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Tuesday, April 29, 2014

Hawks Win 4th In A Row to Take Round 1 Against Blues

I'll be honest, that 2nd period I got a little scared. 17 pelted shots on Corey and only 3 for the Hawks. Believe it or not, what settled me down as a fan was this uncanny story that the Blues 2014 series matched the 2013 series against L.A. Knowing last year's game 6 they only scored 1 goal, settled me down….just a little bit. As the Hawks started the 3rd period on the PP, I was really only expecting 1 goal….well, that was last years score (L.A. 2 -1 St. Louis). So, when Jonny poured in the PP goal in the first minute of the third, I thought the game could be over for St. Louis. What scared me was when Sharpie scored less than 2 minutes later. Uh Oh,…last years score was 2-1 and the Hawks just posted 3. And we already know that St. Louis can come back from 2 goals. What was surprising to me, was Ken Hitchcock said that Sharpies goal popped the balloon and the air went out on their bench. Yes, it appeared that way on the ice too. The Blues were not playing puck control, as the Hawks were putting pucks deep and allowing St. Louis to make mistakes at or around the Hawks Blue line. When Shaw scored on a blast off the stick of Duncan Keith, I felt better. Then all Hawks fans were able to breathe as Shaw and Keith on a 2-1 scored as Shaw feed Keith (who didn't handle it too well but batted it out mid air after his mishandle), who killed the spirits of St.Louis. That was the 1 and only time that the Blues and Hawks were ever above a 2 goal spread. This series literally could have gone either way. 4 of the games went into overtime. Coach Q wanted to put the praise on Corey and the PK unit. I would 100% agree. 2-29 on the PP for St. Louis who had been one of the best PP units in the league. That is absolutely an astounding number. Joakim Nordstrom made his NHL playoff debut,…NOT Jeremy Morin. Coach Q rarely used either player and used that 4th line mostly for the 4th period. Smith, on the other hand played 2nd line center and played on the 4th line. Maybe something that had to do with that was the 2nd period barrage of penalties the Hawks took which meant that Handzus was out on that ice getting pelted with pucks. It's hard to say what is going on in Quenneville's mind, but that could have something to do with it. Players that were noticeably good: Keith, Smith, Handzus, Seabrook, Hjalmarsson, Kane, Toews and of course…Crawford. Players that were noticeably NOT good: Saad, Sharp, Oduya. (Although, Sharp scored the 3rd goal of this game, it was his first of the series. More importantly, what I noticed was his turn overs. He and Hossa were high in that department). Saad, wasn't horrible, he just didn't have that extra effort that I was looking for. Oduya,…well, I have been on his case all year. He blocks shots, defends well,…guess I'm looking for a play off effort instead of a regular season effort. Less brain-farting would be nice. Shaw had his moments of brilliance, then he had moments of brain farts. Well, that's Shaw. Because of the divisional playoff system this year, the Hawks know their opponent will either be Colorado or Minnesota. Colorado is playing game 6 in Minnesota today. It would be nice to see Minnesota carry this series into a 7th game, to give the Hawks a few more days rest. (Coach gave them 2 days rest). I don't care either way which team plays the Hawks. Both are tough, but Colorado would have home ice advantage on the Hawks. The Hawks have played miserably there, but again the playoffs is a different animal…ask St. Louis.

Monday, April 21, 2014

Seabrook Get's 3 Games. Hawks Search For Soul

This is not the time to lose one of your leaders. The Hawks did JUST that. Brent Seabrook has received a 3 game "well justified" suspension for a vicious hit on David Backes. The Hawks aren't losing 0-2 because of that. They are down 2 games to nothing because they are doing what they did ALL YEAR: blow LATE 3rd PERIOD GOALS. The Hawks gave up a goal in each game with less than 2 minutes to play. Not all Corey Crawford's fault, but he surely isn't playing on all cylinders. Other players that I have seen that aren't "carrying their weight" include: Marian Hossa, Patrick Sharp and Patrick Kane. The Hawks do very well when they play "angry". I don't know what they have to do to get by St. Louis, but they certainly are facing a team that is going to be as good a matchup as they will face (even if they win this series). IF the Hawks win this series…and go on to win the cup, the teams they may have to face could look like this….St.Louis > Colorado > Anaheim or San Jose > Boston or Pittsburgh. WOW!!! This would certainly be one of their greatest championships if they could win this. Drawing off the BLOOD SWEAT and TEARS from their captain Jonathan Toews along with the energy from their other leaders WILL definitely have to be needed in order to win this series. Game 3 is in less than 12 hours and the NUMBER ONE person that has to get his act together is COREY CRAWFORD> He must play his best. I haven't seen that yet. Now,…..the line match ups with Kane on the 3rd line….was a complete flop. Most of the goals have been scored by defensemen this series. The idea of "spreading the wealth" actually THINNED it out. Why not have this lineup? Versteeg - Toews - Kane Sharp- Shaw - Hossa Bickell - Smith - MORIN Saad - Handzus - Kruger That is loading up on ALL 4 lines. Bickell and Morin have already proven that they play well together. Handzus has proven he is worthy of playoff time. 3 minutes of ice time for Bollig proves he isn't cutting it in the playoffs. PUT MORIN IN!!!! He's an amazing athlete. Anyway, whatever the Hawks decide to do I am with my team. I just would like to see the offense take off a bit more. I don't think Q is using his offensive power to it's best ability.

Wednesday, April 16, 2014

Preparing For St. Louis

Hawks have decided to have "offensive" threats on every line. With Toews and Kane returning near or at 100%, the team is near fully rested. Coach Q has decided on an unusual line pairing for the first game. Saad- Toews- Versteeg No matter whom you pair up with Tazer he'll be fine. Stegger and Saad have been playing well off each other, and both show grit. This line is an unusual pairing, but it can work. Sharp- Handzus- Hossa This line isn't so far fetched. In fact, we've seen this line match-up throughout the year. Bickell- Shaw- Kane Putting Kaner on the third line to spark up what could be a REALLY interesting line up, is the most intriguing line configuration of all. I think this line could be REALLY dangerous. We shall see. Bollig- Kruger- Smith the 4th line that has been the 4th line for most of the year is a stable line that produces scorers from all three guys. The "shut down line". Morin will sit, but trust me, if Versteeg or Saad don't hold up their end of the bargain, or if Handzus rests with Smith taking that center spot, expect to Morin play in this first round. This is what the Hawks play for. Let's see what they can do in 2014.

Wednesday, April 9, 2014

Last 3 GAMES… What to Expect, Not Expect and What Surprises May Be In Store.

Well, I've been away for over 2 weeks. Anything happen? OMG yes. Hawks flopped right out of home ice advantage by tanking 3 in a row and 4 of 5 the end of March. Hawks lose Toews for the remainder of the regular season, and the Hawks now win 3 in April with their back ups. What? Is this Narnia? Okay…let's review. First of all, I told you this was going to be an interesting season for the Hawks, and to NOT expect them to win their conference or division. They had to figure out a way to balance their lineup and get people rested for the playoffs. First off, let's be frank here,…Hawks brass isn't going to come out and tell anyone they're resting players. Why should they? But let's look a the obvious. Saad gets a few days break and rests a game. He played Friday, rested the last game and their next game isn't until Wednesday… Rest, that's all it is. No need to panic folks. He isn't in Q's doghouse. It's a nice 5 day rest. Oduya rests a few games here lately. Rozsival rests: He needs time to rest and be prepared for the playoffs. He's an important piece of that 3rd line D-core. Bickell rested up and there was no hurry to rush him back (Until Toews went down). As you see, he's perfectly fine. Toews: Got banged up a bit. If it was the playoffs, he would have been in that next game. Just resting and healing. Kane: This is the most mysterious one to me. His injury happened to be "perfect" timing for Teravainen to enter the lineup. Kane bangs the knee and "presto" Teravainen and a host of others are able to come and play for the Hawks while Kane rests. To clarify, I'm not saying the injury is fake,… but what I am saying is it was extremely perfect timing. Nothing is ever that perfect…is it? Hossa: He has rested. He is ready to go. The ones that haven't rested are Sharp, Keith, Seabrook, Hjalmarsson, Shaw, Smith, Bollig, Kruger. The Hawks are so close to being permanently placed in the 5th seed. If by tonight or tomorrow they are guaranteed the 5th seed, expect the others to get some rest, also. PERFECT TIMING: The Hawks have had that a few times this year. Remember when Khabibulin went down with a "mysterious groin" injury during the middle of the game? Bamm!!!! out he goes. He's never been back. They couldn't to let him go (cap hit), and they wanted to put Antti Raanta in his spot, so the groin injury wasn't enough. So,what do the Hawks do? They kept digging, found an injury that allowed him to sit the rest of the season. It wasn't even related to the groin injury, but the Hawks did NOT want Khabibulin back in the lineup. Here's your $2 million…shut the f*ck up, and stay quiet about it. DO IT FOR THE TEAM. Hawks wanted to get a look at Teravainen and the only conceivable way was for one of their top 6 forwards to go down with an LTIR. BAMM!!!! The very next day, Kaner gets a knee onto a player and has a strained MCL. (He may have tweaked it, he may not have). But, it's amazing how that how that happened. Suddenly the Red Sea parts and in walks Teravainen. Coincidence? Hawks must have a lucky coin in their pocket, eh? Hehehehehehe. This is called manipulating the cap. Every team does it,…it's just the Hawks are supremely good at covering it up. WHAT TO EXPECT? 1) Expect Toews and Kane to return without a hitch. 2) Expect to see Morin and Regin fighting for that playoff roster spot. Right now, the Bickell-Regin-Morin 3rd line has been the hottest line the past 3 games and J-Mo is fighting for his playoff roster spot (more than the aforementioned). Bickell's roster spot is secure, but Regin is also fighting for the top 20 ice playing spots. 3) Don't expect Teravainen to make the top 20 roster spots in the playoffs. I think he may or may not play the rest of the season, but I don't think he will crack the top twenty. Not at all. Surprises? Right now, I'd have to say I'm thinking Peter Regin and Jeremy Morin may be the surprises that could (not will,…but could) make the top 20 playoff roster spots. The last 3 games they will need to continue that trend, if they wish to make a run for the roster spot.