Posts Tagged ‘Ben Eager’

Big Buff, Sopel and Eager sent to Atlanta

June 24th, 2010 by Leigh Michael Dengis

There were reports of this deal happening throughout Wednesday, but the trade was held up by the fact the Thrashers had to move a few contracts to make room for the newly acquired players from Chicago. Rick Dudley, Thrashers new general manager and ex-Blackhawk front office employee, sent Brett Sterling, Mike Vernace and a seventh round draft pick to San Jose for future considerations. Once that deal was stuck, it made Blackhawks/Thrashers trade possible late last night.

The Blackhawks sent two players under contract till the end of the 2010-11 season in Dustin Byfuglien and Brent Sopel, restricted free agent Ben Eager and prospect Akim Aliu to the Thrashers. In return, they received two 2010 draft picks (24th and 54th) along with center Marty Reasoner and prospect Jeremy Morin. Oh, they tossed in AHLer Joey Crabb as well (insert not-so mature joke here).

I’m a big fan of this big trade. Stan Bowman freed up $4,183,333 off the 2010-11 payroll, got two high round draft picks and rid the Blackhawks of Dustin Byfuglien (oh, happy day). I applaud Bowman for having the balls to make an unpopular move by trading away Byfuglien and Sopel. He was able to capitalize on the fact that Sopel’s and Byfuglien’s trade value were high coming off their respective post-season performances. Brent Sopel will be missed. Good guy on and off the ice.

Ben Eager gone is not a loss. The Blackhawks wouldn’t have received a qualifying offer before the deadline, and this way they get something for him. Some guys that were in Rockford last season will get a shot at the NHL roster out of training camp. Akim Aliu has talent to be a top six forward, but it’s doubtful he’ll ever reach his full potential. He went in the wrong direction this season, and was demoted to the ECHL for his lack of offensive production and discipline.

Of the new additions to the organization, Marty Reasoner is the only player that will have an immediate impact on the Blackhawks roster. He will likely center the third or fourth line, and is under contract for one more season. His cap-hit is $1,150,000 next season.

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

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Lucky #7 – Blackhawks 4, Wild 0

April 1st, 2010 by Leigh Michael Dengis

Tomas earned the belt in Minny

The fourth line was great last night. They attributed for three goals in the 4-0 shutout victory over the Minnesota Wild. Tomas Kopecky scored his eighth and ninth goals of the season, and Ben Eager scored a goal and tallied one assist. I’m quite disappointed Eager of all people couldn’t drop the gloves to give the viewers at home what they wanted – a Gordie Howe Hat Trick. On a serious note, Eager isn’t the fourth line energy forward we fell in love with last season. Ever since getting his brain scrambled in the first game of the season, Eager has become soft.

The defensive play in front of Antti Niemi was better then has been (still not great). They limited the Wild offense to twenty-one shots on goal. The Blackhawks controlled the tempo of the game, and Niemi didn’t see much action in his end of the ice until they were shorthanded three to five in the second period. Being down two men for ninety-one seconds, Niemi pulled up his pants and made a few pad saves the escape shorthanded situation unscathed. At the risk of sounding as though I bat for the other team, I’ve always been impressed with Niemi’s flexibility. For a man of his size, he moves form side-to-side rather well. This win marked his seventh shutout of the season.

On defense, Coach Quenneville had Dustin Byfuglien paired with Duncan Keith on the blue line. Byfuglien didn’t play all to well, but he didn’t embarrass himself either. Nick Boynton was out of the lineup as a result of his scuffle with Cam Janssen two night’s ago. Glad to see Brent Sopel off the top pairing, and Niklas Hjalmarsson and Brent Seabrook seem to play well enough together to keep that project going.

It was great that the fourth line stepped up and won this game for the slumping ‘Hawks, but the first two lines really need to get going with just six games left in the regular season. Jonathan Toews did score off a nice drop pass from Marian Hossa last night, but the bottom lines won’t always be productive enough to bail out the team. The win over the Wild was great, but I’m still a little worried about the state of the team and that lines are being shuffled willy-nilly.

Next up, the Blackhawks will travel fly to the cultural Mecca of the East Coast (sarcasm) to face the Devils this Friday. I haven’t had the opportunity to watch a game with Ilya Kovalchuk in a non-Thrashers jersey yet. It’s going to be weird.

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Redemption: Blackhawks 2, Blues 1

February 7th, 2010 by Leigh Michael Dengis

Now that’s more like it. The Blackhawks came into St. Louis and defeated the Blues 2-1 in regulation. Coach Quenneville completely jumbled last night’s line combinations and it paid dividends with enough offense to win this one over their central division foe. Quenneville even replaced my boy Troy Brouwer on the first line with Patrick Sharp. It was the first time since December 13th that the trio of Brouwer, Jonathan Toews and Patrick Kane didn’t skate together. The new-ish line was responsible for both Blackhawk goals. Toews did his part with a goal, an assist and a plus/minus of +2.

Antti Niemi was great last night. Niemi stopped thirty-three of the thirty-four shots faced. The goal he let in was the result of a crap penalty call (more on that later). Under Davis Payne, the Blues are a different team. Yea, they haven’t shed their chippy ways, but their offense has improved. Anyway, the defense in front of Niemi was solid. The lapses that have plagued the Blackhawks in their own zone lately weren’t a problem last night. Brent Seabrook and Duncan Keith didn’t make any costly errors as well, which is nice.

The Blackhawks were on the penalty-kill eight times in St. Louis. Per usual, they were effective down a man and almost escaped the game with a perfect night on the kill. With just over two minutes left in the game the Blackhawks were called for an unsportsmanlike conduct penalty while Brian Campbell was already serving a penalty for hooking. The penalty that put the Blackhawks down two men shouldn’t have been called. The officiating was bad last night. Players chirp from the bench all the time. The Blues were able score their lone goal while two ‘Hawks were in the box. Niemi was well screened and didn’t get a good read on the shot.

Anyway, the ‘Hawks held on and ended their three-game skid. Ben Eager sat out last night with the descriptive ‘lower-body’ injury, but shouldn’t miss any substantial time. The Blackhawks have a couple days before they host the Stars on Tuesday.

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Escape From Cowtown – Blackhawks 3, Flames 1

January 22nd, 2010 by Leigh Michael Dengis

Where was the tenacity we are used to seeing from Calgary last night? Coming off a 9-1 loss to the Sharks you would think the Flames would come out swinging, but the Blackhawks did them a favor and handed them their sixth consecutive loss. The Flames we are familiar play a physical brand of hockey, are chippy and antagonize opposing players. None of that was really going on last night. With the recent history between the two teams, if the Blackhawks of all teams can’t provoke any energy from the Flames there is a big problem in Cowtown.

Miikka Kiprusoff (spelled it right the first time) was the only Flame to show up. His performance last night trumps that of Jonas Hiller and Brian Elliot. Except for Patrick Kane’s goal in the second period, Kipper was flawless. It took a series of lucky redirects for the Blackhawks to take beat Kiprusoff to take the lead in the third period. Tomas Kopecky tossed the puck at the net, it ricocheted off a Flame defender and its course was corrected off Ben Eager’s right leg. Rarely was Kiprusoff out of position and he didn’t cough up any rebounds.

After a brief hiatus, the Blackhawks’ defense returned last night. Not to take anything away from the solid game from Antti Niemi, but he faced a very manageable twenty shots. He made some great saves too. The only goal Niemi let in was on the penalty kill, Colin Fraser just lost his stick, he made the initial save with the insole of his skate and Brent Sopel was unable to clear the puck before Jamie Lundmark tapped in the rebound. An honorable mention should go out to Niklas Hjalmarsson, John Madden and Marian Hossa for their back checking.

Ducan Keith scored the final Blackhawks goal to clinch the Blackhawks 3-1 victory on an empty net. Hossa saw him streaking down the center of the ice, and set him up with a cross-ice pass.

Next up, the Blackhawks take the road show into Vancouver this Saturday. They have one three of the four games played on the trip so far with four more to go.

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Blackhawks 5, Bruins 2

January 8th, 2010 by Leigh Michael Dengis

This one looked like it was going to be one of those (rare) nights for the Blackhawks. They were down 2-0 to the Bruins just eight minutes into the game. Boston’s first goal came on the power play, as Blackhawks penalty-kill unit couldn’t get the puck out of their end. Blake Wheeler redirected Derek Morris’ initial shot for the goal. Their second tally came off a Blackhawks’ turnover deep in the defensive zone, and Miroslav Satan waited for Antti Niemi to drop. At point-blank range, he aimed high to score the Bruins second and final goal.

Duncan Keith brought the Blackhawks into the game with a one-timer just shy of the blue line, which snuck past Tim Thomas to his right. Minutes later Ben Eager started the sequence that led to Colin Fraser’s feed to Tomas Kopecky for the Blackhawks’ second goal. After the first period, the Blackhawks and Bruins were tied at 2-2.

In the second frame, the Blackhawks were able to capitalize on the momentum gained in the first period. Andrew Ladd screened Thomas as Brent Seabrook fired the puck on the net. Thomas saved the initial shot, but Ladd poked in the rebound to score. Both he and my boy Troy Brouwer have been productive stationing themselves in front of the opposing team’s net.

Keith was able to extend the Blackhawks’ lead by two when his wrist shot from the point that made it’s way past Thomas. It appeared as though the massive Zdeno Chara screened his own goalie, which made Keith’s goal possible. It was the second goal of the night with the fourth line on the ice. They continue to be very productive for Coach Quenneville. Fraser, Kopecky and Eager had a plus/minus of +2 on the night. Keith had a big night as well, scoring two goals, helping on one and a plus/minus of +4.

Patrick Kane added the Blackhawks’ fifth unanswered goal of the night late in the third frame. Brouwer put pressure on the Bruins defense after a Jonathan Toews face-off loss, and retrieved the puck to set up Kane for his nineteenth on the season. His point streak is now at ten games.

The ability the Blackhawks have to comeback after an early two-goal deficit on the road can be attributed to the team’s tenacity, and the solid goaltending of Niemi. His rebound control wasn’t as good as it has been, but he and the defense shutdown the Bruins for the remainder of the night.

Next up, the Blackhawks will visit the Minnesota Wild tomorrow night, then host the Anaheim Ducks at the United Center the next night. Enjoy the ride ladies and gentlemen.

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Blackhawks 4, Wild 1

January 6th, 2010 by Leigh Michael Dengis

Thirty wins in forty-three games is impressive. The Blackhawks have won eleven of their last thirteen games, and have extended their lead over the second place team in the Central Division, the Nashville Predators, to ten points. So many good things are happening for the Blackhawks right now. The power play unit – that had been so bad – has scored with the man-advantage in the last eight games. The current streak has improved the ‘Hawks power-play percentage to 20.8 – sixth overall in the league.

Another positive of late has been the play of the fourth line. Their playing time hasn’t increased all that much, but the combination of Ben Eager, Colin Fraser and Tomas Kopecky are no longer invisible on the ice. It pains me to write this, but with the elevated play of Kopecky the line has been more productive.

Marian Hossa scored another two goals last night, and Patrick Kane added another to his team-leading total – now at eighteen goals. Hossa is the seventh Blackhawk to reach double-digits. John Madden is just one away after scoring his ninth goal in the first period. Brian Campbell continues he resurrection as the seven-million-dollar-man last night with his play in the offensive zone, and adding two helpers.

Cristobal Huet’s performance in the first period illustrated a few of the reasons why I’m not a fan. He was out of position, slow, lacked puck control, and the defense had to bail him out to keep the Wild off the scoreboard. Brent Seabrook put himself in front of a sure Andrew Brunette goal, and Duncan Keith back-checked to thwart a good scoring chance by the Wild on a short handed rush. In both cases, Huet was scrambling across the crease to get back in position. Once the Blackhawks defense settled down late in the first period, so did Huet, and that has been the story on him for the majority of the season.

Next up, the Blackhawks will travel to Boston for another Original Six match-up Thursday night.

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Blackhawks 6, Blues 3

January 3rd, 2010 by Leigh Michael Dengis

Last night’s 6-3 victory in St. Louis turned into a melee on the ice because the Blues were reckless, and the officiating was atrocious. Ben Eager won’t miss anytime for fighting with bandages on his hands – apparently that’s frowned upon by the league. Even Jonathan Toews got into the mix. I like his willingness to jump in there, but no one ever wants Toews to drop the gloves and risk injury.

The Blackhawks were a vastly superior team, and the Blues resorted to mass-goonery because they couldn’t keep up. Cristobal Huet had an decent night and come up with a few big saves. If Tomas Kopecky can tally two goals on an opposing team, they aren’t any good.

Anyway, the ‘Hawks will host the Anaheim Ducks at the United Center tonight. Fatigue is always a concern when playing back-to-back games, but starting Antti Niemi in net should alleviate some of that. Niklas Hjalmarsson should won’t be back tonight after missing the trip to St. Louis with a ‘head-injury’. Jordan Hendry will start in his place.

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Blackhawks News And Notes; World Junior’s Start Today

December 26th, 2009 by Leigh Michael Dengis

News…

- Bryan Bickell was recalled (again) this morning, and will be in Nashville for tonight’s game against the Predators. Per usual, this means Ben Eager will be held out of the lineup with an undisclosed ‘upper-body’ injury. Ben Eager and Cam Barker will return to the lineup, but Kris Versteeg and Niklas Hjalmarsson will be out of the lineup due to feeling sick.

- The Rockford IceHogs recalled goaltender Alec Richards, forwards Adam Hobson and Maxime Tanguay (non-rostered) from the Toledo Walleye.

…and Notes

- The World Junior Hockey Championships start today, and the lone Blackhawks prospect to participate in the tournament is Sweden’s Marcus Kruger. For those of you who have the NHL Network you can catch Sweden play the Czech Republic at 5:30pm Central – the game will be played earlier in the day. Shawn Lalonde and Dylan Olsen were cut from the Canadian camp.

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

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Bickell Returned To The IceHogs

December 24th, 2009 by Leigh Michael Dengis

Bryan Bickell was reassigned to Rockford this afternoon. Last night marked his tenth game with the Blackhawks on the season, and he could get another cup of coffee as soon as this weekend – deepening on Ben Eager’s health. He’s missed the last four games with an upper-body injury.

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

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Quick Sharks Recap, Eager Update

December 23rd, 2009 by Leigh Michael Dengis

The Blackhawks did almost everything right last night vs. the Sharks, but it was just one of those games where the opponents goalie stood on his head. Evgeni Nabokov stopped forty-five of the forty-seven shots faced. He even staved off the late third period surge – led by Marian Hossa and Patrick Kane. Nabokov did all he could to prevent another embarrassing five-goal loss at the hands of Blackhawks.

I hate repeating my self, but something has to happen with this power play. Seven times the Blackhawks had the man-advantage, and each time they failed to convert. Suggestion, take Dustin Byfuglien off the unit. Really, it’s all I want for Christmas.

Eager Update – Ben Eager’s upper-body injury is not related to the concussion-like symptoms that kept him out of thirteen games earlier this season. Whatever it is that ails him, Eager hasn’t been nearly as affective on the fourth line as he was last season.

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