Archive for April, 2010

Orca! – (2) Blackhawks vs. (3) Canucks preview

April 30th, 2010 by Leigh Michael Dengis

This is turning into a nice little rivalry. Ever since that bloody Sunday in March last season – the one where Alex Burrows tugged on Duncan Keith’s hair (not in a good way) – the two teams have played with an edge. Then there is the bad blood between Andrew Ladd and Ryan Kesler that dates back to when the Canucks and Blackhawks met in last year’s semi-final series – a series where the young Blackhawk team upset the Canucks and ousted them from the playoffs. Vancouver would love nothing more than to return the favor this time around. With the introduction out of the way, we move onto breaking down the second round (2) Blackhawks vs. (3) Canucks series.

Offense – The enemy led the West with 272 regular season goals, and the Blackhawks were in second with 271 goals. They also have this season’s Art Ross Trophy winner in Henrik Sedin, but our points leader has a mullet. Advantage: Blackhawks

Defense – Brian Campbell returned to the blue line in the first round series against the Predators, and the Blackhawks were 3-0 since. Coincidence, I think not. The Blackhawks are a complete core. Campbell is the puck-mover, Keith is a good two-way defenseman, Seabrook is the hitter, Hjalmarsson is the smart one and Sopel is great in the defensive zone. The Canucks aren’t as versatile on defense. After facing the Predators defensive core, the Canucks will be a cake walk. Advantage: Blackhawks

Goaltending – Roberto Luongo is viewed as one of the better goalies in the game these days, but has never won any major hardware. Antti Niemi has better numbers this post-season, but Bobby Lou is Bobby Lou. Advantage: Canucks

Special Teams – I assume you already know about how good the Blackhawks penalty kill has been this season and in the first round. Against the Predators the kill was successful twenty-seven of twenty-eight times, and Patrick Kane added the notorious Game #5 shortie. The Canucks power-play unit has been good in the regular and post-season, but can they have to get past Brent Sopel first. Advantage: Blackhawks

Coaching – Let’s make this one short. This is the eleventh post-season appearance for Coach Q, and the Canucks’ Alain Vigneault is a noob in comparison in his fourth. Advantage: Blackhawks

Intangibles – I added this section to the preview in hopes of writing about the Green Men. An homage to one of my favorite television shows. However, Dustin Byfuglien will move back to forward for the semi-finals. There are a few people who think the Blackhawks wouldn’t have won the series last year if Byfuglien didn’t own the space between Roberto Luongo’s ears. They could have used another body in front of the net against Nashville. Advantage: Blackhawks

Prediction – Blackhawks win in seven

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Blackhawks recall eight before semi-final match-up

April 28th, 2010 by Leigh Michael Dengis

A few days ago the Blackhawks recalled goaltender Corey Crawford from their AHL affiliate, and today the organization added eight more players to the roster that were previously stationed in Rockford. Of the recalled, take not of forward Kyle Beach and defensemen Shawn Lalonde and little known Brian Connelly. None of the players recalled today will lace-up for the semi-finals, but they are going to only see time in practice. The rest are forwards Jake Dowell and Jack Skille, defensemen Jassen Cullimore and Danny Richmond and goaltender Hannu Toivonen. Nothing to be excited about there.

Changes have been reflected on our In the Organization page above.

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Series review – Blackhawks beat Predators in six

April 27th, 2010 by Leigh Michael Dengis

End game (Frederick Breedon/Getty Images)

Going into the first round series against the Nashville Predators, I don’t think anyone would expect them to have been this tough. Per usual, the cream always rises to the top. The Blackhawks won the series 4-2, and will face the Vancouver Canucks in a rematch from last year’s second round series. Both teams will be out for blood, but more on that later. To close out the first chapter of the post-season, here is your (2) Blackhawks vs. (7) Predators series review.

Game #1 – Predators 4, Blackhawks 1 Nashville goalie, Pekka Rinne, stole this game. He stood on his head all night, and the Blackhawks were outworked as well. The Blackhawks had a 1-0 lead going into the third period, but J.P. Dumont scored two consecutive goals to give his team the lead. Dumont’s first was a lucky floater over Antti Niemi’s right kicker. The Predators added two empty-netters to boot. Predators led series 1-0

Game #2 – Blackhawks 2, Predators 0 Niemi earned his first post-season shutout, and the first by a Blackhawk rookie in franchise history. Patrick Kane created enough offense for the Blackhawks by scoring one goal and one assist in the game. The Blackhawks defense wasn’t so good in this one, but luckily for them neither was the Predators offense. Series tied at 1-1

Game #3 – Predators 4, Blackhawks 1 This game was riddled with bad play and stupid penalties from the Blackhawks (see Dustin Byfuglien’s hook of Martin Erat that led to a penalty-shot goal). The Predators were easily the better team in this game, and backed the Blackhawks into a corner. Rinne had another game where he stood on his head. Predators led series 2-1

Game #4 – Blackhawks 3, Predators 0 This game was a must win for the Blackhawks, and Brian Campbell was rushed back into the lineup in hopes of being a catalyst to the Blackhawks offense. A couple bigger names finally showed up in the series – Patrick Sharp scored two goals, and Jonathan Toews added one. Oh, Niemi earned his second shutout with better defensive play in front of him then in Game #2. Series tied at 2-2

Game #5 – Blackhawks 5, Predators 4 (OT) The closing moments of the game will be what anyone remembers from this series. Marian Hossa’s questionable hit on Dan Hamhuis resulted in a five-minute major penalty for boarding penalty with just over a minute left in the game, and the ‘Hawks were down by one. Patrick Kane scored a shortie (Niemi was pulled for the extra man) to take this one into overtime. The Blackhawks penalty-kill unit kept the Predators scoreless while Hossa sat in the penalty box finishing out his sentence. Seconds after returning to the ice, Hossa scored the game-winning goal. Blackhawks led series 3-2

Game #6 – Blackhawks 5, Predators 3 After regaining control of the first round series in the previous game, the Blackhawks came out strong in the first period. They had the lead 3-1 before Jason Is-Nott-Good-At-Hockey scored two unanswered goals to tie the game at three goals apiece. Shortly after, Toews scored on the power play to give his team the lead. His goal held up, and John Madden added an empty-net goal for his first point of the post-season. Blackhawks won series 4-2

Series MVP: Brent Sopel – The Blackhawk defenseman played a huge role on the penalty-kill unit. The guy has biggest balls on the team, willing to put his body in the line of fire every chance he got. Sopel was even praised by Barry Trotz for his work on the kill. The unit that twenty-six for twenty-seven in shorthanded situations. He was also instrumental in the sequence of events that led to Hossa’s game-winning goal in Game #5.

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Corey Crawford recalled by Blackhawks

April 24th, 2010 by Leigh Michael Dengis

The Rockford IceHogs run for the Calder Cup ended last night at the hands of the Dallas Stars. In the best of seven series the IceHogs were swept in four games. Today the Blackhawks recalled goaltender Corey Crawford now that his AHL season is over. In forty-five games Crawford had a record of 24-16-2 a goals-against average of 2.67 and a .909 save percentage. The netminder played one game with the Blackhawks in a losing effort to the Anaheim Ducks where he game let in three goals.

Changes have been reflected on our In the Organization page above.

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Breaking down the Norris Trophy race

April 23rd, 2010 by Leigh Michael Dengis

Our very own Duncan Keith was named one of the three finalists for the James Norris Trophy, which is given to the defenseman who best demonstrates the best all-around ability at the position throughout the season. The other two finalists are Drew Doughty of the Los Angeles Kings and Mike Green of the Washington Capitals. It’s been a great season for Keith so far. He won an Olympic gold medal and signed a twelve-year extension with the organization that drafted him in the second round in 2002.

You should know Drew Doughty by now. The twenty year old came out to the hockey world at the 2010 Winter Games, where he was arguably one of the best all around defenseman on Team Canada. Then there is Mike Green. Well, he has no interest in anything that goes on in the defensive zone. For that reason he wasn’t selected to the Canadian national team like Keith and Doughty. Since the award goes to the best all-around defenseman, Green is on the outside looking in.

Yes, Green does lead all defensemen in goals, assists, points and plus/minus. But he is virtually a fourth winger and benefits from playing with Alexander Ovechkin (and the Capitals’ potent offense) on the power play. The hockey writers are smart enough to know he is just a one-way player, and isn’t this year’s best overall defenseman. In my biases opinion, it’s Keith vs. Doughty for the Norris Trophy.

It only took two seasons since being drafted in for Doughty to be a finalist for the Norris Trophy. Defense is the hardest position to master at the NHL level, and the Kings’ defenseman is already one of the best. Duncan Keith spent two years in Norfolk (AHL), and five seasons in Chicago putting in the hard work to be where is he now. As Doughty will continue to develop into a two-way force on the blue line, this might be Keith’s only shot at the Norris Trophy. If the writers can’t muster enough sentiment (not that he needs it) for Duncan, hopefully his numbers do the talking.

Keith had sixty-nine points this season, and Doughty had fifty-nine. Not that I expect anyone to delve this far into comparing the two defenders, but Keith was much more dominant at even-strength. His forty-eight points at even-strength is twenty more then Doughty, who scored the majority of this points while his team had a man-advantage. It seems almost wrong thinking that he may be penalized for that. Also Keith has been a major player in the Blackhawks awesome penalty-kill unit.

Prediction – Duncan Keith will be the first Blackhawk to win the James Norris Trophy since Chris Chelios in 1996.

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Brian Campbell game-time decision for Game #4

April 22nd, 2010 by Leigh Michael Dengis

Campbell after hit (Getty Images)

The three-headed monster that is the core of Blackhawk beat writers (Tim Sassone of the Daily Herald, Chris Kuc of the Tribune and Adam Jahns of the Sun-Times) are reporting that defenseman Brian Campbell is a game-time decision for Game #4. Even ESPNChicago’s man-child Jesse Rogers has predicted the return of the Campbell to the blue line. So it must be true.

Campbell suffered a broken clavicle on March 14th after Alexander Ovechkin shoved him into the boards in the Blackhawks zone. Ovechkin was suspended for two games, and Campbell was ruled out of commission for seven to eight weeks as he healed. It was originally thought that Campbell wouldn’t return until the second round of the playoffs, but with the Blackhawks’ backs up against the wall after three games (Predators lead series 2-1) they are willing to rush the seven-million-dollar man.

From what I’ve been reading, Campbell was ahead of schedule in regards to the healing process, and he’s been skating in practice for just over a week. The big-picture side of me would like to wait on him to be completely healed, but the selfish side (the side my girlfriend always complains about) wouldn’t mind seeing him suit up tonight. The Blackhawks sure could use a puck-moving defenseman in the lineup to help breakdown the Predators’ trap defense. Campbell will need doctor’s note before that happens. It’s the playoffs. Man up, broseph.

Lineup notes – Coach Q will insert Bryan Bickell and Adam Burish into the lineup tonight in lieu of Ben Eager and Colin Fraser. I’m a fan of this Burish quote Sassone used in his blog post this afternoon:

“You got the Nashville coaches sitting up there watching to see who’s going to do the extra skating. But we all got off the ice together.”

You sure fooled them, Adam. Keep up the Jedi mind tricks young padawan.

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Niemi’s No-No

April 19th, 2010 by Leigh Michael Dengis

Antti Niemi (Jonathan Daniel/Getty Images)

Antti Niemi added to his legacy as a Blackhawk in front of the home crowd. He shutout the Nashville Predators 2-0, and it was exactly what his team needed take control of the first-round playoff series. It was the first playoff shutout ever for a Blackhawk rookie, and the first post-season shutout since Ed Belfour did so in 1996. Niemi had seven no-hitters in his rookie season.

Every goalie experience some level of luck every night they strap on the pads, but if the Predators weren’t such an inept offensive team the Blackhawks would not have won last night’s game. They didn’t have that great of a presence down low, and there were a few times they couldn’t take advantage of their offensive opportunities. Niemi saw every shot from the point and high slot because they didn’t hinder the Finn’s vision.

All season the defense has been very effective at keeping opponent shots at a distance, thus limiting the number of quality shots their goalie will face on any given night. The ‘Hawks didn’t really do that Sunday, and weren’t all to great at defending the crease and a few Niemi rebounds sit in the slot. Niemi was forced to make kicker save after kicker save to keep his team in the game. Yea, there were some nice defensive plays made (see Brent Sopel’s sprawling shot-block), but if they don’t play a tighter game the Predators will likely take the next game in Nashville. Shutouts are always nice, but in the post-season I have a hard time finding comfort in them.

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Prospect Ben Smith Inks Two-Year Deal

April 18th, 2010 by Leigh Michael Dengis

The Blackhawks announced they signed right wing prospect Ben Smith two a two-year deal, which begins at the start of the 2010-11 season. The twenty-one year old Smith finished his final season at Boston College with a win over the Wisconsin Badgers for the National Championship. Smith was named the Most Outstanding Player of the Frozen Four tournament. In his final season as an Eagle, he played forty-two games totaling thirty-seven points (sixteen goals, twenty-one assists).

Three days ago Smith signed a amature try-out agreement with the IceHogs, and is a candidate to start next season in Rockford. He is a few years away from making a real run for a roster spot on the NHL club.

Changes have been reflected on our In the Organization page above.

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Tabula Rasa – (2) Blackhawks vs. (7) Predators preview

April 15th, 2010 by Leigh Michael Dengis

The first-round playoff series between the (2) Blackhawks vs. (7) Predators will kick off this Friday night at the United Center. The Blackhawks took the six-game regular season series by winning four games and losing two. The last time they played was December 27th. It’s been a while since they played that cold December day, so here is your Predator re-education and series preview.

Offense – Nashville finished the season as the ninth ranked offense in the conference with only 225 goals. The Blackhawks finished the year with 271, which was second best in the conference and led the conference in goal differential at +62. Only two players on the Predator roster scored more then twenty goals (Hornqvist with 30, and Erat with 21) – the ‘Hawks had six. Chicago is deeper at forward, and can get scoring from all four lines. The Predators barely have enough talent to fill out their top-six forwards. Advantage: Blackhawks

Defense – This is where the Predators are of concern. It’s not the solid blue-line core of Shea Weber, Ryan Suter and Dan Hamhuis that worries me, but the defensive system they run – the trap. It is designed to slow down talented, puck-moving squads such as the Blackhawks. Injuries have left Chicago’s blue line thin. Brian Campbell (broken clavicle) will miss the first round series, and no one knows how long Kim Johnnson (post-concussion symptoms) will be out. Advantage: Predators

Goaltending – Both the Blackhawks and Predators will rely on two Finnish netminders with no previous post-season experience. Nashville’s Pekka Rinne is a big boy at 6-foot 5-inches. In three games against the Blackhawks this season, Rinne was 1-2-0 with 2.36 goals-against and a 0.924 save-percentage. Antti Niemi was in net the last time the division rivals played on December 27th. Niemi won the game, but gave up four goals in the process. Rinne and Niemi both had seven shutouts this season. Advantage: Push

Special Teams – The Predators have the third worst power-play unit in the West (16.4-percent) and last place penalty kill (77.1-percent). Chicago has thrived on the penalty kill all season. They have thirteen shorthanded goals, and second ranked unit (85.0-percent) in the conference. The Blackhawks’ power play has been pedestrian all season, but they have had success with the man-advantage in the last two games of the season. Special teams will benefit the Blackhawks in this series. Advantage: Blackhawks

Coaching – The Predators have only had one head coach since their first season in 1998-99. That man is the comic book villain look-a-like, Barry Trotz. In four previous post-season births, Trotz and his Predators have never reached the second round. Don’t let that stat fool you. I don’t think there is any coach around the league that has got more out of their roster then Trotz has. Have you seen this roster? Trotz somehow got these guys into the playoffs.

In thirteen years of coaching, Quenneville has only missed the post-season twice, but has never reached the Stanley Cup Finals. Last season, Coach Q was able to get the most out of his young team that eventually lost in the conference finals to the Red Wings. He hopes to build on last year’s success, and his post-season experience will prove to be an asset for the still young team. Advantage: Blackhawks

Prediction – Blackhawks in five

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Danis-Pepin To Join Rockford, Gilbert Released

April 13th, 2010 by Leigh Michael Dengis

The Rockford IceHogs made a few minor moves yesterday. Defenseman Simon Danis-Pepin was recalled from the Toledo Walleye whose playoff run ended last weekend to the Charlotte Checkers in four games. Danis-Pepin scored one goal and had three assists in the Walleye post-season. He split time between Toledo and Rockford in the regular season, and could make an appearance in an IceHogs sweater when their post-season begins this Friday, the sixteenth. Non-roster forward Derek Nesbitt will join him on the Mega Bus ride to beautiful city of Rockford.

In related news – I can only assume – the IceHogs released center David Gilbert from his amateur try-out agreement. Since joining the Rockford on April 1st, Gilbert on laced up the skates for one game – he recorded an assist and a plus/minus of +2. Gilbert should return to the Acadie-Bathurst Titan for his final year of eligibility in the QMJHL this fall. In case you were wondering, his rights are still owned by the Blackhawks.

Changes have been reflected on our In the Organization page above.

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