Archive for March, 2009

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Old Fashion Ass Kicking

Tuesday, March 10th, 2009

Colorado Avalanche (28-36-1) @ Chicago Blackhawks (36-18-9)

5 – 1 Loss

The Hawks host the Colorado Avalanche in one of many Sunday matinees remaining on the schedule. The Hawks look to rebound from a disappointing performanc in a loss to the Bruins. Colorado comes in playing dreadfully, losing their last 6 . Besides being in the bottom 5 in goals against, their offense really has difficulty scoring. At this point, the Avs have nothing to play for, out of playoff contention. Sometimes, those teams are the most dangerous.

The Hawks came out flat and paid for it. After one period, the Avs had a 2 goal lead (0-2). Niemi got the start and didn’t get much help. The play in the Hawks end was sloppy. The Hawks had issues moving the puck out of their own zone. The offense didn’t get much going and the backcheck was missing from their game.

In the second, the Hawks found life on a Toews PPG. That was short lived. A couple bad penalties an a pair of Av goals in the second killed anything the Hawks had going and gave Colorado a 4-1 lead.

The Avs Ryan Smyth had the only only goal in the third to cap off the scoring. Thankfully, this game came to an end.

No one looked good in this one. The Hawks found a way to make the Avalanche look good. With the personnel changes and the defenses inabilities, Coach Q was juggling the D lines. Barker was paired with Campbell again. Recent call up Hjalmarsson was paired with Walker, which left Seabs and Keith. The pairing of Seabrook and Keith was broken up towards the end of the game. Keith and Seabrook were both a -2 for the game.

A concern or two for the Hawks starts on the Bolland line. Just 4 shifts into the game, Martin HAvlat left the game with undisclosed lower body injury. The good news is the injury isn’t an upper body injury. The bad news is the timing of this injury. Hopefully he isn’t out for an extended period of time down this playoff stretch. The second concern is the inconsistancy the Hawks have been playing with as of late. Lose 3, win 2, lose 2 – too streaky. With the middle of the pack nipping at the Hawks heels. Fifth place Vancouver Canucks are currently 5 points behind the Hawks, threatening their home ice advantage in the playoffs. Sitting in 4th, the Hawks have nowhere to go but down.

So the boys move onto a matchup with the Carolina Hurricanes on home ice, but the UC hasn’t been kind to the Hawks, going 3-6  at home over the last 9 games. The Canes have a few ex-Hawks that are playing better than they ever did in a Hawks sweater (Tuomo Ruutu 20G/25A  , Sergei Samsanov 14G/27A, Anton Babchuk 9G/13A and G Michael Leighton). Which Hawks team will show on Wednesday???

Positives:

× Toews scores again.

Negatives:

× Overall poor performance. This is the second consecutive game that the Hawks performance was awful.

Game Notes:

× Aaron Johnson was back out of the lineup.

× Niklas Hjalmarsson was in the lineup.

MVB (Most Valuable Blackhawk):

× Jonathan Toews – another goal. JT’s game has been the only one with consistancy night after night.

Next Matchup:

March 11th, Carolina Hurricanes @ Chicago Blackhawks

Record:

36-19-9 . . . 81 points

http://www.nhl.com/ice/boxscore.htm?id=2008020983

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Hawks Fall Short Against Bruins

Saturday, March 7th, 2009

Chicago Blackhawks (36-17-9) @ Boston Bruins (42-14-9)

5 – 2 Loss

The Hawks play a rare noon game against the Boston Bruins. This is an interesting matchup in may aspects. The Hawks always like to refer to games with top teams as a benchmark game to gauge where they are at.This game definitely fits this mold as Boston has lead the Eastern Conference since the start of the season. It is also interesting to see where these 2 teams are in comparison to where they were 2 seasons ago. Both teams were miserable and couldn’t give away tickets. Now they are 2 of the hottest teams in the league.

The Hawks found themselves down early and never really recovered. After tying the game up early on a Toews PPG, the Hawks had a collapse in the last five minutes of the 2nd, allowing the Bruins to take a 3-1 lead. Spotting Boston 2 quick goals, just 35 seconds apart, was the game. Each team scored 2 in the final frame (one being a Boston empty-netter).

Huet got the start for the Hawks, and didn’t look particularly sharp. He also didn’t have much help as the D looked awful. Campbell was brutal in this game (missed passes, turnovers). The first goal was a result of the D not being able to get the puck up ice and good forecheck pressure by the Bruins. This second goal, Huet failed to hug the ner post and let it squeeze in. The third goal, there was traffic in the slot, but it looked like the Frenchman should have had a clean look at the shot from the point. The fourth goal started with a turnover when Campbell lost an edge at the Hawks blueline (possibly when doing his spin move).

On the offensive end, the Hawks were able to create scoring chances, but couldn’t finish. Between solid play from Tim Thomas and a several posts, the Hawks had to rely on the power play for 2 of their 3 goals. Toews scored a PPG off a power move from the goal line to the left of Thomas. The second goal was a Versteeg goal on the back door. The third , and final Hawks goal was another PPG, scored by Kaner with a laser from the left circle.

The Hawks battled back and made it interesting. In the final minutes, the Hawks turned up the heat and had a few near misses. All this was killed by a Bruin’s empty netter to seal the win. Overall, the Hawks realy didn’t bring their “A” game, which is what they are going to need against these top teams down the stretch.

Tomorrow afternoon the Hawks return home to host the lowly Colorado Avalanche. I would expect the Hawks to rebound from this lackluster performance at the expense of the Avs.

Positives:

× The Hawks special teams had a good day going 2 for 3 on the pp and shutting down all 3 of Boston’s man advantages

× Toews scores again. The kid is amazing.

× The Hawks don’t face the Bruin’s again, unless it is a finals matchup.

Negatives:

× Overall poor performance

Game Notes:

× Aaron Johnson was back in the lineup

× The Hawks called up Hjarlmsson from the AHL Rockford IceHogs, who was not in the lineup for today’s game. He should be in tomorrow’s lineup.

× The Hawks also recalled up Pascal Pelletier from the AHL Rockford IceHogs.

× Sami Pahlsson will report to the Hawks tomorrow, but will not be game ready for another week or two.

× Sharp and Khabi are both skating and are nearing their return.

MVB (Most Valuable Blackhawk):

× Jonathan Toews – he keeps scoring at a torrid pace.

Next Matchup:

March 8th, Colorado Avalanche @ Chicago Blackhawks

Record:

36-18-9 . . . 79 points

http://www.nhl.com/ice/boxscore.htm?id=2008020969

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