The Fun Starts Now: Hawks 3, Capitals 2 and Sunday's Big Boy

Wow, what a fun game,  So fast, with chances at either end only moments apart for what seemed to be the entire match.  Not a perfectly executed affair by The Hawks, but not terrible.  Here's what I think I saw:
- Those Capitals can skate.  Well, not Brooks Orpik, so much, but the rest of them are quick and their forecheck is relentless.  In the first period, especially, they chased The Hawks defensemen back, back and then back some more until, finally, they either made a poor pass or just flipped the puck into the neutral zone.  The Hawks came out for the second better prepared for this
- Only two of our new gadgets played tonight, Ladd & Fleischmann, and they both looked remarkably comfortable straight away.  Q even deployed Flasch on the penalty kill.  Ladd was right at home on Toews' line, it seemed, and his effort in front of the net on The Hawks' second goal was indicative of why Stan went out and got him.
- It was nice to see the lesser lights, if I can say that, have good games. Desjardins was pesky and well positioned all day and that kick pass by Panik was wonderful. That guy is like a turbine, just buzzing at full chat all the time, not always accomplishing much but it's the kind of effort that can lead to unexpected chances and draws the odd penalty, as was the case today.  Rasmoosen ended up with the winner in what may well be his last game for awhile, as long as Weiss' visa gets sorted out soon and, saving the best for last, Teravainen's line with Des and Flasch was The Hawks' best trio today.
- The last time I wrote about TVR I think I said it had been the best game I'd seen him play.  Today was the opposite of that.  Yes, he notched an assist, but that "pass" could only have been corralled by Kane, let only result in a goal.  In his own end he really seemed to have no idea what he was doing, or going to do. When you're killing a penalty one guy is not going to be covered but, when TVR was "killing penalties" two guys were often footloose 'cos TVR wasn't covering anybody, and that's unacceptable.
- Brian Engblom is bad at his job.  He called Taylor Chorney "Tom Chorske" at least once, was convinced that Holtby got a bit of glove on the puck that Des clearly plunked off the post, and was under the impression that Matt Niskanen had scored The Caps' first goal. That said, I'll take his cheerful lunkheadedness any day over Milbury.
- One more aside; there are still 16 hours left before the trade deadline. Just sayin'.

Teuvo's pass to Toews for the second goal epitomizes what makes him so great; that rare combination of being able to see situations just before they unfold and having the skill to act on them.  Teuvo Teravainen gets The Belt tonight, not only for his efforts. but also to herald the beginning of a legitimate third line.

                                                        Se ei ole poro perä.

HA! (or "Even A Broken Clock is Correct Twice Each Day")

From TSN.ca

The Montreal Canadiens have traded forwards Dale Weise and Tomas Fleischmann to the Chicago Blackhawks for forward Phillip Danault and a second-round pick in 2018.  According to TSN Hockey Insider Bob McKenzie, the Canadiens retained 30 per cent of Weise and Fleischmann's salaries.

My Master Plan is coming together.  Already talked about Weise yesterday or the day before. Fleischmann is a competent, unspectacular winger, likely destined for third or fourth line duty, or possibly Rockford if the room gets any more crowded.

I was a little surprised to see Danault sent off.  Sure, he hasn't had quite the dash that he displayed in his first couple of weeks since his last recall, but I certainly felt as if The Hawks were prepared to exercise some patience with Danault.  I guess Stan Bowman will uphold his promise to Marcus Kruger.

Hawks Acquire Ehrhoff

From blackhawks.nhl.com:

The Chicago Blackhawks announced today they have acquired defenseman Christian Ehrhoff (AYR-hahf) from the Los Angeles Kings in exchange for defenseman Rob Scuderi.

Ehrhoff, 33, has registered 10 points (2G, 8A) in 40 games with Los Angeles this season and tallied three assists in five games with the American Hockey League’s Ontario Regin. The Moers, Germany, native leads all German-born defensemen with 337 points (74G, 263A) in 781 career National Hockey League games across 12 seasons with San Jose (2003-09), Vancouver (2009-11), Buffalo (2011-14), Pittsburgh (2014-15) and Los Angeles (2015-16). He has added 34 points (7G, 27A) in 73 Stanley Cup Playoffs games. Ehrhoff has posted 52 points (16G, 36A) in 111 career AHL games and collected eight points (2G, 6A) in nine Calder Cup Playoffs games. He was drafted by San Jose in the fourth round (106th overall) of the 2001 NHL Draft.

Busy times, busy times.  While this isn't a blockbuster by any means and it's entirely possible that Ehrhoff is used up, concussed or any number of other issues, but at least he's not Rob Scuderi.

If all the stars align, however, and Ehrhoff still has some gas in the tank, this could be a sneaky good pick up, potentially resulting in all three defense pairings having a guy who can skate with the puck.

If Quenneville puts Gustafsson ahead of TVR.

Which he won't.

Apparently, Stan Bowman might not be done.  Some outlets suggest that The Hawks may be shopping for another defenseman, while others state that they're seeking a winger to play with Teuvo Teravainen.

Additionally, Jiri Sekac was placed on waivers for the purpose of demotion to Rockford of the AHL, in order to create space for Andrew Ladd.  I assume Viktor Svedberg will soon follow.  I half expect Sekac to be intercepted en route to Rockford, which would free up valuable cap space to go hunting for that winger for Teravainen.

Hawks Obtain Fraser, Harrison and A Guy

From blackhawks.nhl,com
The Chicago Blackhawks announced today they have acquired forward  Matt Fraser and defenseman Jay Harrison from the Winnipeg Jets in exchange for forward Marko Dano, Chicago’s first round pick in the 2016 National Hockey League Draft and a conditional pick in the 2018 NHL Draft. Fraser and Harrison will both report to the American Hockey League’s Rockford IceHogs.

Additionally, The Hawks pick up veteran winger, two-time Stanley Cup Champion and jewel of this silly season's rental market, Andrew Ladd.
So, good job, Stan Bowman, you got the guy that everyone that matters wanted. 
Tough to see Marko Dano go, even if it was entirely possible that he would never crack The Hawks roster whilst Quenneville has a say-so.
Finally, Jay Harrison is still playing?

Please, No

From TSN.ca:

According to TSN's Farhan Lalji, the Chicago Blackhawks have serious interest in Vancouver Canucks defenceman Dan Hamhuis and forward Radim Vrbata.

You shut your stupid mouth, Farhan Lalji.  The only Canuck I could tolerate The Hawks obtaining would be Domhnall Gleeson look-alike Jannik Hansen and, even then, I would require that he dress and shower separately from the rest of the team.

                                                    Not blood, just sweet & sour sauce. 

I was thinking about Dale Weise who, it would seem, does a lot of the things Andrew Shaw does. These players sport similar offensive stats and get the job done in a similar fashion - straight ahead to the net and a lot of greasy goals.  Shaw possesses greater hand-eye skills for tip-ins and such, while Weise shows more well-rounded offensive skills and is the better skater of the two.  Each guy typically plays higher up in the lineup than they should be, so their stats are a bit flattering due to being alongside guys more talented than themselves but, that said, Shaw's linemates are consistently better than Weise's, for what that's worth.

Weise currently earns about half of what Shaw earns and both players are going to get raises this summer. The thing is, Shaw will likely command $4mil+, even though $2.5mil is probably more reasonable.  Can Weise expect the same?  I don't think so - I see Weise slotting in right around the $2.5mil range.  I dunno, just spitballin'...seems like a not-too-bad contingency for if/when Shaw sets sail.

                          I guess I should have worked harder, not skipped practice, etc...

All Kinds of Awesome: Hockey, Charity and Long Skirts

Oh boy, this is just so great I cannot help but link to it:

Hutterite women's hockey undefeated, raise money for refugees

                      Second from left has a little Al Secord thing going on, I believe.

Bright Lights, Big Goals: Hawks 5, Rangers 3 and Tuesday's Big Boy

Yep, big goals, big saves and a couple of incredible passes.  Here are some quick bits, some good, some not so much:
- Neither team could kill a penalty for love nor money and, without Hinostroza's careless high stick that precipitated two Rangers goals, this game would probably have been a laugher, because...
- ...Henrik Lundquist was awful.  It's rare, but it happens.
- Corey Crawford, on the other hand, was near-perfect, despite allowing three goals.  I have a tough time faulting a goalie for power play goals against unless they themselves do something stupid.  The Hayes goal was a product of momentary incompetence on the part of Gustafsson and Rozsival as well as a terrific pass by Oskar Lindberg.
- The Hawks' defense was not especially good tonight.  Seabrook had another game in which he seemed indifferent, Gustafsson looked yippy a lot of the time, Rozsie and TVR both spent an awful lot of time standing around.  Add all that up and you'll get more shots against, chances and goals than your opposition deserves.
- At the other end, The Hawks moved the puck rather well in fits and starts, and it seemed that every time they entered the zone cleanly and had a chance to set up they scored. Teravainen laid down a couple of slick passes in which first Desjardins and later, Shaw, really just had to be there to deflect the puck in. That said, there was a bit of good fortune thrown in there; while Teravainen's pass to Desi was undeniably excellent, the events that allowed The Hawks to maintain possession in the first place were less "puck movement" than "repeatedly throwing it behind the net and hoping for the best".  I'm pretty sure that Hjalmarsson's pass to Teravainen was, in fact, a ridiculously poor shot that Teuvo was able to corral.
- Keith Yandle is a bit of an asshat, isn't he? And how did Daniel Paille go from an occasional healthy scratch in Rockford to playing ten minutes per night for NYR?  And he wants to be my latex salesman?
- Large Arthur officially has 15 assists this season, but his efforts without the puck have led to far more than 15 additional goals. He's big, hard to move and gets hisself in front of goalies without delay.  On The Hawks' go-ahead goal Anisimov drew two Rangers to him while he drove to the net, leaving Panarin free as the trailer, and left completely alone by Jesper Fast, to take his shot.  All good work that doesn't show up on the scoresheet.

Teravainen was good, Crawford was great, but tonight was all about Small Arthur and his first career hat trick.

                                                       Connor Mc-what-now?

News! News! News! News!

I don't usually trouble myself with news items or pre-game stuff but, for some reason, I'm feeling ambitious today.  Or procrastinating other tasks.  Doesn't matter - onward.

- The Hawks "placed" Rob Scuderi on waivers today, although I believe "hoofed" or "jettisoned" would be more apt.  If another team is daft enough to claim the veteran (read: old) d-man The Hawks would have somewhere around $5 million in cap space with which to shop for a decent left winger or another d-man who is able to reach speeds higher than "dead slow" and "stopped".  If left unclaimed, which seems most likely, The Hawks still receive some cap relief but probably not enough to splash out for any of the coveted rental players, at least not without giving up a roster player.
- On that tack, the soon-to-be-free-agent wingers that will be in highest demand up until the Feb. 29th trade deadline look to be Andrew Ladd and Mikkel Boedker. Since it's assured that The Hawks would not be able to re-sign either of these players the choice comes down to who can they get, what will they cost and which of these guys would fulfill The Hawks' needs the best.  I expect a first-round draft pick would be required and both The Jets and The Coyotes would likely request a roster player, probably beginning with Teuvo Teravainen but more likely to settle with a prospect such as Marko Dano or Ryan Hartman.  My personal preference would be Ladd but either of these fellas would be a nice upgrade.

- It's The Rangers tonight who, after an iffy December have been steadily racking up the points and are a distant but semi-comfortable 2nd place in the Metropolitan Division. The Rangers get it done without any true marquee forwards (I consider Rick Nash Off-Broadway at this time) but rather a potent attack of what really amounts to three second lines, their scoring leader being noted Game of Thrones actor Mats Zuccarello.

                                             Tyrion Zuccarello with his linemates.

Their defense is capable if unspectacular, all of whom average 19-22 minutes per game, which reeks of Socialism but appears to be working despite the persistent presence of apparent septuagenarian Dan Boyle.  These guys toil in front of still-all-world talent and handsome man Henrik Lundquist and his backup, one Antti Raanta, who really only seems to play well against The Hawks.
- Expect more tinkering with the Toews trio, as Richard Panik is rumoured to have gacked his audition on that line, at least as far as Coach Q is concerned. Who's up next...Sekac?  Hinostroza? Noted sniper Mashinter!? Who the hell knows anymore...

Only ONE Thing Missing: Hawks Lots, Leafs Few

I feel no need to dissect anything much about last night's "game", so here are just a couple of items and then we'll move on.
- The only thing missing, the only thing that would have made that result more....hilarious, would have been Richard Panik scoring against the team who chose to bury him in the minors whilst slugs like Byron Froese and Richie Clune pull an NHL-ish paycheque.
- Apparently, The Maple Leafs outshot The Hawks, but it didn't feel that way.  Did Darling make any more than one of two tough saves?  Okay, I guess Toronto did get a few sustained moments of pressure in the second period but, really, The Hawks were at half-throttle for most of this contest.  
- While I'm disappointed that Panik didn't score, this should still bug Leafs Nation to no end.

                               Don't laugh, he would be on the second line in Toronto.

The Rockford Shuffle

From nhl,blackhawks.com:

The Chicago Blackhawks announced today they have recalled center Vincent Hinostroza from the Rockford IceHogs of the American Hockey League. Additionally, the Blackhawks have placed forward Marian Hossa on Injured Reserve.

First, so what?
Second, Coach Q stated that they did not believe Hossa's injury to be serious, so let's hope that's correct.
Third, yes, Brent Seabrook scored two goals and was inevitably named Second Star, but I don't know when I've seen him play worse.  His lazy-dogging it back to The Hawks' bench caused the penalty...power play...goal...loss.  And before anyone says it was Kane Keith that jumped the boards early, sure, I guess one could say that, but I've been in that situation a thousand times and it ain't that simple.  You anticipate the player coming off to move with some urgency, and you time your hop over the boards based on that expectation. And it was bloody overtime, man; if you're not going to show some urgency in that situation, when ya' gonna?

(Edit: mistakenly implicated Kane in the OT goof.)

I Swear I'm Not Being Lazy: The Catch Up Post

Too busy, too tired to post after the last bunch of games,  Distracted by things that I'm supposed to think are more vital, like selling a car (failing, so far) and fixing a snowblower (succeeding, mostly).
Anyway, I feel it necessary to peck out a few observations from the last three games.

- The All Star Break­­™ seemed to do a few Hawks a world of good; with nearly a full week off Jonathan Toews returned champing at the bit and played his best three games in forever. Marian Hossa has looked re-energized, as well and we can all agree that Corey Crawford certainly needed a rest.

- Post ASG break, The Hawks kicked things off with a 2-1 victory in Colorado, which was only as close as it was because Calvin Pickard made a whopping 40 saves.  Oh, good, another Avalanche goalie that "gets up" for games against Chicago.
- Jiri Sekac played his first game in 11 days and failed to set the world alight so, naturally, he hasn't played since.  I don't know if he has bad breath, fecal incontinence or moldy shower shoes, but seems as if this kid is up against it when it comes to gaining Coach Q's trust. Whatever it is, it has to be bad if Sekac is eating popcorn whilst Brandon Mashinter does...well, nothing.

- Next, a 5-4 OT win in Phoenix, in which The Hawks once again outshot their opponent handily. This one was a bit screwby due to iffy officiating but it kinda came to a logical conclusion at the end. Crawford was unexceptional but Toews and Hossa were beasts.
- Oh, man, the new NHL website is a piece of crap.  Half the links don't work, I am usually unable to scroll to the bottom of the page and the info that used to be easy to locate is now scattered to the four winds. That last one may actually be a time saver; if I give up on looking for what I want I won't be disappointed when the link fails to work, right?

- On to Dallas and a fun 5-1 win.  I was astonished to learn that The Stars held the edge in shots, 37-26, as it never seemed to me that they were sustaining any pressure to speak of. Large Arthur starred, Toews and Hossa were again dominant and Corey Crawford bounced back with a solid game, undone only by a strange bounce off the goalpost to Tyler Seguin's stick.  
- Dallas captain Jamie Benn said "They embarrassed us in front of our own fans in our own building", which gives The Hawks too much credit, really.  That going-out-of-business-sale that The Stars call a goaltending duo had a bit to do with it, as well.