Posts Tagged ‘Ben Eager’

Lineup Notes vs. Sharks

December 22nd, 2009 by Leigh Michael Dengis

The last time the Blackhawks played the San Jose Sharks they beat them big in their own arena 7-2. It was also Marian Hossa’s debut with the ‘Hawks – he started his season off by scoring two goals in the game. There is nothing the Sharks would like to then return the favor by beating the Blackhawks in the United Center. Going into tonight’s match-up, the two teams are tied with forty-nine points atop the Western Conference.

Tonight’s lineup notes – Cristobal Huet will start tonight in net. He is coming off his second consecutive shutout, and will have his work cut out for him as he tries to make it three.

Cam Barker is out again with a lower-body injury, and Jordan Hendry will fill in for him on the defensive pairing. Hendry has seen his playing time increase filling in on defense and on the fourth line as a winger. He’s played well in both roles, and has become a useful player to Coach Quenneville.

Bryan Bickell has been recalled from Rockford, so that means Ben Eager will be out of the lineup for the third consecutive game. Eager is probably suffering from concussion-like symptoms again.

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

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Blackhawks 3, Red Wings 0

December 21st, 2009 by Leigh Michael Dengis

Even with seven players on the shelf I thought the Red Wings would show up and make this game difficult for the Blackhawks to win. That was not the case as Cristobal Huet and the Blackhawks’ defense were able to keep the Red Wings scoreless on the nightt. The defense limited Detroit to twenty shots on goal, and clear the zone of any problematic rebounds Huet gave up. This is the ‘Hawks third shutout in four games, sixth of the season and second in a row for the man from France.

The Blackhawks’ defense has been very strong this season, but that shouldn’t take anything away from the play of Huet and Antti Niemi. Shutouts aren’t anything to scoff at. The Blackhawks’ goaltending has been very affective, and so has the penalty kill. In the last ten games the ‘Hawks are 24 of 25 when shorthanded. They rank second in the league behind the Bruins with a percentage of 85.6. Only if this level of success could carry over to the power play, all would be right with the world.

Duncan Keith had another great night scoring a goal and an assist. Dustin Byfuglien scored his tenth goal of the season by just putting the puck on the net to beat Chris Osgood down low. Overall, the whole team played well.

Brian Campbell scored his second goal in as many games, and is finally playing like the seven-million-dollar-man. Something has changed in the last two games for the redhead. Campbell has been carrying the puck deep into the offensive zone, joining the rush and has just been more aggressive. I doubt it is the new batch of sticks, but possibly has something to do with playing in front of brass of Team Canada’s Olympic team. I hope Campbell can keep it up.

It always warms the heart when we beat the Red Wings, but this version of the team was not the real thing. The Blackhawks play the Red Wings in Detroit on Wednesday, and I would expect a tougher game.

A bit of news – Bryan Bickell was reassigned to Rockford. Depending on the health of Ben Eager he could be back with the team tomorrow night with the Blackhawks host San Jose.

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

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Bickell Recalled For Wings

December 20th, 2009 by Leigh Michael Dengis

A few lineup notes – Bryan Bickell was recalled from Rockford, again. This likely means Ben Eager will be out of tonight’s game. It’s being reported the he is battling an upper-body injury. I would expect for Niklas Hjalmarsson to be back to man the blue line, and starting in net will be Cristobal Huet.

UPDATE: Cam Barker is not in the lineup. Jordan Hendry will fill his spot on the third pairing.

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

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Niemi In Net vs. Bruins, And Hjalmarsson Out Sick

December 18th, 2009 by Leigh Michael Dengis

Antti Niemi will start in net for the Blackhawks as they host the Boston Bruins at the United Center tonight. We knew he earned more starts, but I’m a little surprised that Coach Quenneville opted to use Niemi following a Cristobal Huet shutout. Quenneville must want a fresh Huet for Detroit on Sunday.

It’s also been reported that Niklas Hjalmarsson will miss tonight’s game with the flu, but Cam Barker who left in the middle of the Blues’ game with a lower-body injury will be in the lineup. Hjalmarsson’s absence from the lineup will mean Tomas Kopecky return to his spot on the fourth line, and Jordan Hendry will see some playing time on defense

Update: Ben Eager is out, and Bryan Bickell was recalled to fill his spot on the fourth line.

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

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Kane, Down But Not Out – Blackhawks 4, Lightning 0

December 14th, 2009 by Leigh Michael Dengis

It was bound to happen sooner or later. The Blackhawks got out of their offensive funk by netting four goals against Tampa Bay last night. It was sparked by Patrick Kane’s goal in the first frame. Duncan Keith intercepted the puck in the neutral zone to find Kane ahead of him skating toward the net. Just above the circles, Kane let loose a wrist-shot to beat Antero Niittymaki. Kane played well in his six shifts (4:43). Matt Smaby cut Kane’s night short by tripping him up against the boards. Kane feel awkwardly and somehow got cut just above his eye.

Coach Quenneville stated that he doesn’t think Kane will miss the Blackhawks next game vs. St. Louis. We will find out more on the severity of the injury throughout the day, but apparently Kane has quite the shiner near his left eye. Quenneville added:

“He’s not bad. He got cut above his eye there, and they had to stitch it up and his vision was impaired, but I think he’s going to be all right.”

Last night’s game became the Marian Hossa show. He played his best game since his debut as a Blackhawk. Hossa was great on both ends of the ice. Halfway through the second period Hossa drew two defenders away from the net, and found a wide-open Ben Eager in great position to score. Hossa’s perfect pass gave Eager his second goal on the year. Later in the period Hossa scored a highlight goal late in the period to put the Blackhawks up by three. Jonathan Toews finished off the scoring with a goal of his own in the third. ‘Hawks won 4-0.

Antti Niemi earned his third shutout last night, and has sixth wins on the year. I’ve alluded to my affinity for the Finnish goaltender, and Niemi has been nothing short of impressive in his rookie campaign thus far. His value to the Blackhawks is increasing. Quenneville kept his word when he said Niemi has earned more starts, and that makes me happy.

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Kaner Turned 21 – Blackhawks 7, Flames 1

November 19th, 2009 by Leigh Michael Dengis

The Calgary Flames must hate the Blackhawks more then they did going into tonight’s match-up. The ‘Hawks swept the season series last year, knocked them out of last year’s playoffs in the first round, and came back from five down in a historic victory earlier this season. Tonight, in the first of the six-game circus road trip the ‘Hawks won big over the Flame, 7-1.

First Period – Cristobal Huet started they game off well by making some great saves in the first period, and there were some great instances of back-checking by the Blackhawks that successfully disrupted the Flames in the defensive zone. Niklas Hjalmarsson spoiled a good scoring chance for Rene Bourque as he knocked the puck to Huet while was falling to the ice.

Troy Brouwer keeps winning my heart with his play in front of the net, and his goal off on his third consecutive rebound is just one example of how he is becoming the best on the roster in that spot. In the last five games, Brouwer has three goals and three assists.

Second Period – Olli Jokinen came out of the first intermission scoring up high on Huet with a man-advantage, but Hjalmarsson answered with a huge hit on Bourque seconds later. The Blackhawks were able to rattle off five unanswered goals to break the short-lived tie. Two of the period’s goals were from Kris Versteeg, one from Andrew Ladd, Dustin Byfuglien and Patrick Kane each. Huet was solid for the rest of the period after the early goal.

Third Period – It would have been easy for the Blackhawks to coast for the rest of the game with a five-goal lead, but they kept the pressure on the Flames. Huet made some more key saves, one in particular from Jokinen on his glove side. To top it off, Tomas Kopecky set up Ben Eager for his first goal of the season.

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Welcome Back – Blackhawks 4, Kings 1

November 10th, 2009 by Leigh Michael Dengis

The Blackhawks welcomed Jonathan Toews and Ben Eager back to the team with a big 4-1 win over the Los Angeles Kings. Last night, the ‘Hawks arguably played their best game this season. There were mistakes such as turnovers in the defensive zone, but the boys clicked in so many ways last night.

Coach Quenneville line Toews up with Patrick Sharp and Dustin Byfuglien on the first line. Byfuglien, as always, didn’t do much, but Sharp had his best game of the season. He was all over the ice last night, and making plays in the offensive zone assisting on the two power play goals. One of them was on the deflection by Troy Brouwer who had a great game for himself as well. The other was on the Toews goal a couple minutes later.

It could have been the Kings ineptitude on the penalty kill, but the Blackhawks were very effective on the power play. They scored on two of the three chances with the man advantage. Tomas Kopecky was still on the power play unit, and Byfuglien saw time on the point paired with Cam Barker. I guess it’s better than having Sharp up there.

I haven’t mentioned this at all this season, but I really like watching John Madden play. He seems to enjoy the freedom the coaching staff gives him, and his lone goal – first of the game – set things off right for the Blackhawks. The line of Madden, Brouwer and Andrew Ladd works, and it should be kept together well after Marian Hossa’s debut.

The six games with out Toews were hard to watch at times, knowing that this team is so much better then their play indicated. It’s refreshing to watch a game where the Blackhawks are able to play their game and dominate almost every minute. Having Toews back in the lineup changes the dynamic of the team in a very positive way, and with the addition of Hossa in a few more weeks this team will be scary.

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Toews And Eager Return To Greet The Kings

November 9th, 2009 by Leigh Michael Dengis
Mr. Jonathan Toews

Mr. Jonathan Toews

The Blackhawks return to the United Center after a road trip, with results that were less then ideal, to play the Los Angeles Kings in tonight’s only game. There was some bad news to come out of the weekend, Dave Bolland’s lower-back problems are getting worse. He should be out for tonight’s game (second consecutive) and surgery could be an option if Bolland’s back doesn’t improve after some rest.

There is some good news today, however. Jonathan Toews and Ben Eager will return to the lineup tonight. The Blackhawks haven’t been able to roll out any consistent lines sine the Captain went down, and team is having difficulty generating chemistry with their line mates as a result. The return of Toews and Eager should help fix that, but Bolland’s absence from the lineup has led to more jumbling of the lines. Kris Versteeg will see more time at center as he did in Colorado, and Tomas Kopecky will be utilized on the third line as a winger.

The surprising Kings are led by Anze Kopitar and anchored in net by Jonathan Quick – a great name for a goalie. Kopitar, who is just tearing it up right now, leads Los Angeles in goals (13), assists (14) and points (27) of course. Quick has started every game but one for the Kings this season, and he appears to be the piece the organization has been searching for in net the last few years.

It was only a matter of time for the Kings to turn their fortunes around. A capable goalie, and the development of Kopitar and defenseman Drew Doughty have been key factors into the team’s early season performance – the veteran presence of a guy like Ryan Smyth helps too. The league needed the team based in the second biggest market in the United States to succeed, and now it appears to be the case.

Anyway, the return of Toews should provide some energy at even strength and on the power play. The Kings rank twenty-seventh in the league ok the penalty kill at 75.4%, and the ‘Hawks need to use tonight’s game as a launching pad for their play on the man-advantage. I would hope the return of Toews would remove Kopecky from power play duties.

One last thought on Bolland, the organization should treat him like they have with every other injury on the season. Take care of the injury now no matter how long it takes to mend – a healthy player is more valuable down the stretch rather than playing hurt now. If surgery is required, Bolland could miss about two months.

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Phoenix Tonight, Colorado Tomorrow

November 5th, 2009 by Leigh Michael Dengis

There wasn’t any good news in Phoenix this afternoon. Jonathan Toews and Ben Eager will not play tonight against the Coyotes – both did skate at practice, however. It will be Toews’ fifth consecutive game missed, and Eager’s twelfth. Tomorrow we could be see one or both of them return to the lineup.

It is not the ideal way to head into back-to-back games against two teams that have seen early success due to their solid goaltending. Having to suit up a defenseman, Jordan Hendry, in place of Toews and/or Eager may have worked against weaker opponents, but a front end as thin as the Blackhawks currently are means that points will be hard to come by against two of the better teams in the West.

Anyway, I’ll be heading out of town this weekend, so this entry will constitute as preview for the next two games.

After five days off, some Blackhawks got much needed rest – Duncan Keith (a lot minutes lately), Dave Bolland (lower-back) and Patrick Kane (trying to do everything himself). Hopefully the time away from games won’t disrupt the momentum Cristobal Huet gained in his last four starts – he is down to an impressive 2.29 goals-against-average.

Coach Quenneville must have addressed the horrid power play during the layoff, but somehow the utterly useless Tomas Kopecky is seeing time during power play drills in practice. Can someone tell me why Kopecky is used in the role over Bolland? We’ll see if this means he is used on the unit during the game.

I might have been in the minority in this regard, but I thought that Phoenix was a better team last season then their record indicated. A new coach, the addition of some veterans and Ilya Bryzgalov’s return to form are all part of the Coyotes good start. They will need more offense if the team hopes to remain the playoff picture.

The Avalanche have placed a lot of faith in a young core of players anchored by Paul Stastny. Colorado also gave up on Peter Budaj and handed over the reins to ex-Blackhawk and journeyman, Craig Anderson. Third overall pick of the 2009 draft, Matt Duchene, is also part of the resurgence the team is experiencing.

Points will be tough to come by against these two teams in back-to-back games with Toews on the shelf. The Blackhawks will need to shake off the rust.

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What Will The Front End Look Like In Hossa’s Debut?

November 3rd, 2009 by Leigh Michael Dengis
Hossa

Hossa

A few days ago, Tim Sassone of Daily Herald fame wrote that someone asked Coach Quenneville if the addition of Marin Hossa would disrupt team chemistry. His response:

“Absolutely not. We welcome that addition in a lot of ways.”

There are dumb questions, and that was one.

The addition of Hossa means one thing, a better team on both ends of the ice. Hossa is about three to four weeks away from returning to action, and by then Ben Eager and Jonathan Toews should be back in the lineup.

Roster decisions will be need to be made when Eager, Toews and Hossa come off the shelf – I’m guessing in that order. So what could the forward lineup look by the time Hossa makes his debut as a Chicago Blackhawk?

Eager could come off the injured reserve as soon as this Thursday. As a result Jordan Hendry will go back to being the seventh defenseman and off the fourth line. Eager’s return should provide more depth, energy and physical presence up front that the team currently lacks.

Toews return from his head injury would mean that Andrew Ebbett or Tomas Kopecky would be the healthy scratch. Ebbett may be better pushed into the role since Kopecky would be better utilized as a fourth-liner due to his size and stature. Once Hossa returns one of the two will be forced from the Blackhawks roster.

Ebbett or Kopecky haven’t been productive for the Blackhawks, and the decision to keep one of them on the NHL roster, I believe, will boil down to how much the team is willing to spend on a player that is riding the pine. Kopecky is slated to make $2.4M over the course of his two-year contract, and Ebbett is only on the books for just under $.5M this year.

If Stan Bowman opted to reassign Ebbett, he would have to clear waivers. The Ducks would be able to pick him up and send him to their AHL affiliated team. Kopecky would also have to clear waivers, and probably wouldn’t be claimed due to size of his salary. If he were picked up, no one would shed a tear – cap-space would be freed up as well.

So here is what the forward lines could look like once Hossa returns – barring any other injuries:

Hossa – Toews – Kane
Sharp – Bolland – Versteeg
Ladd – Madden – Byfuglien
Eager – Fraser – Brouwer
Ebbett

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