Sixes And Sevens: Leafs 7, Hawks 6 (OT)

That was sure interesting.
Despite the result and despite signaling some legit issues, there are several positive takeaways from this match.
1) The Hawks are scoring
2) Henri Jokiharju looks to be the Real Deal
3) The Hawks battled back in each of their first three games.  One could view that as less than good, but I'm choosing to believe that The Hawks have somewhat more resolve than they've displayed the last couple of seasons.  They're battling hard, for now, anyway.
Let's get to The Bits

The first ten minutes of the game was perhaps the best game The Hawks have played in a year.  Sure, it's a pity that they failed to maintain that relentless pressure but, even with the lulls and lapses, The Hawks' offensive game has been surprisingly good.
Cam Ward, on the other hand, was confounding.  While he made a handful of excellent stops half of the goals he allowed looked quite saveable.  John Tavares is undeniably great but even he shouldn't be scoring on the short side from that angle and 4.62 / 0.843 is not a stat line I'm at all comfortable with.  It feels weird to type this and even to think this, but I'm looking forward to Bergie getting a start, soon.

Come at me, bro'.

Kane & Toews continue to be the straws stirring The Hawks' drink right now.  Maybe not on every shift, but they'll be along, they'll be along soon enough....
Erik Gustafsson defied all logic & predictions by logging a third consecutive solid effort.  No significant errors, unforseen poise in all aspects of his game and the best Hawks d-man where breakouts were concerned.  Proceed, Gus.
Dominik Kahun took a step forward tonight with two helpies and a great chance in the second period.  The only thing better than his pass to DeBrincat was the look on his face after the goal.

John Hayden - goal or no goal, played well enough that I don't expect to see Martinsen back in his spot for awhile.  Johnson's spot, maybe, but not Hayden's.
Henri Jokiharju appears to have shaken off all of the apprehension he was carrying during the preseason.  He made only one serious error and notched three primary assists.  The only thing keeping Hank off the PP unit is Q's loyalty/comfort where Keith & Seabrook are concerned, and that could change really fast.
Alex DeBrincat suffered through an uncharacteristically weak game.  Yes, he scored, a tap-in that was far more about Kahun's sweet pass, but DBC was yippy off and on throughout the contest.
A topsy-turvy game for Brandon Manning.  He had three good looks, one of which resulted in a goal, but was wildly inconsistent in his own end.  Edzo likes that Manning brings a little snarl to the backline and that's fair enough, but tonight it took him all of 20 seconds to give the puck away with a mindless, no-look evacuation play.  A little later he attempted another clearing play, straight up the middle (which is bad enough) that instead struck Saad in the head or upper body (which is definitely bad).  He completed the trifecta on Matthews' second goal, caught standing alone at the edge of The Hawks' net, too slow and too far away to take away Matthews' chance, there.
Duncan Keith, too, had an up-and-down game, turning in some not-great shifts in which it took a few tries to clear his zone (or The Leafs scored) but, on the flip, he's actually getting shots through to the net!  Last season that was as rare as Pope shit.
The Power Play took a step backwards tonight.  While they've still yet to score any PP goals both units were moving the puck extremely well and getting good chances in the first two games.  Tonight, though, looked a lot like the PP we've endured for the last two or three seasons: too static, too rigid in their positioning and taking predictable shots from predictable locations.  Despite failing to cash in either the OTT or STL game, I loved the puck movement and that they were just kind of freestyling out there.  It sure looked tougher to defend against than what they got up to tonight.

And so, we'll reconvene on Thursday (or more likely Friday 'cos I have a late game on Thurs), with a trip to Minny to reacquaint with the annoying Wild.  Over & out.

Sixes and Sevens

Watch The Show: Hawks 5, Blues 4 (OT)

I'll risk saying this too many times but...it's only been two games and, so far, I mostly like what I see.  I'm hesitant to go all-in on calling any long-term shots, as we had a pretty flamboyant start last season, and we all know how that went.
Regardless, two wins to begin the year goes a long way toward not digging a pit early on, which is especially encouraging given that it's been Cam Ward in the twine with Crawford yet to be seen.  

The Bits
Toews & Kane have been masterful, doing almost everything right. Toews is skating with more pep than we've seen in several years and has been driving the net with impunity.  If you cross your eyes a little you could swear it was 2013 again.  Each of them have benefited from linemates who are themselves playing with greater authority; both DeBrincat and Schmaltz are displaying greater vision & puck patience, something that did not kick in until the second half of last season, when other issues cast a long shadow on their blossoming.  Schmaltz made a great keep that led to the second goal and, a bit later, did not hesitate and hit Kane with a brilliant head-man pass to set up Kruger's tap-in.
Henri Jokiharju burst forth with a stunning game after a slightly yippy debut in Ottawa.  It's almost as if he needed to just that first game over & done with before he could settle in and do his thing.  He collected his first two NHL points, foiled no less a man than Vlad Tarasenko and began a number of rushes with smart, calm outlet passes.
Breakouts have been good so far.  The man starting the rush has been able to find one or more good passing options, which says as much or more about the forwards' positioning as the d-men making a good first pass.
Coming From Behind was tough, last year, even for the team that is notorious for leaving it late but, in two games, The Hawks have managed to overcome deficits and win it late.  I like their resolve, thus far.
Plenty of Hawks had quietly effective, even excellent performances.  Saad & Kampf each made nice defensive plays and were positionally strong all evening, while Rutta and Keith were calmly blocking shots and keeping pucks in The Blues zone, and Keith jumped in on the offense to create some chances.  Anisimov didn't have as strong a game, overall, but was driving the net hard and won some crucial faceoffs late in the game.
Did Erik Gustafsson just have the two best consecutive games in his career?  There's been no single highlight reel play but his game has been simply excellent, overall, with none of the defensive complacency he was so often guilty of in the past.  So far.
Beefs - Seabrook was a mixed bag tonight.  Never mind that there should have been a penalty on Maroon for the high hit to dislodge the puck, 'cos Seabs had two far better options other than the one he chose, either of which would probably have clicked if he'd gone that route.  Later on, though, his good stick check stripped Bozak of the puck, allowing Schmaltz to start the rush to The Hawks' third goal.  Seabs and Manning weren't always great in their own zone, either, as they always seemed to be out there when The Blues were taking medium-range potshots from the high slot.  Martinsen, also, was disappointing.  I realize that we musn't expect a lot from the fella but he was flat out bad in this one, taking a thoughtless penalty and making an inopportune turnover.  Probably time for John Hayden to draw in.
Cam Ward wasn't awful, wasn't great but was good enough on the night and outdueled Jake Allen, at least, in a pretty even contest.  I'm not sure we can realistically hope for more than that.

Tomorrow: I'd been worrying about the home opener given that it'll be against the now offensively potent Maple Leafs and on the second half of a back-to-back, at that.  However, The Leafs are also in the midst of two in a row and just lost to OTT this evening.  It will likely be Bergie getting the start tomorrow which probably means less than one would think, as it's a push, really, where he and Ward are concerned.  Hopefully, the guys in front of him can limit the Leafs' quality looks and score some goals while they're at it.

Watch The Show

Here We Go Again? Senators 2, Hawks 1 (Preseason T-Minus 2)

Sadly, I am compelled to comment on Thursday's meaningless preseason match vs. OTT.
This is because, I am sorry to report, it did not look nor feel meaningless, as what we saw was all too familiar.
The Hawks hit the ice with a more-or-less representative lineup, squared up against a 70/30 veterans/prospects OTT squad who, I must note, were dogshit last season and that was with Eric Karlsson in the lineup.  And we lost, 2-1, which wasn't a blowout, obviously and The Sens goals only half-signaled any specific issues.  The problem is that The Hawks looked exactly like the team that curled up and died last winter.
Passing was abysmal.  That was the worst aspect of The Hawks game between about the 7th and 55th minute.  Practically everyone got in on the act to some extent, but I'll call out Keith, Gustafsson, Jokiharju and Saad as being especially bad.  Watching that occur makes one wonder if this team gives a single crap about what happens this year, 'cos that was a rerun of last year.  You know, the season that they claim was unacceptable?
Ditto for positional play, which didn't help with the passing when guys were late joining the rush or if the theoretical best passing option wasn't available 'cos the guy just wasn't there.

Dark Places
Jokiharju is not ready.  The first OTT goal was on him, too soft and too hesitant going after that puck behind the goal line.  Yep, someone should have had Duchene but Ryan shouldn't have had a puck to pass to Duke in the first place.  As mentioned, Jokiharju's passing was poor and was often rushed.  Nobody likes to get hit but the kid had better get used to it.
Kunitz appears to be a waste of time.
Kahun had his first stinkeroo as a Hawk, rarely being where he ought to be, which was unfortunate as his linemates were having a fine game in the meantime.
Gustafsson made a few nice plays, especially while breaking out, but his first pass was uncharacteristically weak for much of the night and he was lazy getting back, as was the case too often last season.
Keith was flat out bad.  As great as he was vs. DET last week, he was that BAD and more in this game.
Bright Spots?
Forsberg was actually pretty good between the pipes.  Duchene's goal was a coin-flip as to whether or not the puck hits him or not and the game winner was unfortunate as Bergie is usually better at tracking that goal crease stuff.  Still, an okay outing.
Toews and DeBrincat look ready to roll. Loving their chemistry, so far.
Manning had his strongest game, even if he spent too much time distracted by second generation shitbird Brady Tkachuk.

The Hawks need a strong effort tonight.  They don't even need to win, they just need to do something different than what they did on Thursday, which was a replay of the last 40 games of 2017-18.  Even if they found new & unusual ways to fail it would be improvement.

Kampf and Kane in for Johnson/Sikura?
Davidson in for Jokiharju?
Saad - Schmaltz - Kane in practice this AM.

Final 2017-18 wrap/season preview coming in the next few days

Post 2017-2018 Report Cards Report Cards and Season Preview of Sorts: The Defense, oh Dear God, The Defense

If I may summarize before even getting going on this.....it was bad.
This was the most poorly managed aspect of The Blackhawks this past season.  It might be a stretch to say it was the nail in the coffin, given the goaltending disaster and the frequent & prolonged scoring droughts, but I really think it needn't have been as awful as it was.

Carl Dahlstrom

Big Carl played 11 games, apparently, but I clearly remember only two.  In one of those games he was the best of The Hawks' defenders, pushing the play effectively while still managing to mind the store defensively. The other game that springs immediately to mind was a complete disaster in which everything he involved himself in turned to mud.  Not especially quick and not always operating with confidence, Dalhstrom is nevertheless a big piece of furniture who, with adequate coaching, could develop into a solid, stay-at-home-crease-clearing-S.O.B with a smidge of offensive awareness about him. As I'm unconvinced that adequate coaching is available let's go with Incomplete and likely to be leapfrogged by Snuggerud or Hillman but there ya go.
TRAINING CAMP UPDATE: assigned to Rockford, thank goodness, 'cos he was horrifying in his preseason outings.

Gustav Forsling

Goose came out of the gate very strongly last season.  Paired primarily with Jan Rutta he looked confident, moved the puck north reasonably well and added a little offensive dash.  When the team went into its extended funk, though, Forsling was one of the first casualties, first in the form of being scratched and, soon enough, a demotion to The AHL.  That was fair enough, too, as Goose was becoming increasingly yippy with the puck and the opposition were suddenly exploiting his defensive limitations.  An absolutely horrifying effort vs. Brooklyn in late January was the last we'd see of Forsling, the plan likely to get him some big, high-responsibility minutes in Rockford and see about bringing him back, later.  Unfortunately for Forsling, the guy who replaced him in the lineup was deemed adequate...

If Forsling is going to stick with The Hawks something has to change.  He's simply not strong enough on the puck to be a pure defender; at 6', 186 lbs he loses most of his battles around the net.  While he was often able to skate his way out of trouble...he wasn't always able to pull it off, and when that tactic goes awry the result is often terrible and the error memorable.  While he's an okay puck-lugger, he's far from being an elite talent.  Goose has to either get bigger or get quicker.  A solid B until his slide, final grade a C.

TRAINING CAMP UPDATE: on the shelf after wrist surgery, 10-12 weeks.  

Cody Franson

The second-worst handled Hawks d-man this year, IMO.  Franson did exactly what he's done for his entire career (albeit a little slower) and still found himself in the AHL by mid-season.  As far as I'm concerned Franson's only sin was his lack of speed, and I'll mitigate that by pointing out that he bloody knows he's limited in that regard and makes up for it, somewhat, through smart positioning.  Contrast that with Seabrook who thinks he's still quick and is caught out of position on a nightly basis.  Yep, he had a few screamers this season, but he was absolutely the best PP quarterback The Hawks had at their disposal yet found himself in and out of that role, as well as in and out of the lineup entirely.  I honestly believe that he was the best fit for third-pairing duty + first PP unit but, for reasons I cannot fathom, he was instead cast to the gulag.  Seriously, were any of Franson's slip-ups any worse than Keith's inability to make a pass, any pass, in the last half of the season?  An unreserved B. 

Erik Gustafsson

After going the better part of two seasons between NHL games I had assumed that Gustafsson had been written off.  He looked dismal in last year's preseason and was certainly not on my radar at all.  However, all he did was buckle down and, by all accounts, play like an All-Star in Rockford, putting him on the top of the will-call list by the time things went south in Chicago.  Gus provided some occasional offensive spark, made possible by skillful passing and a low, hard point shot.  He's not a very fast skater but is deceptive enough to gain a few seconds advantage when breaking out.
However...
Gustafsson is a bad defenseman.  He's not strong, loses more puck battles than he wins and, most infuriating, doesn't even seem to be paying attention a lot of the time.  His positioning is garbage and his decision-making often dubious.  Too often he was standing idle while the puck crossed The Hawks' goal line.
Gus won a game or two for The Hawks last year but he was also largely responsible for a couple of losses.  The holes in his defensive game could likely be coached out of him, but probably not by The Hawks' current coaching staff.
I see Gustafsson duking it out for the 6th or 7th d-man slot, at best and, if he makes the cut it will have been at Forsling's expense, 'cos we can maybe afford to have one of these two around but certainly not both of them.  Coulda been a B if he'd been arsed about playing some defense but he wasn't so it's a C for Gus.

Blake Hillman

I dunno how much you can tell in a four game audition.  Hillman was okay, making no massive mistakes but not really distinguishing himself in any way, either.  Seems to play a bit bigger than he is and could maybe be a useful mind-the-store type guy for half of what Connor Murphy costs?  Incomplete.
TRAINING CAMP UPDATE: dispatched to Rockford.  


Michal Kempny

What's that?  Kempny didn't finish the season with The Hawks organization?  Well, lucky him.
I just wanted to include Kemps here to underline that, for all his apparent strengths, Coach Quenneville sometimes gets it very, very wrong.  I don't know if there was a personality conflict (and Kempny may well be a catalyst if that's the case) or if Q had a bad first impression of Kempny that he could not overcome, because Q never seems to change his mind.  Regardless, Kempny was put in a position where, if he made even the smallest mistake he'd be stuck to the bench and then in the press box for the next game, while Oesterle (and TVR, last season) was out there making a mess and rarely missing a shift.  That's gotta feel weird.
Kempny was the only Hawks d-man with a + rating when he left, and by a long margin, at that (+12 when he was traded).  Once he was traded to WASH he soon found himself playing alongside John Carlson on their second pairing.  From The Hawks' press box to The Capitals second pairing.
Oh, and a Stanley Cup win, too.  Let's not forget that.  Grade A because fuck Quenneville.

Duncan Keith

Incredibly disappointing.  Everyone knows what Keith has done in the past and, while he's not going reach those heights again, the quality of his game absolutely plummeted this season.  In practically every game from January-on there were mistakes along the boards, lost coverage in the danger zone in front of The Hawks' net and, worst of all, he appeared to have forgotten how to pass the puck.  Truthfully, I believe his heart just wasn't in it this year and his head and hands went along for that hellride.  Chillingly, he was still The Hawks best defenseman.  B

TRAINING CAMP UPDATE: Looked great vs. DET, quicker than he's been in a few years.

Brandon Manning

Free-agent signing out of Philly.  Manning was undrafted and took five seasons to stick in The NHL so he's paid his dues, I guess, and is where he is 'cos he's had to prove he belongs in The Show.  He's got decent size and has some snarl to his game.  Manning infamously broke Connor McDavid's collarbone a couple of seasons back and took some flak for allegedly stating that he'd done it on purpose.  Seems pretty average in all regards and destined to the bottom three (if that's a thing).  

Chief concern with Manning might be discipline and, with a lot of options on D this year, dumb penalties could well get him a seat in the press box.

Photo credit: Getty Images


Connor Murphy

Say hello to Mr. Average.  Not quick, not exceptional with the puck, okay shot....but not glaringly awful, either.  He's defensively responsible and made the fewest hideous errors of this bunch but he has no offensive flair whatsoever.  That's fine, The Hawks need a steady, dependable Guy back there who will give you the same game, night after night.  Murph would an ideal shut-down man if he had a little more speed but, lacking that, we're left with a pretty solid (if slightly overpaid for what we get)  third-pairing guy who can slot up if absolutely necessary.  We received exactly what was shown on the box: B

TRAINING CAMP UPDATE: Out with a back injury until November-ish.

Jordan Oesterle

Sweet Christ am I glad to see the back of this guy leaving Illinois.

I'll begin with a few positives:

- better than average puck-lugger with good speed, agility and straight up nerve

- very good shot - not exactly heavy but he keeps the puck low and on-target

- he's somebody else's problem, now

Because

Oz is a terrible defenseman.  That he was held in higher regard than Kempny and spent significant  time on The Hawks' top pairing is a friggin' sin, boys, a friggin' sin.  G'wan with ya and don't come back.  A generous C- based on a few heroic games.

Jan Rutta

Early on, paired with Forsling, Rutes looked like the find of the year, another one of those way-off-the-radar guys that The Hawks' European scouts have unearthed the last couple of years.  Some rough outings for that pair led to their separation and, along with missing a week here and there with some minor injuries, he never seemed to get that mojo back until very late in the season.  He was dreadful in that embarrassing late-season collapse vs. VAN but was steady enough after that, closing out the season strongly.  It's hard to say what happened here, whether he stopped doing the things that worked early on or if those things stopped working for him.  It's equally possible that, like Kempny, Coach Q's first impressions of him were not favourable....and we know how that goes.  I won't be surprised if Rutta is traded before training camp but I'd be just as happy to see him get another crack at this.  B-

Brent Seabrook

Well, the old warhorse certainly didn't get any quicker this year but his game was far better than the previous season.  Seabrook appeared more mentally invested this year, which isn't to say that there weren't errors in judgement or missed assignments....it just wasn't as awful as it had been.  As much as anything I was grateful that he (mostly) dispensed with flopping to the ice as his Plan A to break up odd-man rushes.  Going forward, perhaps he'll refrain from passing the puck to nowhere and being the guy facing the wrong way in replays of goals against The Hawks.  Baby steps back to where he can and needs to be, but we have to just hope for the best where Seabrook is concerned 'cos we're bloody stuck with him until he's 68 or some damn thing.  B-

In conclusion, it was a bit of a mess.
It appeared that The Hawks had a lot of tools at their disposal but maybe they weren't of the quality that they seemed, at first.  Or, just as likely, they lacked a skilled craftsman to put them to their proper use, as their deployment ranged from weird to dumb to downright mysterious at times.
There was also the problem of the made men not playing to their potential and either not understanding or simply not caring that they were leading by their example.  If Keith and Seabrook ain't give a damn, what's the message to the young ones, then?

OTHER PRESEASON STUFF
Some interesting stuff is happening with The Hawks' D-corps, not all of it good, but more opportunities exist for a young guy or two to make their marks.
Injuries to Forsling and Murphy open up one assured roster spot and reduce competition for another.  
Brandon Davidson, who played for three different NHL teams last season, appears to be hanging around on a PTO.  This falls under "not all of it good" as Davidson is not The Answer and my fear is that Q will make him his next TVR/Oesterle project.
Hillman, Snuggerud and Dennis Gilbert (who I thought looked fine vs. OTT) have all been dispatched to Rockford's camp.  I thought those first two would stick around longer but, in fairness, neither of them look set to make The Hawks just yet so maybe it is best to get them stuck in over there.
Joni Tuulola?  Easily the worst player on either side in the DET game.  Pass.
The Future, we are told, lies in one, two or all of Adam Boqvist, Henri Jokiharju and Nicolas Beaudin, but none of them are even remotely ready yet. I didn't mind Beaudin vs. DET last weekend and Boqvist looks to be an elite puck-mover in the making, but with considerable defensive issues at the moment.  Jokiharju was awful vs. OTT, a game in which a lot of Guys actually shone, so hopefully he gets another game or three to regain his mojo.  I thought Boqvist appeared the most likely of the three to actually play this season but he was returned to London (OHL) on Wed (Sept. 26) so, of these three, only Jokiharju remains in camp.