08-09' Blackhawks (46-24-12) 104 PTS - 4th Seed In The West!

[Hairyducked Idiot]

"2 games.

 

On the road."

 

Tough conference.

 

Problems we expected being exposed.

[Cynosure]

They still suck.

 

2 games.

 

On the road.

 

I love excuses.

 

For sure, the Hawks are gonna go 0-82 now.

[Hairyducked Idiot]

They still suck.

 

2 games.

 

On the road.

 

I love excuses.

 

For sure, the Hawks are gonna go 0-82 now.

 

No one said that. But being beat twice by a combined score of 8-4 is not a good sign about a team with questions on defense to begin with.

[Flames24Rulz]

They still suck.

 

2 games.

 

On the road.

 

I love excuses.

 

For sure, the Hawks are gonna go 0-82 now.

 

Never said that, but surely expecting a win when you're up 2-0 is improbable.

[Cynosure]

Pretty sure 2.5% of the season isn't indicative of how they're going to play all year.

[Hairyducked Idiot]

Pretty sure 2.5% of the season isn't indicative of how they're going to play all year.

 

Pretty sure we had reasons to be worried about their defense and lack of center depth before the season started.

 

They missed the playoffs by 1.5 games last season, so don't tell me two games don't matter.

 

And it'd be different if we hadn't gone through this so many seasons in a row.

[Drew Doughty]

BS!

 

Yep, the Hawks get screwed... this is so sad... do the writers of sports who determine the outcome of seasons really have to write off every Chicago team? This is pathetic.

 

That was clearly a goal.

 

The 'Hawks have some issues and they're being exposed early. They got dominated in the second half of that game as well. This isn't a bad team looking for positives any more, this is a good team looking for wins. Of course there's going to be stress with two losses to open the year, esp. when you were up 2-0 in one of them.

[kujay]

I only saw the second two periods of the game, which appears to mean I only saw the crappy parts. What I noticed was mediocre play from several guys (Sopel, to name one), lackluster efforts from others (Toews, Kane) and a goaltender under siege who stopped the tough shots and gave up the easy ones.

 

Everyone just looked a step slow. I know it's easy to look that way when facing a team like the Caps. I'm not freaking out yet.

[Soul]

Pretty sure 2.5% of the season isn't indicative of how they're going to play all year.

 

Pretty sure we had reasons to be worried about their defense and lack of center depth before the season started.

 

They missed the playoffs by 1.5 games last season, so don't tell me two games don't matter.

 

And it'd be different if we hadn't gone through this so many seasons in a row.

 

Give me a few more games. Maybe they're just going through some opening season jitters. A few more games.

[Hairyducked Idiot]

Well, I'm definitely not saying they are going to be this bad. I just hate when bad games are brushed off so easily.

[Cynosure]

Well, I'm definitely not saying they are going to be this bad. I just hate when bad games are brushed off so easily.

 

I'm not brushing them off completely. But I'd like them to get this crappy play outta the way now and fix it early. I think Campbell and Kane are going to be amazing together once they get more chemistry... also, Havlat and Toews have been basically invisible the first 2 games and we all know that won't last long.

[Drew Doughty]

i have never in my life heard someone describe the relationship between a dman and a forward as conducive to chemistry. maybe on the PP...but it's not like Campbell is charging up ice with Kane on every shift, and even when they are on the ice at the same time, their roles are completely different.

[Cynosure]

i have never in my life heard someone describe the relationship between a dman and a forward as conducive to chemistry. maybe on the PP...but it's not like Campbell is charging up ice with Kane on every shift, and even when they are on the ice at the same time, their roles are completely different.

 

Come on now.... we all know Campbell isn't a defenseman :thumbsup:

[jersey cubs fan]

How long until the Savard firing? He wasn't extended, and is in the last year of a deal, correct? He's never been an impressive coach, and seemed to be more of a name hiring than a real coach. I have to imagine a big part of Bowman's role is telling them whether or not Savard should be kept around. If they start off slowly, Savard is going to be bounced. How long will that take? If they don't start winning games soon, it could be before the end of the month.

[kujay]

i have never in my life heard someone describe the relationship between a dman and a forward as conducive to chemistry. maybe on the PP...but it's not like Campbell is charging up ice with Kane on every shift, and even when they are on the ice at the same time, their roles are completely different.

 

The defenseman is the one who starts the charge up the ice, as you put it. He needs to know where his forwards are going to be. Of course their roles are different. But I don't think it's a stretch at all to describe the relationship of all five players as having something to do with "chemistry."

[kujay]

How long until the Savard firing? He wasn't extended, and is in the last year of a deal, correct? He's never been an impressive coach, and seemed to be more of a name hiring than a real coach. I have to imagine a big part of Bowman's role is telling them whether or not Savard should be kept around. If they start off slowly, Savard is going to be bounced. How long will that take? If they don't start winning games soon, it could be before the end of the month.

 

I've believed for awhile (and I'm sure posted here) that Savard and Tallon were in a make-or-break season, especially Savard. I think Tallon just got an extension. Two seasons ago when the Blues fired Kitchen and hired Murray, they immediately looked like a different team. That happened in December. If the Hawks do tank, that's probably when a move would be made.

[Cynosure]

i have never in my life heard someone describe the relationship between a dman and a forward as conducive to chemistry. maybe on the PP...but it's not like Campbell is charging up ice with Kane on every shift, and even when they are on the ice at the same time, their roles are completely different.

 

The defenseman is the one who starts the charge up the ice, as you put it. He needs to know where his forwards are going to be. Of course their roles are different. But I don't think it's a stretch at all to describe the relationship of all five players as having something to do with "chemistry."

 

Not only that, but who here actually considers Brian Campbell to be a "REAL" defenseman? But I agree with you Kujay.

[Cynosure]

Projected Lines

 

Versteeg-Toews-Havlat

Byfuglien-Sharp-Kane

Ladd-Bolland-Skille

Burish-Fraser-Adams

 

Keith-Seabrook

Sopel-Campbell

Hendry-Walker

 

Khabibulin

Huet

 

 

 

Erat-Arnott-Dumont

Jones-Legwand-Hornqvist

Fiddler-Bonk-Tootoo

Smithson-Nichol-Peverley

Ortmeyer, Tarnasky

 

 

Hamhuis-Suter

Weber-de Vries

Zanon-Koistinen

Klein

 

Ellis

Rinne

 

Game Notes

D Niklas Hjalmarsson is day-to-day with bruised ribs.

D James Wisniewski will be out until December with a knee injury

F Ben Eager is suspended for one game

 

Consecutive games without a major Havlat injury

2

[Drew Doughty]

i have never in my life heard someone describe the relationship between a dman and a forward as conducive to chemistry. maybe on the PP...but it's not like Campbell is charging up ice with Kane on every shift, and even when they are on the ice at the same time, their roles are completely different.

 

The defenseman is the one who starts the charge up the ice, as you put it. He needs to know where his forwards are going to be. Of course their roles are different. But I don't think it's a stretch at all to describe the relationship of all five players as having something to do with "chemistry."

 

breakouts are largely set plays, it's something you practice everday, and it's usually a system created by the coaching staff. the "chemistry" between a dman and a forward is almost non-existent. there are set plays in the offensive zone, but it's mostly a free-flow between the forwards (because you can't predict how a defense will react when things actually start happening in the offensive zone, whereas if you watch enough tape, you can see how a defense protects against a breakout).

 

brian campbell is an offensive dman, but he's still a dman. he's going to pinch more often than most, but that doesn't make him any less of a dman. it should also be noted that he's not going to be on the ice with toews and kane on every shift at even strength.

 

bleh, tried to find shift charts for this year but they're not available. i hate that nhl.com took them off their website.

[UMFan83]

Khabi is the number 1 goalie now?

[Cynosure]

i have never in my life heard someone describe the relationship between a dman and a forward as conducive to chemistry. maybe on the PP...but it's not like Campbell is charging up ice with Kane on every shift, and even when they are on the ice at the same time, their roles are completely different.

 

The defenseman is the one who starts the charge up the ice, as you put it. He needs to know where his forwards are going to be. Of course their roles are different. But I don't think it's a stretch at all to describe the relationship of all five players as having something to do with "chemistry."

 

breakouts are largely set plays, it's something you practice everday, and it's usually a system created by the coaching staff. the "chemistry" between a dman and a forward is almost non-existent. there are set plays in the offensive zone, but it's mostly a free-flow between the forwards (because you can't predict how a defense will react when things actually start happening in the offensive zone, whereas if you watch enough tape, you can see how a defense protects against a breakout).

 

brian campbell is an offensive dman, but he's still a dman. he's going to pinch more often than most, but that doesn't make him any less of a dman. it should also be noted that he's not going to be on the ice with toews and kane on every shift at even strength.

 

bleh, tried to find shift charts for this year but they're not available. i hate that nhl.com took them off their website.

 

New NHL.com blows :( Flashy graphics, zero functionality like every other "newfangled" thing that comes out :-P

[UMFan83]

Out of curiosity, was the Campbell signing a good move for the Hawks short and long term or a bad one? To me it seems like Campbell is a Soriano like signing. On the surface it looks really good, but there are serious things missing there. I thought last year everyone was saying the Defense was really bad and led to a lot of goals, so it doesn't make sense to kill all your cap space on an offensive one.

[Cynosure]

Khabi is the number 1 goalie now?

 

I wouldn't say that. Maybe there is a slight injury from God knows what or maybe Khabi just matches up better against the Preds. It does surprise me that they don't play Huet tonight for the home opener, as a lot of Hawks fans are excited to see him.

[kujay]

i have never in my life heard someone describe the relationship between a dman and a forward as conducive to chemistry. maybe on the PP...but it's not like Campbell is charging up ice with Kane on every shift, and even when they are on the ice at the same time, their roles are completely different.

 

The defenseman is the one who starts the charge up the ice, as you put it. He needs to know where his forwards are going to be. Of course their roles are different. But I don't think it's a stretch at all to describe the relationship of all five players as having something to do with "chemistry."

 

breakouts are largely set plays, it's something you practice everday, and it's usually a system created by the coaching staff. the "chemistry" between a dman and a forward is almost non-existent. there are set plays in the offensive zone, but it's mostly a free-flow between the forwards (because you can't predict how a defense will react when things actually start happening in the offensive zone, whereas if you watch enough tape, you can see how a defense protects against a breakout).

 

brian campbell is an offensive dman, but he's still a dman. he's going to pinch more often than most, but that doesn't make him any less of a dman. it should also be noted that he's not going to be on the ice with toews and kane on every shift at even strength.

 

bleh, tried to find shift charts for this year but they're not available. i hate that nhl.com took them off their website.

 

Breakouts are often set plays, but much of the time they aren't and you have to adapt to where the puck is when you're trying to clear it.

[Flames24Rulz]

Khabi sucks and it's unbelievable that Toews and Kane aren't on the same line.