Posts Tagged ‘Joel Quenneville’

Where do the Blackhawks go from here?

November 8th, 2010 by Leigh Michael Dengis

It was a big night for Captain Jonathan Toews ended the Hawks’ two game skid Saturday as Andrew Ladd, Dustin Byfuglien, Brent Sopel and Ben Eager hosted their old team in Atlanta. Toews contributed to every goal in his team’s 5-4 (OT) win over the Thrashers. He has two goals, two assists and netted the first shoot-out goal. With all of the issues the Blackhawks had coming into this game, it was nice to see the face of the franchise finally step up. Patrick Kane scored two goals of his own, and added an assist.

Saturday’s game in Atlanta was more than just the Toews and Kane show. The whole team played with an edge they lost when Marian Hossa went down with an upper-body injury at home to Los Angeles five games earlier. In his stead, role players such as Viktor Stalberg, Jack Skille and Jake Dowell stepped up, but due to the lack of effort from star players, the Blackhawks went 1-3 before Saturday’s win over the Thrashers.

Over that span we learned a few things about how this organization will be run with Stan Bowman as general manager. We already knew from last year that he’ll shuffle players back-and-forth from Rockford to save a dime, but to force Coach Quenneville to field a fourth line consisted of two defenseman centered by a winger in New Jersey was a little excessive. He saved a few thousand dollars by demoting forwards Ben Smith and Ryan Potulny before the game, which they lost in impressive fashion.

Anyways, the edge that the Hawks played with on Saturday was gone by Sunday. They gave up a one goal lead in the third period when the Oilers were able to score two goals fourteen seconds apart. The Blackhawks were unable to return the favor, and handed Edmonton a 2-1 victory at the United Center. Any sort of optimism following the narrow defeat over the Thrashers vanished, and not even Marian Hossa‘s return to the lineup yesterday inspires hope. The issues that surfaced in his absence are still in the forefront.

Management appears to be detached, constantly spewing the tired rhetoric that they are pleased with the state of their team. The players have become complacent, losing yet another game they took the lead into the third period. And for some reason Quenneville continues to pencil John Scott into the lineup over more talented players. First it was Jordan Hendry on defense, and now it’s Bryan Bickell on the fourth line.

Quenneville’s reactionary move is to always meddle with line combinations, but it’s going to take more moving Tomas Kopecky from the second line to the third or abruptly ending a practice session to incite change. Getting this team to play better hockey in their own zone is like teaching a man how to fish. They will win more games as a result, and the other issues become trivial.

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Blackhawks good in losing effort to Rangers

November 2nd, 2010 by Leigh Michael Dengis

It’s been a while since I’ve had time to write a game recap, and Henrik Lundqvist got in the way of making this a pleasant affair, despite the optimistic tone of this post. He was amazing, and is easily my favorite goaltender in the league. Lundqvist is the Rangers, and he proved that tonight fending off a determined Hawks offense, stopping 33 of the 35 shots faced. Without him they’d be at the bottom of the barrel that is the eastern conference.

The Blackhawks were able to set up shop in the offensive zone, but had a difficult time getting shots through traffic. When they did, there was Lundqvist. The Hawks were only able to net a couple goals due to a couple bounces that when their way. The First goal was deflected by Tomas Kopecky on the power play, and the second came from Patrick Kane at a tough angle where the puck trickled through the five hole.

There is never such a thing as a good loss when you’re the defending Stanley Cup Champions, but there were a few positives to come out of this game. Brain Campbell looked good in his season debut, and the defense was better as a whole with him in the lineup. He was a culprit in the Hawks ability to spend as much time in the offensive zone as they did on Monday.

Even before Campbell returned in New York, the Blackhawks’ transition game has shown signs of progression. Defenseman are making better passes, and the forwards that are new to the team are learning their importance to the break-out effort at this level. Players are beginning to find their role, and this version of the Blackhawks is close to discovering the identity or chemistry we often hear about.

Due to all the roster turnover this off-season, growing pains were expected. Anyone who thought the Hawks were going to hit the ground running, were just fooling themselves. Coach Quenneville will right the ship, and is slowly getting everyone on buy in. He has his team controlling the flow of the game, and working hard on the back check. The Hawks limited the Rangers to just 23 shots against, which was the third consecutive sub-30 shot game by an opponent.

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Joel Quenneville jumps to conclusions

May 3rd, 2010 by Leigh Michael Dengis

This morning I received an e-mail from my source in the front office. He told me that assistant coach Mike Haviland caught Coach Q using a ‘Jump to Conclusions’ mat Sunday morning. Haviland came in to work to pick up a jacket he left behind after the 5-1 loss to the Canucks. My source said that Quenneville was in ready position to jump when Haviland entered his office. Apparently he was livid with what he saw, and that a head coach would make decisions in this manner. Haviland went to Stan Bowman first thing this morning to file a complaint. My source was able to take a picture with his camera phone before it was incinerated, and then passed it on to me. Now, I pass it on to you.

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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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Ding Dong Tkachuk Is Gone! – Blackhawks 6, Blues 5

April 8th, 2010 by Leigh Michael Dengis

Leader of the knuckle-draggers, Cam Janssen

That Blackhawks reached another milestone last night. The 6-5 victory over the delightful St. Louis Blues gave the Blackhawks a total of 109 points this season, which is a new franchise record with two more games left to play. The organization’s previous high came in the 1970-71 and 1971-72 seasons at 107 points. This year’s squad can add to the total with two more games to be played this season.

Anyways, it’s always a pleasure to have the Blues grace us with a visit to the UC. How can anyone NOT love the Blues’ merry band of knuckle-draggers? (Sarcasm is always the highest form of humor). The best news from last night, however, was Keith Tkachuck’s retirement announcement. Yep, this blogger danced in the streets and howled at the moon. My favorite Tkachuk career moment took place this season – when he scored a goal with his face against the Blachkaws January 2nd. Too bad my boy Troy Brouwer and Tomas Kopecky couldn’t be the lineup for the festivities. Brouwer was attending to a personal matter, and Kopecky was sidelined the oh-so vague ‘upper-body’ injury.

The game itself didn’t start well for the Blackhawks. The Blues scored first, but the ‘Hawks were able to rattle off six un-answered goals in the first and second periods to take the 6-1 lead. A few unusual suspects were able to get in on the scoring. Duncan Keith struck first, then Ben Eager scored moments after leaving the penalty box and Bryan Bickell scored his third of the season. Kris Versteeg scored his nineteenth and the team’s thirteenth shorthanded goal of the season. Versteeg had three assists too. Andrew Ladd and Jordan Hendry finished off the scoring with a goal each.

In the third period, the Blackhawks sat back and let the Blues get back into this one. The Blues’ are known for playing dirty (well, at least against the Blackhawks), and that style of play was epitomized when Brad Winchester ran Marian Hossa into the boards. As the game went on the officiating didn’t step in, and the Blackhawks let the central division foe get under their skin. The shoddy play that the Blackhawks exuded at the end of the game culminated at the moment Dustin Byfuglien slashed Andy McDonald on a breakaway with under a minute left to play. Byfuglien’s actions resulted in a penalty shot (Brad Boyes scored to make it 6-5) and received a game misconduct. The Blackhawks held on to win.

Coach Qunneville has to have his team playing smarter hockey. There is the obvious excuse of fatigue in the second game of a back-to-back, but I won’t buy it. The Blackhawks can’t let themselves lower to the Blues’ game. It’s absolutely pathetic that Davis Payne (head coach) lets his team resort to mass-goonery when they are outmatched. As ugly as this game got, however, I will always relish a victory over any team from St. Louis.

Next up, the Blackhawks will match-up against the playoff bound Colorado Avalanche on Saturday. Hossa left the game in the first period after the hit, but hopefully it was a precautionary move. Quenneville believes Kopecky won’t miss any significant time with his injury, but the outlook isn’t as good for Kim Johnsson after suffering a concussion weeks ago. The verdict is still out on his eventual return to the lineup.

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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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The Penalty Kill

January 28th, 2010 by Leigh Michael Dengis

Everybody should know by now that the Blackhawks have one of the best penalty-killing units in the league. They currently rank fourth (85.6%), and have held the top spot at one point. Tonight’s opponent, the San Jose Sharks, has the best penalty kill in the league with percentage of 87.9. I don’t think it takes a rocket scientist to realize that there is a correlation between either team’s ability to keep opponents from scoring with the man-advantage and winning games.

In the case of the Blackhawks, as many dumb penalties it seems the team takes they have had the third fewest shorthanded instances (174) in the league. Combine that with their penalty-kill percentage and they have only allowed twenty-five power-play goals this season – third fewest in the league.

There is no questioning the value of a goalie to the penalty kill, but it has to be one of the most overused hockey clichés. If a team has piss poor defense, the goalie has no shot of seeing any amount of success on the kill. If the Blackhawks weren’t able to control the puck like they do at even strength or while shorthanded the level of success on the penalty kill would be significantly less. Not only does that keep the other team from setting up shop in the Blackhawks’ zone on the kill, they have scored eight shorthanded goals this season – leading the league, and one ahead of the Sharks.

Coach Quenneville’s use of capable two-way forwards such as Jonathan Toews, Patrick Sharp, and Marian Hossa on the kill has attributed to the offense along with solid defense while shorthanded. Of the eight shorthanded goals, three were scored in the 7-2 victory over the Sharks in San Jose – one each from Hossa, Sharp and Troy Brouwer. The seasonal breakdown is Hossa leading with three, Kris Versteeg with two and Brouwer, Sharp and Duncan Keith with one.

An interesting stat – Cristobal Huet has been in net for every one of the Blackhawks’ shorties.

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Blackhawks 5, Ducks 2

January 4th, 2010 by Leigh Michael Dengis

Antti Niemi was minutes away from earning his fifth shutout of the season, but he let in two meaningless goals to Petteri Nokelainen in the third period of the 5-2 victory over the Anaheim Ducks. Niemi was solid for the majority of the game, however. He came up with the saves he needed to make, and sparked the rush leading to the Blackhawks first goal. Niemi was able to recover in time – after being out of position – to his left side to stop a Corey Perry snapshot. Moments later Kris Versteeg deked once to his right and beat J.S. Giguere.

Patrick Kane had a productive night setting up Troy Brouwer and Jonathan Toews for two can’t miss goals. Each time Kane came from behind the net to find both of his line mates in great position to score. He’s done well starting out from behind the opposing team’s net to either make a great pass to an open man, or snipe a shot past the goalie. Kane is also in the middle of an eight-game point streak.

Extending his own point streak to three games, Marian Hossa scored two goals on the evening. Maybe it’s just me, but his play looks effortless. Hossa’s first goal was calmly squeezed one past Giguere with a shot that didn’t leave the ice. His second goal was possible because of the screen of Giguere by Andrew Ladd and Patrick Sharp. Hossa shot at a wide-open left side to score.

Keeping with the theme of streaks, the Blackhawks have scored on the power play for the seventh straight game. During that stretch they have gone eight of twenty-five (32%) with the man-advantage. With the ‘Hawks up 5-0, Coach Quenneville opted to use the fourth line on the power play. It’s not the first time he’s done it this season, but it just shows the level of class Quenneville has.

Next up, the Blackhawks will host Martin Havlat and the Minnesota Wild.

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A Couple Bright Spots In Last Night’s 5-4 Loss To Dallas

December 30th, 2009 by Leigh Michael Dengis

Antti Niemi couldn’t stop the bleeding when he was brought into the game to replacing Cristobal Huet after he let in his fourth goal – a bad bounce off Troy Brouwer’s skate – early in the second period. It’s almost laughable how bad of a night it was for Huet. He needs to put this performance behind him, and drown any memories of this game in the bottle of cognac he keeps in his equipment bag.

The 5-4 loss can’t be blamed solely on Huet. There were some costly turnovers, and shoddy defense – see a stationary Brent Sopel getting beat by Steve Ott on his way to scoring the game winning goal. As a result the Blackhawks penalty kill took a hit last night when Dallas went two of five with the man-advantage. They fell to 86.5% (from 87.5%) on the kill, and are tied with San Jose for second in the league.

A few good things took place in last night’s loss to Dallas. The Blackhawks were dominant offensively in the first period out shooting the Stars twenty-one to eight. They were able to escape the period leading 3-2 because of the great play in offensive zone. The ‘Hawks player movement, puck movement and presence in front of the net was exciting to watch.

Coach Quenneville can look at that and the power play as bright spots from last night. The power play unit went two of four, and with the man-advantage the Blackhawks have scored five times in the last four games.

Next up, the Blackhawks will face the New Jersey Devils at home. Puck movement will be key, as Jacques Lemaire will deploy the trap to stymie the ‘Hawks fast paced offense.

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Nashville Yesterday, Nashville Today And The Swedish Front

December 27th, 2009 by Leigh Michael Dengis

The Blackhawks put more space between them and Nashville with a 4-1 win over the second-place Predators last night. Six points separate the two Western Conference teams, and the ‘Hawks hope to add to the lead when they host their half of the home-and-home series tonight at the United Center. This match-up will be the last time the Blackhawks will face the Predators this regular season.

An observation from last night’s game was the Blackhawks dominance over their Central Division foe. It appears as though Coach Quenneville has everyone buying into what he is selling. First, Brent Sopel starts the season by not sucking. Then Dustin Byfuglien shows that he has the ability to beat a defender on a breakaway, and has played well since being demoted to the third line. Brian Campbell finally looks like the seven-million-dollar-man by scoring goals and skating all over the ice surface. Now, Tomas Kopecky proves to have some value by tallying two assists last night.

Penalty killing continues to be stellar for the Blackhawks, and the added scoring threat on the kill with Marian Hossa and Jonathan Toews will put teams on there heals with the man-advantage. There were a few good rushes and scoring chances while shorthanded last night. The power play has been effective in the last two match-ups – going one of three in each game. Byfuglien scored the lone power play goal on a wrist-shot from the blue line. He’s making me look bad after I suggested removing Byfuglien off the power play the other day.

On the Swedish Front –

Team Sweden neglected to add Hjalmarsson to their Olympic roster. He’s still Chicago’s little secret. The Swedes opted for a veteran squad. Remember Magnus Johansson? He made the team.

Swedish prospect Marcus Kruger had an assist, two penalty minutes and a plus/minus rating of +1 in the 10-1 victory over the Czech Republic at the World Junior Championships.

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