After their opening night tradition of walking the red carpet, the Blackhawks slept-walked through the first period where they found themselves down 2-0. The Wings received an even strength goal by former Blackhawk Pius Suter and, 67 seconds later, a power play tally from Dylan Larkin.

New Blackhawks forward Andreas Athanasiou cut the Wings’ lead to 2–1 at the 5:41 mark of the second period when he was awarded and succeeded on a penalty shot for his first of the season.

Midway through the second, ex-Blackhawk Dominik Kubalik scored his first Red Wings goal to regain a two-goal lead for the visitors.

Trailing 3–1 entering the third, Alex Stalock replaced Petr Mrazek in the net, who appeared injured late in the second. Philipp Kurashev scored his first of the season nearly four minutes into the frame to cut the Hawks’ deficit to one.

The Hawks tied it at 3–3 on a shorthanded goal by Connor Murphy.

In the extra session, Max Domi forced a neutral zone turnover and then skated in and blew a wrister past Alex Nedeljkovic for his first as a Blackhawk at the 2:44 mark to secure the win.

The Blackhawks welcome the Seattle Kraken for a Sunday afternoon contest at 1 p.m. CDT.

The post Blackhawks Post-Game One-Timers – 10/22 Detroit Red Wings appeared first on The Rink.

As I posted on Twitter yesterday morning, after the Blackhawks had been officially eliminated from the postseason the night before, being “negative” became being “realistic.”

Because this never was a playoff quality team—or certainly not one with any chance of actually winning in the playoffs.

Don’t get me wrong. There were some positives this season and a few things arose that can be built on going forward. But as is so often the case with a fairly large slice of the Hawk fanbase—lingering at the One Goal kegger long after the beer has run out—expectations became and still are a bit, well, unrealistic.

All is not lost. But there is some serious hard work to do this summer beyond the moronic “Bring Da Breadman Back” mantra.

Broadly speaking, this team is going to finish somewhere between 10^th and 12^th in their conference—the far lesser of the two NHL conferences by the way. While that is an “improvement” over the previous season’s 13^th in the conference, it also was made possible by career years for both Jonathan Toews and Patrick Kane. That’s not to say those players won’t have big years again next year.

But there’s just as good a chance they won’t.

But let’s get more to the point: if you really, honestly want to compete for a Stanley Cup, 11^th in the West isn’t even close to where you need to be.

The Ja-BRO-nis on Twitter have taken every opportunity this year to point out Alex DeBrincat’s sophomore surge, that Dylan Strome really looks like a 2^nd line center, how Erik Gustafsson is basically a fourth forward (and racked up the points to prove it), that Connor Murphy’s game improved, how Toews is rejuvenated and Brandon Saad is still Brandon Saad. Etc.

And all of it, for the most part, is true. Hallelujah. Yet the fact remains that, after a long hot streak in January that actually resurrected hope in a postseason appearance, the Hawks have gone 12-10-3—not a winning record by the way, that “3” at the end is losses.

If you’re going to be a winning team, you have to win when it matters.

The Hawks were healthy and rolling and then over 25 critical games, they regressed to what they really are—a flawed, sub .500 team. But with some bright spots.

So now that we’ve laid bare the obvious, let’s go further. What’s right, what’s wrong, what are the logical next steps?

PANARIN SOLVES NOTHING

We know this team can score goals with or without Artemi Panarin. The thing that makes this an also-ran team in a crap conference is a completely and utterly disastrous team defense.

The argument has already been stated on the Twitterz that all that’s needed is “an easy fix to the penalty kill”—even though the 5-on-5 defense is also garbage. But “fixing the penalty kill” might not be so easy by itself, and thus addressing the overall defense in all situations, which is clearly necessary, is even tougher.

Spending $9-10 million a season on Panarin, even if he were amenable to returning to Chicago (which is highly dubious—he knows the party ran out of beer, and they’re serving vodka in the Northeast and Florida, trust me) does not help the defense at all. In fact, it means $9-10 million less per year that the front office has to address glaring defensive problems.

And it takes situational opportunities away from fellow LW DeBrincat—the same opportunities that helped him top 40 goals this year.

The team does, however, need at least one new forward.

Wait, JJ. Huh? What? We’ll come back to that. Think: team defense within the flow of actual games.

NIKLAS HJALMARSSON 2.0 (OR BETTER)

I won’t dispute the positive and overdue impact that Gustafsson has had on the Hawk power play, and he is certainly also a weapon in 3-on-3 OT. However, the fact remains that both the Hawk penalty kill and even strength defense are not good.

So you’re likely stuck with $13 million a year’s worth of Brent Seabrook and Duncan Keith, whatever’s left of their usefulness, and Murphy is OK, while Gustafsson is fine in a limited role. Henri Jokiharju has promise (but make no mistake, there are still some rough edges there). So there are 1-2 places on this blueline where upgrades are needed.

Are they possible?

Let’s put to bed right now the fantasy of 3-4 junior or NCAA players coming in next year and “stabilizing” or in any way improving this defense. Maybe, just maybe Adam Boqvist or Ian Mitchell could show up and sort of replicate what Gustafsson is. But that is quite literally the last thing the Hawks need more of.  They need players who are responsible and able to actually defend, two areas where both prospects are said to need quite a bit of work.

And everyone keeps assuming that the only way you can improve in the offseason is through free agency (where the free agent pickings get mighty slim this summer after Erik Karlsson). It’s not.

Trades can be made. A significant trade (or two) probably should be made.

And let’s be clear, if Stan Bowman can’t be trusted, either by fans or Blackhawks senior management, to go out and do a value for value deal to acquire a youngish, tough, responsible defenseman who can help next year, he needs to be replaced. Immediately.

There are guys like that out there. No, you won’t get them for a signed Patrick Sharp 8×10 and a guy from Rockford. But the Hawks have plenty of prospects, they have depth at both wings. That’s what GMs are paid (well) to figure out.

But you get that player and there is a positive ripple effect throughout the defense corps. This player perhaps “anchors” and stabilizes Gustafsson a bit. And allows everyone else’s minutes and situations to be more appropriately allocated. Maybe you even get 2 players of that ilk, and the defense as a whole gets a lot better.

Back to forward.

FACEOFFS MATTER

When the Hawks won the Cup in 2015, they had three full time centers well north of 50% on faceoffs. In spite of interwebz experts proclaiming that faceoffs don’t matter, they do.

If you need fancy possession data to believe in a team, your team needs to first possess the actual puck.

In real hockey, how many times do some people need to see a clean defensive zone faceoff loss end up in the back of the Hawks’ net before they will finally admit, “man, it would be great if we had someone other than Toews to take key draws.”

Two wrist surgeries later, Kruger is now essentially the equal of Artem Anisimov in the dot, which isn’t good, and Dylan Strome so far looks to be in that zone as well. That’s OK, because you ultimately don’t want Strome to be your top shutdown center anyway.

But you need that guy, and more than some people realize.

If said guy can defend over 200 feet of ice (like a Kruger) and pitch in 40 points a season (like Anisimov), BOOM. Penalty kill, significantly improved. Shutdown line in place. Perhaps even a scoring third line.

And that player you might be able to get in free agency for $4-5 million a year (essentially what you’re paying Anisimov while you try to figure out, as was the case in New York and Columbus, whether he should even be a center).

And for what it’s worth, I’ve heard specifically that the Hawks will be in the market for another center this summer.

There may be other ways Bowman could improve the Hawks this offseason. Who knows, no one would throw a bigger July 2 media bash to introduce a newly-minted Erik Karlsson to Chicago fans.

But the bottom line is this: for all the positives that emerged this season, actual data suggests there are significant and outweighing negatives that aren’t going to just disappear on their own.

So buckle up, Hawk fans. It may be an eventful ride.

Comment below.

The post Really, what just happened? Reflections on the 2018-19 Hawk season appeared first on The Rink.

The-Rink.com host Jeff “Gatekeeper” Osborn goes solo and is joined once again by NHL Radio Blackhawks Correspondent Al Cimaglia to discuss the suddenly hot (again) Blackhawks.

• Blackhawks sign draft pick Philipp Kurashev this week
• Rockford signs college free agent Dylan McLaughlin today
• Dylan Sikura and Brendan Perlini talk
• Who do Gate and Al think the Blackhawks may target this summer
• We wrap up by answering some listener and reader questions

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

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The Rinkcast is brought to you by the Overtime Podcast Network

The post The Blackhawks Rinkcast – Episode 47 w/ Al Cimaglia appeared first on The Rink.

The-Rink.com co-hosts Jeff “Gatekeeper” Osborn and John “Double J” Jaeckel are joined by The-Rink NCAA expert Aaron “A-A-Ron” Goldschmidt and convene to talk about the Blackhawks west coast road trip.

• Once again, we start off with the positives (we know, we’re shocked too)
• What happened on the road trip?
• Suddenly the mainstream media is reporting some very familiar sentiments
• John has some Blackhawks rumors!!
• The NBCSN poll.
• Evan Miller gives us an indy report
• Ward hurt, Delia recalled
• We wrap up by answering some listener and reader questions

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The post The Blackhawks Rinkcast – Episode 46 – Fading Slowly Away appeared first on The Rink.

The-Rink.com co-hosts Jeff “Gatekeeper” Osborn and John “Double J” Jaeckel wrap up an uneventful Blackhawks trade deadline.

photoshop creation by @Wm_J_Lepetomane on Twitter

• The Blackhawks drop 2 to division rivals.
• Are we happy with Stan Bowman standing pat?
• WHY DID UNT DA HOCKS TRAYD FER DAT STONE AN DA BRED GUY?
• Corey Crawford is back but, once again, temper expectations
• Are we now the Statler and Waldorf of the Official Stan Bowman fan club?
• Our homage to the Daily Herald’s John Dietz.
• We wrap up by answering some listener and reader questions

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

The Rinkcast is brought to you by the Overtime Podcast Network

The post The Blackhawks Rinkcast – Episode 45 – Trade Deadline Wrap appeared first on The Rink.

The-Rink.com co-hosts Jeff “Gatekeeper” Osborn and John “Double J” Jaeckel are joined by returning Rinkcast guest Tyler Cameron aka Justin Lowe from www.HockeyBuzz.com to talk about the Blackhawks latest streak and the trade deadline.

• The triumphant return of the Warpigs report with Mario Triabassi.
• Let’s start off with some positive thoughts.
• The Blackhawks made a small trade.
• We go through Tyler’s bold and not-so-bold predictions.
• Crawford might be back soon, now what?
• Carl Dahlstrom hate?
• Gate brings up Jesse Puljujärvi, as a wild swing
• We wrap up by answering some listener and reader questions

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

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

The Rinkcast is brought to you by the Overtime Podcast Network

The post The Blackhawks Rinkcast – Episode 44 w/ Justin Lowe from HockeyBuzz appeared first on The Rink.

The-Rink.com co-hosts Jeff “Gatekeeper” Osborn and John “Double J” Jaeckel are joined by the great Forklift from www.HockeeNight.com to discuss what is going on with this Blackhawks franchise and their 5 game winning streak.

• • Fork tells some HockeeNight history, has many quips in the middle and a tells a few stories at the end.
    
  • Has the 5 game winning streak made a difference in where the Blackhawks should be looking long term?
  • Why these silly theories are just that; silly theories.
  • Erik Karlsson and Artemi Panarin.
  • We answered some great listener and reader questions

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.

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The post The Blackhawks Rinkcast – Episode 43 w/ Forklift From HockeeNight appeared first on The Rink.

The-Rink.com co-hosts Jeff “Gatekeeper” Osborn and John “Double J” Jaeckel are joined by NHL Network Radio Blackhawks correspondent Uncle Al Cimaglia to discuss what we can expect from this Blackhawks franchise.

• • There is actually some positivity (contrary to some beliefs)
  • More “Gus”. (We know, we’re sick of it too)
  • We cover the Blackhawks from stem to stern with Uncle Al for almost an hour!
  • NCAA head writer Aaron Goldschmidt comes on to discuss his much maligned Patrick Kane trade article
  • We answered some great listener and reader questions

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 42 w/ Al Cimaglia appeared first on The Rink.

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

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

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

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

Exhibit A: pic.twitter.com/p5OCQA10GT

— Chicago Blackhawks (@NHLBlackhawks) November 15, 2018

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

— Chicago Blackhawks (@NHLBlackhawks) November 15, 2018

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

#HAWKSWIN https://t.co/VM1IseBkTQ

— Chicago Blackhawks (@NHLBlackhawks) November 15, 2018

The GOOD:

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

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

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

THE BAD

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

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

• You can now just get to team specific content by using, or bookmarking, specific URLs:
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  Of course, you can alway continue go through the main page and hit each team that way, if you prefer.
• We have launched The-Rink’s YouTube page, and plan to bring you many more #KnowledgeNuggets from Coach Bob Rose Jr as well as unique Blackhawks and IceHogs content produced by myself. You can check out some of the previous work at: https://www.youtube.com/PuckinHostile to get a better idea of just what is possible.
• Very soon we will be opening up the message board, commenting and messaging features. This is still in the development stage, but we all think you will enjoy being able to interact with other The-Rink fans and the writers.
• Don’t forget, we are anxiously awaiting the newly designed The-Rink swag to help spread the word.  We are confident that PUCKHCKY will absolutely knock the designs out of this world and don’t forget to head over there to order some unique, high quality apparel.  When you do, make sure to use the discount code “THERINK” for 10% off all orders.

We thank you for being patient while we work out the bugs and kinks.  We love hearing your suggestions and will do our best to accommodate you, and help continue to make The-Rink your favorite Blackhawks, and Hockey news site on the web.

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