Archive for the ‘Analysis’ Category

Chicago’s net belongs to Corey Crawford

December 19th, 2010 by Leigh Michael Dengis

Along with the announcement that Marian Hossa, Patrick Kane and Viktor Stalberg won’t lace up for Sunday night’s match against the Los Angeles Kings, Coach Quenneville stated that he will turn to Corey Crawford once again. It will be his third consecutive start, and his tenth start in the last 13 games for the Blackhawks. After Marty Turco was pulled 20 minutes and four goal into Monday’s game in Colorado, any residual goaltending controversy ended.

Going into the season there was always the chance Crawford would un-seat Turco, but I for one never gave thought it would ever happen. In my experience covering the Blackhawks and their prospects for three seasons, Crawford didn’t have the skill-set to be a starter at this level. He didn’t move well within the crease, and his rebound control left a lot to be desired. I had my apprehensions whether he’d be an adequate backup.

What we saw Friday night from the 25-year-old rookie in the 4-1 victory over the Red Wings was one of this better performances in his short career. He was quick, moved well from side-to-side, he didn’t give up any juicy rebounds and stopped 29 of the 30 shots faced. Detroit’s only tally happened after the puck took a generous bounce off the backboards, and Crawford couldn’t recover in time.

The starting gig is his to be lost.

Come season end, the Blackhawks’ brass will be faced with a similar problem last summer with Antti Niemi. Granted they won’t be faced with the payroll problems, as the salary cap ceiling is expected to rise again on top of the $4M is performance bonus penalties will be alleviated, but they will have a goaltender in their mid-20s with an expiring contract (RFA).

Don’t expect the same outcome, however. The Blackhawks have nothing in the pipeline that is anywhere close to being NHL-ready and I doubt Bowman will turn to the free agent pool keeping the goaltending carousel spinning. Crawford is the Blackhawks’ goaltender for the immediate future.

Related Posts:

Tags: , , ,
Posted in Analysis | Comments Off

Prospect review: North Dakota 4, Minnesota-Duluth 2

November 10th, 2010 by Leigh Michael Dengis

Saturday afternoon the NHL Network aired the Minnesota-Duluth Bulldogs vs. North Dakota Fighting Sioux game that took place the night before. It was the first of a two-game weekend series, and the Fighting Sioux came out on top 4-2 by handing the Bulldogs their first loss of the season.

Three Blackhawks prospects laced up their skates for the game. Defenseman Dylan Olsen and forward Daniel Delisle for Minnesota-Duluth, and defenseman Joe Gleason for North Dakota. It was Gleason’s second game of the season, and the guys in the booth mentioned that injuries were the reason why he was in the lineup. So let’s start there.

Gleason is a decent defenseman, but is limited at the position because of his small stature (5’9” 171). He got knocked off the puck rather easily the few times he attempted to carry it out of his own zone. Gleason attempted to muck-it-up in the crease with the much bigger Daniel Delisle (6’4” 222) after the whistle blew in the first period. The refs broke it up before anything it escalated above a shoving match.

Gleason rounded out the third pairing for the Fighting Sioux, and was virtually unnoticeable. His biggest contribution to the game came in the second period when he was able to keep the puck from leaving the offensive zone, which eventually led to North Dakota’s first goal.

On the other side of the puck, Delisle was on the ice for the Bulldogs when the scoreless tie was broken. He stood just above the hash marks in his own zone, and watched the Fighting Sioux run a cycling clinic around him, offering very little in the way of defense.

If you don’t know much about the kid, the best word I’d use to describe him is awkward. He reminds me of a 14-year-old skating after he shot-up five inches over the summer, trying to gain his balance with every stride. Okay, maybe that’s a bit of an exaggeration, but the point is that he’s a poor skater. Despite limitations that stem from his lack of speed, Delisle knows how to use his size. He will go into board-battles knowing he can come away with the puck, and causes problems for defenders in front of the net.

I’m always impressed with how refined Dylan Olsen is as a defender. He was lined up on the second paring, and saw time on both the power play and the penalty kill. Olsen’s ability to gain position on opposing players in his own zone, take the body and either knock him off the puck or the puck off him is text-book. Forwards had a tough time getting off a good shot while he was on the ice, and Olsen had a plus-one rating on the evening.

Of the three Hawks’ prospects, Olsen was the only one to scratch the score sheet. He had an assist in Minnesota-Duluth’s first goal of the game, which came in the second period. Olsen got a wrist-shot from the point on net in an attempt to catch the goaltender out of position. The save was made, but left a juicy rebound for Travis Oleksuk on the open half of the net. It was his sixth assist on the season, just nine games in as of Friday.

A few more notes about Olsen before this post abruptly ends. He awareness away from the puck is above average, often negating the cross-ice pass on a two-on-two rush with how well he has his man covered. Olsen will pinch and jumps in the offensive zone when need be. He’ll leave the collegiate ranks this spring.

Related Posts:

Tags: , , , , , , ,
Posted in Analysis | Comments Off

Paging Brian Campbell

October 25th, 2010 by Leigh Michael Dengis

It has always fascinated me how quick momentum can shift within the game of hockey. Not just over the course of a game (example: Blackhawks lose a 2-0 lead going into the second period on Saturday), but how a team’s perception is altered over a weekend (example: Blackhawks lose two games in two days to division foes). Everything was gravy a few days ago, but the Hawks are in the middle of a three-day lay off feeling bitter about the one they let get away.

Following Saturday’s 3-2 loss to the Blue Jackets, Jonathan Toews said,

“I have to try not to run my mouth and say things I’m going to regret right now I’m a little worked up right now. This is a similar loss to that game against Nashville in our own building. There’s no way we throw away that game it’s two big division points.

“Giving up a goal with 30 seconds left and taking a five-minute penalty is not the way we want to finish the second period. It seems like that’s when we started letting off the gas pedal. If we’re going to score 2 or 3 goals a night, we have to find ways to be smarter defensively.”

Going into the second period up two goals, the Blackhawks began playing protect-the-lead hockey. If might have worked last year, but that crap don’t fly when you allow 40 shots on the night, as they did against Columbus, with 20 of them coming in the third period. The Hawks are 24th in the league with 34.1 shots allowed per game.

Knowledgeable fans know this, but the following needs to be said for all the meatballs out there, as well as newcomers to the sport. Goaltending is not the Hawks’ issue. The tandem of Marty Turco and Corey Crawford have a healthy .918 save percentage, which ranks eighth best in the league. It’s been the team’s overall defensive play, but it’s the Hawks’ shallow blue line has been exploited.

The return of Brain Campbell to the lineup should help remedy some of the issues regarding the Hawks’ blue line. One obvious reason is that he’ll provide Coach Quenneville with more depth at the position. Nick Boynton will see less than 20 minutes a game on the third paring, Jassen Cullimore will be assigned to Rockford and the oafish John Scott will be a healthy scratch some nights.

Having Campbell back on defense will bolster the Blackhawks’ transition game, and overall play in the offensive zone. Puck possession was key to last year‘s success, which Campbell played an important role in that aspect of their game. Controlling the puck they way they did was why they out-shot opponents in almost every games, and why the Hawks had the fewest shots against last year with 25.1 per game.

Campbell skated for the first time this weekend since injuring his knee, and should be game ready to play in a week or two.

Related Posts:

Tags: , , , , ,
Posted in Analysis | 2 Comments »

Five thoughts about five Blackhawks

October 22nd, 2010 by Leigh Michael Dengis

Hossa's second goal vs. St. Louis in Game #7 (AP Photo/Charles Rex Arbogast)

It’s two weeks into the season, the Blackhawks have rattled off four straight wins to find themselves sitting atop the central division after a slow start. We’re eight games in, a tenth of the season behind us, and we’ve learned a few things about the 2010-11 version of the team thus far.

Marian Hossa is a beast

We finally get a chance to see what a healthy Marian Hossa looks like, and it resembles greatness. He has always been this good, but this is the first time he has played at this level in a Hawks’ jersey. I can only compare it to Alexander Ovechkin. Every time Hossa gets the puck, you get the feeling that something great is about to happen, and he has yet to disappoint. He was the reason the Blackhawks won both Game #3 in Buffalo and Game #7 vs. St. Louis in come from behind fashion.

Hossa spoiled us, and our expectations have been raised. Now that we’ve been treated to hockey such as awesome as this from the Slovakian right winger, we should never expect anything less. Hossa is on pace for 70-plus goals and 40-plus assists.

Marty Turco will do

Marty Turco has successfully wiped everyone’s memory of Antti Niemi. In six appearances, he has a record of 4-1-1 with a 2.42 GAA and .929 SV%. Keep in mind that Turco is seeing an average of 35.2 shots against per game — the Hawks averaged 25.1 in 2009-10 — with a thin blue line in front of him. What impresses me the most about our new 35-year-old goaltender are the long up-ice passes. In Monday’s game against the Blues, Turco hit Bryan Bickell square in the chest, as he stood on the offensive blue line, from the crease.

Our new Brent Sopel is…

…Nick Boynton. Yea, he has his flaws, and in a perfect world he’d be skating on the third pairing with either Jordan Hendry or John Scott. But for what he is, I’ve been relatively pleased with the job Boynton has done so far this season. He is the league leader in blocked shots with 23 in seven games, and is averaging over 22 minutes a night.

In Wednesday’s 2-1 (SO) victory over the Canucks, Boynton was on the ice for 27:38 — of which 2:27 was on the penalty kill — behind only Duncan Keith in time-on-ice.

Nick Leddy wasn’t ready

When the news broke last weekend that Nick Leddy was assigned to Rockford, I smiled. Not because it gave me the opportunity to say, I told you so, but because it’s what’s best for the 19-year-old defenseman at this point in his career. The speed of the game at this level was too fast for Leddy. He was tentative when it came to making or receiving a pass, his decision making was sub-par and his positioning, which is the most important aspect of playing defense, left a lot to be desired. If Jassen Cullimore is brought in as your replacement, that’s humbling.

Jack Skille can play

It took the former first round draft pick long enough to prove he belonged in the NHL, but he’s been a source of energy on the fourth line with Viktor Stalberg and Jake Dowell. Skille is making the most of his current situation, and it’s only a matter of time he gets promoted. He was a candidate to be this year’s whipping boy, but John Scott has a firm grasp on the title.

Related Posts:

Tags: , , , , ,
Posted in Analysis | Comments Off

Notes from the final day of prospect camp

July 13th, 2010 by Leigh Michael Dengis

I’ll start off with just a couple general observations from the final day of prospect camp. The overall level of play was better on Monday compared to the first day of camp. Every player from the 2010 draft class was in attendance. One day one they looked at little green as a whole (minus Kevin Hayes), and three days later that wasn’t the case. There were no drills to start each session this time around, just two 60-minute scrimmages. Now for a few notes from prospect

- Story of the day from prospect camp was the absence of Norwegian forward Mathis Olimb, and early reports are stating that he’ll be out four months with an injured shoulder. He (5’10” 176) and Kyle Beach (6’3” 202) went at it twice over the weekend. This really is nothing new when it comes to Beach. I don’t think I’ll ever understand why two players would square off at prospect camp. It wasn’t Beach’s only scuffle at camp either, which should raise a few eyebrows. Anyways, he was nearly invisible on the ice surface Monday, and I doubt Olimb will wear a Blackhawks jersey in 2010-11.

- Justin Holl and Nick Mattson were paired together again on the final day of camp, and both were more aggressive on both ends of the ice compared to the day one. Holl was beat a few times on the back check. He could use some work on the whole skating backwards thing, and it wouldn’t hurt if he increased his cheeseburger intake (6’2” 170).

- On both days of camp I never really noticed much of Jeremy Morin, which isn’t necessarily a bad thing. On day one he did pick Marcus Kruger’s pocket in the neutral zone and scored off of it, but aside from that he doesn’t appear to have much flash to his game.

- There were quite a few prospects within the Blackhawks system whose play improved from day one of camp, and the guy I want to single out is Joakim Nordstrom. He was barely noticeable on Friday, but on Monday he was all over the place. Nordstrom would go in hard to battle of the puck against the boards, move the puck up ice well, can back check and appears to have all the tools.

- Of the two prospects that came to Chicago in the Versteeg trade with the Leafs, Philippe Paradis was the better of the two at the camp. Paradis is bigger, more athletic and a better skater than Chris DiDomenico. There was nothing about DiDomenico that impressed me in either session I went to. He looked lost out there.

- It seemed unfair to have Shawn Lalonde, Nick Leddy, Ryan Stanton and Joe Lavin on the same team in scrimmage. As a group they were tight defensively. Goaltender and non-roster invite Calvin Heeter barely saw any action with these guys in front of him all afternoon. Kevin Hayes managed to score a goal in the last minute of scrimmage.

On day one, Leddy couldn’t have impressed me less, but on the last day of camp he stood out as the best defender on the ice. He scored his team’s first goal top-shelf from just above the key. The chemistry between him and Lalonde was undeniable. Still, Leddy is a few years away from making a realistic run at a NHL roster spot.

- Second round pick (58th overall) in 2010, Kent Simpson let in five goals in 30 minutes of action in his team’s scrimmage. Mac Carruth came in for the second half of scrimmage, which would have happened no matter how well Simpson played in net. Carruth let in one goal in his half against the same opposing team on Monday. I was disappointed with Simpson’s performance in either camp session I was at.

Related Posts:

Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,
Posted in Analysis | Comments Off

Notes from day one of prospect camp

July 10th, 2010 by Leigh Michael Dengis

So, I get to Johnny’s Icehouse-West just in time for the beginning of drills with the first group of camp invitees to realize I forgot to print off a roster, and there was a coffee stain on my shorts. Not many people were there at 10am, so it wasn’t hard to get a seat. Pulled out a pad and pen, and noticed I was the only one in attendance taking notes. It didn’t take long for me to feel the pressure from the leering eyes to hide them in my backpack (could have been the big brown coffee stain).

The camp roster was broken down into four teams, and there were two separate sessions. Each session began with a series of drills, and that was followed by a 60-minutes scrimmage with an intermission half-way through. Anyways, here are a few first impressions from day one of prospect camp.

- The Hayes brothers have on-ice chemistry – almost Sedin-like. Well, not really. At a prospect camp, where familiarity with other skaters is virtually non-existent, the Hayes brothers seemed to have an advantage against their opponents in scrimmage. For the first 30 minutes of play, they controlled the tempo while on the ice. They tried Chris DiDomenico and Brandon Pirri at center with the brothers. I felt Pirri complemented the two more so than DiDomenico. He was aggressive to the net, controlled the puck well and looked more poised.

From what I saw yesterday, Kevin Hayes, the Blackhawks 2010 first round (24th overall) pick, is more skilled and better vision than his older brother. Those in attendance were treated to some of that skill when he beat Palmer on a penalty shot. Instead of attempting to describe it, you can watch this video clip.

- Dylan Olsen showed off his skill-set best during the pre-scrimmage drills. Minus stick-handling, Olsen was the best looking player out there of the first group. His passing was accurate, quick and hard. He skated well, carried the puck well and had great down-ice vision. During the scrimmage, Olsen had dialogue going on with his partner.

- From the get-go, Justin Holl looked nervous/clumsy out there. He’s an awkward looking player – very tall and very slim. During drills he looked lost. At the start of scrimmage he was getting beat while skating backwards into the defensive zone. With the more ice-time he got, Holl did seem to improve. He would jump in on plays in the offensive zone, and made a few good passes. My first impression of the kid wasn’t good.

- The player I was least impressed with was Mathis Olimb. He half-assed every drill, and was only interested in offensive play during the scrimmaging. When it comes to back checking, Olimb makes Patrick Kane look like a Selke finalist. I would think this attitude would have to change if he wants to make the NHL roster this fall.

- Kyle Beach led much of the physical play that took place in the second group. I wish I paid more attention to his performance during drills, but I was reading up on the Sharks’ offer sheet to Hjalmarsson on my cell. Big guys such as Brandon Bollig, Ryan Stanton, Robert Flick and Daniel Delisle joined in on the physical game. Beach and non-roster invitee John Kurtz squared off (clip here). Beach was the victor.

- Shawn Lalonde was one of the more polished guys in the second scrimmage. He was paired with Nick Leddy in the afternoon scrimmage, and Lalonde played the role of offensive defenseman. He looked comfortable joining the rush, jumped in on the play in the offensive zone and has a good, hard slap shot from the point. Leddy stayed at home, and challenged shooters in his own zone.

- There were three Swedes at camp, and the one that impress me most was Marcus Kruger. He has great vision and his head was always on a swivel looking for a good pass, which he made many of them. His highlight moment from day one of camp was a cross-ice pass he made on a fast break that led to a goal. His lowlight was when Jeremy Morin picked his pocket in the neutral zone as he searched for an outlet. Morin skated into the offensive zone and scored.

- Joe Palmer and Kent Simpson were in net for first group’s scrimmage, and neither were really challenged or stood out. In the second group, Mac Carruth showed off the goods. He looks small out there compared to Palmer, and is a quick, butterfly goaltender. He did well taking away angles from defenders shooting from the point, and has a relatively quick mitt. Carruth was a little chippy in his crease. He was tapping and pushing opposing skaters with his stick. He came out of a 6-on-5 situation unscathed.

- Mitch Versteeg looks nothing like his older brother. He did put someone over the boards and into the bench. Friday’s crowd loved it.

Related Posts:

Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , ,
Posted in Analysis | Comments Off

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.

Related Posts:

Tags: , , ,
Posted in Analysis | Comments Off

The Penalty Kill (Remastered)

April 6th, 2010 by Leigh Michael Dengis

The one constant through the year, Ray, has been the penalty kill. The Blackhawks have won games like an army of steamrollers. The have constantly had problems with their power play, their goaltending and their defense. Each facet of their game has been rebuilt, erased and rebuilt again. But the penalty kill has marked the time. This ability to stymie opponents and score down a man is part of the Blackhawks’ present, Ray. It reminds of us of all that once was good and it could be again.

- Terrence Mannakov

A little over two months ago I wrote a post about the successful penalty kill of the Blackhawks.  It has been one of the consistently good areas of play from this team all seaosn. If some other facet of their game is on the fritz, the boys have always had the penalty kill to hang their jock straps on. On January 28th (when I wrote the first post), they were fourth in the league at keeping opponents scoreless with the man-advantage at 85.6-percent. Today, the Blackhawks are fifth in the league at 84.8-percent – they haven’t allowed a goal in four-on-five situations in their last five games.

One of the most overused hockey clichés is that the goalie a team’s best penalty killer. Yea, they do have a heightened level of importance in shorthanded situations, but if the defense is anemic, a goalie has no chance of success on kill.  In the case of the Blackhawks, the skaters are a big reason their penalty kill is fifth in the league.  At the time this post was written -  compared to their peers around the league with ten or more games played -  Cristobal Huet had a goals-against average of 4.58 (eighth) while shorthanded  and Antti Niemi with a goals-against average of 5.37 (twenty-second).  Those numbers don’t support the cliché for the 2009-10 version of the Blackhawks.

When I think about the penalty kill, my mind automatically goes to the team’s defense. Coach Quenneville has the luxury of a roster full of capable defensemen and two-way forwards that are affective in their own zone and the back-check. On the blue line, Quenneville has consistently relied on a core of guys that haven’t been afraid to put their bodies on the line and block shots. Duncan Keith and Brent Seabrook get all the press, but you cant overlook the contributions of Brent Sopel and Niklas Hjalmarsson on the kill. When it comes to blocked shots, Sopel leads the team with 5.6 per sixty minutes and Hjalmarsson is third with 4.6 (trailing Seabrook by 0.1). The Swede also brings a calm, smart defensive style that thrives in four-on-five situations.

I alluded to Quenneville’s use of two-way forwards on the kill earlier, and Jonathan Toews, Marian Hossa and Patrick Sharp are staples on the penalty-killing unit because of their offensive ability. They are effective at clearing their zone of the puck and taking the action to the other end of the ice. As it stands today, the Blackhawks lead the league in shorthanded goals with eleven (Maria Hossa 5, Patrick Sharp 2, Kris Versteeg 2, Duncan Keith 1 and Troy Brouwer 1). Although Toews hasn’t scored on the kill, he has three shorthanded assists this season, and the captain’s value doesn’t always show up on the scoresheet. For example, when the Coyotes visited the UC a few weeks ago, Toews skated the puck into the defensive zone alone, and drew a cross-checking penalty from Lee Stempniak while the other ‘Hawks were executing a line change.

The fact that the Blackhawks don’t spend much time in the box helps as well. Currently, they have the second fewest shorthanded situations in the league with 250, and have played total of three games this season where they didn’t have to field the penalty kill. Fewer instances of four-on-five hockey is obviously key, and it means that the defense feels less stress and won’t break as easily if they weren’t so effective at staying out of the penalty box. With the way this team’s defense and goaltending has fared this season, that’s a good thing.

Related Posts:

Tags: , , , , , , , , , ,
Posted in Analysis | Comments Off

Weekend Review; Ovechkin Hit On Campbell Reaction

March 14th, 2010 by Leigh Michael Dengis

Two afternoon games this weekend, back-to-back with a possible four points to be had, but the Blackhawks came away with just one. The ‘Hawks lost 3-2 to Philadelphia on Saturday, and 4-3 (OT) to Washington on Sunday. Going into the weekend the goaltending and team defense were under a microscope. The combined goaltending efforts from Cristobal Huet (in Philadelphia) and Antti Niemi (vs. Washington) were good. No complaints on that front. However, the defense was suspect giving away both games late.

No one likes playing afternoon games, especially back-to-back like the Blackhawks did, but you can’t let leads slip away in the closing minutes of the games. Fatigue played a part in Sunday’s overtime loss to the Capitals (see the back-check on Nicklas Backstom’s game-winning goal). Mentally, the ‘Hawks need to be tougher then they were this weekend.

Anyway, just as the Blackhawks are able to roll out a healthy lineup Marian Hossa and Kim Johnsson were scratched from Sunday’s game with ‘lower-body’ injuries (both are day-to-day), and now they might be without Brian Campbell’s services for the remainder of the season after Alexander Ovechkin’s dirty hit. It’s being reported that Campbell has a broken collarbone and a few broken ribs. All of a sudden, Johnsson has become a very important piece to the puzzle. He’s a puck moving defenseman, will have a bigger role on the power play and will move to the second pairing with Niklas Hjalmarsson.

Ovechkin has always played with reckless abandon, which is an aspect of his game that makes him one of the most exciting players to watch in the game. Shoving a defenseless Campbell head first into the boards is an example of how his style of play put a player’s health in jeopardy. Ovechkin was booted from the game with a five-minute major penalty and a game misconduct. He should get at least a one-game suspension for this.

Next up, the Blackhawks go west for back-to-back games in Anaheim on Wednesday and in Los Angeles on Thursday. Expect for a defenseman to be recalled from Rockford before Wednesday. My guess, Nick Boynton.

Related Posts:

Tags: , , , , ,
Posted in 2009-10 Game Reviews, Analysis | Comments Off

Weekend Starting Rotation Set

March 13th, 2010 by Leigh Michael Dengis

Coach Quenneville announced his goaltending rotation for the weekend yesterday. He will have Cristobal Huet man the pipes today in Philadelphia, and Antti Niemi will get the start at home against Washington. There isn’t much you can read into having two different goalies start in back-to-back games. Teams do it all the time. The goaltender Quenneville opted to start at each location can provide some insight into which goaltender he has more faith in, or maybe it’s reading too much into the whole situation.

Anyway, Huet is being treated with kid gloves once again by giving him the start away from the hostile home crowd. Quenneville did this earlier in the season with Huet – have him work out the kinks on the road away from the boos. At this point in the season, this is not what a playoff team wants to be doing with a $5M goalie. Tim Sassone wrote that Niemi’s the marquee start against the Capitals at home is the writing on the wall that Quenneville favors the Finn. I couldn’t agree more.

Not only will the goaltending of Huet and Niemi be under the microscope, the defense will need to be solid in back-to-back afternoon games against two of the better teams in the East. The Flyers are physical, and they could leave the Blackhawks’ liking their wounds on the flight back to Chicago. The Capitals’ won’t show any mercy when they unleash their high-powered offense on Sunday – they lead the league with 266 goals for.

* * * *

Hockey filled weekends are great, especially this one. That is if you aren’t attending Sunday’s game in person. Good luck with the post St. Patricks’ Day (well, the day everyone that works celebrates the greatest holiday ever) hangover, and remembering to move your clock ahead an hour for that 11:30am start time.

Related Posts:

Tags: , ,
Posted in Analysis, News and Notes | Comments Off
« Older Entries