Talk (@NBCSBlackhawks) March 4, 2020

The Blackhawks would waste little time in queuing Chelsea Dagger again in the second period. Heinen went for a backhand shot on goal on a breakaway, but Boqvist scurried back and got his stick in the way to disrupt Heinen’s attempt. The Hawks quickly transitioned the puck for a three-on-one the other way and Alexander Nylander capitalized. Nylander toyed with Gibson by going forehand, backhand, then short side into the back of the net for his ninth goal of the season, pushing the Blackhawk advantage to 4–1.

Alex Nylander with a pretty move for his 9th goal of the season. #Blackhawks pic.twitter.com/CMoQTUZhDt

— Charlie Roumeliotis (@CRoumeliotis) March 4, 2020

Just 15 seconds later, Nylander would get another point this time on an assist to Kane in front of the goal. This was Kane’s 29th goal of the season. The Blackhawks scored four goals on 18 shots while the Ducks mustered only one goal on 13 shots. This was a very different Blackhawks team in the second period, a team that played both sides of the ice and with a purpose, finishing the second period up 5–1.

Patrick Kane scores 15 seconds after Alex Nylander for his 29th goal of the season. #Blackhawks pic.twitter.com/yfVbs1bosV

— Charlie Roumeliotis (@CRoumeliotis) March 4, 2020

The third period opened with a scary moment, as Ryan Getzlaf tried to avoid Crawford after he stopped a shot and accidentally kneed the goaltender in the head. The medical staff and concussion spotter must have seen something they did not like because they brought Crawford to the bench and he was replaced by Malcolm Subban, who was making his Blackhawks debut. It ended up being short lived, however, as Crawford only missed little more than a minute of play and came right back in to guard the net. Crawford, despite a history of numerous head and neck injuries in his career, came back into a game where his team was up late by four goals and in control of the game.

Alrighty then.

Corey Crawford re-enters the game, after originally being pulled by the concussion spotter. pic.twitter.com/Op5TmD3O1z

— BlackhaWWWks Talk (@NBCSBlackhawks) March 4, 2020

Just a few minutes later, he got a wellness check on a redirected shot from Carter Rowney and Crawford missed it for the Ducks’ second goal of the game, cutting the gap to 5–2 with Rowney’s seventh goal of the season. The Blackhawks, however, would add one more goal for good measure when Matthew Highmore hit David Kampf for his eighth of the season and a 6–2 lead on Anaheim goalie Ryan Miller, who replaced Gibson for the third period.

What a pass by Matthew Highmore, who connects with David Kampf for team’s 6th goal tonight. #Blackhawks pic.twitter.com/15ViKUGcGI

— Charlie Roumeliotis (@CRoumeliotis) March 4, 2020

Crawford allowed two goals on 39 shots and the line of Strome, Kane and Nylander had a combined for 13 shots, four goals and three assists. Not a bad day at the office for the Blackhawks, as they took the 6–2 victory and they would hope the rest of the dominoes in front of them would fall their way.

The Blackhawks get the Edmonton Oilers on Thursday at the United Center and puck drop is scheduled for 7:30 p.m. Do not be surprised if Crawford is not in net for that one and Subban makes his “unofficial” Blackhawks debut. With the season likely lost at this point, there really is no need to push a possibly injured Crawford into his seventh start in a row unless they must. Whoever is scheduled in goal probably wishes they were not, as the Oilers are first place in the Pacific Division and show zero signs of slowing down.

The post Along the Boards: Blackhawks take down the Anaheim Ducks 6–2 on the back of Corey Crawford appeared first on The Rink.

In the first period, the Hawks looked like a team that knew they were going to be sellers come Monday’s trade deadline. Within 90 seconds, the Hawks were already down 1–0 due to an apparent allergy to playing defense. Adam Boqvist was easily beat by Filip Chytil up the side boards and Chytil put the puck through the five hole of Chicago goalie Robin Lehner. It was very apparent that the Hawks’ biggest weakness in the first period—much like this season—was puck control and they could not seem to accomplish it on either side of the ice.

The Blackhawks only had a few good shots late in the first and it was because of a slashing penalty on Rangers wing Brett Howden. Alex DeBrincat had a shot that hit the side post for what would have been the game-tying goal. The Blackhawks got most of their 12 first-period shots on goal on that power play alone while the Rangers spread their 12 over the length of the period. As always, Lehner needed some help. New York led 1–0 after 20 minutes.

DeBrincat strikes the post on the #Blackhawks power play and the period comes to an end. Chicago trails 1-0 after twenty minutes of play.#CHIvsNYR pic.twitter.com/l1BykbDbaL

— Chicago Blackhawks (@NHLBlackhawks) February 20, 2020

In the second period, the Blackhawks did something they have not done in a while: looked like a team that wanted to play playoff hockey. They came out with speed and looked more eager to resuscitate a season that at many times has looked dead on arrival. That glimmer of hope would come in the form of captain Jonathan Toews and rookie phenom Dominik Kubalik. As New York was putting a lot of pressure on Lehner with back-to-back chances, the puck slid between the legs of the Chicago netminder for what looked to be a 2–1 Rangers lead. But alas, enter Toews. He got to the net just in time to poke the puck away from crossing the goal line. The home team looked hungry in the second and they would get fed shortly after.

Jonathan Toews appreciation tweet #OCaptain pic.twitter.com/NCTmtHzgLs

— Chicago Blackhawks (@NHLBlackhawks) February 20, 2020

The Hawks pulled out an old classic with a new twist as Patrick Kane slid the puck across the ice to Duncan Keith who then slung it to Kubalik who just beat the skate and pad of goalie Igor Shesterkin to tie things up at 1–1. This goal was Kubalik’s rookie leading 24th goal and Keith’s 500th career assist. A very nice look at both past and present coming together for this team in transition. Not only did the Blackhawks look more agile and determined, but they also were not afraid to get physical.

Yahtzee!#CHIvsNYR pic.twitter.com/Vyqps4cm9Z

— Chicago Blackhawks (@NHLBlackhawks) February 20, 2020

On the other end of the ice, Lehner earned a roughing penalty for shoving Rangers forward Brendan Lemieux after Lemieux pushed David Kampf following the whistle. However, that would be all of the action for the rest of the frame. The Blackhawks outshot the Rangers 16–10 in the second period and seemed poised to chip away at the Western Conference wild card standings tied 1–1 heading into the third period.

Robin Lehner isn’t in the mood for shenanigans. #Blackhawks pic.twitter.com/KqOKibZGSD

— Charlie Roumeliotis (@CRoumeliotis) February 20, 2020

What goes up, unfortunately, must come down, at least for the Rangers. The third period saw seven goals scored, but the Blackhawks were not the benefactor of most of them. Almost three minutes in, Pavel Buchnevich buried a solid pass from Chris Kreider in front of the net to put New York ahead 2–1 and the Rangers would not trail ever again. New York scored again, 90 seconds later, in the form of a power play goal from the elder Strome brother, Ryan. Olli Maatta was hit with a holding penalty and the older Strome scored his 15th on the season to put the Rangers up 3–1. Kubalik picked up his 25th goal of the season, and second of the night, two minutes later to pulling the Hawks within one again at 3–2, but the Rangers just refused to let up.

Make it 2⃣for Dominik Kubalik!

Is the Calder in the @NHLBlackhawks rookie’s future? #NYRvsCHI

: NBCSN
: https://t.co/xFg9MuaGSV pic.twitter.com/V4tZGrTirV

— NHL on NBC (@NHLonNBCSports) February 20, 2020

Kreider scored his 24th on the season for a 4–2 Rangers lead and Artemi Panarin got an unassisted goal for his 30th on the season to push the gap to 5–2 to get his revenge on his former team. The younger Strome, Dylan, could not handle a pass from Maatta and it ended up in the Panarin’s bread basket.

Drake Caggiula tried to keep the dwindling home crowd invested when he buried a crisp pass from Toews off the boards for his seventh on the season to make the score 5–3 New York, but it was too little, too late. Two minutes later, Mika Zibanejad just barely squeaked a nice pass from Buchnevich to the left side of Lehner for the Rangers’ sixth goal of the game and fifth of the period. Chicago lost this one 6–3 late and the “For Sale” sign was firmly nailed up at the United Center. This one was over well before the final horn sounded, but it did not make the loss any less devastating. The Blackhawks needed a miracle on the 40th anniversary of “Miracle on Ice,” but it was not to be.

Here lies the obituary for the 2019-20 #Blackhawks.

They are survived by star Patrick Kane.

There were many fallen soldiers including Andrew Shaw, Brent Seabrook, and Calvin de Haan.

There will be a lottery player in Chicago next season. Hopefully the draft will be kind.

— Blackhawk Up (@Blackhawk_Up) February 20, 2020

The Blackhawks return to action on Friday night against the Nashville Predators in Chicago. Puck drop is scheduled for 7:30 p.m. CST.

The post Along the Boards: Blackhawks overwhelmed late in 6–3 loss to the New York Rangers 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.

Despite Robin Lehner‘s great play against the Columbus Blue Jackets on Friday, Blackhawks head coach Jeremy Colliton decided to go with Corey Crawford in goal.

These were the Blackhawks’ starting lines:
Alex DeBrincat – Jonathan Toews – Andrew Shaw
Dylan Strome – Kirby Dach – Patrick Kane
Brandon Saad – David Kampf – Dominik Kubalik
Drake Caggiula – Ryan Carpenter – Alexander Nylander

Duncan Keith – Connor Murphy
Olli Maatta – Brent Seabrook
Calvin de Haan – Erik Gustafsson

First period

The Blackhawks controlled a good portion of the play to begin the game, as the player of the moment, Kirby Dach, showed the United Center crowd just what talent they have to look forward to for years to come.

Washington took the first lead of the night just over nine minutes into the first period on the power play thanks to yet another Andrew Shaw penalty. Duncan Keith underestimated the pressure on his back, as the Capitals dumped the puck deep into the Blackhawks’ corner, which eventually led to the goal. Evgeny Kuznetsov picked Keith’s pocket and fed a streaking T.J. Oshie, who beat Crawford with a one-timer over the glove.

That goal seemed to take the wind out the Blackhawks’ sails for a few shifts, as they failed on a power play of their own. As a result, the Capitals took a 1–0 lead into the locker room, despite getting outshot 14–12.

Second period

Thanks to a Radko Gudas penalty at the end of the first period, the Blackhawks opened up the second with their third power play of the night. As with the first two power plays, the Blackhawks failed to capitalize, but they were not without some solid chances to tie the game.

At the 11:35 mark of the middle period, following a tremendous steal behind the Washington net by Ryan Carpenter, Alex Nylander found a fat rebound in front of Capitals goalie Braden Holtby and sent a blind pass to Drake Caggiula. Caggiula was wide open on the back door and tied the game at 1–1.

Drake Caggiula ties the game off a sweet pass from Alex Nylander #Blackhawks pic.twitter.com/OoxrCphaQ8

— Juliana Nikac (@juliananikac) October 21, 2019

It was not long, though, before the Blackhawks found themselves holding a bag of mixed luck. Dach took a high stick to the face that drew some blood and the home team was given a four-minute power play. That was where the good luck subsided and the bad luck seeped in.

After a bad pass skipped by Patrick Kane less than 30 seconds into the advantage, Nic Dowd finished a two-on-one by beating a helpless Crawford and tallying a shorthanded goal for a 2–1 Washington advantage. This would eventually result in Chicago failing to convert on its fourth power play of the night.

When the teams headed into the intermission, the Capitals held a 2–1 lead but were getting outshot 29–21 by the Blackhawks.

Third period

As the third period opened, a familiar face in Michal Kempny took a penalty, but the Blackhawks’ ice-cold power play remained lifeless.

Shortly after wasting their fifth power play of the night, Capitals defenseman John Carlson fed Alex Ovechkin for a laser beam of a one-timer, which Crawford had no chance to stop. The Washington captain tallied the 664th goal of his illustrious Hall-of-Fame career.

Just a mere couple of minutes after the Ovechkin goal, Dominik Kubalik threw his hat into the ring with his second goal of the season. At that point, Kubalik could have easily had two more goals with the way he was buzzing around the ice. This time he drove to the net following a Brandon Saad shot and shoveled the rebound into the open net to cut the gap to 3–2.

Great shift by the third line and Dominik Kubalik scores to bring the #Blackhawks within one pic.twitter.com/7fx8LAp26f

— Juliana Nikac (@juliananikac) October 21, 2019

Just as the clock approached the halfway point of the third period, Kane gave the United Center crowd some life. The Blackhawks intercepted a pass and quickly headed towards the Capitals end of the ice on a two-on-one. Kane used Alex Nylander to look off the defender and snapped the puck through Holtby to even the score at 3–3.

Patrick Kane ties the game for the #Blackhawks pic.twitter.com/oephwNrW5O

— Juliana Nikac (@juliananikac) October 21, 2019

The tie game lasted less than three minutes, when Tom Wilson gave the visitors back the lead. Brent Seabrook lost his footing and Jonathan Toews did a fly-by which left Wilson wide open on the back door. Carl Hagelin tallied his second assist of the game, hitting the big power forward with a pass for an easy goal and 4–3 Washington edge.

After pulling the goalie in the final two minutes, the Blackhawks still could not manage to get the game-tying goal and Lars Eller scored a full-ice-length goal to give the visitors a 5–3 win. Final shot totals were 44–30 in favor of the Blackhawks.

Pluses

• Dominik Kubalik has continued to impress. He had a nice partial breakaway in the second period that he did not convert on, but he also had two follow-up whacks at the rebound. For a guy that was perceived as a slower guy, he finds ways to get behind the defense. His goal later in the game just reinforced this perception behind his team-high 10 shots on net.
• Kirby Dach did not look out of place against NHL talent. He kept up and made a few nice quick plays in his 13:40 of ice time. He did not get on the scoresheet, but he was far from the reason the Blackhawks lost. It looks like we might see Dach for the full nine games, at minimum. The one area Chicago might want to consider getting him out there more is the power play. He did not see a second of time with the man advantage.
• I really wanted to come down hard on Alex Nylander, but his pass to Caggiula brought me back from Hatesville (population me) for the evening.

Minuses

• When you outshoot a team 44–30 at home and have five power plays, you need to win that game, period. They did almost everything right. They won 59% of their face offs. They led in high danger scoring chances 16–9. They led in all possession metrics. The only category they did not dominate was goals scored. It is not fair to blame Crawford, but they needed just one more big save from him and he was not able to hold them in the game.

The Blackhawks will face the Vegas Golden Knights on Tuesday. Puck drop is scheduled for 7:30 p.m. CDT.

The post RECAP: Blackhawks drop winnable game to Capitals 5–3 appeared first on The Rink.

Dave Bolland standing with the Blackhawks starters while being honored for his One More Shift. (Photo by Chase Agnello-Dean/NHLI via Getty Images)

Prior to Friday’s game, the Blackhawks honored two-time Stanley Cup Champion and former Chicago Blackhawks forward Dave Bolland for his One More Shift. Bolland received a warm welcome from the home town faithful at the United Center.

A loud and well-deserved ovation for the return of Coyotes legend Dave Bolland. pic.twitter.com/0LogK0XTKc

— Mark Lazerus (@MarkLazerus) October 19, 2019

The famous saying “if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it” was in order for head coach Jeremy Colliton ahead of the game. The only lineup change made was at goalie, as Robin Lehner was starting in goal:

DeBrincat – Toews – Caggiula

Shaw – Strome – Kane

Saad – Kampf – Kubalik

Smith – Carpenter – Nylander

Keith – Murphy

Maatta – Seabrook

de Haan – Gustafsson

Lehner

First period

After everyone settled into their seats, the third line did what they have done best throughout this young season: be a force to be reckoned with. Roughly fourty seconds into the period, Brandon Saad and Dominik Kubalik started a rush up ice with Saad dishing over to Kubalik. After the Czech winger crossed the opposing blue line, he dipped his shoulder and fed a pass to Saad in front. Unfortunately, the bid was denied.

Early in the opening frame, the Blue Jackets did a good job of controlling the pace of play. They generated numerous quality scoring chances early, including on the power play, but Robin Lehner stood tall. 

After very little action to touch on, the Blackhawks struck first. Calvin de Haan fed a pass up the left wing boards to Alex DeBrincat in the Blackhawks’ zone. DeBrincat subsequently fired a pass off the glass and down the ice. The feed perfectly found Drake Caggiula at the opposing blue line, waiting for the dish. Caggiula skated in on the two-on-two and wired a perfect shot to the top right corner of the net for his first goal of the season.

Drake Caggiula's first goal of the year is NICE

Stream the game here: https://t.co/heSdrKpFnT pic.twitter.com/4UMWQE1ceq

— Blackhawks Talk (@NBCSBlackhawks) October 19, 2019

After the impressive tally by Caggiula, the Blackhawks took their lead into the first intermission, despite being outshot by the Blue Jackets 15–10 and badly out possessed. 

Second period

The middle frame against Columbus felt awfully familiar. The Blackhawks seemed to come out flat, unlike they did against Edmonton. The game Monday finally seemed like the Blackhawks improved in the middle frame. They didn’t play bad, but they were still outshot and out possessed.

The best chance of the early minutes came from Chicago. Calvin de Haan found the puck behind the net and dished it out in front to Patrick Kane. Kane was able to get a good shot off, but Columbus goaltender Elvis Merzlikins made an excellent save on the play.

About five and a half minutes into the period, the Blue Jackets’ top center took over. Pierre-Luc Dubois was fighting for the puck against the Blackhawks’ top pairing and was able to wiggle his way around Connor Murphy for the loose puck. Upon gaining possession, Dubois out-waited Robin Lehner, forcing him out of position, and fired a bad angle shot into the back of the wide open net. The game-tying goal felt inevitable after Columbus had dominated possession.

The Blackhawks’ best chance of the period came about a minute after the Dubois goal. Merzlikins attempted to move the puck up ice but the pass was picked off by Andrew Shaw. Shaw found Kane down low to Merzlikins’ right side as he waited for one of his linemates to get open. Dylan Strome ended up being open back door, but could not connect on the one-timer that would have given Chicago the lead.

The Blackhawks survived the middle frame without yielding any more damage. Columbus outshot Chicago once again in the period and was the better possession team again. 

Third period

The opening minutes of the third period did not look great for the Blackhawks. They looked sluggish and behind in comparison to their opponent. Around three minutes into the period, a Blackhawks turnover led to a Columbus rush up the ice. Defenseman Markus Nutivaara fired a shot on net and followed his own rebound. The rebound shot wasn’t as strong as the first, but he got just enough on the puck to float it into the back of the net and give the visitors the 2–1 lead.

https://twitter.com/NHL_fi/status/1185518584627367937

Following the goal, the Blackhawks found more of a pep in their step. They seemed to turn it on after going down a goal in the third period. With about 12 minutes remaining, the Blackhawks had an important power play but nearly cost themselves. Nick Foligno had a shorthanded breakaway and the puck squeaked through Lehner. However, the whistle had already been blown before the puck trickled out from under Lehner and into the back of the net. Chicago lived to see another day.

The reason that power play was so important is because about forty seconds later, Gustafsson set up at the point on that power play and found Patrick Kane at his usual right wing spot on the man advantage. Kane gifted a perfect pass across the ice to DeBrincat, who was set up at the left wing face-off dot. DeBrincat wasted no time, one-timing the puck into the back of the net to tie the game at two-a-piece. 

pic.twitter.com/oApg048srb

— Blackhawks Talk (@NBCSBlackhawks) October 19, 2019

For the remainder of the third, the Blackhawks penalty kill stood tall and Lehner looked good. The Blackhawks were able to generate a power play themselves, thanks to Ryan Carpenter, but they could not capitalize on the opportunity. The game required overtime to determine a winner at 1901 W. Madison St. 

Overtime

Columbus won the opening face-off of the extra frame and proceeded up ice. Despite having possession for the first forty seconds, the visitors could not do anything with the opportunity. 

Instead, the dynamic Kane-Toews duo proceeded up the ice with Toews feeding Kane as the trigger man. Kane put a shot on net, that ultimately hit Toews’ shin pad, and it found its way into the back of the net to secure the Blackhawks 3–2 victory. 

Jonathan Toews overtime winner for his first goal of the season. He’ll take it. #Blackhawks pic.twitter.com/Cwjr2pASuC

— Charlie Roumeliotis (@CRoumeliotis) October 19, 2019

Quick Hits

• Day late, but not a dollar short: The Blackhawks lacked meaningful energy until the Blue Jackets took the 2–1 lead early in the third period. After that, the Blackhawks were by far the better team. However, one player’s energy that stuck out was Alex Nylander. He was constantly back checking and was almost always one of the first player up ice when he was out there. Other players had great energy too, but you could see Nylander embracing the fourth line role and making the most of it. 
• Is he a backup?: Robin Lehner, the “backup” goalie, looked sensational for the Blackhawks on Friday night. Despite giving up two goals, he made many big saves throughout the game, especially early in the first when the Blue Jackets were badly outplaying the Blackhawks. If the Crawford/Lehner duo look like they did on Monday and Friday, respectively, then the Blackhawks have something they can be proud of in net.
• Top shelf/top line: The Blackhawks “first line” was responsible for all three goals Friday night, as Alex DeBrincat scored on the power play and both Drake Caggiula and Jonathan Toews registered their first goals of the season. If the top line can get going and the second line follows suit, then the offense will continue to look like it did last season and, potentially, even better.

The Blackhawks will remain home as they wait for the Washington Capitals. Puck drop is scheduled for 6:00 p.m. CDT on Sunday, October 20.

The post RECAP: Blackhawks come from behind, beat Blue Jackets in overtime appeared first on The Rink.

The Blackhawks had Corey Crawford in net, facing Jack Campbell for LA.  Drake Caggiula made his return to the lineup while Slater Koekkoek, John Hayden and Brendan Perlini all took a mulligan for the night.

This was your Blackhawks starting lineup:
Brandon Saad – Jonathan Toews – Dylan Sikura
Drake Caggiula – Dylan Strome – Dominik Kahun
Alex DeBrincat – Artem Anisimov – Patrick Kane
Chris Kunitz – David Kampf– Marcus Kruger

Duncan Keith – Erik Gustafsson
Gustav Forsling – Brent Seabrook
Carl Dahlstrom – Connor Murphy

Period One
Not more than a minute and a half into the game, the Kings nearly took a fast 1-0 lead when Anze Kopitar found an errant puck in the Blackhawks slot area and beat Corey Crawford, but drew iron. The visitors could hardly afford to give up the Kings the lead that early on.

With 8:35 remaining in the first period, Marcus Kruger was caught hooking a Kings forward and ended up in the penalty box. Boasting the last ranked penalty kill in the NHL, the Blackhawks forced the Kings to spend most of the power play in their own end.

After holding an early shot lead, the Blackhawks were bending but never breaking. They were down 12-7 in shots when they drew their first power play of the night with four minutes left in the opening period. Their fate was only slightly better than the King on their first power play.

For that matter, only slightly better than the Kings second power play, as well, which LA drew shortly after they killed off the Blackhawks initial power play.

As a result, the teams were still tied at zero heading into the first intermission. The Kings were the shots on net leaders, 14-9.

Period Two
A minute and thirty-eight seconds into the second period, their forty goal sophomore Alex DeBrincat drove to the Kings net and swept the puck into the crease. Kings defensemen Drew Doughty and Alec Martinez were charging into the crease and ended up putting the puck into their own net. This was certainly a case of “puck luck” but the Blackhawks could use as much help as possible.

We’ll take it!#Purr pic.twitter.com/teVJeNa29Z

— Chicago Blackhawks (@NHLBlackhawks) March 31, 2019

The physical play ramped up as the second period went on, with Drake Caggiula and Brent Seabrook getting into altercations. Eventually, Jeff Carter took a penalty for slashing, which put the Blackhawks back on the man advantage. The Blackhawks failed on that power play as well.

With four minutes remaining in the second period, Kings forward Austin Wagner turned on the jets and blew past a flat-footed defenseman Carl Dahlstrom, eventually also beating goaltender Corey Crawford and tying the game for the Kings.

.@Austinwagner97 has wheels. pic.twitter.com/DYmfTivhV0

— NHL GIFs (@NHLGIFs) March 31, 2019

As the teams headed into the second intermission, the Blackhawks worked their way back in shots on net, leading 14-6 and thinking a 23-20 edge overall.

Period Three
Three minutes into the third period the Blackhawks took a 2-1 lead. Following a Marcus Kruger offensive zone faceoff win, Duncan Keith feathered a pass right into Erik Gustafsson’s wheelhouse, who surprised Jack Campbell. This was Gustafsson’s 17th goal and 56th point to match his sweater number.

GUS IS FIRING LASERS OUT HERE!

: https://t.co/K9UHgdx4tA pic.twitter.com/fHhN28ODnf

— Blackhawks Talk (@NBCSBlackhawks) March 31, 2019

The Kings were able to cause enough chaos in the Blackhawks zone that the defense turned it over and gave center Michael Amadio a clean look at Corey Crawford, with plenty of time. Amadio snapped a shot into the top self, tying the game at two goals apiece.

This was how regulation play ended and the two teams went to overtime.

Overtime
Despite some solid action up and down the ice, neither team was able to score on their combined four combined shots until Jonathan Toews took a late penalty. The Blackhawks were not able to get the puck out of their end and Drew Doughty beat Corey Crawford with a cannon of a shot to win the game. Chicago really needed to win the game in regulation to gain any ground.

Pluses

• Alex DeBrincat and Erik Gustafsson continue to have storybook seasons. Of the two, I would predict that DeBrincat will be the one that has the potential to repeat.
• Drake Caggiula’s physical presence was noticeable and he nearly took a bad spill deep in the LA end of the ice after a battle with Kurtis MacDermid
• Corey Crawford continues to play amazing hockey, and continues to get little help.
• Patrick Kane was doing everything he could to try and “will” this team to a win, with a game high eight shots on net.

Minuses

• The Blackhawks out shot the Kings 35-29 and were 1-for-3 on the power play.  Earlier that was a recipe for success, but the law of averages have caught the Blackhawks and penalized them harshly.  They also only gave up 15 shots in the final two period and overtime.
• David Kampf was hit in the face in the first period and was ruled out for the rest of the game.
• Twice in the second period, the Kings just imposed their physical will on the Blackhawks and Chicago looked pretty gutless outside of some minor sparks from Brent Seabrook.
• Artem Anisimov won only 5 of 20 faceoffs.  That’s unacceptable.

The post RECAP: Kings beat Blackhawks in overtime 3-2 appeared first on The Rink.

I am here to tell you something that you might find surprising coming from the “noted Stan Bowman basher.” The Blackhawks standing pat yesterday is good for the long term future of this team. Certainly, better than most of the alternatives, that is.

Welcome back…

This is exactly the scenario John Jaeckel, Tyler Cameron and I spoke about on last week’s Rinkcast. Outside of a few big names, at the all wrong positions, there was not much of a market for what the Blackhawks need. Defense comes at a premium price and an even higher price at the deadline. Rather than pillaging what little depth they have in the system; Stan Bowman chose to survive to fight another day.

I can respect that.

Another thing that this told me is that maybe (just maybe) the front office was smart enough to not buy into this recent playoff nonsense and were able to look at this team from 30,000 feet. The Blackhawks are a team using several improbable hot streaks to make their team look better than any of the supporting statistics. To put it bluntly, the defense is far too bad to fix with a panicked over payment at the deadline.

The Blackhawks need to be smarter than everyone else. Like I have been saying for weeks, they need to be shrewd with their moves. Sometimes shrewd means packing up your briefcase and calling it a day.

Still, the internet (and casual fan) outrage is almost embarrassing. There is simply too much irrational outrage over this year’s lack of deadline moves. Either people are not properly informed, or they just want the team to make moves for the sake of making moves. Regardless of need or common sense.

Let me debunk some myths and meatball outrage that’s floating around this wonderful thing called the internet.

The Hawks could have and should have made and offer for Mark Stone.

Sure. They might have been able to put together a comparable deal to what Vegas did in acquiring the former Ottawa wing. He is a great player. I cannot deny that. Mark Stone is definitely an upgrade over Dominik Kahun, Dylan Sikura, or John Hayden. The question is: Does Mark Stone, alone, make this team a legit Stanley Cup contender?

No, he does not.

Mark Stone can put a very good team in the conversation as a contender. Much like another meatball pipe dream, Artemi Panarin, Mark Stone does nothing to help keep the puck out of the back of the Blackhawks net. This is not the only conundrum, though. If the Blackhawks were to “beat” the Vegas offer, it would have started with a deal resembling Adam Boqvist, David Kampf (who is injured), and a second-round draft pick. This also takes absolutely nothing else into account.

One would have to assume that if the Senators were going to deal Stone, it was going to be to a legit cup contender. Not some house of smoke and mirrors that will most likely end up in the lottery before the playoffs. Then the only thing you’re really acquiring is the right to sign Stone to an extra eight year on a long-term deal. Is giving up your top prospect worth still getting swept in the first round or not making the playoffs at all?

No, it is absolutely NOT worth it.

Another thing that the casual observers are discounting is that Mark Stone is a top line right wing that will make roughly $9.5M (we’ll talk about this later) and expects to play 20 plus minutes a night. Guess who else is a top line right wing that makes $10.5M and expects to play 22 plus minutes a night?

Patrick Kane.

There is simply not enough time in a game to accommodate these players. One of these players would have to cut their time significantly and when you’re paying $20M for two players, that is a tough pill to swallow. I promise you Patrick Kane is not getting pulled off the ice for anyone.

The Blackhawks top six of Caggiula, Toews, Kane, DeBrincat, Strome and Kahun is pretty solid. Keep in mind, this scenario still has Brandon Saad playing on the third line. If you swap Saad for Caggiula, that’s an even more solid top six. Mark Stone is a very nice player, if you don’t have Patrick Kane. Would he ever earn his keep? Probably not.

The last point that needs to be brought up is the tax-vs-salary implications. Now, I am certainly no accountant but this might add a wrinkle into the “supposed” UFA deal Stan Bowman could have offered Stone.

Quick note on Stone’s new 8-year, $9.5M AAV deal… Vegas has no state tax. That’s equivalent to almost $13M in Ottawa

— David Pagnotta (@TheFourthPeriod) February 25, 2019

In Illinois, this would equate to approximately $350,000. Little things make a difference.

This brings me back to my original point. Who is helping to keep the Blackhawks from facing 35 shots a night and the most high-danger chances against in the league? Not a right wing, that’s for sure. Can he help? Certainly “some“, but not enough to drop a second mortgage on the United Center.

Why didn’t the Hawks trade for the defenseman/defensemen they need? Buncha failures!

My gripe with the casual outrage on this subject is that the market for defenseman was either nonexistent or grossly overpriced. The defensemen that were moved Monday were Nick Jensen, Ben Lovejoy, Connor Carrick, Brandon Montour, Adam McQuaid, Oscar Fantenberg, Erik Gudbranson, Bogdan Kiselevich, and Chris Wideman. Do any of these guys keep the puck out of the Blackhawks net?

Maybe; but probably not. They are certainly not worth over paying to acquire and none of them make this current Blackhawks team a legit cup contender.

Bowman would be better off dealing at the draft, or during the summer, to acquire defensemen. He will get better market value and will have more roster flexibility. I said this on twitter yesterday, but it looks to me that the front office took a “lose-without-losing-on-purpose” mentality. We should all be OK with this.

Where I would have liked to see some movement is players that don’t have a place with the team going forward, like Gustav Forsling, but not worth making an issue over. Let’s see what Bowman does at the draft in June before we freak out, eh?

The post Analysis: How Did Stan Bowman do at the Trade Deadline? appeared first on The Rink.

The Blackhawks starting lines were as follows:
Drake Caggiula – Jonathan Toews – Patrick Kane
Alex DeBrincat – Dylan Strome – Dominik Kahun
Brandon Saad – David Kampf – Marcus Kruger
Chris Kunitz – Artem Anisimov – John Hayden

Duncan Keith– Brent Seabrook
Slater Koekkoek – Erik Gustafsson
Carl Dahlstrom– Connor Murphy

First Period

Shortly after the opening faceoff, a great shift from the Blackhawks center Dylan Strome line lead to Oilers forward Ryan Nugent-Hopkins taking a slashing penalty against Alex Debrincat less than two minutes into the game. Only a few seconds later, after an offensive zone face-off win by Toews, Erik Gustafsson, fired a wrist shot from the point to beat Talbot through traffic.  Gustafsson now has three goals in his last two games.

The first five minutes saw the Hawks hustling to loose pucks, winning board battles, and exiting their zone cleanly. They generated five shots on goal in the first six minutes of the game and were dictating most of the pace early. At 9:30 Kyle Brodziak took a holding penalty on John Hayden, sending the red-hot dangerous Blackhawks power play out for the second time in the opening frame. Though the power play looked good again, an extra and errant pass from Debrincat below the hash marks squandered the Hawks second man advantage, Oilers with their first successful penalty kill of the game.

The ice started tilting towards the Oilers side as the momentum shift led to Leon Draisaitl taking advantage of a Blackhawks defensive breakdown. Luckily for the visiting team, Ward was in position to make the save in close. The situation did not improve for the Hawks who were sent to the penalty kill at 3:58 after Connor Murphy gets called for a questionable boarding penalty. Much like the first Chicago power play the Oilers scored only moments after Murphy’s infraction.  At 18:45 Darnell Nurse sent a one-timer on Ward, who could not control the rebound. Connor McDavid found the puck and got it to Draisaitl who buried it in the open net to tie the game at one.

Shortly after, and potentially on their way to letting the game get out of hand, the Blackhawks took yet another penalty late in the period. Carl Dahlstrom tripped Ty Rattie sending the Oilers back to the power play less than a minute after the Hawks failed to kill the previous one. A minute into the penalty kill, Marcus Kruger took what could be argued as a good hooking penalty on Ryan Nugent-Hopkins who was in close and alone on Ward. Two minutes after allowing the Oilers to tie the game the Hawks face a five on three penalty kill situation.

Jonathan Toews won the crucial face-off in the defensive zone but the Hawks could not control the puck. Connor McDavid fed Draisaitl with an absolutely beautiful no look pass for Draisaitl’s second of the game. In two minutes the Hawks went from up one to down one.

Still on the penalty kill, the Blackhawks committed yet another penalty when McDavid entered the zone with speed on Dahlstrom and Seabrook. Beaten by the best player in the league, Dahlstrom hooked McDavid, giving the Oilers another five on three advantage that would eventually carry over into the second period.

Shots were 16-9 in favor of the Oilers in the first period, and the Oilers led 2-1.

Second Period

The Blackhawks opened the second period killing the final 30 seconds of a five on three penalty kill.  After stifling Draisaitl and McDavid, the Hawks resume five on five play, and started to pressure the Oilers in their zone. Former coach Joel Quenneville, always said something to the effect of ‘whoever wins the 5 on 3 situation usually wins the game’ the Blackhawks would heed those old words in the second period.

Forward Patrick Kane, under the threat of ending his point streak, started to wake up as the top line was an offensive threat almost every shift.

At 13:11 Drake Caggiula had a three-on-one odd-man rush with Patrick Kane but fired a shot that Talbot gloved. Caggiula has been effective on that top line and it was good to see him take the shot when that’s the best choice instead of defaulting to passing it to Kane and squandering a good scoring chance.

The Hawks dictate most of the play in the remaining half of the second period but Talbot kept the Oilers in front. The second period concluded with an incredible save from Cam Ward on Ty Rattie. McDavid drove up the wall and fed Rattie directly in front of the net but Cam Ward went post-to-post and made the pad save, his best of the night.

Shots were 12-7 in favor of the Blackhawks in the second period. Oilers still led 2-1, though.

See what we mean?!#Blackhawks pic.twitter.com/1l9dmjLv2a

— Chicago Blackhawks (@NHLBlackhawks) February 6, 2019

Third Period

Carrying the momentum from the second period, the Blackhawks looked to even the score in the final frame. At 16:10 Chris Kunitz knocked the puck off the wall, Marcus Kruger picked it up and fed John Hayden in front of the net with a slick backhand. Hayden buried the puck and the Hawks, after controlling most of the play for the last 20 minutes, tied the game early in the third period.

The Blackhawks continued to press the gas pedal as, a minute and a half later, center Dylan Strome scored using Darnell Nurse as a screen and sniped the puck short side over the glove of Cam Talbot, set up by Alex Debrincat and Dominik Kahun. 3-2 Blackhawks.

We anticipate a tweetStrome after this wrister#Blackhawks pic.twitter.com/O3BUue1VEh

— Chicago Blackhawks (@NHLBlackhawks) February 6, 2019

On the very next shift, Artem Anisimov gained the zone and fired a wrist shot on the Oiler goaltender.  Ward fumbled the rebound, and defenseman Oscar Klefbom got his stick lifted by Patrick Kane.  Kane stole the puck in close and fired it into the open net with Talbot down and out.

Oiler Head Coach Ken Hitchcock challenged the goal claiming goalie interference, as Brandon Saad made a great drive to the net and his foot was in between Talbots legs.  Saad’s leg was out of the blue paint and not interfering with Talbot’s ability to make the save, so the goal stood.

As a result, the Blackhawks had now scored three goals in the last two minutes of play, and Cam Talbot’s night was over. Hitchcock sent in Mikko Koskinen, who on November 1st stopped 40 Hawks shots in a shutout win.

At the 13:22 mark of the final frame, Jonathan Toews entered the Oilers zone off of a Pat Kane feed and drifted between the circles.  He continued below the goal line, maintaining possession from the outstretched stick of defender Kris Russell.  Toews then found Caggiula all alone between the hash marks and Caggiula buried the shot, his second goal in the last week.

Caggiulove to see that!#Blackhawks pic.twitter.com/gOjAIgEGb7

— Chicago Blackhawks (@NHLBlackhawks) February 6, 2019

With 9:34 left in the game, Jonathan Toews drew a high sticking infraction from Leon Draisaitl which led to another Blackhawks power play. Toews and Debrincat had a couple of opportunities on the resulting man advantage but they could not solve Koskinen initially. After an Oilers clear, Duncan Keith moved the puck to Brandon Saad, who sent the puck to Brent Seabrook along the wall.  Seabrook threw a saucer pass in front of Dominik Kahun, who redirected the puck out of the air and roofed it for his ninth goal of the season. The Hawks now led 6-2 with 7:48 left in the game, and the locals decide to call it a night. The Oilers had decent pressure but the score stayed the same for the remainder of the game, which gave the Blackhawks a convincing 6-2 win

Final Thoughts

The Hawks have now won five in a row.  They have 21 power play goals in the last 16 games and now sit three points out of the final wildcard spot with five teams to jump. They play the team that currently occupies the final wild card spot in the Western Conference, the Vancouver Canucks on Thursday, an important two points for the Blackhawks.

The post RECAP: Blackhawks Win Fifth Straight in Edmonton 6-2 appeared first on The Rink.

7:00pm CST
PPG Paints Arena
TV/Radio: NBCSN/WGN

PROJECTED STARTERS

Chicago – Cam Ward (6–7–4, SV%: .888, GAA: 3.85)
Pittsburgh – Matt Murray (11–5–1, SV%: .913, GAA: 2.89)

TEAM STATISTICS

Power Play
Chicago (15.4%, 24th)
Pittsburgh (27.2%, 5th)

Penalty Kill
Chicago (73.2%, 31st)
Pittsburgh (84.1%, 4th)

Shorts for/against
Chicago (31.4, 19th; 34.6, 29th)
Pittsburgh (32.5, 11th; 33.0, 25th)

Shooting %
Chicago (9.1%, 21st)
Pittsburgh (10.7%, 6th)

Faceoff %
Chicago (49.7%, 18th)
Pittsburgh (50.1%, 14th)

Avg. height/weight
Chicago 6’1”, 197lbs
Pittsburgh 6’1” 200lbs

PROJECTED LINES/PAIRINGS

Chicago Blackhawks

Brandon Saad–Jonathan Toews–Dominik Kahun

Artem Anisimov–Dylan Strome–Patrick Kane

Alex DeBrincat–David Kampf–Brendan Perlini

John Hayden–Marcus Kruger–Drake Caggiula

Duncan Keith–Erik Gustafsson

Gustav Forsling–Brent Seabrook

Carl Dahlstrom–Connor Murphy

Pittsburgh Penguins

Jake Guentzel–Sidney Crosby–Bryan Rust

Dominik Simon–Evgeni Malkin–Patric Hornqvist

Tanner Pearson–Derick Brassard–Phil Kessel

Riley Sheahan–Matt Cullen–Zach Aston-Reese

Brian Dumolin–Kris Letang

Marcus Pettersson–Jack Johnson

Olli Maatta–Jusso Riikola

Analysis

Collin Delia has been nothing short of spectacular thus far for the Blackhawks. After an outstanding outing Thursday night in Long Island, the Blackhawks spoiled Delia’s 47-save performance in overtime. With back-to-back games upcoming, this sets up Blackhawks fans for a Ward-Delia split over the next two days.

After visa issues over the past week, Drake Caggiula finally joins the team prior to taking on the Penguins in Pittsburgh. After Saturday’s practice, it is likely that Caggiula will slot on the fourth line for tonight’s contest with Marcus Kruger and… Chris Kunitz (more on that later). With Caggiula joining the team, the Blackhawks sent down both Andreas Martinsen and Dylan Sikura to the Rockford IceHogs.

The Penguins enter Sunday night’s action riding an eight-game win streak. After a quiet start to their season, the Penguins have been one of the hottest teams in the NHL since mid-to-late November. The Penguins also rank top-10 in numerous critical areas such as power play and penalty kill, so keep an eye on that tonight as the Blackhawks have struggled all season on special teams.

The Penguins will be honoring the 2009 Stanley Cup team at PPG Paints Arena. Despite not playing much in the last 15 games, Chris Kunitz will play tonight as a part of his special night. Kunitz was a key member of the 2009 Stanley Cup Champions and, although not having a good season for Chicago, will play tonight as a part of his special night in the city he called home for eight and a half seasons.

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 Penguins appeared first on The Rink.

With Drake Caggiula joining the team following visa problems, the Blackhawks had to make corresponding moves to allow Caggiula and Brandon Davidson to be added to the roster.  Davidson was activated from injured reserve and put on waivers to be sent to Rockford, but Martinsen and Sikura were sent down instead.  The Blackhawks have 10 games (or 30 days) to send Davidson down before he has to go through waivers again.

In 24 games, the 28-year-old Norwegian Martinsen has four points (1G, 3A) and is averaging 7:56 of ice time a game in a limited role.  He was a prominent figure in the Rockford team that had a deep playoff run last spring.

Sikura, on the other hand, was playing a more important role with Alex DeBrincat and David Kampf, presumably where Caggiula will slot in.  Sikura played 11 games with the Blackhawks and registered a mere three assists while averaging 10:30 of ice time.  In his 16 total NHL games, he has yet to score his first NHL goal, and is averaging only 1.5 shots per game.

Drake Caggiula should slot into the Blackhawks lineup right where Sikura was, on the third line.  The potential lineup for Sunday’s game could look as follows:

The post Blackhawks Re-Assign Dylan Sikura, Andreas Martinsen appeared first on The Rink.

The-Rink.com co-hosts Jeff “Gatekeeper” Osborn and John Jaeckel get together to talk about the  Blackhawks and their happenings over the holidays.

• Our Indy Fuel beat writer Evan Miller gives us the first Indy Fuel report.
• The Blackhawks lose to Boston in the 2019 Winter Classic.
• Blackhawks trade Manning and Norell to Edmonton for Caggiula and Garrison
• Where does Caggiula fit in the lineup?  Does anyone get sent down or waived?
• Goalie talk with the Gatekeeper
• We answered some great listener and reader questions

As a new year gift, we close out with “On My Side” from The-Rink friend and huge Blackhawks fan Patrick Judge with his bandmates in Demon Hunter.

New for 2019, the Rinkcast is also available on YouTube

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 post The Blackhawks Rinkcast – Episode 40 – Winter Classic appeared first on The Rink.

The big piece of the deal for the Blackhawks is Caggiula, and Garrison will slot in with the plethora of bottom pair defenseman that they are carrying. The benefit to essentially acquiring Garrison for Manning, though, is that Garrison only makes $650,000 for the remainder of this season as opposed to Manning’s $2.25M salary cap hit for next season, as well..

The 24-year-old Caggiula was signed by the Oilers as a free agent out of North Dakota (teammate of Nick Schmaltz) in the summer of 2016, and signed a 2-year $3M extension this past summer, according to Puckpedia. He has amassed 49 points (27G, 22A) in 156 National Hockey League games.

Garrison is a 6’1” 218lbs, 34-year-old veteran defenseman that was signed as a free agent on October 2, 2018. He has played 17 games with the Oilers and scored one goal.

The Blackhawks signed Brandon Manning as (potentially) their biggest free agent acquisition, in July. Manning’s slow foot speed eventually led to healthy scratch situations and, ultimately, falling out of favor with former coach Joel Quenneville and current coach Jeremy Colliton.

Robin Norell is a familiar name for fans of the Rockford Icehogs. The 23-year-old Swedish defenseman played 136 games with Rockford and collected 18 points (3G, 15A). Norell signed a 3-year entry level deal with the Blackhawks in 2016, but wasn’t able to secure a long term position in Rockford.

After losing favor in the organization, the frustrated Swede elected to go back home to play for Djurgårdens IF this season (originally reported by The-Rink in August)

The post BREAKING: Blackhawks Acquire Caggiula, Garrison for Manning appeared first on The Rink.