Just perusing Twitter this morning, man, there is a lot of silliness out there. #loseforhughes and #anythingcanhappen are both unrealistic extremes (albeit, one more so than the other), and the ridiculous back and forth is all about right now—not enough about what can be done this year as a first step to restore this franchise to greatness. So let’s break it down objectively.

The streak feels great, but it’s sort of like cotton candy—little long-term value.

Hey, fine, whatever, everyone is allowed to get a little wacky over a 7-game win streak after what has been mostly a 2004-level garbage season. It’s entertaining. It’s probably good for the younger players in terms of confidence and learning how to win in the NHL. Great.

But after that, it’s (sort of) a mirage that just masks the remaining huge holes and questions on the Blackhawks roster and in the organization.

And, worse still, it only kicks the can further down the road in terms of the hard work that desperately needs to be done if this team is going to beat Winnipeg or Nashville in a 7-game series in May 2020 or 2021—as opposed to bumslaying Detroit on a Sunday afternoon in February 2019.

“Buyers” at the deadline? Buyers?! Just. Stop.

Some, including Team President John McDonough, are even talking about being “buyers” at the deadline.

Really?

That logic would seem to imply that the Hawks would go out and get a meaningfully helpful piece at the deadline—like a 3-4 defenseman who can actually defend, for example.

Having closely covered the last 10 NHL in-season trade deadlines, I can say with some assurance, the price (from the Hawks) to acquire said player is: a solid roster player + a solid prospect + a pick. None of which the Hawks could afford to give up—if it’s about either making or advancing in the playoffs, or, especially building for the future.

Markus Kruger (or Artem Anisimov), a 3^rd round pick, and Tyler Sikura won’t get you that player at the deadline—which is always a seller’s market. And the Hawks can’t afford to trade Brandon Saad for that player—if they intend to contend this year. It’s subtracting in order to add.

So stop. It’s stupid.

McDonough is just doing the same thing he has all year, talking out of his nether regions in order to prop up weak ticket sales. That’s all. This is the same guy who raved about Drew Leblanc’s “youtubes” and gets snickered at by players when he shows up to practice in a team warmup. Caveat emptor.

And that mentality clearly implies you’re going to then hold on to the four players currently occupying nearly $23 million in cap space who are all getting older, less competent, less healthy, or no longer (realistically) able to play—Duncan Keith, Brent Seabrook, Corey Crawford and Anisimov. When the trade deadline is the best opportunity to move perhaps 1-2 of those deals for some meaningful, quality assets for the future.

Also, not smart.

The reality of “making the playoffs.”

As of this morning, the Hawks have to catch either St. Louis or Minnesota to make the playoffs—both of which, if I had to bet the mortgage, are unlikely. Especially not St. Louis who have won 6 straight themselves, their last three against Tampa on the road and in a home and home versus Nashville. As much as it pains me to say this, hockey objectivity forces me to: St. Louis is a better team right now than the Hawks. Deeper, more balanced, bigger.

With 3-point games and the Hawks’ eventual return to earth (which is going to happen, probably soon), I wouldn’t bet the house (not yet anyway) on the Hawks making the postseason. Let’s talk more after two road games in Boston and New Jersey this week.

Either way, “anything can happen” isn’t happening.

But say the Hawks do make the playoffs.

I think some people are forgetting, or perhaps never fully understood, how hard it is to win a series in the playoffs, much less a Stanley Cup.

Definitely, some don’t understand that this Hawk team is not the 2012 Kings (a subject Gatekeeper will explore further here in the next couple of days)—a team that, although it squeaked into the playoffs, was built for the playoffs: strong on defense, big, mean.

Like the last three Hawk teams (two of which bowed out in the first round of the playoffs, the other didn’t make it), this year’s model is on the small side and terrible defensively, gets by on flash and dash and wins a lot in 3-on-3 overtime—which doesn’t exist in the playoffs.

Yeah, anything can happen. So go buy a Power Ball ticket. Otherwise, let’s get real.

The “positive” side of the argument.

The team is definitely playing better and responding to Jeremy Colliton.  How much better is debatable. You’re not going to win a lot of games giving up 40+ shots per. You may get lucky with hot goaltending for a while, like this team has.

But winning is contagious and certainly the mentality of this team, especially with all the young players, is vastly improved.

Further, getting the first or second pick (Jack Hughes or Kappo Kakko) in the draft was never likely. So I won’t be upset (at all) if, after a more positive conclusion to a mostly God-awful season, the Hawks settle in somewhere around 10^th or 11^th, and fill an organizational need with a well-considered draft pick.

An even better outcome.

Add to all I just laid out—improvement on the ice, and a reasonably high draft pick—moving a couple of veteran contracts out at the deadline for more picks and/or quality prospects, and the future shapes up nicely. Plus, more cap space this summer to add “right away” veteran help, and maybe making the playoffs or even, more importantly, advancing in the playoffs becomes a very real and exciting possibility next season, and for successive ones.

But the current mania, especially were it to sway the front office, potentially justifies the “easier” choice of foregoing the tough choices at the trade deadline, or the “crack high” (and inevitable crash) of a first round playoff loss.

Keep your eye on next year and beyond. Don’t fall for the ridiculous clickbait or ticket come-ons that are out there right now. The future is not now, but it may yet be bright.

All I have for now. Follow @jaeckel

The post Analysis: Can we get back to sanity about the Blackhawks? appeared first on The Rink.

Blackhawk lines and pairings versus the Wild:

Drake Caggiula–Jonathan Toews–Patrick Kane

Alex DeBrincat–Dylan Strome–Dominik Kahun

Brandon Saad–David Kampf–Marcus Kruger

Brendan Perlini–Artem Anisimov–John Hayden

Duncan Keith–Brent Seabrook

Carl Dahlstrom–Connor Murphy

Gustav Forsling–Erik Gustafsson

Collin Delia was back in net for the Hawks, facing Alex Stalock for the Wild.

FIRST PERIOD

The game was largely boring and unremarkable for the first 8-plus minutes, highlighted by a nice Delia stop on Erik Staal breakaway around the five minute mark. The Wild were first to score. when Mikael Granlund engineered a beautiful fake shot and quick pass to an open Jason Zucker in the slot—which Zucker buried at 8:22. 1-0 Wild.

A few minutes later, Hawk winger Brendan Perlini was dragged down from behind on a breakaway, leading to a penalty shot. However, Stalock was up to the challenge, stopping a Perlini attempt through the five-hole.

Shots for the period were 8-8.

SECOND PERIOD

The Hawks tied the game at 7:51 of the second, when Alex DeBrincat tallied his 26th of the season, as he so often does utilizing a Minnesota defender as a screen, and beating Stalock just inside the post, stick side. 1-1

The period basically belonged to Chicago, with Erik Gustafsson giving the Hawks the lead at 14:47 on a point blast. 2-1, Blackhawks.

Shots for the period were 14-11 Chicago.

THIRD PERIOD

This period, however, really favored the Wild, with a 12-7 shot advantage and two goals to one for Chicago.

Mikko Koivu beat Delia from the slot at 8:11, as a direct result of the Hawks losing coverage responsibilities. 2-2

But the Hawks jumped out ahead again on the ower play at 15:25, when Jonathan Toews got inside position right on the doorstep and redirected a Patrick Kane slap pass right past Stalock. 3-2 Hawks.

But the Wild tied it yet again at 16:58, when Minnesota’s gigantic Jordan Greenway set up Viktor Rask on a bang-bang play. 3-3.

OVERTIME

Wild defenseman Ryan Suter took a delay of game penalty right near the end of regulation, which carried over into OT, giving the Wild a lengthy 4-on-3 power play. That alone put the Hawks in the drivers’ seat, but the fact Suter is the Wild’s best defender and key to their 3-on-3 groupings, really set the Hawks up for success. Sure enough, Gustafsson, after playing catch with DeBrincat near the top of the offensive zone, laid on a mattress pass and beat a screened Stalock, giving Chicago the winner, 4-3.

THE GOOD

Here at The-Rink, we don’t hold back on certain inconsistent players or an overall roster that still has several holes. But we’re also fair. Gustafsson is an offensive weapon and showed it again last night. Additionally, the usual suspects (Kane, Toews, Gustafsson, DeBrincat) all contributed. The Hawks still gave up over 30 shots, but Delia was good enough, and the season-long, egregiously bad defensive zone play has somewhat dissipated—vaulting Chicago to arguably their best stretch of play this season.

THE BAD

The Wild are one of the league’s worst offensive teams—and they did all their business basically unmolested, right in front of Delia. Against a better team, the Hawks don’t get that game to overtime or win.

In fact, on this 4-game win streak, the Hawks have given up 37+ shots per game on average. Winning in spite of that poor defensive play is not remotely sustainable.

Can the Hawks make the playoffs? Well, Hawk team media (NBCS-C and WGN) seems to be pushing the “yes” narrative hard. Not surprising. They’re paid to do that. But here’s the harsh reality: the Hawks are 5 points out of the last wild card spot—and, even worse, the 6 teams in their way ALL have games in hand, most of them 2-3 games.

But do the playoffs matter for this team? A surprising number of “Jabroni Zombies” (“JaZombies?” “ZomBronis?”) out there would seem happy with that—as though “making the playoffs” would contradict the huge weight of evidence that a team with $39 million wrapped up in 5 players over the age of 30, all with no-movement clauses, may actually get worse before it gets better.

Following a trend since 2015, the Hawks remain a good 3-on-3 team—last night’s win ties the team for second in the league in OT goals (6). Which is great, if you want to make the first round of the playoffs and get blitzkrieged in 4 games.

Because there’s no 3-on-3 OT in the NHL playoffs. Further, the Hawks are not a good 5-on-5 team—again continuing a 3-year+ trend: they are 48.8% in 5-on-5 Corsi, and 18 goals underwater at even strength.

But, improvement, even if temporary, is improvement, and the Hawks have been visibly better—and a little lucky, as in getting two epic performances out of Cam Ward, for example—the last handful of games.

All we have for now. Please comment below.

The post RECAP: Blackhawks down Wild 4-3 in OT—win streak at four appeared first on The Rink.

7pm Central

Xcel Energy Center

TV/Radio: FSN, FS-WI, WGN/WGN

Goalies:

Chicago

Cam Ward (.843 save%, 4.63 GAA)

Minnesota

Devan Dubnyk (.963 save%, 1.45 GAA)

Team statistics:

Power play

Chicago (0.0%)

Minnesota (0.0%)

Penalty kill

Chicago (63.6%)

Minnesota (83.3%)

Shots for/against per game

Chicago (34.7, 29.7)

Minnesota (25.5, 41.0)

Shooting%

Chicago (14.4%)

Minnesota (3.9%)

Faceoff%

Chicago (47.0%)

Minnesota (52.7%)

Avg. height/weight:

Chicago:

6’1”, 196

Minnesota

6’1” 203

Lineups:

Chicago

Debrincat – Toews – Kahun

Saad – Schmaltz – Kane

Kunitz – Anisimov – Fortin

Hayden – Kruger – Kampf

Keith – Jokiharju

Gustafsson – Seabrook

Manning – Rutta

Minnesota:

Eriksson Ek – Staal – Zucker

Parise – Koivu – Granlund

Niederreiter – Greenway – Coyle

Foligno – Hendricks – Fehr

Suter – Dumba

Brodin – Spurgeon

Seeler – Pateryn

Analysis:

The Chicago Blackhawks look to stay undefeated on the road, meanwhile, the Minnesota Wild are winless through two games.

Defense and goaltending have been a struggle for the Blackhawks. Despite scoring fifteen goals, the team sits +1 in goal differential. Winning high scoring affairs every night is difficult to sustain.

Cam Ward starts his fourth consecutive game. Ward’s record should not overshadow the fact he has played poorly. A game without an easy goal and a consistent effort is needed.

The Wild have struggled to put the puck in the net. Goaltender Devan Dubnyk has kept them in both games with his stellar play.

This will be a good early season match-up between two Central Division rivals.

Comment below in our live game thread tonight!

And look for the internet’s most robust recap of the game later tonight or early tomorrow on the-rink.com. 

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

This has been stated in the context of pushing a Nick Schmaltz is “out of position at wing” narrative, in part because his faceoff percentage is typically close to 40% overall—which is abysmal and untenable for an NHL center.

But I digress. This article in only indirectly about Schmaltz (and the rest of the Hawk centers). It’s really about the under-appreciated (apparently) importance of faceoffs to winning hockey.

Let’s begin this with a basic—and highly ironic—premise. Because so often the “interwebz experts” who proclaim that faceoffs don’t matter, are also those who spout Corsi as the underpinning of every trivial tit for tat (or tweet for tat, whatever).

Here goes: if you want to be a possession team—ie, fuel the ongoing Corsi frenzy of so many would-be analytics gurus—and direct more shots at your opponent’s net than they direct at yours—you have to first possess the puck.

 Let that sink in.

Sure, hockey is a fluid game, which is in part why it’s so difficult to quantify the importance of one particular aspect of play—like faceoffs. And there are other ways to gain possession of the puck.

But, faceoffs are clearly one of the ways, if not the most obvious way, you gain possession.

I will grant, neutral zone faceoffs are probably somewhat less important. But, offensive and defensive zone faceoffs are highly important, especially in power play and penalty kill situations. 

Win a clean draw to your defenseman on the penalty kill in your zone, and 9 times out of 10 that puck is going hard around the boards and out. Win the draw to your defenseman in the offensive zone on the power play and you have a good chance of setting up and initiating a play.

It’s not brain surgery.

But to this point, this is all somewhat theoretical. And I will dive into some supportive numbers here in a minute.

But first, let’s climb into the Wayback Machine and set the dial for June 2015, the third periods of Games 5 and 6 of the Stanley Cup Finals between the Hawks and the Lightning, when Jonathan Toews, Marcus Kruger, Andrew Shaw and (especially) Antoine Vermette essentially stymied the Lightning’s comeback hopes in one goal games by winning draw after critical draw. And if you don’t recall, I suggest you go back and watch those latter stages of those games, or read Tampa coach Jon Cooper’s post-game comments.

To possess the puck, you have to win the puck.

So let’s look at some numbers. In those playoffs, where the Hawks won the Stanley Cup.

Vermette ranked third in the playoffs among centers at a dominant 58.9%. Toews was ninth among centers at 56.1%. Kruger and Shaw were both 50%. As a team, the Hawks were third in the playoffs that year in all situations at 53.1%, and they had to go through some of the league’s best faceoff men: Mikko Koivu, Ryan Kesler, Nate Thompson, Val Filippula.

More specifically, the Hawks were 59-52 in the dot on the power play, and even at 49-49 shorthanded.

The following year, when the Hawks lost in the first round in 7 games to the Blues, overall, they were 49.9% for the series, and a terrible 13-26 shorthanded.

The year after, 2016-17, they were swept in the first round by the Predators, and their faceoff% was just 47.2.

Certainly, other factors contributed to that postseason decline. But again, the maxim applies: possessing (shooting) the puck requires winning the puck.

And, despite what they tell you, faceoffs matter  . . . in actual hockey.

All I have for now. Comment below.

Follow @jaeckel 

The post Despite what some “experts” say, face-offs really matter appeared first on The Rink.

I will also tell you when it’s been quiet. And today, the last full workday before the Monday 3PM trade deadline, my inbox is empty. At least as of this posting.

So what follows is a roundup—arranged chronologically from most recent to oldest—of rumors I’ve heard over the last week (with some commentary):

Newer:

Columbus

Apparently made another run at Artem Anisimov in the last 24 hours or so. Columbus and Montreal I was told had made offers on Anisimov previously, that the Hawks rejected.

Corey Crawford injury

I received confirmation from a reliable team source that his injury is, in fact, concussion related. It had nothing to do with 12-ounce curls or snowmobiles.

My comment: let’s move on.

As reported here first:

Philadelphia

Some time in the last few days, the Hawks talked to Philadelphia about a deal that would send Ryan Hartman and Anisimov (and possibly Cody Franson, probably just for contract space) to the Flyers for Val Fillipula, Michael Raffl and either Travis Sanheim or Samuel Morin. And the Hawks might have to retain salary on Anisimov.

My comment: a lot of fans thought this would be a bad trade for Chicago. I disagree. Although he’s older, Fillipula is a much better faceoff guy (something the Hawks desperately need), who plays with more speed than AA. Nick Schmaltz is your 2C, Fillipula fits the 3C profile better—as long as the Hawks retain him. But the jewel of this deal for Chicago would be Sanheim or Morin, each a recent first round pick with size and skating ability—and the kind of D prospect the Hawks simply don’t have.

Hartman

A source told me he’s “as good as gone.” Might be extreme and premature. But I do hear the Hawks are listening on offers for him and along with Connor Murphy, he is a high possibility to move.

Washington and/or Tampa Bay

The Hawks had two scouts at a game between these two teams the other night. Both are rumored to be looking for defensemen. Murphy? Dunno, no names were mentioned.

Brandon Saad

The Hawks received offers from Pittsburgh (which in light of the Derrick Brassard deal today now makes more sense) and Montreal. Both offers were rejected.

My comment: no surprise teams are offering, nor that the Hawks are rejecting. It’s the smart move on everyone’s part. I doubt Saad moves unless there is an exceptional offer on the table.

Ottawa

The Hawks have been talking to the Sens off and on for several weeks about various players—mostly Chicago defensemen. Two players mentioned to me (among several apparently discussed) were Connor Murphy and Zack Smith. These teams may revisit these discussions after the season’s end.

Tommy Wingels

Very possible Tommy rejoins the Sharks for a playoff run (or the Wild) then returns home this summer as a free agent.

All I have for now. Follow me @jaeckel for real-time updates on rumors as I hear them, 24/7. Between now and the deadline.

The post Rumor Roundup appeared first on The Rink.

Fresh off his recall from Rockford, defenseman Carl Dahlstrom made his NHL debut, with Jan Rutta being put back on injured reserve. Joel Quenneville started Jeff Glass in net, once again, and re-inserted Lance Bouma on the fourth line.

Michal Kempny, Tomas Jurco, and Patrick Sharp took the night off in the Joel Quenneville Shrimp Cocktail suite.

Joel Quenneville Shrimp Cocktail Suite

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

Duncan Keith – Jordan Oesterle
Erik Gustafsson – Brent Seabrook
Carl Dahlstrom – Connor Murphy

The Blackhawks came right out in the opening minutes and turned the puck over, like it was a hot potato. Surprisingly, the turnover was at the hands of one of the Hawks most consistently productive player, Patrick Kane. After the turnover, the Hawks failed to get the puck out of their own end, fo roughly half a minute.  That is when Charlie Coyle, from behind the net no less,  took advantage of Jeff Glass playing a little sloppy positionally and banked the puck off him into the net. This was just a mere two minutes into the first period.

Less than a minute after the Coyle goal, Lance Bouma made his return to the lineup widely known by dropping Nate Prosser like a sack of bricks, in his first shift. The Wild took exception and ended up taking a double minor. Stop me if you have heard this story before, but the Blackhawks blew their two-man advantage. Shocking; I know!

Not only did the not score on their two-man advantage, but then struggling Brandon Saad took a terrible offensive zone penalty. The Wild, who do not stink on the power play like the Blackhawks, took full advantage of their opportunity. Mikko Koivu redirected an already deflected Matt Dumba clapper from the point past Jeff Glass, giving the Wild a 2-0 lead only six and a half minutes into the game.

Play settled down for the remainder of the opening period and the Wild took a 2-0 lead into the first intermission, even though they were out shot 17-5.

Three and a half minutes into the second period, a questionable Blackhawks pinch by Jordan Oesterle turned into a Wild 2-on-1 going back the other way. Charlie Coyle took the opportunity himself, and beat Jeff Glass off the post and in. At this point, the Wild had three goals on seven shots. Not what you would typically call “ideal.”

The rest of the second period went much like the second half of the first period: uneventful. As a result, the Wild carried a 3-0 lead into the third period despite being out shot 29-12.

Coach Joel Quenneville went the nuclear route, testing the motor on that lineblender, to open the third period.  He moved Saad/Toews/Kane together with the other three lines ending up Duclair/Schmalz/Debrincat, Hartman/Anisimov/Wingels, and Bouma/Kampf/Hinostroza. None of these changes made a difference, though.

In fact, Quenneville even pulled the goalie with 4:21 left in the game, which gave then a man advantage for the entire last quarter of the third period, and still came up empty.

Once again, as has often happened this season, the Blackhawks went down with a faint whimper.  The rest of February and March are going to be painfully insufferable.

Pluses:

• I guess the fact that the Blackhawks out shot the Wild by more than a 2-to-1 margin (44-19) is a good thing. That didn’t help them in the grand scheme, though, but it sure looks fancy on paper. This gives the perception that the Blackhawks put up a fight.  This might have been the worst 44 shot effort I have ever seen.
• With the shots favoring the Hawks so much, the possession numbers also favored the Blackhawks heavily.  Every single Blackhawks player was over 50%, with Jonathan Toews leading at almost 87%.  Lots of perimeter shots and very few rebounds in close.

Minuses:

• I can’t blame the goals directly on Jeff Glass but when you give one up two minutes into the game, off your back, your teammates might start thinking, “oh no, not again.”  An .842 save percentage is not going to help this team.  Then again, neither is getting shut out.
• The power play was 0-4. That is it.
• This team reeks of a group that has just given up hope.  They spew all the right smoke and mirrors to the media, but their actions tell another story.  It is time for Stan Bowman to upgrade his cell phone plan, and get to work.

The post Recap: Blackhawks at Wild 3-0 Shutout loss appeared first on The Rink.

Chicago Blackhawks (24-22-8) at Minnesota Wild (29-19-6)

7PM Central

RADIO: WGN 720

NBC Sports Chicago, Fox Sports North

PROJECTED GOALIES:

Chicago:

Jeff Glass (3-4-3, 3.13 GAA, .908 SV%)

Minnesota:

Devan Dubnyk (21-10-4, 2.68 GAA, .916 SV%)

PROJECTED LINES/PAIRINGS:

Chicago

Debrincat-Toews-Duclair

Hartman-Anisimov-Kane

Saad-Schmaltz-Wingels

Bouma-Kampf-Hinostroza

Keith-Oesterle

Gustafsson-Seabrook

Kempny-Murphy

Minnesota

Zucker-Koivu-Granlund

Ennis-Staal-Niederreiter

Parise-Cullen-Coyle

Winnik-Eriksson Ek-Foligno

Suter-Spurgeon

Olofsson-Dumba

Reilly-Prosser

STATISTICAL COMPARISONS:

Power play:

Chicago 15.7% (29^th)

Minnesota 21.5% (9th)

Penalty kill:

Chicago 82.8% (5^th)

Minnesota 80.8% (16th)

Corsi For % (5-on-5):

Chicago 53.0% (3rd)

Minnesota 46.4% (30th)

Faceoffs:

Chicago 49.4% (19^th)

Minnesota 49.8% (17th)

SUMMARY:

Is the season pretty much over for the Hawks? Well, there’s always a glimmer of hope—until they’re eliminated. That’s all too simplistic, but it helps when grasping for some reason to watch tonight’s game. Perhaps defenseman Calle Dahlstrom—who the Hawks are high on—gets his first NHL start tonight. So, there’s another.

Join the conversation on our message board below.

Follow: @jaeckel

The post Preview & Game Thread: Blackhawks at Wild appeared first on The Rink.

Before he was traded to Arizona I thought he might be worth taking a shot on but, silently, thought to myself, “Meh, just another low risk/high reward project that the Hawks won’t want to bother cultivating.” He showed a lot of promise in the 2014-15 World Juniors, and has some blazing speed with a scoring touch. My initial impression is that his delay in development has been between his ears, though. This is the second organization to give up on him, and he is only 22. Lets be completely honest, the Coyotes are not exactly blessed with a plethora of disposable raw talent.

Maybe a more strictly structured organization is what he needs to become a top six NHL regular. I have an open mind, and really hope the Blackhawks can develop him, because he could be an absolute Patrick Sharp-for-Matt Ellison style steal and I’ll be the first to grab that Duclair player shirt.

Do not confuse my open mind with blind optimism, though. Joel Quenneville can absolutely crush young egos into a pile of smoldering ashes so, if he gets off on the wrong foot, he could end up being the next Marko Dano.

Here are Duclair’s career stats:

• Joel Quenneville decided to start Anton Forsberg on the bottom half of this back-to-back which was a bit surprising, based on the love affair of Jeff Glass. I guess he was tired of feeding the meatball beast.
• The “controversy” of the Brent Seabrook goal, was an absolute joke. The NHL should be thoroughly embarrassed at what an absolute circus this whole nonsense has turned into. The fact that a coach can roll back a play over 30 seconds, 43 to be exact, to possibly negate a goal is ludicrous. I have said it before, for a league that prides itself on attempting to increase scoring “for the fans“, they are sure pulling a lot of goals off the board for off-sides calls that have no bearing on the goal. The night before, the Oilers were robbed of a game tying goal the same way, and it is flat out criminal.
• Patrick Kane is playing at another level. He was double shifting all night and dominated puck control most of his shifts, at least early. He might have suffered some fatigue later on, but that will happen to a forward playing
• It might be said that Corey Crawford (or Jeff Glass for that matter) would have definitely resulted in a Blackhawks win, because neither Wild goal was all that good. I beg to question, though, how many break-a-ways and high danger chances did Forsberg face, and stop? I would say they are a wash, or maybe come out in Forsberg’s favor. Quenneville likes to use 5-on-3 power plays to gauge critical moments. His theory being that the result of the 5-on-3 leads heavily into the result of the final score. I am a firm believer that the team that giving up the most break-a-ways (scored or not) loses the game, most nights. This is a indication, albeit primitive, of the quality of defense for a team. It was not even close in this one.
• As I said the previous night, don’t let the power play goals against the lifeless Sens fool you. The power play is far from fixed. The Blackhawks went right back to their normal selves and botched all of their man advantages, Wednesday night. All they needed to do was convert on one, and they get the crucial divisional point.
• The staggering stat from last night’s game was that the Wild “officially” blocked 21 shots in first period alone. I do not see how that can be even remotely possible.
• Marcus Foligno took a penalty for a high hit on Jan Rutta that looked to have rung Rutta’s bell. As a result, the Blackhawks defenseman had to take a trip to the quiet room for a few minutes. Rutta was back shortly thereafter but, after missing time with a concussion recently, we all held our breath for a few moments. I am sure the Department of Player Safety has taken a look at the play, because it was dangerous. Speaking of the Department of Player Safety, if podcasts are your thing, go listen to the episode of the Craig Custance Podcast “The Full 60” with Patrick Burke. You may think twice before tweeting, “You need to take a look at this play” to them.
• I stated this last night, but the NHL website is an embarrassment to pro sports. It constantly locks up, and is extremely buggy. If you were following along last night, this is what the live shift tracker looked like at the start of the second period, and continued until you actually closed the window and started over.
  

  Great job with the website @NHL. Perfect pic.twitter.com/ymhez2Y2FU

  — Gatekeeper (@PuckinHostile) January 11, 2018

   

   

  
  What kind of professional organization allows their website to perform like this night after night? This example is not just a rare occurrence, either. It happens almost every game I have followed. I will not even get into the mess that the stats portion of the site has turned into. Just goes to show how out of completely ignorant and touch this league is to innovation and technology.

The post Blackhawks Post Loss and Post Trade Thoughts appeared first on The Rink.

The Chicago Blackhawks squandered a hot start, dropping a 2–1 decision to the Minnesota Wild Wednesday night at the United Center. The United Center ice seemed to be tilted in the first period. The Hawk offense was buzzing, generating quality scoring chances throughout the frame. Chicago fired 14 shots on goal to Minnesota’s five.

The Blackhawks broke through 12 minutes into the game when Brent Seabrook chipped in a rebound from below the goal line for his second tally of the season. The goal came on the heels of the first healthy scratch of Seabrook’s career, certainly boosting the defenseman’s confidence and creating an early feel-good vibe in the game.

Despite the strong offensive showing from the Hawks—an astounding 39–11 shot attempts advantage—Minnesota goalie Devan Dubnyk stifled the Blackhawks the rest of the period, keeping the game within reach for the Wild.

Minnesota came out for the second period reinvigorated, creating scoring chances throughout the frame. Blackhawks goalie Anton Forsberg denied a net front shot from Wild forward Jason Zucker off a nice cross-ice pass from Minnesota captain Mikko Koivu. The Wild finally cashed in on a shot from the point by Jonas Brodin midway through the period. Brodin’s fourth goal of the season deflected off Blackhawks forward Tommy Wingels, and Forsberg was unable to react in time to make the save. After 40 minutes, the United Center scoreboard read 1–1, with the shots favoring Chicago 23–15.

The third period proved to be pretty even in play, but the Wild got the breaks. Wild defenseman Ryan Suter sniped his sixth goal of the season on a perfect shot over Forsberg’s shoulder three minutes into the period to give the Wild a 2–1 lead. The Blackhawks were unable to convert on their chances the rest of the way, and the Wild walked away with a hard-fought, come from behind win in what initially appeared to be the Blackhawks’ night.

The loss drops the Blackhawks’ record to 21–16–6, a total of 48 points. Chicago entered the night in the second wild card position in the Western Conference standings. The Wild improved their season record to 23–17–4, reaching 50 points to leapfrog the Blackhawks in the standings.

Panik trade

Despite the action on the ice, perhaps the most significant event of the day happened off the ice. Prior to pregame warmups, the Blackhawks sent right winger Richard Panik and prospect Laurent Dauphin to the Arizona Coyotes in exchange for winger Anthony Duclair and defenseman Adam Clendening.

Panik, 26, had a rollercoaster tenure with Chicago. The Slovakian winger was acquired from Toronto in exchange for Jeremy Morin during the 2015–16 season, and saw huge success last year flanking Jonathan Toews, registering 22 goals and 22 assists, smashing his previous career highs. Unfortunately for Panik and the Blackhawks, Panik could not repeat his performance on the ice this season after general manager Stan Bowman rewarded him with a two-year, $5.6 million contract over the summer. Panik has registered just six goals and 10 assists this season.

Dauphin, 22, was acquired from the Coyotes in June as part of the Niklas Hjalmarsson trade. Dauphin has spent the beginning of the season playing for the Rockford IceHogs. Dauphin will report to the Tucson Roadrunners of the American Hockey League.

Duclair, 22, is an intriguing addition. His combination of speed and skill provide the Blackhawks with a package they have lacked in recent years. Duclair has not lived up to expectations with the Coyotes the past season-plus after posting 20 goals in 2015–16. Reports surfaced earlier this month Duclair requested a trade.

Clendening, 25, is a familiar name to Blackhawks fans. The Blackhawks selected Clendening in the second round in the 2011 entry draft. Clendening showed signs of his potential while in Rockford, but could never crack the Blackhawks lineup. He was ultimately flipped to Vancouver in 2014 for Gustav Forsling. Clendening has since bounced around the league, including stops in Pittsburgh, Edmonton and New York before joining the Coyotes this season. Clendening will report to the IceHogs, but does provide another depth option on the blue line should the need arise later in the season.

The deal immediately appears to be a big win for the Blackhawks. Chicago rids themselves of Panik’s $2.8 million cap hit for the rest of this season and next season, while Duclair has a $1.2 million cap hit and is a restricted free agent at the end of this season. The cap savings give the Blackhawks additional flexibility should they choose to be active prior to the trade deadline late next month. The deal also furthers Bowman’s goal of making the team younger and faster.

Additionally, Duclair’s unique package of attributes could greatly benefit the Blackhawks on the ice. It is not difficult to envision Duclair causing havoc with his speed on a line with Nick Schmaltz and Patrick Kane, opening space for the duo to generate offensive chances. Of course, Duclair would also be able to contribute offensively as well, being a former 20 goal scorer. The trio could form a formidable line and finally restore a potent one-two punch for Chicago’s offense.

Another option, should Joel Quenneville not want to break up the Ryan Hartman-Schmaltz-Kane combination would be a third line of Duclair, Artem Anisimov (when healthy) and Alex DeBrincat. Duclair adds to Chicago’s forward depth, and depending on lines come playoff time, the bottom six could include names such as Anisimov, Hartman and Dylan Sikura, in addition to the slew of depth forwards the team already has in DeBrincat, Patrick Sharp, John Hayden, Tommy Wingels, David Kampf and Lance Bouma, giving the Blackhawks much-needed flexibility come playoff time.

Duclair is expected to make his Blackhawks debut when Chicago next takes the ice Friday, hosting Winnipeg in the second game of the Blackhawks’ six-game homestand. Puck drop is scheduled for 7:30 p.m.

Pluses:

— The offense showed more flashes of excellence in the first period.

— The Blackhawks looked very fast in the first period of dictated the pace of the game, dominating the first 20 minute, despite only scoring once.

— Nick Schmaltz extends his point streak to five games with an assist on Seabrook’s first period goal. Schmaltz now has 12 points (six goals and six assists) in his last eight games.

— Chicago put 35 shots on goal, which is encouraging. On most nights, 35 shots should be plenty to win the game. The offense is generating the chances they need to get results. Though they did not capitalize on their early chances, the chances were still there, indicating a trend in the right direction.

Minuses:

— The Blackhawks level of play decreased after the first period, allowing Minnesota to get back in,and later take over, the game.

— The Hawks squandered the game by not taking advantage of early opportunities.

— Forsberg made two minor mistakes in the whole game and they cost him. He slid slightly too far to the right when challenging Brodin’s game-tying goal and dropped to his knees slightly too soon on Suter’s game-winning goal.

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Minnesota Wild (22-17-4) at Chicago Blackhawks (21-15-6)

7:00PM Central

RADIO: WGN 720

PROJECTED GOALIES:

Minnesota:

Devan Dubnyk (15-9-2, 2.72 GAA, .916 save%)

Chicago:

Anton Forsberg (3-5-3, 3.00 GAA, .910 save%)

PROJECTED LINES/PAIRINGS:

Minnesota

Zucker-Koivu-Granlund

Parise-Staal-Ennis

Eriksson Ek-Coyle-Stewart

Foligno-Cullen-Winnik

Suter-Spurgeon

Brodin-Dumba

Reilly-Prosser

Chicago

Saad-Toews-Hinostroza

Hartman-Schmaltz-Kane

Sharp-Kampf-DeBrincat

Bouma-Wingels-Panik

Keith-Oesterle

Forsling-Rutta

Murphy-Seabrook

STATISTICAL COMPARISONS:

Power play:

Minnesota 18.8% (17^th)

Chicago 16.4% (25^th)

Penalty kill:

Minnesota 82.0% (12^th)

Chicago 83.2% (8^th)

Corsi For % (5-on-5):

Minnesota 46.2% (31st)

Chicago 53.0% (2nd)

Faceoffs:

Minnesota 50.4% (15^th)

Chicago 49.2% (22nd)

We’ll recap tonight or tomorrow AM. Join the conversation below!

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Plenty of positives to take away in this one as it pertains to both collective and individual efforts, but a few are especially noteworthy. My first note is that Corey Crawford has become an absolute machine. Seriously, can you recall a time in recent memory when the Hawks had a more dependable goaltender? Excluding some untimely injury issues, Crow has really found himself between the pipes. He is always square to the puck, is spot-on as far as the ideal depth in his net, and has his rebound control looking the best it ever has. He is far and away the most valuable player on this team so far.

Nick Schmaltz gets some praise in this one as well. Throughout this winning streak the ‘Hawks have put together, I’ve noticed that they are doing a much better job using all 85 feet when passing East/West. Schmaltz had the vision and the awareness to blow the play wide open with a home-run pass to Kaner for the first goal, even my eyes were sucked into the corner when he fed that one all the way across.

The Hawks collectively as a team transitioned well in this one. When they were able to force turnovers they were quick to gain numbers on the counter-attack. They played a rush-oriented offense that is innately less predictable than the boring perimeter passing we were getting for a lot of November and earlier this month.

Next, how about Jordan Oesterle? He’s a +4 in 8 games played so far and looked super competent and poised with the puck tonight. He made a great play midway through the second when he was able to kick stick-to-puck on a keep in at the blue line all while setting himself up in the slot for a one-timer that caught the inside of the pipe. Aside from that, he had that heads-up 80 foot saucebomb to spring Kaner on a breakaway that led to the Hawks’ second goal. That one was reminiscent of 2010 Brent Seabrook.

Ryan Hartman looked strong as well. He’s at his best when he’s lowering a shoulder muscling his way towards the net. Beautiful finish on that goal.

Could all not be lost with this team? It’s hard to say at this point. It’s nice to see them making formal adjustments in practice that are translating into sharper play, but the jury is still out on whether or not they have the horses to make a deep run. One thing is for sure though, should they continue to play well, Stan Bowman will inevitably become yet again a buyer in a seller’s market come the deadline.

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The Blackhawks’ surging confidence and 4 game winning streak gets put to another test tonight at the United Center, versus Central Division rival Minnesota. 

Minnesota Wild (17-12-3) at Chicago Blackhawks (16-11-5)

6PM Central

RADIO: WGN 720

TV: NBC Sports Chicago/Fox Sports North

PROJECTED GOALIES:

Minnesota:

Alex Stalock (5-4-1, 2.66 GAA, .915 SV%)

Chicago:

Corey Crawford (15-7-2, 2.15 GAA, .934 SV%)

PROJECTED LINES/PAIRINGS:

Minnesota

Niederreiter-Koivu-Granlund

Zucker-Staal-Coyle

Foligno-Coyle-Eriksson Ek

Ennis-Winnik-Stewart

Suter-Spurgeon

Brodin-Dumba

Reilly-Prosser

Chicago

Saad-Toews-DeBrincat

Schmaltz-Anisimov-Kane

Sharp-Hinostroza-Hartman

Bouma-Wingels-Hayden

Keith-Oesterle

Forsling-Murphy

Kempny-Seabrook

STATISTICAL COMPARISONS:

Power play:

Minnesota 20.7% (8^th)

Chicago 14.8% (28^th)

Penalty kill:

Minnesota 83.7% (4^th)

Chicago 83.2% (7^th)

Corsi For % (5-on-5)

Minnesota 46.4% (30^th)

Chicago 52.1% (9^th)

Faceoffs:

Minnesota 49.7% (18^th)

Chicago 48.7% (23rd)

SUMMARY:

Testament to how strong and deep the Central Division is this year, the Hawks and Wild faceoff tonight at 5^th and 6^th respectively—both with 37 points. Chicago beat the Wild earlier in the season in St. Paul, and there’s more than the usual subtext to this Wild-Hawks game as a result.

In that game, Hawk forward John Hayden broke a bone in the face of Minnesota tough guy Marcus Foligno in a long and entertaining fight. As a result Foligno may be looking for a rematch, in order to regain his reputation as “not to be messed with.” Which in an otherwise evenly matched game, might be a tactical error as far as what’s on the scoreboard.

Regardless, Chicago skaters should probably keep their heads on a swivel a bit more than usual, and their emotions in check. Besides, the Hawks are trying to keep a 4-game win streak alive, coming off a fairly convincing win over Winnipeg on the road in their last outing. This is yet another game where playing well, much less taking two points, would do a lot for the Hawks’ confidence going forward. Even without star forward Zach Parise, Minnesota is still a dangerous opponent, especially strong on the blueline.

A key for Chicago tonight may simply be staying out of the penalty box. The Wild are pretty good on the power play, and fairly mediocre in 5-on-5 possession.

We’ll recap tonight or tomorrow AM.

Follow: @jaeckel

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Make no mistake, the first star, if you will, of the Blackhawks’ 2017-18 season thus far has been goaltender Corey Crawford.

Delivering his second straight shutout last night, in a 2-0 road win over the Wild at Excel Energy Center in St. Paul, Crawford stopped 24 shots, many of them high quality chances. Among NHL starting goalies with over 8 games played this season, Crawford leads the league with a .945 save% and 1.75 GAA.

The other story last night in St. Paul, also a continuation of the storyline from the previous outing against Philadelphia, was improved overall team play.  It’s hard to say if this Wild team is that much better at all than the middling Flyers, and probably not in the absence of Zach Parise, but the Blackhawks last 5-6 periods have been their best of the season since their first 5-6 periods of the season.

Breakouts were cleaner and faster. There were less of the structural breakdowns and poor puck control at both blue lines that have plagued the team much of the early season. And the Hawks’ possession numbers were not surprisingly in positive territory yet again.

Anisimov again

What’s also interesting to note is the Hawks are getting contribution not from the superstars, so much as the supporting cast. Artem Anisimov, the, ehhhhhhhh, “well compensated” third line center, scored in his 4th straight game, which is really helpful in terms of establishing production from a third “scoring line.”

Anisimov’s tally last night was also on . . . the power play, another positive development.

Winger Alex DeBrincat got another empty net goal (2 of the heavily hyped  rookie’s 3 goals this season have gone into an empty net), which drove the Hawk media into the usual paroxysms of exultation. But DeBrincat played well at times overall. There was the usual mind-boggling neutral zone turnover or two (depends on how you define mind-boggling, I guess), but there were also some smart plays around the blue lines that kept opportunities alive. He also had a couple of chances close in that he failed to convert—and perhaps those will come.

To my eye, the big improvement in the team over 200 feet of play is due to the stabilized defensive pairings. I have to admit, when I saw what Joel Quenneville was thinking last week, with Jan Rutta bouncing out to his off side as an NHL rookie and Cody Franson slotted in with Duncan Keith, I basically thought Quenneville was just rearranging the deck chairs on the Titanic.  But, for two games anyway, the pairings feel stable and competent.

Fear the Kempny

And I’d be remiss if I didn’t point out yet another solid game from none other than Michal Kempny, playing with Connor Murphy on what is ostensibly Chicago’s third defense pair. Kempny played over 18 minutes and led the team in shots on goal—by a wide margin—with 6, many of which seemed to give Minnesota goalie Devan Dubnyk problems. The other thing about Kempny which often goes unnoticed by most, is how he uses his superior foot speed to beat opponents to pucks and take away opportunities.

Next up: the Montreal Canadiens tonight in the latter side of a back-to-back at the United Center. I will preview that game separately this morning.

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Chicago Blackhawks (6-5-2) at Minnesota Wild (5-4-2)

7PM Central 

RADIO: WGN 720

TV: WGN, Fox Sports North

PROJECTED GOALIES:

Chicago:

Corey Crawford (6-4-0, 1.91 GAA, .941 save%)

Minnesota:

Devan Dubnyk  (4-3-1, 3.03 GAA, .905 save%)

PROJECTED LINES/PAIRINGS:

Chicago 

DeBrincat-Toews-Panik

Saad-Schmaltz-Kane

Sharp-Anisimov-Hayden

Bouma-Wingels-Hartman

Keith-Franson

Rutta-Seabrook

Kempny-Murphy

Minnesota

Zucker-Koivu-Granlund

Niederreiter-Staal-Kunin

Foligno-Ek-Stewart

Winnik-Cullen-Ennis

Suter-Spurgeon

Brodin-Dumba

Olofsson-Reilly

STATISTICAL COMPARISONS:

Power play:

Chicago  13.6% (28^th)

Minnesota  18.4% (15^th)

Penalty kill:

Chicago  83.3% (9^th)

Minnesota  81% (16^th)

Corsi For % (5-on-5)

Chicago  48.7% (19^th)

Minnesota  46.3% (276^th)

Faceoffs:

Chicago  50.3%   (20th^th)

Minnesota  50.7% (16^th)

SUMMARY:

Both the Hawks and Wild have struggled to find their customary grooves this season.

In their last outing versus Philadelphia, the Hawks had a middling first period, before taking over the game in the second and much of the third periods. Suddenly, Chicago was looking again like the team that thoroughly dominated Eastern Conference powerhouses in the first two games of the season—although the Flyers don’t qualify as such.

The lineup remains essentially the same for Chicago tonight, as they try to maintain the brief, positive trend started versus Philadelphia.

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