Posts Tagged ‘Marian Hossa’

Jeremy Morin replaces Marian Hossa, tallies assist

November 30th, 2010 by Leigh Michael Dengis

In case you’ve been living under a rock or missed tonight’s 7-5 victory over the much loved St. Louis Blues, the news regarding Marian Hossa‘s health is of the breaking variety. Hossa was helped from the ice after colliding with defenseman and perennial whipping-boy Nick Boynton at Monday’s practice. It was announced today that he will miss up to three weeks with a lower-body injury.

This is the second time this season Hossa will miss a handful of games due to injury. A clean hit by Jarret Stoll in the October 27 match against the Kings forced him to miss five games. In his stead, the Blackhawks re-called forward Jeremy Morin from Rockford (AHL) this morning.

In his third game with the Blackhawks this season, Morin tallied his first NHL point against the Blues. He assisted on Troy Brouwer’s power-play goal in the second period. Morin dumped the puck into the offensive zone, which took a favorable bounce off the boards, leaving the net wide-open for Brouwer to tap it in. The 19-year-old had a plus-two rating, a five-minute fighting major and had 11:38 of ice-time (a career high).

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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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Jeremy Morin to make NHL debut in Atlanta

November 5th, 2010 by Leigh Michael Dengis

The Blackhawks have re-called forward Jeremy Morin from Rockford (AHL) this morning, and will suit up against the Atlanta Thrashers on Saturday. Ironically, Morin will make his NHL debut against the team that selected him 45th overall in the second round of the 2009 entry draft. The Hawks acquired him in the deal that sent Dustin Byfuglien to Atlanta this summer.

In eight games with the IceHogs, Morin has three goals and an assist with a plus-one rating. He missed two games due to a lower-body injury he sustained in October, but he returned to the lineup last weekend.

Morin will be a welcome addition to the roster for a myriad of reasons. The most substantial being that Coach Quenneville won’t have to put two defenseman on the fourth line as wingers. One was already too many. Morin should also inject some life into an offense that has looked flat, and fill-in for Marian Hossa on the power-play unit. With Rockford, three of his points came on the power play.

Projected forward lines –

Stalberg – Toews – Kane
Brouwer – Sharp – Morin
Kopecky – Dowell – Bickell
Scott – Pisani – Skille

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Ben Smith to replace the injured Marian Hossa

October 29th, 2010 by Leigh Michael Dengis

Ben Smith at rookie tournament in London, Ont. (Claus Andersen/Getty Images)

The Blackhawks recalled 22-year-old forward Ben Smith from Rockford to replace Marian Hossa in the lineup. In case you missed it, Hossa was injured in Wednesday night’s game against the Kings, and will be sidelined for a couple of weeks with an upper-body injury. Smith will make his NHL debut against the Oilers tonight in front of the home crowd. Stan Bowman and company likely bypassed some of the bigger names currently stationed in Rockford because promoting Smith comes cheap.

Smith is a gritty, two-way forward who will have no objection to mucking-it-up down low. The Hawks signed him to a two-year contract following the Golden Eagles’ National Championship run, where he was named the Most Outstanding Player of the Frozen Four tournament. In eight games with the IceHogs this season, Smith has one goal and three assists with a minus-3 rating. We have him ranked as the #18 prospect in the Blackhawks’ system.

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Marian Hossa out a couple weeks with upper-body injury

October 28th, 2010 by Leigh Michael Dengis

Marian Hossa left part-way through the second period in Wednesday night’s 3-1 victory over the Kings, after he was hit by forward Jarret Stoll. Initial reports have Hossa missing two weeks with an upper-body injury. Got to love the vague description. Anyways, it sounds like the injury is to either his shoulder or arm. Aggravating his surgically repaired shoulder would be the last thing the Blackhawks need right now.

Loosing a two-way winger of Hossa’s caliber will obviously hurt on both ends of the ice. Coach Quenneville said a player be called-up from Rockford (AHL) to replace right winger before Friday’s game against the Oilers at home. Jeremy Morin would be the ideal choice, but he was hurt over the weekend.

Campbell eying his return

Brian Campbell could return to action as soon as this weekend from a sprained right knee. He started skating over the weekend, and has been practicing with the team. Campbell will play with a knee brace for the remainder of the season, which they say won’t hinder his skating and speed.

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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.

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Eight fantasy relevant Blackhawks, plus sleepers

October 1st, 2010 by Leigh Michael Dengis

Fantasy drafts are well underway, and the Blackhawks have eight players that should find their way on to a team in every possible format. For the purpose of this article we’ll stick with the standard 6 x 4 category league. Goals, assists, plus/minus, penalty-minutes power play points and shots on goal for skaters, and wins, goals-against average, save percentage and shutouts for goalies.

Patrick Kane (RW) – He led the Blackhawks in scoring last year, and is poised to break the century mark in his fourth season. Kane has pin-point accuracy with his wrist shot, and could see 35-plus goals on Chicago’s top line. Not much of a scrapper, but he can produce in each category. Kane has the potential to be the best fantasy right winger this year. (2009-10: 30 G, 58 A, +16, 20 PIM, 29 PPP and 261 SOG)

Marian Hossa (RW) – Despite playing on the second line, Hossa can produce a point-per-game, had the potential to reach the 40-goal plateau again and rack up the shots on goal. He has dropped on many draft boards because he only played about two-thirds of the season (57 games) recovering from shoulder surgery. Hossa would be a steal if he fell to third round. (24 G, 27 A, +24, 18 PIM, 7 PPP and 199 SOG)

Jonathan Toews (C) – Notoriously a slow starter, the fantasy hockey world hopes Toews’ hot stick that propelled Team Canada to a gold medal and Blackhawks to the Stanley cup hasn‘t cooled. Two seasons ago he was snakebit, and last year he suffered from post-concussion symptoms. Despite playing at the deepest position, you’re going to want to grab him early. Expect big things from Captain Serious. (25 G, 43 A, +22, 47 PIM, 22 PPP and 202 SOG).

Duncan Keith (D) – He may not be the fantasy juggernaut that is Mike Green, but the reigning Norris Trophy winner will be a top point producer on defense. There isn’t much selling needed when it comes to Keith. He’s one of the hardest working players out of the ice each night, and he won’t have any trouble living up the lofty expectations. Keith it near or at the top in every category. (14 G, 55 A, +21, 55 PIM and 213 SOG)

Patrick Sharp (C,LW) – Playing on the Blackhawks’ second line with Hossa for a full season will add to this already solid fantasy value. As will the duel position eligibility at center and left wing. Sharp will help owners across the boards, minus the penalty minutes. The pretty boy doesn’t like to get his hands dirty. (25 G, 41 A, +24, 28 PIM, 16 PPP and 266 SOG)

Marty Turco (G) – Turco is no longer the elite fantasy goalie he once was at the ripe age of 35, and is far from worthy of being drafted anywhere in the first five rounds. He’ll be productive for the Blackhawks because of their puck control style of play. Turco will be a great No. 2 goaltender on any fantasy roster, and should start anywhere between 55 to 65 games. (22 W, 2.72 GAA, .913 SV% and 4 SO)

Brian Campbell (D) – 2009-10 was a bit of a down season for the puck moving defenseman. Owners can normally rely on Campbell for 50-plus points this year. He was forced to miss a handful of games down the stretch because of a broken collarbone. Campbell will be the quarterback of the first power-play unit, and see around 20 minutes a night per usual. (7 G, 31 A, +18, 18 PIM, 11 PPP and 131 SOG)

Brent Seabrook (D) – Much of what Seabrook does on the ice doesn’t translate to the fantasy game, and he will never the sexiest fantasy defenseman. He’s still young, but with five full seasons in the league don’t expect a jump in offensive production. Seabrook will have a point total in the 30s, but his stellar plus/minus rating gives him value. He will also rack up a decent amount of penalty minutes and see time on the power-play unit. (6 G, 24 A, +20, 59 PIM, 6 PPP and 129 SOG)

The Sleepers –

Troy Brouwer (RW) – Brouwer will have the role of being the muscle somewhere within the top two lines in Chicago. Coach Quenneville will need him to battle in the corners and in front of the net each night. As a result his penalty minutes and goal totals should be on the rise this year. Brouwer could see time on the power-play as well. (22 G, 18 A, +8, 66 PIM, 13 PPP and 116 SOG)

Dave Bolland (C) – There might not be anyone on this roster with as much to prove as Bolland at 24-years-old. There are lofty expectations for the pivot, who signed a long-term deal with the Blackhawks last summer. Bolland is coming off a season where he missed 43 games due to back surgery, and showed signs of what could be. From all accounts, Bolland is going into the season healthy. Oh, and there is a chance he centers the second line with Hossa and Sharp. (6 G, 10 A, +5, 28 PIM, 2 PPP and 52 SOG)

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Another bout with mass hysteria

August 12th, 2010 by Leigh Michael Dengis

It’s been a couple days since the ruling on Ilya Kovalchuk’s 17-year contract with the New Jersey Devils came down, which sided in favor of league’s grievance. Richard Bloch, the abattoir arbitrator, got it right. Kovalchuk’s contract was an obvious attempt to circumvent the salary cap. He would be 44 when his contract expires, and in the final five season’s of the deal he was slated to make $550,000, lowering his cap hit significantly. So, the league made an example of the Kovalchuk deal in an attempt to put the kybosh on deals such as these in the future.

Well, Bloch listed Marian Hossa’s 12-year contract he signed last year as one of four players – footnoted in the 20-page document – with contracts that resemble that of Kovalchuk’s. This, of course, had the natives clamoring that the sky is falling, once again – running around in a state of fear, much like chicken does when its head is cut off. They take to twitter to spread panic, and feed on articles written by fear mongers such as Larry Brooks (I hate myself for giving this guy some clicks). The natives do this before having one original, rational thought.

The league would be doing themselves a great disservice if they opted repeal Hossa’s contract. He already played one season on his deal. Just imaging the league-wide fallout it would create. It could potentially turn into a witch-hunt. The league had its chance to voice air and grievances regarding any contract before they approve it – like they did with Ilya Kovalchuk.

Bill Daly, the leagues deputy sheriff, already investigated the Hossa deal after it was approved last summer, but the story seemed to vanish into thin air. A month later, the league approved Luongo’s questionable long-term contract with the Canucks. Although some reports say contracts such as these are still under investigation, consider everything prior to Monday’s ruling grandfathered in to the new era.

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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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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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