Brock Nelson opened the scoring with his 20th of the season on the Islanders first shot of the game at 6:09 of the first. Hudson Fasching entered the Hawks zone, stopped at the blue line then led Nelson with a pass as he had a step on the Hawks defender and skated in alone, and fired a shot through the five hole of Mrazek to give the Isles a 1-0 advantage. The score would remain through the first 20 minutes.

With 1:53 left in the second period, Boris Katchouk tied it at 1-1. Katchouck skated in alone but was denied by Sorokin. Katchouck picked up his own rebound and skated into the slot and fired a wrist shot past Sorokin for his fifth of the season.

Katchouk isn’t the most skilled guy but he never quits on a play #Blackhawks pic.twitter.com/G5QrDI3geq

— Mario Tirabassi (@Mario_Tirabassi) January 20, 2024

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The Blackhawks took the lead with 45.7 seconds left in the middle period when Joey Anderson scored his first of the season. Colin Blackwell skated in on a two-on-one and fed Anderson who tapped it in to give the Hawks a 2-1 lead after 40 minutes.

STAND UP UC pic.twitter.com/ozvH9MRBHy

— Chicago Blackhawks (@NHLBlackhawks) January 20, 2024

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The Blackhawks extended their lead to 3-1 when Jason Dickinson scored his 15th of the season. A Noah Dobson turnover led to a Hawks odd-man rush up the ice. Anderson fed a wide-open Dickerson at 5:10 of the third period.

this goal pic.twitter.com/W2yzuEgCnf

— Chicago Blackhawks (@NHLBlackhawks) January 20, 2024

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The Islanders cut the Blackhawks’ lead to 3-2 at 6:37 of the third. Matt Barzal picked up a loose puck and dished it to Bo Horvat for his 18th of the season.

At 12:50 of the third, the Isles tied it at 3-3 when Kyle Palmieri scored his 11th of the season. Palmieri skated into the Hawks zone behind the net and scored on a wraparound with Mrazek caught out of position. Sixty minutes was not enough so the teams headed to overtime in a 3-3 tie.

It did not take long for the Hawks to skate away with a 4-3 win in overtime. Just 22 seconds into the extra frame, Seth Jones fired a wrist shot from the middle of the ice just inside the blue line for his first of the season that went past a screened Sorokin to give the Hawks the win.

HAWKS OT WIN ON A FRIDAY NIGHT pic.twitter.com/acgmqc6lO2

— Chicago Blackhawks (@NHLBlackhawks) January 20, 2024

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Analysis

The Hawks performed a complete 180 from their Thursday night debacle with a strong effort against a gritty Islanders team that was looking for its first win in the final game of their current four-game road trip. It was not to be as the Hawks played a simple game by consistently putting the puck on net and keeping their feet moving throughout the ice. The Hawks also deserve credit for sticking with their game plan after giving up a two-goal lead in the third period. Despite giving up a bad goal on the equalizer in the third, Mrazek had another strong game as he stopped several point-blank chances. The Blackhawks begin a four-game road trip out west on Monday night in Vancouver. Puck drop is at 9:00 PM CST on NBCSCH+ and 720 WGN Radio.

The post RECAP: Blackhawks edge Islanders, 4-3 in overtime appeared first on The Rink.

As big Lehner fans and the progenitors of the #PayRobin hashtag, we were also quick to cry foul—perhaps temporarily forgetting the true nature of contract negotiations in the NHL, and what’s most likely at work here.

Go ahead #Blackhawks front office: bollocks up re-signing Lehner and it’ll be the deserved END of some careers, while his will go on elsewhere.

— The Amazing Rando (@jaeckel) January 10, 2020

First, it’s all a negotiation.

As much as we want to see Lehner in Chicago long-term, GMs (for the most part) and agents (completely) are not in the business of fulfilling fan narratives. If I’m Lehner’s agent, my job is to get my client the most money and term on his next deal (because that’s also how I make my money) and hopefully in a situation where my client can thrive, win playoff games, and get endorsement deals. Period.

So that said, why wouldn’t I use Sergei Bobrovsky’s 8-year, $80 million contract as a starting point in my conversations with Stan Bowman? Because it’s not nice? Lehner is, fact, going to get paid this summer like he’s one of the top 10 goalies in the NHL—because he is one of them.

All that said, that’s the high end of the market. And if you’re Stan Bowman, you want to frame this negotiation by starting out at the low end of the market—say the deal we heard was initially offered.

And through negotiation, you likely end up somewhere in the middle, which would be about $7-7.5 million per for 5-6 years. Seems reasonable.

“But, but, you can trade Lehner. He doesn’t want to stay in Chicago anyway.”

We believe—and we’ve heard—Lehner wants to stay in Chicago. You don’t want to believe us or our sources? Listen to Lehner then:

Robin Lehner on whether he's open to discussing contract extension with #Blackhawks in-season.

He also said he's not interested in taking a discount, but doesn't want to be overpaid either: "I want to gain some respect that I think I deserve." pic.twitter.com/q0ZnMno1FC

— Charlie Roumeliotis (@CRoumeliotis) January 10, 2020

No, he’s not going to give the Hawks a hometown discount, nor should he. Can the Hawks trade Lehner for a bucket of pucks at the deadline?

Sure, and then you’re left with Colin Delia, Kevin Lankinen and the shell of Corey Crawford (if he doesn’t retire anyway) next year—and going forward. Unless you decide at some point to pay a top goalie—who wants to be in Chicago—the going rate for his services. And you already have that guy. Let’s be logical, mmmm-kay?

To hesitate on this would be front office malpractice. But, in all likelihood, the Hawks are going about this the right way, for now, even if at the risk of offending Lehner. It’s a negotiation. And it’s between the Hawks and Lehner’s agent. Not just the Hawks and Lehner.

And certainly, the situation can change—the two parties can move toward each other and come together in the middle of the range outlined above—which seems to make a lot of sense. And there is time yet for that to happen.

Or one side or the other can get angry and shut it down, allowing Lehner to go to UFA this summer, or trading him or his rights before then. And that’s the time to panic.

Because #PayRobin is better than the alternative.

What do you think? Sign in and comment below.

Photoshop courtesy of Jeff Osborn / Photograph courtesy of NHL.com

The post #PayRobin: Too early to panic in Lehner negotiation appeared first on The Rink.

The Chicago Blackhawks fanbase and overall media universe were caught off guard yesterday by the team’s signing of free agent goalie Robin Lehner. Here at The Rink, we may not have been the only observers to theorize that a surprise move in net might be in the offing, but we were definitely in the minority.

If you listen from about the 1 hour/14 minute mark of RinkCast 54 (recorded last week), you’ll hear the likely rationale for why the Hawks would acquire an expereinced alternative to Corey Crawford and Collin Delia this summer.

After yesterday’s news, the writing on the wall could not be more clear: Corey Crawford’s tenure between the pipes in Chicago is likely winding down. He is now in the final year of a big money contract, 35 years old, and has had recent, serious concussion issues that have basically wiped out over a season of hockey.

GM Stan Bowman has done a lot of work on his defense the last couple of years, with 5 defensemen drafted in the first two rounds of the last 3 drafts and two trades this summer for experienced NHL blueliners. All these moves, at least on paper, suggest improvement to the Blackhawks’ NHL fortunes near-term and long-term.

Bowman has also begun re-building the bottom six forwards—seemingly trying to recapture the formula of 2015 with Andrew Shaw and Ryan Carpenter, who may remind some of 2015 Cup winner Andrew Desjardins. And yes, Marcus Kruger could be back as the teams’s 12th or 13th forward. These aren’t “offensive” moves.They are all about building lower lines and penalty killing forwards that help keep the puck out of the Hawks’ net.

It’s also extremely likely that Artem Anisimov will get his needed change of scenery in the next few days, and the Hawks may now have the luxury to move another depth defenseman. And thus, the Hawks’ may yet add another forward.

Bowman is busy, and dealing, and slowly the face of a rebuilt team is emerging—the way championships are built, from the net out.

Let’s get clear now on what signing Lehner really means.

Lehner is not Cam Ward. Or Scott Darling.

He is a 27 year old Vezina Trophy Finalist and Jennings Trophy winner in 2019. His recent body of work is at least an echelon above both of the aforementioned former Hawk netminders. He is big, talented and competitive. This is why his signing raised so many eyebrows and questions. Lehner is likely not a 1B goalie—he’s a #1. So then what’s going to happen to Crawford?

Lehner is signed for one year.

What this means is next July 1st (or more likely before) the team and Lehner will make a decision whether he will be extended and remain in Chicago as the #1. This strategy gives Lehner the freedom to decide where he wants to be, and gives the Hawks some flexibility in terms of clarifying their goalie situation. On the surface, it can be described like the Ward signing a year ago.The difference is Lehner is 27, not 34, and he is a better goalie at this point than Ward was last year.

A lot could happen: Collin Delia could really continue to refine his game and emerge as a #1. It’s possible. LIkely? Ehhh, those are longer odds.

Crawford could rise up, stay healthy, and play 65 stellar games—and make the case for a short contract extension. But that new contract could also be elsewhere in the NHL. But all that rides on Crawford staying completely healthy this season, which again are longer odds.

Lehner could be in Chicago long term. It’s probably up to him.

Finally, it’s very likely that the team and Lehner’s agent discussed the very real possibility of a longer term extension. The Hawks, I was told then, investigated trading for Lehner 2-3 years ago. They like his talent. At the same time, Lehner is also a recent Masterton Trophy winner, a result of his recent  “comeback” from alcoholism and related emotional issues. Although Columbus and his incumbent Islanders offered Lehner deals in the last 24-48 hours, even the Islanders were allegedly only willing to go to 2 years in term. Why? Because likely any team is going to need to see some more sobriety and stability from Lehner before committing significant dollars and term. And likely no one understands that better than Lehner himself.

What all this activity over the last few weeks means is that the old paradigm of the Chicago Blackhawks is rapidly changing. Sure, Patrick Kane and Jonathan Toews, Duncan Keith and Brent Seabrook, are still around. But aside from that, everything else with this team has evolved, and at some point in the not too terribly distant future, one or two more chunks of the remaining Cup core will fall away as Bowman continues to make major moves.

All we have for now. Comment below.

The post ANALYSIS: Lehner signing is another big move in Bowman’s rebuild appeared first on The Rink.

The Blackhawks lines and pairings:

Brandon Saad–Jonathan Toews–Dominik Kahun

Artem Anisimov–Dylan Strome–Patrick Kane

Alex DeBrincat–David Kampf–Dylan Sikura

John Hayden–Marcus Kruger–Brendan Perlini

Duncan Keith–Erik Gustafsson

Gustav Forsling–Brent Seabrook

Carl Dahlstrom–Connor Murphy

Collin Delia took the net for Chicago, facing off against Robin Lehner for the Isle.

FIRST PERIOD

The Islanders took control early on, maintaining sustained offensive zone pressure on the Hawks and Delia. Yet at 3:05, right after Chicago registered their first shot on net, a redirect of a Duncan Keith shot by Brandon Saad, Dominik Kahun scooped up the rebound and put it home past Lehner. 1-0 Chicago.

The Islanders came right back with a goal of their own at 6:47, when Delia gave up a fat rebound off a Johnny Boychuk point blast that Mathew Barzal swatted out of midair past the Chicago netminder, high glove side. 1-1.

Delia made a number of solid saves over the rest of the period—and he had to as the Isle outshot the Hawks 14-3 in the first.

SECOND PERIOD

Action in the middle period was largely back and forth.

Each team was able to log sustained offensive zone time and generate some good chances. The Islanders appeared to take the lead on another midair swat of a rebound, this time by Cal Clutterbuck, at 13:40. However, the goal was overruled by replay as being hit by a high stick.

After that point, the tempo picked up with several chances for both teams.

As is too often the case, Gustav Forsling took a defensive zone penalty at 18:35.  Sure enough, Barzal struck again after Delia lost his stick at 18:56. 2-1 Islanders.

The period would end with shots 16-13 for New York, 30-16 in favor of the Isle through two periods.

THIRD PERIOD

Brock Nelson took a penalty at 4:23, which led to the tying goal for Chicago, a Patrick Kane slapshot from the right circle at 5:01. 2-2.

Duncan Keith took an obvious hooking penalty on Barzal at 16:49, giving the Isle the perfect opportunity to regain the lead and win the game. But the Hawks killed the penalty, thanks mostly to some solid and tenacious penalty kill defense from Connor Murphy and Carl Dahlstrom.

Regulation ended 2-2. The Hawks got the road point, thanks mostly to Delia’s heroics, despite being outshot 48-19 through three periods.

OVERTIME

Delia was the hard luck loser in OT when Devon Toews blasted home a rebound of his own shot, which drew Delia out of the net. 3-2 New York, final.

THE GOOD

Overall, Delia was yet again outstanding.

The Toews line played well most of the night, and was the Hawks’ best offensively.

THE BAD

The Hawks were absolutely destroyed in the faceoff dot, losing 38 of 56 draws in regulation, with only David Kampf above 50%.

Dylan Sikura rode the bench much of the third period.

The DeBrincat-Kampf-Sikura line had one shot on goal through the first two periods, and were pushed around and off pucks all night by the Islanders.

THE UGLY

Forsling and Erik Gustafson continue to be an “adventure” in terms of actual “defending,” hence part of the lop-sided shot totals for the home team.

WRAP UP

The Hawks were lucky to have salvaged a point in this game, and were it not for Delia, they wouldn’t have.

All I have on this one. Comment below.

The post Recap: Islanders nip Hawks in OT, 3-2 appeared first on The Rink.

First, if you haven’t read my “Let’s Make A Deal” blog from a few weeks ago, I’ll summarize: the Hawks have basically two clear choices, and one muddled one, this summer. They are: 1) go all in while there’s some tread still left on the core’s tires, 2) go full rebuild, or 3) continue on the “hybrid” path they’ve been on—which so far has led to disappointment.

All that said, my spidey sense today says the Hawks are at least leaning toward more of an “all in for one last run” posture this summer.

Setting aside my confidence (or yours) in Stan Bowman’s ability to pull that off, let’s pursue what that means.

It’s all about math.

First, the big variable: Corey Crawford must be healthy, and stay healthy, whatever that actually means. Without that, there is no point to anything but a full rebuild, unless a near equal or better goalie should fall into the Hawks’ laps. And no, that is not Scott Darling.

Second, it means Bowman must “add” to the core of a roster that was 13^th in the West, rather than “replace.” And let’s put another silly interwebs truism to rest right now. The Hawks were not necessarily (or at all) a playoff team if “Crow” stayed healthy. They were out of playoff position when Crawford left the team on December 23. And even if he had stayed healthy and the Hawks somehow made the playoffs, they were getting smoked in the first round (again) by Winnipeg or Nashville.

And the interwebs speculation about “replacing” Jonathan Toews with John Tavares being the “answer,” needs to be regarded as foolish.

Tavares is a great player and arguably a marginal upgrade over Toews at this point. But marginal upgrades don’t get this job done.

As I was told by an impeccable source a few weeks ago, when all the (at that time anyway) silly Toews to Montreal rumors started, the only way Jonathan Toews, the cornerstone of this franchise for a decade and three Stanley Cups, with a full NMC, gets traded is if he asks to be traded. And at that point, I was told, he had not asked.

But if you can add a Tavares, or even just a really solid #2C who can play and win faceoffs 5-on-5, penalty kill and power play, now you have something. Because reducing the burden on Toews in those situations likely makes him a better player and the Hawks a deeper, better team (see Vermette, A, June 2015).

The Hawks need, as pretty much everyone agrees, to add another defenseman as well, The issue there is not Duncan Keith, who can, in fact, still play, or even Brent Seabrook, who seemed to recapture his game the latter half of the otherwise miserable 2017-18 season, It’s the complementary depth and quality minutes delivered by Johnny Oduya and Niklas Hhjalmarsson that are now gone from the equation.

So, sure, to the extent a John Carlson (or a serviceable 3-4 defenseman from somewhere) might “replace” Conor Murphy or Jordan Oesterle as a top 4 player, it’s really more about adding—because a Carlson (or near facsimile) allows you to slide a Murphy or an Oesterle down in your rotation, and put them in roles and minutes where they can be more successful and not hurt you against more challenging matchups.

Adding a solid #2 center, not relying so much on guys who might be better at wing (like Nick Schmaltz or Artem Anisimov) and a solid big-minute NHL defenseman, with a healthy Corey Crawford, suddenly vaults the Hawks back into the playoffs and possibly longer conversations in June of 2019.

But “adding” has a cost, doesn’t it?

One rumor I reported several weeks back was the Hawks intend to find a home for Marian Hossa’s contract. And my sense was, based on what I heard, they might even have a taker already lined up. That eventuality, coupled with an organic rise in the salary cap, and the work Bowman did last summer in the then unpopular Artemi Panarin and Hjalmarsson trades, might be setting the Hawks up for 1-2 bigger splashes in free agency this summer.

Realistically though, either Tavares or Carlson, if they even hit UFA July 1, will come at a high price. So maybe you only get one of them—and likely “overpay” to do so (a la Brian Campbell in 2008).

Then you may need to look at a trade. This is where the conversation gets dicey among Hawk fans and scribes.

So many on this roster are deemed untouchable—as if we’ve forgotten that this is not a very good team.

Again, you deal a Toews or a Duncan Keith and you better get a great player back—when what you will likely get are futures—picks, prospects and one of the other team’s bad contracts to make the dollars work. And again, if the goal is to make a serious attempt to get back in real contention this year, you need to add to those players, not just “replace” them.

Long gone are the days when a Dale Tallon, Don Maloney or Marc Bergevin would be ready and willing to take a big contract off the Hawks’ hands for draft picks or a young player. The Hawks now no longer need to offload big contracts for purely cap reasons (and Seabrook’s deal, by the way, may be untradeable at this point). But they may very likely need to make a value for value trade or two this summer.

This again, is something some Hawk fans seem to trip over. “How does that make the team better? You’re subtracting to add, right? DON’T TRADE DA CAT!!!”

Not necessarily. In sports, in hockey, the best deals are made when the GMs involved are dealing from their teams’ strengths in order to shore up areas of weakness.

For the Hawks, if there is an area of strength, it’s at wing. And if there’s a type of wing they seem to have in abundance, it is young, small, skilled wingers—especially if you include Nick Schmaltz along with Alex DeBrincat and Dylan Sikura as a wing. And there is a lingering argument that wing may yet be Schmaltz’ best position.

That’s leaving out the Anthony Duclairs and Vince Hinostrozas. And a 25 year old 2-time Cup winning, top 6 wing named Saad.

We can debate ad infinitum whether to deal Saad or Schmaltz or Sikura (and yes, at this point there is no evidence Sikura plays center over wing in the NHL either), but the larger fact is the Hawks have a lot of depth as far as young, actual or potential top 6 wings. In fact, you only really need 4, the Hawks may have as many as 6.

Math.

And math, by itself, can be a cruel taskmaster. Because the emotion-driven first speculation is always to give up your unwanted odd lots for a great player in return. Like the somewhat (completely) asinine trade proposal floated this week by a “legit” media guy that the Hawks could deal Hinostroza and the 27^th pick overall for  . . . Erik Karlsson.

This is an extreme (and absurd) example of Hawk homer trade scenarios. The truth is, if you want a Justin Faulk (an actual trade target of the Hawks, as I first reported a couple of weeks ago) to upgrade your defense, you will likely have to deal a Sikura or a Schmaltz or Saad (though Saad is the lone top 6 power winger in the mix for the Hawks at this point). In any event, it’s give to get.

Value for value.

But, you may ask, who is your second line center (assuming you dealt Schmaltz)? That’s where signing a Tavares or center TBD comes in to play. Because a legit NHL center who can win 50%+ on draws in all situations, skate with Patrick Kane and add some dimension of offense, is, as a center, likely an upgrade over Schmaltz (as a center in all situations, this upcoming season, unless he makes a significant step up).

That’s where you get back to choosing a clear path: reload for a real run this year, or rebuild. Because sitting around lamenting “wasted” cap dollars for Toews or Keith or Seabrook and at the same time “building for the future,” waiting to see whether your draft picks will ever become legitimately productive NHL players in all areas required at their position, is a fool’s errand and a one-way ticket to mediocrity.

That way—the way the Hawks have gone about their business the last couple of years and that a lot of fans have bought into—the team will never be bad enough, or free enough cap-wise, to truly rebuild. And never good enough to contend—because it means relying so heavily on young, physically (and otherwise, in some cases) immature players, playing over their heads and/or out of position. Look no further than Detroit Red Wings of the last 8 years or so.

And don’t get me started on the faulty “math” of bringing Darling back at $4 million per year.

Finally, while all this math certainly makes sense to me, and may to most of you, there’s another potential outcome. And that is that Bowman will see it differently, and/or that the Hawks will continue to try to organically grow the next generation of talent (one-half rebuild) while “marketing” a legitmate shot to contend with an aging core (one-half reload). Which doesn’t seem to have worked.

So we can only hope, again, that Bowman and the organization bite one bullet or the other and make an actual choice. And they then execute the plan to perfection.

We will know a lot more sometime around or after 7/1.

Follow @jaeckel. Comment below.

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TOEWS/CRAWFORD RUMORS

First, if there’s anything at all to the Jonathan Toews to Montreal and Corey Crawford to the Islanders rumors, it’s the other teams discussing it, not the Hawks.

The “only way,” I’m told, Toews gets moved is ”if he asks.” And he hasn’t.

The Hawks also are “hoping” Corey Crawford is healthy and ready to resume his role as the team’s #1 netminder in October.

However, there are “a boatload” of other moves being contemplated. “More to come.”

HOSSA

I have many times stated, including recently on the RinkCast, that Marian Hossa would make an outstanding coach in the NHL. Invariably, I (and others) always come back with this question: why would a guy with $70 million in the bank and a young family want to take that on?

Not sure, but apparently the Hawks plan to sit down with Hossa soon and discuss the possibility of a future “coaching” role with the organization. Head coach? Special assistant? Not specified.

Also, the team is exploring, in conjunction with these talks, the possibility of moving the remainder of Hossa’s contract in order to clear up permanent cap space.

DRAFT

The Hawks have no intention of trading their #8 overall pick, and I’m told are especially high on two players who might be available there. USNTDP winger Oliver Wahlstrom (they “love” him), and QMJHL defenseman Noah Dobson.

The Hawks might be willing to part with the #27 overall for the right return.

Comment below. Follow @jaeckel

The post Rumors: Hossa, the draft, more appeared first on The Rink.

The Hawks lines and pairings were:

Brandon Saad- Patrick Kane – Alex Debrincat

Matthew Highmore – Nick Schmaltz- Vinnie Hnostroza

Tomas Jurco – Artem Anisimov – Andreas Martinsen

Patrick Sharp – David Kampf – John Hayden

Duncan Keith – Brent Sebrook

Erik Gustafsson – Connor Murphy

Jordan Oesterle – Jan Rutta

And it would be Anton Forsberg’s turn to absorb an obscene number of shots, give up two soft goals and ultimately get pulled.

Or would it?

First period.

The Islanders came out flying and put some early pressure on Forsberg, including two clean breaks in around Hawk defenders. On the second, by Jordan Eberle, Duncan Keith was badly beaten and well behind the play. But Forsberg was solid in the early going.

At about 8:00, the Saad-Debrincat-Kane line mounted some frenzied, sustained pressure on Islander goalie Jaroslav Halak, but came away with nothing.

The period ended scoreless, with the Islanders holding an 11-10 advantage in shots. “Good” Forsberg had shown up, but would he finish the game?

Second period.

The Hawks broke the scoreless tie at 17:24 of the period—after a series of simple, effective hockey plays. First, the Martinsen-Anisimov-Jurco line mounted a tenacious forecheck and forced a couple of turnovers in the Islander end, that finally forced New York defenseman Thomas Hickey to upend Jurco and take a penalty. On the first rush of the power play, the Hawks executed a fast, coordinated zone entry, utilizing the speed and creativity of Kane and Schmaltz to not only establish possession in the zone, but cause the Islanders to have to scramble to get set. Not long after, Kane beat Halak on a deflection from the right halfboard. 1-0 Chicago.

At 15:35, after the Hawks maintained some o-zone pressure at 5-on-5, Saad followed up his own shot, beating a flailing Halak. 2-0 Chicago.

Forsberg made his two best saves of the first half of the game just before the ten minute mark of the second, calmly beating Anders Lee and Brock Nelson on prime scoring chances. Later, Forsberg had, as our guy Wiz likes to say, “a horseshoe in his pads,” when Islander forward Casey Cizikas missed an open side.

Shots were 10-8 Chicago in the period, which ended with the Hawks still up by 2.

Third period.

The Islanders picked up the pace from the opening faceoff of the third, and the Hawks answered. After an Anisimov penalty at 11:48, the Hawks were forced to spend much of the kill pinned in their end. With that penalty killed off, in the nsuing five on five action, the Isles had several quality chances that Forsberg thwarted until John Tavares snuck out from behnd the net to Forsberg’s right and launched a pinpoimt, top shelf backhander at 2:42. 2-1 Hawks.

Brent Seabrook then effectively iced the game at 1:14 with a long empty netter, capping off yet another really solid performance in a season that’s gone from tragically bad to encouragingly rejuvenated for #7. 3-1

The good.

Forsberg. Money. Several outstanding saves, including a nifty left pad save right before the final horn with the Isles all over him and a gassed Hawk D. In my opinion, the coaching staff seriously mishandled Forsberg during the “Jeff Glass Feel Good/Play Mediocre Story.” But it appears Forsberg may have regained his game and psychology. It was one game against a blah team, but an outstanding performance.

Both the Saad-Kane-DeBrincat and Martinsen-Anisimov-Jurco lines were very effective in their respective roles.

The bad.

Not much in an overall solid outing by the Hawks, although Keith struggled a bit at times.

The ugly.

Nothing, solid game for Chicago.

Summary.

The Hawks’ best players were their best players in this game. And the lower lines did their job the way they’re supposed to. It would be really nice to see some more outings like this one as the season winds down. Hard work, solid execution, and NHL quality goaltending. It would be something to build on for next season.

Please comment below.

Follow: @jaeckel

The post Recap: Blackhawks Beat Islanders, 3-1 appeared first on The Rink.

at

New York Islanders (31-33-10)

TIME: 6PM Central/7PM Eastern
RADIO: WGN 720
TV: MSG+, WGN

PROJECTED GOALIES:

Chicago:
Anton Forsberg (9-16-3 W-L | 3.06 GAA | 0.905 SV% | 0 SO)

New York:
Jaroslav Halak (18-25-6 W-L | 3.27 GAA | 0.906 SV% | 1 SO)

PROJECTED LINES/PAIRINGS:

Chicago:
Matthew Highmore – Nick Schmaltz – Patrick Kane
Brandon Saad – Vinnie Hinostroza – Alex DeBrincat
Tomas Jurco – Artem Anisimov – Andreas Martinsen
Patrick Sharp – David Kampf – John Hayden

Duncan Keith – Jan Rutta
Erik Gustafsson – Brent Seabrook
Jordan Oesterle – Connor Murphy

New York:
Anders Lee – John Tavares – Josh Bailey
Anthony Beauvillier – Mathew Barzal – Jordan Eberle
Andrew Ladd – Brock Nelson – Tanner Fritz
Chris Wagner – Casey Cizikas – Cal Clutterbuck

Nick Leddy – Johnny Boychuk
Adam Pelech – Dennis Seidenberg
Thomas Hickey – Ryan Pulock

STATISTICAL COMPARISONS:

Power Play:
Chicago 15.8% (28th)
New York 22.6% (5th)

Penalty Kill:
Chicago 79.5% (19th)
New York 74.5% (31st)

Corsi FOR % (5-on-5):
Chicago 52.94% (4th)
New York 56.26% (26th)

Faceoffs:
Chicago 49.8% (17th)
New York 48.6% (25th)

SUMMARY:

With under 10 games remaining in the season, the Blackhawks head out on a short one game road swing in New York, to face the Islanders.  This season has been very similar for both of these franchises.  They are highly underperforming, but have some light at the end of the tunnel with some young promising players.

For the Blackhawks, they have rookie Alex DeBrincat while the Islanders have super rookie of their own Mathew Barzal.  Both seem to have really bright futures in this league.

The similarities don’t stop there.  Both teams have had serious goaltending issues.  One (Blackhawks) because of injury, and the other because of pure lack of talent.

Something to keep an eye it for is former Blackhawks players Andrew Ladd, and Nick Leddy possibly looking to make an impression on their former team.

Another key stat to keep in mind is the Islanders last ranked penalty kill unit.  In all reality, the Blackhawks should be able to feast in the putrid PK, but they have struggled mightily universally all season.

Join our discussion below and look out for a Double J recap following the game, tomorrow.

Follow me on Twitter @PuckinHostile

The post Chicago Blackhawks at New York Islanders Preview & Game Thread appeared first on The Rink.

Yesterday here, we looked at the rationale (for both teams) of an Artem Anisimov trade back to the Blackhawks’ opponent last night—the Columbus Blue Jackets.

I continued to hear overnight that teams are calling on Anisimov. Yet there are other signals that Anisimov won’t be traded by 3PM Eastern tomorrow—the two most glaring being GM Stan Bowman’s statement that he has no plans to trade Anisimov (which is always subject to change) and the fact (based on what I heard last night) that Anisimov has not been approached (yet) about waiving his NMC (which expires on 7/1 regardless).

July 1 could also be an important date in the saga that the title of this blog addresses: the rumored and fairly well-evidenced (by now) rift between head coach Joel Quenneville and forward Ryan Hartman.The most recent evidence of which was a mid-game benching of Hartman last night.

There are numerous other reasons Quenneville could be relieved of his head coaching duties at the end of the season.  But clearly, it is getting harder and harder to see how Hartman and Quenneville co-exist next season.

Sure, there are numerous cases where players and coaches mend fences, reach an understanding and—Bob’s your uncle—everything works out. The extenuating circumstance here is there are, hmmmm, numerous suggestions, or “rumors,” that Hartman and those surrounding him off the ice are not hiding their displeasure with Quenneville—not just in terms of how he’s handled Hartman, but making broader allegations that Quenneville has lost the entire team.

Those wounds don’t heal as quickly. And preventing further flares poses a real challenge for an organization that employs, and therefore relatively controls, the player, but not their “posse.”

And in that regard, this is a Stan Bowman/front office issue. So let’s war game this out.

Maybe the “plan” is that Coach Q will be  “reassigned” within the organization at the end of the season. A new coach matriculates or is hired, and Hartman gets the fresh start in Chicago that apparently he desires. Done.

Maybe the team is quietly planning to deal Hartman over the next 36 hours is what is clearly a seller’s market (SEE: Derrick Brassard, Rick Nash). I have heard, from 3 separate sources in the last few days, things ranging from: “Hartman has been discussed by the Hawks” with this team or that, to “Hartman is as good as gone.”

And perhaps there is at present no “plan,” per se. And the team has not made a decision on Quenneville’s future, but is considering it, and therefore is hesitant on making a move on a recent former #1 pick who has shown flashes of being a very effective NHL player, and brings some qualities the team and organization lacks overall.

Let’s consider that last scenario, which is quite plausible, in my opinion. Let’s remember the unending sagas of the summers of 2014 and 2015, when everyone and their brother knew the Hawks were going to deal Nick Leddy and Patrick Sharp respectively. Yet Bowman waited. And waited. And waited. And, in the end, got thoroughly fleeced on both deals (with the Islanders and Dallas) when he eventually made them.

Yes, thoroughly fleeced.

Let’s also remember that the March 1 trading deadline is always a more lucrative seller’s market. And the postseason, especially as it drags on more and more, and teams keep plucking players in trades and free agency, becomes more and more a buyer’s market.

So unless the Hawks have pretty much decided this is Quenneville’s last season as head coach, it might behoove them to get the best offer they can—in what is clearly a seller’s market—on Hartman between now and 3PM tomorrow.

Or, if they don’t, and Quenneville will be around for the next year of his contract, we may want to revisit this discussion when the Hartman decision is finally, somehow, resolved.

On the rumors I reported earlier, I heard overnight that some of the deals the Hawks have been discussing have not panned out and its beginning to look a bit (a bit more anyway) like a quieter deadline. But, I was also told “more to come.”

Stay tuned.

The post Analysis: What To Do With Ryan Hartman? appeared first on The Rink.

These were the Blackhawks starting lines:
Brandon Saad – Jonathan Toews – Anthony Duclair
Ryan Hartman – Nick Schmaltz – Patrick Kane
Alex DeBrincat – David Kampf – Vincent Hinostroza
Lance Bouma – Tommy Wingels – Patrick Sharp

Duncan Keith – Jordan Oesterle
Erik Gustafsson – Brent Seabrook
Gustav Forsling – Jan Rutta

It took the Blackhawks exactly 61 seconds take a 1-0 lead in this one. Everything looked like it was going swimmingly. Gustafsson, in his first Blackhawks shift since April 2016, fed Patrick Kane across the Isles zone just inside the blue line and Kane snapped a shot over Jaroslav Halak’s blocker. The good fortune did not last long, though.

That lead lasted about three minutes.  As they have much of the season, the Blackhawks flirted with disaster in the first by taking unneeded penalties. Jonathan Toews took an interference penalty, which put the Islanders on the power play. Anthony Beauvillier was able to corral a rebound in front of Anton Forsberg and sweep it past the Blackhawks goalie, tying the game. All this was under five minutes into the game.

Jordan Eberle then gave the Islanders a 2-1 lead just south of the halfway mark of the first period. A long point shot was partially blocked and redirected, but Forsberg had committed to the original shot and was slightly off his angle. Eberle was standing to Forsberg’s left and all by himself, which is right where the puck ended up. And the Isle forward easily put it into the open net.

Just as the teams hit one minute remaining in the first period, Islanders defenseman Ryan Pulock decided to put on a little show by beating Vince Hinostroza at the point, then using a double Blackhawks screen to fool Forsberg and put the visiting team up 3-1. As some expected, the shots and chances were pretty plentiful as the Islanders led 19-13 in shots on net.

Since nothing else seemed to work, the Blackhawks tried to slow the Islanders power play by playing Johnny from “Airplane!” and cutting the lights 32 seconds into the second period.  I wish this was actually a joke.

The Hawks didn’t get any better after that. In fact, the Islanders took an 8-0 lead  in shots before the Hawks registered their first second period shot on net. This was part of an Islanders shot total of 30 just over halfway through the game.

Luckily, the Blackhawks saved some face with about a minute remaining in the second period. Kane carried the mail around the Islanders net and found Gustafsson breaking in from the point. Kane hit him with a cross slot pass and Gustafsson was able to beat Jaroslav Halak. Considering the Blackhawks were being out shot 33-21, with twenty minutes still to play, this was not exactly promising.

And this game certainly didn’t get any better from there.

A minute and 52 seconds into the third period, Forsberg completely muffed a dump attempt, after the Blackhawks failed to successfully get the puck deep into the Islanders zone. The puck rattled around between Forsberg’s legs and drifted out to Ross Johnston, who fed the puck to Brock Nelson. Nelson finished the play with the fifth Islanders goal of the game.  That was all for Forsberg on the night, as Jeff Glass came in to take a little abuse.

One of only two players that actually showed up both physically and mentally for this game, Patrick Kane, cut the Islanders lead back down to two goals by simply taking the puck end-to-end all by himself, using his teammates as a decoy and waiting for a hole to open. This was Kane’s 800th point of his career.

Anders Lee put the Islanders back up by three goals, with 13 minutes left in the third period. Brent Seabrook lost track of Lee and he cut right up the middle of the neutral zone, receiving a 100’ long stretch pass. Lee was in on a clear breakaway and beat Jeff Glass, who had no chance, through the five-hole.

The game wrapped up with a meaningless goal by John Tavares for the extra point and the Blackhawks were finally put out of their misery, getting outshot 46-39 and outscored 7-3

Pluses

• Erik Gustafsson had a really good game on the offensive side of the ice, but his play in his own end was borderline, at best. What infuriated me is that while the announcers spend all night pleasuring themselves to Gustafsson in the Isles end, they completely ignore things like the egregious turnover in the first period. Sure, he had a good night, but let’s not put him in the Hockey Hall of Fame just yet.
• Patrick Kane had a pretty damn good night that cannot be ignored. He had two goals and an assist on Gustafsson’s goal. He is one of the the only players that did not look simply gutless in this game.

Minuses

• The Blackhawks showed energy for all of 61 seconds, and it was all downhill from there.
• If the Blackhawks penalty kill isn’t working, this team has no chance. This game was a prime example.
• Jan Rutta was on the ice for SIX of the seven Islanders goals. If he isn’t taking a turn in the Shrimp Cocktail suite next, I don’t know what this team is doing.
• The Islanders goal that led to Forsberg being pulled was a nightmare.  I am usually the goalie apologist, but I cannot defend this one.  When the night is not going your way, just stay in the net and don’t do anything that can dig your team a deeper hole.  Forsberg came out and really did nothing to help his cause with this mess of a goal.  The game was basically out of hand already, but don’t make it worse.

Video highlights will follow when eventually posted by the league

The post Recap: Blackhawks vs NY Islanders 7-3 Loss appeared first on The Rink.

New York Islanders (23-20-4) at Chicago Blackhawks (22-17-6)

8:30PM Eastern/7:30PM Central

RADIO: WGN 720

TV: NBC Chicago, MSG+

PROJECTED GOALIES:

NYI:

Thomas Greiss (10-6-2,  3.89 GAA, .886 save%)

Chicago:

Anton Forsberg (3-6-3, 2.92 GAA, .911 save%)

PROJECTED LINES/PAIRINGS:

NYI:

Lee-Tavares-Bailey

Beauvillier-Barzal-Eberle

Dal Colle-Nelson-Prince

Chimera-Fritz-Clutterbuck

Leddy-Mayfield

Pelech-Aho

Hickey-Pulock

Chicago:

Saad-Toews-Duclair

Hartman-Schmaltz-Kane

DeBrincat-Kampf-Hinostroza

Bouma-Wingels-Sharp

Keith-Oesterle

Forsling-Rutta

Gustafsson-Seabrook

STATISTICAL COMPARISIONS:

Power Play:

NYI 19.7% (12th)

Chicago 15.5% (26th)

Penalty Kill:

NYI 73.3% (30th)

Chicago 83.2% (9th)

Corsi FOR % (5-on-5):

NYI 48.5% (20th)

Chicago 53.5% (2nd)

Faceoffs:

NYI 48.5% (25th)

Chicago 49.5% (20th)

SUMMARY:

The Hawks end their midseason break and return to the ice as a team in moderate turmoil. Or at least flux.

Headlines are negative, and the team’s last outing was a thoroughly embarrassing home loss at the hands of the Detroit Red Wings. If there’s good news, the team is rested and Artem Anisimov is skating which presages a likely impending return.

Joel Quenneville looks to be icing the lines he ended the Detroit game with—most notably putting Anthony Duclair at right wing with Jonathan Toews and Brandon Saad. Erik Gustafsson makes his season debut alongside Brent Seabrook—this is a big opportunity for Gustafsson who was a star in the AHL this year.

We’ll recap tomorrow, but as always, join us on the game thread below at 7:30 Central for real time commentary from Gatekeeper, myself, and all the RinkRats.

Follow: @jaeckel

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