Blackhawks 2010-2011 season

[Soul]

The penalty was dumb, but the failed 5 on 3 was the game changer yesterday.

 

I watched quite a bit of hockey the final week of the season because Center Ice was free. Just about every time a team had a 5 on 3 PP, they immediately converted on it. It seems like the team that doesn't score on the 5 on 3 PP eventually ends up losing the game. I knew that would come back to haunt us yesterday when it happened and sure enough, it did.

 

Normally, I think you're right. And I also seem to remember Q stating something along those lines.

 

Last year, the Hawks were so good that I recall more than one time where they failed on a 5-on-3 and STILL won the game.

 

This year we just don't have that kind of margin to overcome lost opportunities like that.

[Flames24Rulz]

The penalty was dumb, but the failed 5 on 3 was the game changer yesterday.

 

I watched quite a bit of hockey the final week of the season because Center Ice was free. Just about every time a team had a 5 on 3 PP, they immediately converted on it. It seems like the team that doesn't score on the 5 on 3 PP eventually ends up losing the game. I knew that would come back to haunt us yesterday when it happened and sure enough, it did.

 

Normally, I think you're right. And I also seem to remember Q stating something along those lines.

 

Last year, the Hawks were so good that I recall more than one time where they failed on a 5-on-3 and STILL won the game.

 

This year we just don't have that kind of margin to overcome lost opportunities like that.

 

Yeah, our 5 on 3 PP last year wasn't very good either.

 

You have to capitalize on those opportunities when you get them, especially when you have a long two-man advantage like we did last night. We're just too tentative in those situations. There were a lot of guys who were just standing around and not helping the point man during that advantage last night.

[Soul]

The penalty was dumb, but the failed 5 on 3 was the game changer yesterday.

 

I watched quite a bit of hockey the final week of the season because Center Ice was free. Just about every time a team had a 5 on 3 PP, they immediately converted on it. It seems like the team that doesn't score on the 5 on 3 PP eventually ends up losing the game. I knew that would come back to haunt us yesterday when it happened and sure enough, it did.

 

Normally, I think you're right. And I also seem to remember Q stating something along those lines.

 

Last year, the Hawks were so good that I recall more than one time where they failed on a 5-on-3 and STILL won the game.

 

This year we just don't have that kind of margin to overcome lost opportunities like that.

 

Yeah, our 5 on 3 PP last year wasn't very good either.

 

You have to capitalize on those opportunities when you get them, especially when you have a long two-man advantage like we did last night. We're just too tentative in those situations. There were a lot of guys who were just standing around and not helping the point man during that advantage last night.

 

I watched a couple times in fairly quick succession where they just passed it around the perimeter and never even sent it in.

 

At some point someone needs to take a shot. But whatever. If they were going to be good they wouldn't have barely secured the 8 seed on the last game of the year on a surprise loss by the Stars.

[UMFan83]

Yeah, I understand the need to be patient and move the puck around waiting for an opening because if you just fling the puck recklessly at the goal, your PP is going to be worthless once they start clearing the puck when you don't get the rebound. But if everyone is just kind of standing around, you can't go more then 15 seconds of being set up in the zone on a 5 on 3 without taking a shot. Especially because its often not the initial shot that goes in but the quick rebound score with the goalie out of position.

 

And also, I know Scott isn't a legit scapegoat, as he clearly wasnt on the ice enough to really ruin our season. It's what he represents. He is a marginal NHL talent at best that was brought in to pretty much replace both Eager and Byfuglien with one player. He represents the stripping away of our depth and trying to strike gold by hoping their scrappings were undervalued by other teams.

 

The sad thing is, I still believe in just about everything Stan did this summer. We knew this was going to be a rocky year, we just believed in our core a little more than we should have, and we got unlucky with injuries.

 

I'd put the blame for this season here:

 

40% - Lack of depth/NHL caliber talent on the 3rd and 4th lines and 3rd and 4th defensive pairings

20% - Injuries that further stripped our depth

20% - Stanley Cup hangover that zapped that extra gear that they had last year. Both mentally and phsyically (from the 100+ game season, olympic tournament and shortened offseason).

15% - Dale Tallon for setting up this situation with Campbell, Huet, Hossa, etc. This is immediately dismissed because these moves brought us the cup so you can argue he could have set us up better but you can't prove that he could have set us up better AND won us the Cup last year.

5% - CT

[chuckywang]

No suspension for Raffi Torres: http://blogs.suntimes.com/blackhawks/2011/04/no_suspension_for_raffi_torres.html

 

What [expletive].

[SouthSideRyan]

Way too little blame on CT. I have a hard time faulting Tallon for Campbell considering how anemic we looked while he was out. He's overpaid for sure, but it's not a terrible contract. And my understanding was that Huet's contract had no bearing on our cap #s

[chuckywang]

Way too little blame on CT. I have a hard time faulting Tallon for Campbell considering how anemic we looked while he was out. He's overpaid for sure, but it's not a terrible contract. And my understanding was that Huet's contract had no bearing on our cap #s

 

It's terrible in the sense that it handcuffed the rest of the team and we had to rely on fringe NHL talent on the third and fourth line. While it may not be a terrible contract on the open market, it's absolutely a terrible contract with this team.

[UMFan83]

Way too little blame on CT. I have a hard time faulting Tallon for Campbell considering how anemic we looked while he was out. He's overpaid for sure, but it's not a terrible contract. And my understanding was that Huet's contract had no bearing on our cap #s

 

Those are just the more glaring examples. I heard a funny comparison to Campbell's performance this playoff series. They described him as Pavel Bure masking as a defender. I think Campbell was a better fit for last year's team that he was for this year's team.

 

Huet we thankfully ridded ourselves of, but it would have been nice if we could have had a player of value on the team with his cap space that could have fetched a decent cheaper option to help us this year instead of simply jettissoning his contract to Finland or wherever he went. Maybe that means we don't match Hammer's offer sheet, who knows. The contract essentially gave us less options this offseason.

 

The point was that Tallon's moves that caused us to strip bare the depth of a championship team, are part of the reason we weren't that good this year, but at the same time, that blame, to me, is excused because any scenario where you win a Cup is good enough in my book.

[UMFan83]

Way too little blame on CT. I have a hard time faulting Tallon for Campbell considering how anemic we looked while he was out. He's overpaid for sure, but it's not a terrible contract. And my understanding was that Huet's contract had no bearing on our cap #s

 

It's terrible in the sense that it handcuffed the rest of the team and we had to rely on fringe NHL talent on the third and fourth line. While it may not be a terrible contract on the open market, it's absolutely a terrible contract with this team.

 

You have a Norris Trophy caliber defenseman as your #1 defender and he's paid like one (even though he didnt play like one this year), you have a fantastic (IMO) compliment to him as your #2 guy, who is now being paid like one. You have a young #3 defender who played really well last year making something like 3.75m. That's fine too. But then your 4th defender is making more than the other 3, and is skating into the defensive zone like a forward and gives you negative in terms of physical play, doesn't get in front of shots very often, and the next time a hit by him knocks the glass loose will be the first time. If he was making $3m a year, he'd be a valuable piece for what he is. At 7 million, he pretty much better cover his role and Kris Versteeg's.

[Prizefight]

The most disappointing player this season has been Duncan Keith and it's not even remotely close. He's been absolutely awful at times. Hopefully a summer off lets him get rested and refocused.

 

 

Rumors are that Bolland might be playing tomorrow. I hope for his sake that he doesn't. This series is over and the only thing that could happen is another injury that becomes career threatening.

[chuckywang]

The most disappointing player this season has been Duncan Keith and it's not even remotely close. He's been absolutely awful at times. Hopefully a summer off lets him get rested and refocused.

 

 

Rumors are that Bolland might be playing tomorrow. I hope for his sake that he doesn't. This series is over and the only thing that could happen is another injury that becomes career threatening.

 

Was it over when the Germans bombed Pearl Harbor?

[UMFan83]

The most disappointing player this season has been Duncan Keith and it's not even remotely close. He's been absolutely awful at times. Hopefully a summer off lets him get rested and refocused.

 

 

Rumors are that Bolland might be playing tomorrow. I hope for his sake that he doesn't. This series is over and the only thing that could happen is another injury that becomes career threatening.

 

NOOOOOOOOOOOOO Bolland can't be this year's Kim Johnsson if he actually comes back.

[Flames24Rulz]

The most disappointing player this season has been Duncan Keith and it's not even remotely close. He's been absolutely awful at times. Hopefully a summer off lets him get rested and refocused.

 

 

Rumors are that Bolland might be playing tomorrow. I hope for his sake that he doesn't. This series is over and the only thing that could happen is another injury that becomes career threatening.

 

It's mind-boggling how a top five defenseman the last few years became an average joe overnight.

 

Kane had a slow start but had a great second half of the season. Hossa had a pretty bad stretch midway through the year but him and Sharp were really the only good forwards at the start of the year. He really picked it up around the President's Day game against the Blues too. I think it's very obvious that Toews ran out of gas at the end of the season as well.

 

Just rest up in the offseason. I don't think we should be pressed against the cap this summer, so hopefully Bowman rids the trash and gets some decent 3rd and 4th liners in here.

[UMFan83]

The most disappointing player this season has been Duncan Keith and it's not even remotely close. He's been absolutely awful at times. Hopefully a summer off lets him get rested and refocused.

 

 

Rumors are that Bolland might be playing tomorrow. I hope for his sake that he doesn't. This series is over and the only thing that could happen is another injury that becomes career threatening.

 

It's mind-boggling how a top five defenseman the last few years became an average joe overnight.

 

Kane had a slow start but had a great second half of the season. Hossa had a pretty bad stretch midway through the year but him and Sharp were really the only good forwards at the start of the year. He really picked it up around the President's Day game against the Blues too. I think it's very obvious that Toews ran out of gas at the end of the season as well.

 

Just rest up in the offseason. I don't think we should be pressed against the cap this summer, so hopefully Bowman rids the trash and gets some decent 3rd and 4th liners in here.

 

I thought I remember reading that we would have some difficulties with the cap this year. I can't remember specifics though. It's obviously awesome that the performance and award bonuses come off the cap though. We already resigned Seabs so that was going to be our most pressing issue in the offseason. Someone smarter than I will have to do a breakdown after this miserable season concludes itself. I guess I could go to capgeek, but I 'd rather someone do all the work for me.

[SouthSideRyan]

Way too little blame on CT. I have a hard time faulting Tallon for Campbell considering how anemic we looked while he was out. He's overpaid for sure, but it's not a terrible contract. And my understanding was that Huet's contract had no bearing on our cap #s

 

Those are just the more glaring examples. I heard a funny comparison to Campbell's performance this playoff series. They described him as Pavel Bure masking as a defender. I think Campbell was a better fit for last year's team that he was for this year's team.

 

Huet we thankfully ridded ourselves of, but it would have been nice if we could have had a player of value on the team with his cap space that could have fetched a decent cheaper option to help us this year instead of simply jettissoning his contract to Finland or wherever he went. Maybe that means we don't match Hammer's offer sheet, who knows. The contract essentially gave us less options this offseason.

 

The point was that Tallon's moves that caused us to strip bare the depth of a championship team, are part of the reason we weren't that good this year, but at the same time, that blame, to me, is excused because any scenario where you win a Cup is good enough in my book.

 

Yeah but relative to CT?

[UMFan83]

Way too little blame on CT. I have a hard time faulting Tallon for Campbell considering how anemic we looked while he was out. He's overpaid for sure, but it's not a terrible contract. And my understanding was that Huet's contract had no bearing on our cap #s

 

Those are just the more glaring examples. I heard a funny comparison to Campbell's performance this playoff series. They described him as Pavel Bure masking as a defender. I think Campbell was a better fit for last year's team that he was for this year's team.

 

Huet we thankfully ridded ourselves of, but it would have been nice if we could have had a player of value on the team with his cap space that could have fetched a decent cheaper option to help us this year instead of simply jettissoning his contract to Finland or wherever he went. Maybe that means we don't match Hammer's offer sheet, who knows. The contract essentially gave us less options this offseason.

 

The point was that Tallon's moves that caused us to strip bare the depth of a championship team, are part of the reason we weren't that good this year, but at the same time, that blame, to me, is excused because any scenario where you win a Cup is good enough in my book.

 

Yeah but relative to CT?

 

Oh no doubt. He singlehandedly derailed the Blackhawks season and doesnt even realize it.

[Soul]

And also, I know Scott isn't a legit scapegoat, as he clearly wasnt on the ice enough to really ruin our season. It's what he represents.

 

Agreed.

 

Scott represents: "crap, we lost Big Buff and failed to replace him."

 

 

He represents our failure to re-tool.

[Prizefight]

Bolland and Bickell in. Seabrook out.

 

 

Seriously, this to me is an absolutely ridiculous decision deciding to dress Bolland. How is this game/series worth risking his long term health as a player and human being? Sorry, we aren't winning this series. Vancouver is deeper and playing better than us at every single position. It's not worth it.

 

Stanley Cup be damned, Q does a lot of things that make me scratch my head

[Banedon]

Wave goodbye to Versus...sort of....

 

So when NBC Sports honcho Dick Ebersol announced today that NBC and Versus had outbid ESPN for the rights to broadcast hockey, to the tune of a new 10-year, $2 billion contract with the NHL, he added that Versus, which came into the NBCUniversal family with the recent Comcast deal, would be renamed in the next 90 days to something more NBC-friendly.

[UMFan83]

Jesse Rodgers sums up the issues surrounding the Hawks in this series nicely:

 

CHICAGO -- It’s come down to pride.

 

The Chicago Blackhawks invoked that word more than once on Monday as they face the end of their season, down 3-0 to Vancouver in their best-of-seven opening-round playoff series.

 

“It’s a huge pride factor,” Jonathan Toews said. “We just want to stay alive in the series.”

 

Marian Hossa has been a non-factor for the Blackhawks through three games against the Canucks.Staying alive means winning a single game Tuesday night in Game 4. Winning the series will take a monumental comeback.

 

“You don’t anticipate being down 3-0 in a series,” Patrick Sharp said. “It’s the reality. We have to find a way to get out of it.”

 

Besides “pride” the other words spoken often Monday were “winning one game at a time.” It’s what is usually said when a handful are needed, but it is the right strategy. One sounds much easier than four.

 

“Once we get that momentum in a game we have to try and keep it,” Duncan Keith said.

 

And it’s the way to win the series as well. Grab the momentum and ride it to a couple of wins where the pressure then falls squarely on the team that was leading 3-0. The Philadelphia Flyers did it a season ago, but the Hawks are going to need better individual and team performances before any sort of comeback can get started.

 

There were five names on a chalkboard in the Hawks dressing room Monday. Five stars chosen to speak to the media about the predicament they’re in.

 

Absent from the list was Marian Hossa, who has been missing on the ice as well. Zero points and a minus-3 through the first three games starts to tell his story. Watching him tells the rest of it: He’s listless and making poor decisions.

 

Making the three long consecutive playoff runs might finally be catching up to him or maybe he’s hurting (yet again). It doesn’t matter; he’s not the dominant Hossa who can play in all phases of the game. His power play and penalty-killing have been woeful, and he’s passed up shots to attempt passes while passing up open teammates to attempt poor shots. Ben Smith has outplayed Hossa. That might sum up the series in a nutshell.

 

Hossa isn’t alone in mediocre play. It’s been well-documented how far Keith has fallen since his Norris Trophy, and Brian Campbell continues to tease on both ends of the ice as well. Wide open looks and passing plays are just eluding him while he’s still vulnerable in his own end. Campbell and Keith are a team-worst minus-4.

 

What has Vancouver done better than Chicago? A little bit of everything. Isn’t that harder to fix than one specific weakness? Bad penalty-killing can be forgotten by taking fewer penalties but add a poor PK with an average power play, a less than physical performance, and mediocre play from your stars, and you see why the Hawks are down 3-0.

 

Getting Dave Bolland back in the lineup might be an inspiration for the Hawks. There will undoubtedly be some debate if he should even return from a concussion which has sidelined him since March 9. After all, what good can he do compared to the damage possibly done to him? The bottom line is if he was being rushed back then it would be a silly decision. No one can claim they’ve rushed him. If he’s ready and wants to play there is no reason not to let him. He could suffer another injury in Game 1 next season. Playing it careful isn’t the worst idea in the world and neither is playing in the game.

 

The Hawks split the season series against the Canucks. When players, such as Toews, on Monday, say they can beat Vancouver, this is where they get it from. But the Hawks are the only team down 3-0 to its playoff opponent. Should that be right? Does that make sense?

 

It doesn’t, but the Hawks are the only ones who can prove it. Four might be insurmountable, but one shouldn’t be. Should it?

[squally1313]

Way too little blame on CT. I have a hard time faulting Tallon for Campbell considering how anemic we looked while he was out. He's overpaid for sure, but it's not a terrible contract. And my understanding was that Huet's contract had no bearing on our cap #s

 

It's terrible in the sense that it handcuffed the rest of the team and we had to rely on fringe NHL talent on the third and fourth line. While it may not be a terrible contract on the open market, it's absolutely a terrible contract with this team.

 

You have a Norris Trophy caliber defenseman as your #1 defender and he's paid like one (even though he didnt play like one this year), you have a fantastic (IMO) compliment to him as your #2 guy, who is now being paid like one. You have a young #3 defender who played really well last year making something like 3.75m. That's fine too. But then your 4th defender is making more than the other 3, and is skating into the defensive zone like a forward and gives you negative in terms of physical play, doesn't get in front of shots very often, and the next time a hit by him knocks the glass loose will be the first time. If he was making $3m a year, he'd be a valuable piece for what he is. At 7 million, he pretty much better cover his role and Kris Versteeg's.

 

In what world is Hammer a better defenseman than Campbell? 51 had the highest +/- on the team.

[UMFan83]

Way too little blame on CT. I have a hard time faulting Tallon for Campbell considering how anemic we looked while he was out. He's overpaid for sure, but it's not a terrible contract. And my understanding was that Huet's contract had no bearing on our cap #s

 

It's terrible in the sense that it handcuffed the rest of the team and we had to rely on fringe NHL talent on the third and fourth line. While it may not be a terrible contract on the open market, it's absolutely a terrible contract with this team.

 

You have a Norris Trophy caliber defenseman as your #1 defender and he's paid like one (even though he didnt play like one this year), you have a fantastic (IMO) compliment to him as your #2 guy, who is now being paid like one. You have a young #3 defender who played really well last year making something like 3.75m. That's fine too. But then your 4th defender is making more than the other 3, and is skating into the defensive zone like a forward and gives you negative in terms of physical play, doesn't get in front of shots very often, and the next time a hit by him knocks the glass loose will be the first time. If he was making $3m a year, he'd be a valuable piece for what he is. At 7 million, he pretty much better cover his role and Kris Versteeg's.

 

In what world is Hammer a better defenseman than Campbell? 51 had the highest +/- on the team.

 

I dont think he is. Hammer had a bad year this year. I'm saying that you have those 3 defensemen, its crazy to have part of your 2nd defensive pairing making more than the other 3 guys. I misphrased that.

[gflore34]

I believe help is on the way over the next couple of years - http://www.hockeysfuture.com/nhl_organisation_rankings/?start=6 couple this with the Hawks core and we'll have a cup contender again. Many of these prospects were aquired during last off-season, it may not appear so now but, Bowman sold high on Versteeg, Buf among others. This'll be bourne out over the next few years, I think the Canucks better savor and throughly enjoy this one.

[UMFan83]

Wow Bickell that was a fantastic goal. You aren't talented enough to do that!

 

1-0 Hawks

[Butterscup1679666578]

Holy [expletive] that was sick.