Sounding Like a Broken Record.
That was a sick move. I haven’t really seen anyone pull a fake like that and execute so smoothly.
Last night was a long night, making for a long morning. But, now I am refreshed and ready to relive last night’s disappointment.
“Do or do not, there is no try.” Wise words spoken from a powerful little green dude. The Hawks really came out trying, they tried their little hearts out, and if the game was only 20 minutes long they would be the best team hockey. However, once again, like a broken record, the Hawks were able to flat out dominate the opposition for 20 minutes of play, only to fall short for the remaining 40. Also like a broken record, the Hawks had a goal disallowed that should have counted, and then one handed to the opponent that shouldn’t have. Like a broken record, the Hawks could not be physical enough, could not stand up for the teammates who were being beaten down, and once again the Hawks fell just short of a really big win.
“Do or do not.” What the hell is going on in that locker room that causes a different team to come out period after period? I was going to call this post, “Man Handling Some Texans,” after witnessing the first period. That was not to be for this game. Setting the stage was a new player, a missing Hossa (shocker), and some new line combos. I will throw the question out there now. How do you feel about the defensive pairings? I find it interesting. Leddy recorded almost 18 minutes, while Hendry only had 10. There is some mixing and matching going on, and I am not sure how to feel about it.
I sure as hell felt good about the Toews, Sharp, Kane line to start the game. Saying they came out strong would be an understatement. All 3 of them take huge rolls in 3 straight goals, and Seabrook finally gets on the scoreboard, PRAISE GRETZKY! Bolland was looking great, his line getting the job done. Keith was looking Keith-like, making some really big and difficult plays. Leddy was proving to be a safe protector of the defensive zone, playing the puck with a calm and settling ease. Unfortunately, the key word in all of those statements is was.
This ridiculous momentum was carried into a power-play for the Hawks that resulted in a 2 man-advantage. Looking like the aggressive PP that we all have hoped for, a beautiful passing combination resulted in an across the slot pass to Seabrook who wasted no time burying the puck. But buried it was not, because Lehtonen had other plans. With an amazing effort to slide across the crease and catch a fast (very fast) moving puck, Lehtonen was successful in grabbing the puck in mid-air. The problem is that he caught it behind the goal line. Absolutely no question about it, that puck is in the net. Not taking anything away from the effort by Lehtonen, it was a goal and should have been called one by Toronto. I am beginning to think Toronto has it out for the Hawks. Maybe they called it the way they did because of the effort by Lehtonen. I sure hope so, because if not it must mean that goalies can catch a puck and take it into the net with them without it counting as a goal.
The sense was that the goal wouldn’t matter anyway, but Im sure like the rest of you, I was uneasy about it.
Into the second where everything changed. Dallas gets a questionable power-play and gains some momentum. Shortly after, Turco gives up a weak goal. Continuing their newly found momentum, I say out loud that the next goal will be scored by the winning team. I think Dallas knew it too. They decide to start steamrolling the Hawks. One would have to think it was a completely different game. Maybe the Hawks got cocky with the lead and settled down too much, maybe the Dallas push was just too much for them, or maybe it was all the hits by Dallas that sent 3 Hawk’s players to the locker room. Actually, Johnson hit himself.
Eventually Dallas gets another PP and with under 2 minutes left in period 2 puts on a strong show. Hjammer being the monster that he is, blocks a blast with his rib cage, falls to the floor in pain, and still manages to attempt another shot block. Not even this monster could block the second attempt. “You can’t get the puck past the goalie if you can’t get it past me.” Isn’t that the truth. Hjammer is a beast, and if every player played with his heart and tenacity, we would not be complaining about this season.
Period over, 3-2 Hawks, and Dallas records 17 shots on net in the second period alone.
Not even a minute into the 3rd the score becomes 3-3. However, keeping with the pattern of Hawk’s games this year, this goal should not have counted. The goal is accredited to Morrow, meaning that they believe him to be the last to touch the puck. With that established, an on-ice perspective reveals that his stick is above the crossbar when he hits it. I saw no doubt in that. Nevertheless, it is a 3-3 game. Both of the questionable goals probably stood the way they did because of the call on the ice.
How bad have the refs been lately? Once again, they have stolen a game away from the Hawks. Not that the Hawks didn’t give this one away, but still. Is there a team who has been screwed this much bey the refs this year? How many goals have other teams had wrongfully taken away?
How was it that the hit on Pisani that forced him to leave early was called interference? It should have been an elbow or nothing else. The elbow would have given Dallas a double-minor, which would have changed the game in the Hawk’s favor.
Long story short, the Hawks have to finish the game with only 3 lines, Toews records a crap-ton of ice time, Turco makes some big save to keep the Hawks in it, some even huge, and surprisingly the Hawks storm back a bit. It would all be in vein though, because they would eventually lose in the shootout.
In closing, I am left with a huge doubt that the Hawks will make the playoffs this year. It just doesn’t seem to be going their way. I wonder what the hell happened to Kane after the 1st period. He was a force and then a shadow later on in the game. The verdict is still out on Frolick. Not enough to judge him on yet. He did not do anything that Skille didn’t do.
Now the Hawks are left battered and bruised. They could have cruised to an easy win, but instead had to fight it out till the final second. Not the best shape to be in heading into another game tonight. I hope Hossa is feeling better.
Hostile Hawk
Deuces Wild
Duncan McLOUD
vegashawksfan
Are ill thought out drop passes the problem or the symptom? We all seem to have agreement on some level that Q is very near the center of the problem, but I think the unpalatable truth is that this is and has been a 500 club all year long. The have good nights, they have good stretches, but over time, they keep drifting back to 500. In this current configuration, they simply are not going to be a physical team. I don’t think that’s their biggest problem. Good as Sharp and Kane are offensively, they do not consistently play defensively and in general, the team seldom plays simple, smart hockey. I listened to a a podcast recently with Peter LaViolette on NHL live and he made a comment about playing the Hawks where he basically said, “They love to pass the puck back and forth D to D over and over, so we just decided to back up and wait for them to decide to start moving it”. And watching them like we do, it does seem just that simple. Pressure them in any zone and just wait for a bad pass because you know it’s coming.
I don’t believe in voodoo, but I do believe the breaks will go to the team that is working harder and/or smarter. Eventually, that team was the Stars. As for Frollik, I like the first look and thought he looked okay defensively. On one rush in particular, I remember seeing him point and yell to a D man on who to pick up while he was looking back to see where his guy was as they crossed into the defensive zone. For a team that is going to have to live by playing smarter, he might be a good fit.
As a side note, anyone want to establish an over/under on how many games it takes before won team comes here and drop an enormous verbal shit telling us in detail how we could be better if only we played like them? I say about four games. Looking at one wings blog though, I saw a throw away line that intrigued me wherein the author suggested trading Filpulla for a blueliner and suggested Seabrook as one possible name. I thought that to be a very interesting idea. Might be wearing shorts here today in Vegas which is nice, but I am really jonesing for a grilled jerk tofu sandwich from Karyn’s Cooked on Wells. Take my word for it, the food sucks out here, ESPECIALLY at the casinos.
Isn’t Kane playing defense a oxymoron?
+1, lol!
Wow, I can’t believe someone mentioned Karyn’s on a Hockey blog. My props to you good sir. Have you ever been to The Chicago Diner? I used to work there.
Honestly, Im not sure what the problem is. It is hard to pinpoint with all of the inconsistency. The Karyn’s comment actually creates a nice transition into something I have been wondering about. What are these being fed? I would be really interested in finding out who their nutritionist is and what that person is feeding them. Like has been mentioned, the largest issue is not playing the full game. Why aren’t they. Are they tired, sick, or hurt? Are they getting the nutrition they need to play through the pain? Or is it the practices, and conditioning issues? Is it Q saying all the wrong things in the locker room?
Whatever they are feeding Toews is working.
I guess, this is the main problem. How do you dominate the best teams in the league, for 1 period, sometimes 2 and even 3, but then comeback with horrible performances? Talent is not the issue. Hard work is.
Yeah, I actually used to live right at Belmont and Sheridan and after I decided giving up meat was going to take, my then fiancee and I used to eat at Chicago Diner pretty regularly in summer. Karyn’s is awesome though and there is absolutely nothing like that here; even the Indian food is flat. Real Food Daily in LA and Santa Monica are just as good, everything is organic and they make everything from scratch on site.
That is an interesting thing to wonder about what these guys eat before games. Do they all do the team meals or just hit McDonald’s like the KHL guys do. Kane said before the start of last season that he was given a workout program for the entire summer to follow and checked in once in awhile. He definitely bulked up before the cup season, but I’m not sure about this year. But he also said that each player had a customized plan that was supposed to go for the whole summer. I don’t they looked gassed as much as I think they are just not able to maintain focus and discipline for 60 minutes every night.
Good recap, HH and a horrible loss in every regard…lost players, lack of real physical presence, disallowed goal and allowed goal by Stars are just several pieces.
Hawks do need to be a much more physical team than they are and there is no pretense in that statement as others definitely have it and win games using force let’s face it. Hawks are way too soft for this league!!!
Q and his decision making is totally questionable and the lack of true effort by most of the players for a full game results in a lost case of a ghost ship in the fog. Granted, Turco did come up with a few quality saves but hey, facing his old teammates who know his weaknesses very well…game over!!!
On the positive side, I like Frolik and IMO, easily replaces Skille and if were the case could probably replace several other Hawks as well. We have too many overly paid manequins on this team that do not fit…Hossa being the foremost liability. Who the hell else in the league would want him…the Wings are still laughing at the Hawks .
Other comments coming from Wing fans seem to suggest that they are fed up with Babcock for their losses this season so perhaps we could offer Q as a trade for him and our results would be much more appreciated on the board.
I go back and forth on the physical thing. Some nights, they just look plain owned by teams that take the body to them. Then again, when teams did that last year and tried to win by ass beating, the Hawks frequently made them pay for it by winning the game. If you don’t have the skill, then I agree entirely you need to be physical. This team, even as it is though has skill but seemingly zero chemistry. The focus isn’t there either, but then again it wasn’t really there last year either.
How does Hjammer do it?
We needed Kopecky to get into player’s faces last night like he does so well.
Complacency and coaching. There’s nobody waiting in the wings who is better or as good as the current squad so we see the same old same old complacent, inconsistent effort. This is your 2010/2011 Blackhawks. I think it is about time to start looking at the coaching—not that anything will come of it—but Q et al need to be better at preparing these guys. They need to be better at defending the lead, and if that means altering the style of game, then that’s what should be done. What is it now, 22 games where they have blown leads in the third? That’s more than 1/3 of their season to date. That should have been addressed when it was apparent that it was more than a fluke occurrence.
Maybe the best thing that can happen is missing the playoffs, forcing SB to evaluate all things hockey including the coaching vis a vis the personnel. Laviolette endured the same sort of season after he won the cup with the ‘canes. He was gone soon after.
Guys, it’s everything happening at the same time. All the stuff we’ve been posting here is part of it. No need to rehash. This team isn’t good enough, period. So what if they sneak into the playoffs, do you really think they’ll beat anybody? They were physically manhandled last night. Can you imagine what the Ducks, Sharks, Preds, Flames, Blues, Stars, and Kings will do to them in a playoff series?
So, if 96 points means you’re playoff bound, then the lads need to garner 35 points in 27 games. Sounds doable until you look at the schedule. That’s roughly 17-9-1 the rest of the way. It means we have 19 pts to give away for the rest of the season. Lose tonight and it’s 17, lose Wednesday to Minnie and it’s 15.
StanBow has to be thinking playoffs, because that’s his job. That lost playoff revenue can’t be recouped. It’s also his job to take care of the future of the franchise. He’s in the proverbial double-bind. What will he do? Sacrifice the future for this year’s playoffs? Throw up the white flag? Wait ’til the offseason to clean up his house?
I’ve been kinda thinking along the same lines as djd lately. Unless they can tap into whatever magic the NJ Devils seem to have found, the mighty Hawks seemed destined to be stuck in mediocrity from top-to-bottom this season. For many reasons it might not be the worst thing in the long run to simply miss the playoffs. Does anyone have big hopes for them going deep this year anyway? Squeaking into the playoffs would probably just give the Canucks and their fans what they want most – the opportunity for a cathartic elimination of the Blackhawks (anyone want to bet against the Nucks winning that series this year?). I’d rather that Vancouver not even get that chance.
Chicago has certainly gotten the worst of the breaks lately with bounces and officiating. But seriously, after the first period last night, the Hawks all looked like they had cement blocks on their feet while the Stars seemed to be skating downhill. What’s going on? I can’t believe they even managed to hang on for a regulation tie the way Dallas was flying circles around them. I think the most annoying thing is the total lack of fire and competitive spirit from this team. All Toews can say after that game is that he can’t figure out why they’re losing. I was especially ripped at Turco last night. After that pathetic, beer-league showing in the shootout, all he seemed to care about was enjoying the chance to play against his old team. How about showing a some passion and anger for losing that game? How about being royally pissed off that he got shelled for three straight goals in the SO where he didn’t even touch the puck? Nope… But hey, he sure enjoyed seeing the little tributes to his days in Dallas up on the Jumbo-tron. I guess that’s all that matters to him now. Thank goodness CC will be back in net tonight.
“Canucks and their fans what they want most – the opportunity for a cathartic elimination of the Blackhawks (anyone want to bet against the Nucks winning that series this year?). I’d rather that Vancouver not even get that chance. ”
Well said, Guitar. I see the Canucks all the time and anyone who’s salivating at the prospect of facing them again this year, best beware. It won’t be pretty.
Yeah, but even given the way the Hawks are playing, they still seem to give the Canucks a run for their money. I am not sure that Vancouver wants to have to roll through Chicago to get to the finals.
After all, the Hawks are not missing talent. They could click at any moment. Just don’t stand around waiting for it to happen.
I say ditch Q.
Sigh. If Johnny five hole can’t deliver, neither can anyone else. I don’t say this angrily, but I just don’t think they can carry the core of Toews, Kane, Sharp, Hossa, Keith, Campbell and Seabrook if they are not dominant enough to allow for cup hungry veterans to come in an play for cheap in order to win the cup. We are stuck with Hossa and Campbell and I would not trade Toews for anyone that would in reality be offered. Beyond them, I think Stan has to at least consider what other GM’s might have to say.