Chicago Blackhawks 2012 Playoffs

[kujay]

Wow Crawford.

[UMFan83]

I am not sure how many more awesome chances the Hawks can fail to convert in one game.

 

Part of it is bad luck but a lot of it is a fantastic game by Schneider. One of the best goalie performances we've seen this year.

 

 

And we lose

[kujay]

Kane is lazy.

[kujay]

Son of a bitch.

[UMFan83]

Hawks completely dominate, get a crapload of awesome chances, and somehow only take a point from it. Unbelievable.

 

I feel like we always lose in fricken OT lately.

 

 

5-5-3 in our last 13 games, 9 of which were at home.

 

4 points behind Detroit (even in games)

1 point behind Nashville (even in games)

Tied with St. Louis (Blackhawks have played 2 extra games).

 

We are in trouble.

[UMFan83]

I don't know why I watch this team anymore. I'm always extremely pissed off afterwards.

[seanimal]

oh my lord calm down, there are still 31 games left in the season with 5 (FIVE) points separating us from first. we're missing two of our top-5 players. if we're still here 15 games from now then maybe turn the hysterics on.

[17 Seconds]

sharp and....

[seanimal]

were, i should say, as toews and sharpie both logged almost 20 minutes

 

anyway, point still stands, i think it is a bit premature to start freaking the [expletive] out. frustrating, yes. worrisome, ... not yet

[UMFan83]

were, i should say, as toews and sharpie both logged almost 20 minutes

 

anyway, point still stands, i think it is a bit premature to start freaking the [expletive] out. frustrating, yes. worrisome, ... not yet

 

Not freaking out at all. It's not freaking out to suggest that we're in trouble if we don't play better. We are behind 3 other teams in the standings and all 3 teams are winning night almost every night while we are puttering around below .500 over the last 13 with a majority of home games.

 

The reason I said we're in trouble is because we are struggling and now have 9 consecutive road games coming up (8 now). We need to have a really nice road trip to be within a few points of first at the end of the trip...maybe something like 6-2-1 or something, because I guarantee you that at least one of the 3 teams ahead of us will have a run like this. While I will say we played really well tonight in the last 2 periods, and maybe its what gets the inconsistent Hawks back to playing well. But its going to take 3 periods of playing well to beat some of the teams on this trip at their place. If they do this they will continue to contend for the division title.

 

Not that this predicts the next 13 games, but just for fun, each team over the last 13 games:

Nashville 11-2-0, 22 points

Detroit 10-3-0, 20 points

St. Louis 8-2-3, 19 points

Hawks 5-5-3, 13 points

[biittner77]

If Nashville never loses the rest of the season, yes, the blackhawks are in trouble.

If St. Louis continues to play above their actual talent, yes, that could cause trouble too.

 

 

It's hard to see either of those things happening for 30 more games. There aren't 8 teams in the Western Conference that are better than the Hawks. Last night they ran into a hot goaltender. That's going to happen sometimes.

 

These next 2 games against 2 borderline terrible teams will be a good barometer of how much freaking out anyone should do.

[jersey cubs fan]

were, i should say, as toews and sharpie both logged almost 20 minutes

 

anyway, point still stands, i think it is a bit premature to start freaking the [expletive] out. frustrating, yes. worrisome, ... not yet

 

I don't see how this team's plight isn't worrisome. They had a young core that many people thought could be elite for years, and all but Toews have regressed. The team took a couple (expected) steps back after winning the cup, and after the GM made a massive overhaul, they have yet to taken a step forward. When they were racking up points earlier this season they weren't playing particularly well. They look to me, at least, to need an impact acquisition on defense to really have a good chance this year. Not making the playoffs would be unacceptable at this point, but their play has still been worrisome for a good year and a half.

[biittner77]

were, i should say, as toews and sharpie both logged almost 20 minutes

 

anyway, point still stands, i think it is a bit premature to start freaking the [expletive] out. frustrating, yes. worrisome, ... not yet

 

I don't see how this team's plight isn't worrisome. They had a young core that many people thought could be elite for years, and all but Toews have regressed. The team took a couple (expected) steps back after winning the cup, and after the GM made a massive overhaul, they have yet to taken a step forward. When they were racking up points earlier this season they weren't playing particularly well. They look to me, at least, to need an impact acquisition on defense to really have a good chance this year. Not making the playoffs would be unacceptable at this point, but their play has still been worrisome for a good year and a half.

 

Lat year, it seemed like they had no sense of urgency through the first half of the season, then they had to go max effort just to make the playoffs. This year they can afford to coast a little and save their best effort for when it counts. This team seems to rise and fall to the level of the competition. With the exception of that last game against the preds, they've played the good teams close pretty much all year.

 

It's a long season, can't expect game 7 effort every night. 15 games from now, that changes. Right now they're fine.

[jersey cubs fan]

were, i should say, as toews and sharpie both logged almost 20 minutes

 

anyway, point still stands, i think it is a bit premature to start freaking the [expletive] out. frustrating, yes. worrisome, ... not yet

 

I don't see how this team's plight isn't worrisome. They had a young core that many people thought could be elite for years, and all but Toews have regressed. The team took a couple (expected) steps back after winning the cup, and after the GM made a massive overhaul, they have yet to taken a step forward. When they were racking up points earlier this season they weren't playing particularly well. They look to me, at least, to need an impact acquisition on defense to really have a good chance this year. Not making the playoffs would be unacceptable at this point, but their play has still been worrisome for a good year and a half.

 

Lat year, it seemed like they had no sense of urgency through the first half of the season, then they had to go max effort just to make the playoffs. This year they can afford to coast a little and save their best effort for when it counts. This team seems to rise and fall to the level of the competition. With the exception of that last game against the preds, they've played the good teams close pretty much all year.

 

It's a long season, can't expect game 7 effort every night. 15 games from now, that changes. Right now they're fine.

 

I'm not talking about game 7 effort, I'm talking about not looking mediocre for months at a time, which is what they've looked like to me. They've been lucky to win several games in OT and even rack up points in OTL. They've barely squeeked by and I think in a lot of ways they are lucky to be in the thick of things. I think pretty much everybody they acquired this past offseason has been close to worthless, except maybe Mayers. They look so much slower than they did when they were rolling in 2010. It's not about a couple game streak, I don't think they've looked good at all this year.

[biittner77]

They're definitely slower. They don't carry the puck into the offensive zone like they used to, particularly on the PP.

 

None of the guys they brought in have worked out the way they thought especially Lepisto who's taken up permanent residence in the press box.

 

On the other hand, Stalberg and Leddy have gotten better.

[NewUserName]

The Hawks are going to make some moves at the deadline. They will finish somewhere from 1-5 seed. They will be one of four or five Western Conference teams with the ability to make a run to the Cup finals.

[kujay]

These next 2 games against 2 borderline terrible teams will be a good barometer of how much freaking out anyone should do.

 

One of those teams is Edmonton. Who has our number in a bad way lately.

[seanimal]

were, i should say, as toews and sharpie both logged almost 20 minutes

 

anyway, point still stands, i think it is a bit premature to start freaking the [expletive] out. frustrating, yes. worrisome, ... not yet

 

I don't see how this team's plight isn't worrisome. They had a young core that many people thought could be elite for years, and all but Toews have regressed. The team took a couple (expected) steps back after winning the cup, and after the GM made a massive overhaul, they have yet to taken a step forward. When they were racking up points earlier this season they weren't playing particularly well. They look to me, at least, to need an impact acquisition on defense to really have a good chance this year. Not making the playoffs would be unacceptable at this point, but their play has still been worrisome for a good year and a half.

 

their play last year wasn't worrisome, it was expected. this year's team has been all over the place. i get that the tone of your post is just you being you, but to say that a team can be racking up points the way they were while not playing well is nonsense. they've been very, very inconsistent overall and when they have had success, it's usually just one or two guys heating up rather than everyone firing on all cylinders. but that's no accident, and they weren't just getting all these points one-at-a-time through shootouts.

 

where i will agree with you wholeheartedly is that this team won't win much when it matters without a huge defensive upgrade. hopefully bowman can/will address this by the deadline. if not, it will be very difficult to be successful in the playoffs with the D crew we're running out there now.

[seanimal]

These next 2 games against 2 borderline terrible teams will be a good barometer of how much freaking out anyone should do.

 

One of those teams is Edmonton. Who has our number in a bad way lately.

 

this team very much plays to the competition, unfortunately.

[seanimal]

i think maybe we forget how dominant that stanley cup team was during the regular season. their puck possession and sog were so far above what everyone else in the league was doing, it was just obscene. i doubt we'll ever see a team that good again, regardless of how well our young players grow

[jersey cubs fan]

their play last year wasn't worrisome, it was expected. this year's team has been all over the place. i get that the tone of your post is just you being you, but to say that a team can be racking up points the way they were while not playing well is nonsense. they've been very, very inconsistent overall and when they have had success, it's usually just one or two guys heating up rather than everyone firing on all cylinders. but that's no accident, and they weren't just getting all these points one-at-a-time through shootouts.

 

where i will agree with you wholeheartedly is that this team won't win much when it matters without a huge defensive upgrade. hopefully bowman can/will address this by the deadline. if not, it will be very difficult to be successful in the playoffs with the D crew we're running out there now.

 

You don't get points one-at-a-time when you win shootouts. You get 2. They've gotten 6 points from OT wins, another 8 from SO wins, and 7 points from OTLs. They've outscored their opponents by just 17 goals. I don't really get that they've been wildly inconsistent as much as they just haven't been very good. They had a nice stretch in the middle of November, but that's about it as far as impressive success. Their longest win streak is 5, and that started with 3 OT/SO wins and was against some pretty weak competition. They've lost 3 games in a row on 3 different occasions already. They aren't a bad team by any stretch, but they just aren't impressive. It's disappointing to me that after all the turnover they haven't been able to take a step forward yet. To date they appear to be a pretty clear tier below the elite teams in the league like Boston, Detroit and even the Rangers. And it's not like they've dealt with the issues that a team like Pittsburgh has had to deal with, missing MVP caliber players for extended periods of time.

[seanimal]

their play last year wasn't worrisome, it was expected. this year's team has been all over the place. i get that the tone of your post is just you being you, but to say that a team can be racking up points the way they were while not playing well is nonsense. they've been very, very inconsistent overall and when they have had success, it's usually just one or two guys heating up rather than everyone firing on all cylinders. but that's no accident, and they weren't just getting all these points one-at-a-time through shootouts.

 

where i will agree with you wholeheartedly is that this team won't win much when it matters without a huge defensive upgrade. hopefully bowman can/will address this by the deadline. if not, it will be very difficult to be successful in the playoffs with the D crew we're running out there now.

 

You don't get points one-at-a-time when you win shootouts. You get 2. They've gotten 6 points from OT wins, another 8 from SO wins, and 7 points from OTLs. They've outscored their opponents by just 17 goals. I don't really get that they've been wildly inconsistent as much as they just haven't been very good. They had a nice stretch in the middle of November, but that's about it as far as impressive success. Their longest win streak is 5, and that started with 3 OT/SO wins and was against some pretty weak competition. They've lost 3 games in a row on 3 different occasions already. They aren't a bad team by any stretch, but they just aren't impressive. It's disappointing to me that after all the turnover they haven't been able to take a step forward yet. To date they appear to be a pretty clear tier below the elite teams in the league like Boston, Detroit and even the Rangers. And it's not like they've dealt with the issues that a team like Pittsburgh has had to deal with, missing MVP caliber players for extended periods of time.

 

goal differential is slightly misleading, since they're tied for second-worst in goals against in the west yet lead the west in goals scored. they do two things consistently: score a lot and get scored on a lot. yet, they don't necessarily always do both of those things at the same time, edmonton for example.

 

what i'm ultimately most baffled by is the expectation that one of the younger teams in the nhl, which as you clearly point out, has undergone pretty significant roster turnover, should be elite. maybe you should think about adjusting your expectations. this team has very clearly taken a step forward in regards to the young talent brought in through trades and the draft. however, getting rid of campbell and choosing jammer over niemi are probably the ultimate moves that have put this team in the position it is in. that's not a problem with taking a step forward, that's a problem with undermining forward progress by miscalculating roster moves.

 

this team doesn't play defense well. however, the fact that they can light the lamp with the best of them should give a little more optimism that if, and only if, quality defensive talent is brought in, this team will take the next step.

[biittner77]

i think maybe we forget how dominant that stanley cup team was during the regular season. their puck possession and sog were so far above what everyone else in the league was doing, it was just obscene. i doubt we'll ever see a team that good again, regardless of how well our young players grow

 

Even then they pretty much took the whole month of March off that year (that was the perception more so than the reality). There was also a lot of angst over the goalie situation and people here were saying that they had wasted the chance at a cup run when they didn't get a goalie. Kane was too soft, Buff didn't care, Versteeg wasn't scoring, Sopel was too slow.

[Captain Serious]

John Scott in the lineup again. Oh yay! :roll:

[Flames24Rulz]

John Scott in the lineup again. Oh yay! :roll:

 

It's really not that much worse than Lepisto/O'Donnell.