Posts Tagged ‘Troy Brouwer’

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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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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Next – Blackhawks vs. Canucks series review

May 12th, 2010 by Leigh Michael Dengis

Luongo exits stage left (AP Photo)

Oh man, this feels good. The Blackhawks ousted those Canucks from the playoffs for the second year in a row. To paraphrase Pat Foley and Eddie Olczyk, there are some very happy humans in Chicago with an extra bounce in their step today. What warms my heart the most is that Ryan Kesler was virtually invisible for the entire series. Anyways, the semi-final round between (2) Blackhawks and (3) Canucks is in the books, so here’s your series review.

Game #1 – Canucks 5, Blackhawks 1 Not the way the Blackhawks wanted to start the semi-final series against a good Vancouver team. It was so bad that there was a Cristobal Huet sighting. It was so bad I don’t want to write about the game beyond this point. Canucks took series lead 1-0

Game #2 – Blackhawks 4, Canucks 2 Five minutes into the game the Blackhawks were down 2-0, but Antti Niemi stopped the bleeding and settled down after Brent Seabrook scored seven minutes into the game. The Blackhawks learned they need to create traffic in front of the net in order to beat Roberto Luongo. Patrick Sharp’s shorthanded goal gave his team the spark they needed to steal this game from the Canucks. Seabrook and Sharp would have been better candidates for the ‘First Star’ over Kris Versteeg. Blackhawks tied series up at 1-1

Game #3 – Blackhawks 5, Canucks 2 Coach Q continued to put pressure on the Canucks’ defense and goaltender in Game #2. He moved Dustin Byfuglien back to forward (fourth line in Game #1, defense in Game #2) on the first line with Toews and Kane. It worked. Byfuglien notched a hat trick, and played the best game of his young career. He was physical, determined and battled in front of the net for rebounds. Blackhawks took series lead 2-1

Game #4 – Blackhawks 7, Canucks 4 Captain Serious, Jonathan Toews, followed Byfuglien’s hat trick with one of his own. He had a total of five points in the win. It was made possible due to the attention Vancouver paid to Byfuglien due to his performance in the previous game. I died a little inside admitting that. The Canucks were undisciplined, and the Blackhawks capitalized by scoring on four of the eight power-play opportunities. Blackhawks up 3-1

Game #5 – Canucks 4, Blackhawks 1 The Blackhawks abandoned the style of play that allowed them to beat the Canucks in the last three games. They didn’t create much traffic in front of Luongo, and he had an easy night in net. Blackhawks still up 3-2

Game #6 – Blackhawks 5, Canucks 1 My unhealthy obsession with Troy Brouwer has been well documented in tens of posts on this very blog, and last night my boy Troy tugged at everyone’s heart strings when he scored the first goal of the game. He hasn’t been the same player since he missed the final four games of the season to be with his ailing father. Troy, I know you don’t read this crappy blog, but my thoughts are with you and your family. Blackhawks win series 4-2

Next up, Coach Q will prepare his squad for the San Jose Sharks in the Western Conference Final showdown. This was where the Blackhawks made their exit last year. Thanks to the Sharks, there won’t be a rematch against the Evil Doers of Detroit (sarcasm-o-meter at zero). At the time this was written, the date and time for Game #1 between the Sharks and Blackhawks isn’t set. We must be patient and wait for the East to finish the second round games. The NHL could learn something from the NBA when it comes to post-season scheduling.

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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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Blackhawks 4, Flames 1

April 4th, 2010 by Leigh Michael Dengis

My boy Troy beat the Kipper

With today’s victory the Blackhawks clinched the central division title and tied the franchise record with their forty-ninth wins in a season with four games to go. It was the first time the organization has held the top spot in the division since the 1992-93 season.

Per usual, the ‘Hawks dominated the Calgary Flames on their way to a 4-1 victory. In the last two years the Blackhawks have owned the Flames – to say the least – going 8-0-0 and ousting them from the playoffs last year. Sunday’s win could have ruined Calgary’s chances of overtaking the eighth and final playoff spot in the west with three games left in the season – the Avalanche have five games (situation when writing this post) left to play. There must be so many kinds of hate coming from Flame fans towards the Blackhawks right about now.

Anyways, the goaltending today was great. Antti Niemi looks so comfortable in net right now. He gave up a few bad rebounds, but the defense was there to bail him out. The only blemish on the afternoon was when defenseman Ian White skated into the Blackhawks’ zone virtually untouched on his way to beat Niemi. Every facet of their game (minus the power play) was in working order.

The first two goals scored by Tomas Kopecky and Troy Brouwer was due to their conscious play in front Calgary’s goalie. It was Kopecky’s tenth goal of the season (a career high). Patrick Kane beat Miikka Kiprusoff on his stick side with a wicked wrist-shot from the slot in the second period, and Dustin Byfuglien scored in the third frame for the his first since returning to the blue line.

Next up, the Blackhawks will face the Dallas Stars this Tuesday. With four games in seven days to close out the season, I wonder if Coach Quenneville will give some players rest going forward.

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The Thin Blue Line – Blackhawks 3, Kings 0

March 19th, 2010 by Leigh Michael Dengis

Big Buff was solid on defense.

Coach Quenneville didn’t have much to work with on the blue line last night. Three of the Blackhawks six regular defensemen were out of commission. We know Brian Campbell will be out for the rest of the regular season, Kim Johnsson is day-to-day and no timetable has been set for Brent Seabrook’s return. So in order to fill out an already thin blue line, Dustin Byfuglien took the ice at his natural position on defense, and he looked rather comfortable. The defense was tight, limiting Antti Niemi’s workload to a miniscule seventeen shots and a 3-0 shutout (his fifth) of the Kings. Niemi didn’t have to stand on his head, but made the saves he needed to make.

Not only were the Blackhawks good in their own zone, they were on the attack all night tallying three goals on thirty-seven shots. My boy Troy Brouwer scored the first goal of the game in the second period and his twentieth of the year. He was reunited with Jonathan Toews and Patrick Kane on the first line. Tomas Kopecky padded the ‘Hawks lead by scoring two goals in the third period, and earned him self a pat on the back.

The officiating crew was the same two refs and same two linesmen from Wednesday’s game in Anaheim were they blew a couple big calls – James Wisniewski‘s hit on Seabrook that earned him an eight-game suspension and Corey Perry’s shove of Brent Sople that led to Saku Koivu’s game-winning tally. They made a few calls obviously in favor of the Blackhawks last night. The one that stands out the most was giving Raitis Ivanans two-minutes for roughing on top of the five-minute fighting major when Ben Eager clearly threw the first punch. Anyways, I’m not complaining.

Next up, the Blackhawks will travel to the desert to play the Phoenix Coyotes on Saturday. By then we should hear more on Seabrook’s situation, and more on Johnsson’s day-to-day status.

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Versteeg Earns Milkshake: Blackhawks 4, Stars 3 (SO)

February 10th, 2010 by Leigh Michael Dengis

Versteeg and Ladd about to hug it out after shootout victory

Attempting to watch a hockey game at my girlfriend’s place usually goes over well, but I think the long season is starting to take a toll on her. A show about of some vapid housewives located in the continental United States was on. She already saw that episode two times, but apparently she had to watch it again. After a minute or two of bickering, I was able to put the game on. Chalk one up for me.

Now, I wouldn’t put it past her, but well into the first period I think she started to distract me on purpose. She proceeded to tell me about her day and asked about our plans for Valentine’s Day. How dare she. Everything else takes a backseat to hockey, right? I doubt it bothered her one bit that my gaze was diverted from the television when Patrick Kane scored his two goals in the period. Not much happened in the second period, but by the third she fell asleep on the couch next to me.

The Blackhawks took the lead early in the third period when my boy Troy Brouwer scored his eighteenth goal of the season. Marian Hossa shot wide of the net, and the puck bounced off the boards right to Brouwer. As a result Marty Turco was out of position, and Brouwer scored with relative ease. Later in the period Loui Eriksson tied the game at 3-3 for Dallas. Our Norris caliber defenseman, Duncan Keith, provided no resistance in front of the net as he watched Dallas find the open man to beat Antti Niemi. So, off to overtime they went.

Halfway through the extra period Keith was called for hooking, and the Blackhawks were down four men to three for two minutes. The penalty kill has been great this season, but the ‘Hawks already surrendered a goal while down a man in the first period last night. Due to the solid play of Niemi and Brent Sopel, the Blackhawks kept the Stars scoreless to take the game to a shootout.

By this time my girlfriend woke up and immediately made some snide remark about the game going into yet another shootout. It took five rounds for either team to finally score when Kris Versteeg (her favorite player for some reason) beat Turco to win the game. Someone should go out and buy him a milkshake. The Blackhawks defeated the Stars 4-3 (SO), and the game was over. Chalk one up for her.

Next up, the Blackhawks will host the Kovalchuk-less Atlanta Thrashers at the United Center on Saturday. Coach Quenneville will relish the three-day layoff so some of his guys can get some rest. Ben Eager is day-to-day with a ‘lower-body’ injury, and Colin Fraser and John Madden left last night’s game early with injuries as well.

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Brouwer Pouwer: Blackhawks 4, Sharks 3 (OT)

January 29th, 2010 by Leigh Michael Dengis

I think my unhealthy infatuation with my boy Troy Brouwer is starting to scare my girlfriend. If you read this blog occasionally you’d be scared too. All kidding aside, the former seventh-round draft pick has been a great fit on the first line. Brouwer is a smart, hard-working, Kokanee-drinking power forward that thrives in front of the net and against the boards. Last night in San Jose, my affection for Brouwer grew stronger when he scored the game-winning goal in overtime.

The way he scored the goal to clinch the 4-3 victory over the Sharks is just another example of the confidence and improved overall play from Brouwer. He went for the slap shot, saw that it wasn’t a good scoring opportunity and skated around the defense to beat Evgeni Nabokov from the slot. No longer can he be criticized for his stone hands or lack of skating ability. Yea, his point total is a result of playing with Patrick Kane and Jonathan Toews, but he has earned every goal and assist.

Anyway, back to last night’s game. The Blackhawks came out strong in the first period scoring three straight goals in the first ten minutes of the game, and that was all the scoring the ‘Hawks could muster in regulation. The Sharks took over the game shortly after when Joe Pavelski scored the first of his two goals just shy of the twelve-minute mark. The next two periods belonged to the Sharks as they controlled the puck and pressured the Blackhawks in their zone the rest of the night.

With San Jose pressing in the final two periods Cristobal Huet and the defense limited the potent Sharks to only two more goals. They were contesting the Sharks every opportunity they had and put their bodies in the line of fire. Duncan Keith, Niklas Hjalmarsson and Brent Sopel all took a fair share of abuse from the vulcanized rubber puck.

Huet was solid and came up with some great saves last night. I’m never one to come up with excuses for the francophone, but Sharks second and third shots were a result of too much traffic in front of the net. Huet didn’t have much a chance to stop either shot. Because of his performance, the Blackhawks were able to take this one to overtime, and come away with two points with the win.

This game lived up to the hype. The two best teams in the West put on a show for those who stayed up late to watch the whole game. Next up, the Blackhawks will travel to the East Coast for Saturday’s game against the Hurricanes. It’s the last game on the eight-game road trip. Cam Ward has been hot since he came of the injury reserve, so this won’t be the cakewalk some believe it to be.

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Blackhawks 4, Oilers 2

January 27th, 2010 by Leigh Michael Dengis

Seeing Jeff Deslauriers on the other end of the ice last night had the Blackhawks licking their chops. They could smell the blood in the water, but weren’t ravenous enough. The ‘Hawks didn’t have to play their best game to beat the Oilers, and they didn’t. Still, they had their way in Edmonton and took this game 4-2. It was that apparent this game was theirs to lose when Jonathan Toews scored the first goal of the game just forty-four seconds into the game.

After Toews’ goal the Blackhawks rattled off three more in the second period to extend their lead to 4-0. All night the Blackhawks were deep in the offensive zone with little resistance from the Oilers’ defense. Patrick Kane’s second assist of the night – he set up Toews’ goal as well – happened because he was left untouched as he skated around the offensive zone at will to set up Troy Brouwer. Dustin Byfuglien was credited with a goal after redirect a Duncan Keith shot/pass. Keith had two assists on the night, and Marian Hossa caped off the scoring with his power play goal.

It seems as though Hossa has made playing high in the offensive zone part of his game. Whether it is with the man-advantage or at even-strength Hossa stations himself just shy of the defenseman in the opponent’s zone. His goal last night was a product of that. He watched Patrick Sharp and Andrew Ladd battle down low, and pounced on the opportunity to put the puck on twine. In that spot he can watch the play develop, keep the puck in the offensive zone and get a great jump on the back check if need be.

Anyway, with the big lead the Blackhawks started to ease the offensive pressure, and the Oilers were able to cut the lead in half. Late in the second period Fernando Pisani scored the Oilers’ first goal, and in the third period Ryan Potulny scored off a Niklas Hjalmarsson turnover in the defensive zone. Luckily the ‘Hawks were able to stave off any more offense from Edmonton due to good goaltending from Cristobal Huet. He kept this one from turning into the January 9th game in Minnesota part deux.

The victory over the Oilers gave the Blackhawks their fourth win on the eight game road trip. They are 4-2 on the trip and have two more games to go before returning home. Next are the San Jose Sharks, then on to Carolina.

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BTK Killers – Blackhawks 4, Red Wings 3 (SO)

January 17th, 2010 by Leigh Michael Dengis

This is how a Blackhawk vs. Red Wing game ought to be. Yes, shutouts are great, but with a fuller roster Detroit made this one interesting till the end. The fact that the Blackhawks came out on top in the 4-3 in the shootout was incredibly satisfying. This afternoon’s win temporarily puts the Blackhawks ahead in the West, and starts the eight-game road trip 2-0-0.

It was a solid performance from Antti Niemi – he kept the Blackhawks in this one with the Red Wings challenging him in their offensive zone all game. Niemi stopped thirty-five of the thirty-eight shots (a .921 save percentage), and came up with some big saves with his pads all game. He got beat on the Red Wings first two goals, but he didn’t have a chance to stop Patrick Eaves‘ game tying goal off a perfectly executed screen from Darren Helm. Niemi’s biggest save came in overtime on Henrik Zetterberg’s break away to take this one to a shoot out.

The first line of Troy Brouwer, Jonathan Toews and Patrick Kane were credited for two of the Blackhawks three regulation goals – each player has a different role on the line. Brouwer has improved every aspect of his game this season, but he provides a physical presence on the line. Toews is a blue-collar type player, working his ass off every minute he is on the ice in both ends. Kane is a skilled forward who can pass and shoot as good or better then anyone else on the roster. Together they have the ability to slay the competition, and will hereby be known as the BTK Killers. To soon?

Outside the first line, Patrick Sharp and the second line had a productive afternoon. After serving the third of three consecutive Blackhawk penalties in the second period – the one Detroit scored on – Sharp redeemed himself by deflecting Duncan Keith’s pass past Jimmy Howard in the third period to take the lead 3-2. The lead didn’t hold up, but Sharp scored the shootout winner to clinch the victory.

Next up, the Blackhawks will play in Ottawa Tuesday night. It’ll be the only time they will face the Senators in the regular season.

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