$3 Our Song Is Strong, You Don’t Like It, Get Along... $3 The Committed Indian The REal Fan’s Program secondcityhockey.com April 18th, 2010 [email protected] OK, STARTING NOW... Not exactly what we had in mind anything in the 3rd. Again, a lot of credit has waiting-for-Kane-to-hit-his-tape style that there, Hawks. While we couldn’t find too much to be given to the Predators, they simply out- The Shooter tends to fall into when playing to complain about in the first 40 minutes of worked the Hawks. But why did the patience with Crazy 88. If that line is going to work, play, the problem lies in that 40 is less than 60 and intelligence we saw in the first two periods Sharp is going to have to do his share of dirty (thank you, Dr. Science!). However, we feel the simply evaporate? If the Hawks had just re- work. need to point out that it’s a best of seven, not mained calm and put their heads down and did Oh, but Q is going to one-up the a best of one. The Hawks have faced bigger it the dirty way, they very well may have gotten normal pattern and shift around the deckchairs deficits than this - remember they were two back into the game. But that’s the game the on the blue line, too. Marlboro 72 (Keith and minutes away last May from being down 3-1 Preds want to play, and if the Hawks are plan- Seabrook) has been reunited. Buff will skate to the Canucks and headed back to Vancouver. ning on trailing them in the 3rd regularly, this with Hendry, while Hammer and Sopel will be Nothing is fucked here, dude. is going to get icky-pants indeed. paired. This probably means more minutes With all the plaudits being thrown Slot Machine Strikes Again for Sopel - which is a little scary after he and the Predators way (and their play inside their What does that mean for tonight? Hendry got mauled in Game 1. What it does zone after taking the lead was something to Well, unless you’ve been living in a cave or do in the positive is provide a puck-rusher on behold), they still needed a completely fluky are a Palin supporter, you know it means that another pairing besides the top one. Byfuglien bounce and a turnover that made children Coach Q will shuffle his lines. Reports out of as least thinks he’s one, and Hendry was a weep to take the lead. Granted, this is a team practice yesterday have Ladd moving up to capable enough center fielder when he played that is just waiting to pounce on those sorts of play with Hossa and Toews, while Sharp moves a couple games with Campbell this year. mistakes, as they make hardly any. However, to play with Patrick Kane and Dave Bolland. However, changing the lines doesn’t they can’t be perfect forever, either. After his lunacy on his own blue line, Troy change the main problems of Game 1, as com- That’s what’s upsetting about Fri- Brouwer goes to the 3rd line. mentter “Deathmonkey” pointed out on the day. The Hawks coverage in their zone was We’re going to try and have more blog (only in this publication would someone just as good. The Preds only generated one patience with Q’s shuffling than we have in the named “Deathmonkey” be referenced. Some- chance from between the circles in the first past (honest, we are. Really. No, seriously), times our job rules). First, the Hawks were just two periods, and that came off a turnover from even though a jostling after all of one bad pe- outworked, and that has to change no matter Hjalmarsson. Sure, the Preds d-men did a riod smacks of panic. In theory, the thinking who plays with who. Second, they have to masterful job of holding pucks in and sustain- behind this lineup makes sense. Toews and simplify their game and play a dirty, boring, ing pressure. But all that pressure was exerted Hossa probably could do with someone who cut-yourself-to-see-if-you-still-feel kind of from the outside. Antti Niemi only had a just wants to crash the net and provide screens game. We need to see that no matter the line- couple big stops to make. If the Hawks keep for their hellacious shots. We know Sharp and up. You’ll know the Hawks are in for a much up that level, there still shouldn’t be too much Kane have a chemistry that could finally see better night if you see a lot more straight lines to worry about. To boot, the Hawks were Sharp net the goals that his play has deserved. down the ice. If there’s so much weaving murdering the Preds in the faceoff circle, which What we don’t want to see, and we through the neutral zone you get acid-trails, further tilted their possession advantage. haven’t for months, is the Sharp-floating- break out the Pepto. -Tony Soprano Things are more ok than they seem, except for the tiny issue of the playing surface. While it’s hardly the main reason the Hawks lost, if McDonough and Rocky are serious about turning the Hawks into the NHL’s pre- mier franchise, they’ll figure out something with the ice. It’s been dogshit for years now, and for a team that wants to play a smooth, passing style, having to try and do that on a Kwik-E-Mart slushy would be playing right into the mucky, grindy team’s hands, no? But You’ve Come For An Argument Ah, but you want to worry, do you? Well, we can help you with that. There are a couple things that you have to find discourag- ing. First and foremost is how tight the Hawks became after the game was tied and especially when they fell behind. This is the same team (almost to a man) that trailed in every game in the series against Vancouver. They smiled at those deficits like death smiles at us all. What was so much more daunting about being down one goal to the Preds? Secondly, the Hawks couldn’t create But remember, Predators fans insist Nashville doesn’t trap.
From The Editor
I thought I would be used to this by now. I figured after one play- -It’s amazing what a playoff series can do to your ire toward an off run I could handle the ups and downs and the stress that would come opponent. I haven’t had much contact with Preds fans in the two years I’ve with this one. After all, we’ve been here before, haven’t we? Well, that been doing this. Dirk from On The Forecheck has always been thorough lasted all of five minutes, maybe. Sadly, I don’t think there’s anything that and prompt doing the Q&A we run, and we have something of a rapport. can ease the nerves of the playoffs, and I suppose we’d better just get used But reading their blog and comments on a regular basis, I don’t have much to being miserable. of a feel for the supporters in Nashville. I guess that all changed Sunday when we knew we’d drawn them. -One thing I’m not going to get used to is one of the uglier sides We’ve been doing some back and forth contributions between OTF and that the vast attention the Hawks are getting in the Chicago Second City Hockey, and their readers have been showing press brings. With baseball only having just started, and up at our blog and vice versa. It’s hardly the case that a Bulls playoff appearance looking like it won’t last much they’ve been unreasonable or obnoxious. But these days, longer than 20 minutes, all eyes are on the Hawks. With any differing viewpoint from mine, no matter how justi- that, our “star” columnists around town will be chiming fied and proved, sends me into orbit. How dare you think in with their thoughts, if you want to call them that. But the team you love and have watched all year can beat sadly, these days a columnist’s main job description is to my supermen? It’s not even the people so much, it’s the generate conversation and emotion, not to be something in sentiment. This is the best chance at a Cup I’ve ever seen, the neighborhood of intelligent. David Haugh, who only and any allusion to the fact we might not win it makes me recently was thrown into the columnist position and may break up like an 8-year old being sent to his room. I’m need time, was quick to throw Antti Niemi under the bus, sure I’m not the only one. even though no one thinks he’s at fault for Game 1’s loss. But the goalie controversy angries up the blood, so it’s an Sam Fels -I want to thank Fork for his piece about his father on Fri- easy button to push. Veteran air raid siren Rick Morrissey day. When I read stuff like that, I always scoff at people chimes in with how flat the Hawks looked, even though who say sports don’t matter. Fucking eh’ they do. They give us something they dominated the 2nd and were hardly awful in the 1st period. But again, to bond with with our families, introduce us to friends we’ll have forever, writing a column saying the Hawks made one mistake, had one bad bounce, and provide memories that will signify landmarks in our lives. Though and faced an inspired opponent for all of 20 minutes isn’t exactly ground- it’s a different animal, anyone who saw the video of the Dallas fans giv- breaking, is it? If the Hawks continue to play hockey for a long time this ing Mike Modano an unsolicited three-minute standing ovation, pushing spring, and I’m still very convinced they will, we’re going to have to put up Modano to tears, certainly can’t argue that sports don’t matter. What else with this kind of bullshit the entire time. If only the Tribune had kept Bob provides that kind of moment? Verdi. STANLEYNHL STANDINGS CUP PLAYOFFS
Eastern Conference Western Conference Western Confer- #1 Washington #1 San Jose Tied 1-1 Tied 1-1 #8 Montreal #8 Colorado
#2 New Jersey #2 HAWKS Tied 1-1 NSH leads 1-0 #7 Philadelphia #7 Nashville
#3 Buffalo #3 Vancouver Tied 1-1 Tied 1-1 #6 Boston #6 L.A.
#4 Pittsburgh #4 Phoenix Tied 1-1 teams re-seed after first round, with Tied 1-1 #5 Ottawa highest remaining seed playing lowest #5 Scum remaining.
TOP 10 LISTS PUCK DROP
David Legwand - Bufugly, Nash- Top 10 Excuses For Friday Night’s Loss ville: We’ll admit it, we’ve always 10. The Hawks are as sick of “Chelsea Dagger” as you are. kind of hated David Legwand. That fucking gap-toothed grin, 9. A week of watching the White Sox try and hit had left them physi- that stupid haircut, his annoy- cally ill. ing tendency to score big goals against the Hawks. You may 8. Couldn’t stop giggling at the name “Pekka Rinne”. forget Legwand was the first ever 7. Some large man with a briefcase full of $100’s stopped by the pick for the Nashville Predators in 1998, and second overall that year, locker room and said it would be in their best interest to lose. right behind Vinny Lecavlier. His 6. Because reading Chicago papers is so damn entertaining after a career didn’t quite hit the heights that Vinny’s did. He’s only broken loss. 20 goals twice in his career. That said, he’s become a very 5. Kane’s mullet is bad mojo. effective two-way center, or at least he has when he wants to be. Preds fans have never hesitated to vent their frustra- 4. Ryan Suter smells. tions at Legwand when he goes on “vacation”. Coach 3. Maybe a couple losses will keep Jim Belushi away. Barry Trotz has called him out in the press in the past. No need for that after Friday. Legwand was an absolute beast 2. You want us to make a joke about the Cubs being in attendance, in Game 1, and he certainly made life hell for Bolland’ s don’t you? Too easy, my friend. line, and that’s a battle Weapon is going to have to win tonight. Legwand was a +9 in Corsi, and his linemate J.P. 1. God hates Chicago, don’t you know? You’ve seen our winters... Dumont scored the two goals that weren’t empty netters. Combined with nutcase Joel Ward, that line is going to take some corralling. Chicago Blackhawks 0-1
(regular season stats) We were saying something about Hossa coming out for blood? That said, he should hang out somewhere else than the other blue line for a breakout. # Pos Player Ht WT AGE GP G A P +/- PIM PP SH GW S S% Salary/Cap Hit 88 R Crazy Eighty-Eight 5' 10" 178 21 82 30 58 88 16 20 9 0 6 261 11.5 875K/3.7M 2 D The Flash "A" 6' 1" 196 26 82 14 55 69 21 51 3 1 1 213 6.6 1.9M/1.4M 19 C Captain Marvel "C" 6' 2" 210 21 76 25 43 68 22 47 9 1 3 202 12.4 850K/2.7M 10 L The Sharp-Shooter "A" 6' 1" 199 28 82 25 41 66 24 28 4 2 4 266 9.4 4M/3.9M 81 R Hossbollah 6' 1" 210 31 57 24 27 51 24 18 2 5 2 199 12.1 7.9M/5.2M 32 L VerStud 5' 10" 182 23 79 20 24 44 8 35 4 3 4 184 10.9 3.0M/3.0M 22 R Lowen-Brouw 6' 2" 214 24 78 22 18 40 9 66 7 1 7 116 19 1.0M/1.0M 16 L Mountain 6' 2" 200 24 82 17 21 38 2 67 0 0 1 148 11.5 1.6M/1.5M 51 D 51 Phantom* 6' 0" 189 30 68 7 31 38 18 18 3 0 2 131 5.3 7.1M/7.1M 33 R Dustin Byfuglien 6' 4" 257 24 82 17 17 34 -7 94 6 0 3 211 8.1 3.0M/3.0M 7 D Brent Seabrook 6' 3" 218 24 78 4 26 30 20 59 0 0 2 129 3.1 3.5M/3.5M 11 C The Telestrator 5' 11" 190 36 79 10 13 23 -2 12 0 0 0 127 7.9 2.7M/2.7M 82 C Tomas Kopecky 6' 3" 203 28 74 10 11 21 0 28 1 0 2 95 10.5 1.2M/1.2M 46 C Colin Fraser 6' 1" 190 25 70 7 12 19 6 44 0 0 0 92 7.6 700K/700K 4 D Hammer 6' 3" 205 22 77 2 15 17 9 20 0 0 1 62 3.2 643K/666K 8 D Kim Johnsson * 6' 1" 193 33 60 7 10 17 10 30 3 0 0 94 7.4 5.3M/1.4M 36 C Fabulous Weapon 6' 0" 181 23 39 6 10 16 5 28 1 0 0 52 11.5 3.3M/3.3M 55 L Ben Eager 6' 2" 230 26 60 7 9 16 9 120 0 0 2 68 10.3 965K/965K 5 D Brent Sopel 6' 1" 201 33 73 1 7 8 3 34 0 0 0 48 2.1 2.5M/2.3M 6 D Jordan Hendry 6' 0" 197 26 43 2 6 8 5 10 0 0 1 42 4.8 525k/525k 24 D Nick Boynton 6' 1" 218 31 49 1 7 8 5 71 1 0 0 50 2 1.5M/210K 29 L Bryan Bickell 6' 4" 223 24 16 3 1 4 4 5 0 0 1 20 15 500K/54K 37 R Adam Burish 6' 0" 189 27 13 1 3 4 2 14 0 0 0 9 11.1 725K/713K
Seabrook was a beast worthy of scaring thousands of Japanese on Friday, as scaring thousands of Japanese on Friday, Seabrook was a beast worthy of physical as we’ve seen him since...well, last year’s playoffs. Totals/Averages 6’ 1” 203.4 26.4 3.20/g +46 11.3/g 52 13 34.1/g 9.3%
Hendry and Sopel got the Prison Sex Treatment Friday. They were -12 and -15 in Corsi, which is why they’ve been split. # Goalie HT WT AGE GPI GS Min GAA W L OT SO SA GA Sv% G A PIM Salary/Cap Hit 39 Cristobal Huet 6' 1" 205 34 48 46 2731 2.50 26 14 4 4 1083 114 .895 0 0 4 5.6M/5.6M 31 Antti Niemi 6' 2" 210 26 39 35 2190 2.25 26 7 4 7 936 82 .912 0 1 0 827K/827K Totals/Averages 6'1" 207 29 2.48 52 22 8 11 25.1/g 203 .903 0 1 4
TOTAL CAP NUMBER: $56,274,928 CAP SPACE: $540,590* Probable Lines Probable Pairings *space also affected by buyouts and injured players Left Wing Center Right Wing 2 Keith 7 Seabrook Injury List 16 Ladd 19 Toews 81 Hossa 5 Sopel 4 Hjalmarsson Brian Campbell- Out (Clavicle) 10 Sharp 36 Bolland 88 Kane 6 Hendry 33 Byfuglien Kim Johnsson- Out (Dead) 32 Versteeg 11 Madden 22 Brouwer 82 Kopecky 46 Fraser 55 Eager NAShville Pussy 1-0
(regular season stats) Color us shocked that after getting knocked on his Swedish ass by Hossa, Hornqvist was a complete non-factor all game. # Pos Player HT WT AGE GP G A P +/- PIM PP SH GW S S% Salary/Cap Hit 26 L Steve Sullivan "A" 5' 8" 161 35 82 17 34 51 2 35 5 0 4 152 11.2 3.7M/3.7M 27 R Patric Hornqvist 5' 11" 188 22 80 30 21 51 18 40 10 0 8 275 10.9 620K/713K 10 R Martin Erat 6' 0" 200 28 74 21 28 49 -7 50 5 0 2 168 12.5 5.2M/4.5M 19 C Jason Arnott "C" 6' 5" 219 35 63 19 27 46 0 26 6 0 3 216 8.8 4.5M/4.5M 71 R J P Dumont 6' 1" 205 31 74 17 28 45 8 20 3 1 3 112 15.2 4.0M/4.0M 6 D Shea Weber "A" 6' 4" 234 24 78 16 27 43 0 36 7 0 3 222 7.2 4.5M/4.5M 11 C David Legwand 6' 2" 204 29 82 11 27 38 -5 24 0 1 3 151 7.3 5.0M/4.5M 20 D Ryan Suter 6' 1" 198 24 82 4 33 37 4 48 2 0 1 125 3.2 3.5M/3.5M 29 R Joel Ward 6' 1" 218 28 71 13 21 34 -5 18 3 1 1 134 9.7 1.5M/1.5M 9 C Marcel Goc 6' 1" 202 26 73 12 18 30 10 14 0 0 1 118 10.2 550K/550K 2 D Dan Hamhuis 6' 1" 209 26 78 5 19 24 4 49 0 0 0 115 4.3 2.5M/2.0M 14 C Dustin Boyd 6' 0" 187 23 78 11 13 24 6 19 0 0 3 112 9.8 650K/135K 32 D Cody Franson 6' 5" 213 22 61 6 15 21 15 16 1 0 3 90 6.7 525K/640K 37 D Denis Grebeshkov 6' 0" 209 26 51 7 14 21 -16 32 1 0 0 47 14.9 3.1M/685K 22 R Asshat 5' 9" 197 26 51 6 10 16 2 40 0 0 1 101 5.9 975K/975K 33 C Colin Wilson 6' 1" 214 20 35 8 7 15 -2 7 1 0 3 58 13.8 875K/875K 25 C Jerred Smithson 6' 3" 206 30 69 9 4 13 -4 54 0 2 1 54 16.7 725K/738K 8 D Kevin Klein 6' 1" 201 24 81 1 10 11 -13 27 0 0 0 67 1.5 800K/650K
Goc was the only Predator of six who won a draw Goc was the against Bolland. 16 C Cal O'Reilly 6' 0" 187 23 31 2 9 11 1 4 1 0 0 23 8.7 575K/312K 51 D Francis Bouillon 5' 8" 198 34 81 3 8 11 5 50 1 0 1 86 3.5 750K/750K 13 L Nick Spaling 6' 1" 196 21 28 0 3 3 3 0 0 0 0 26 0 580K/580K 3 R Wade Belak 6' 5" 222 33 39 0 2 2 0 58 0 0 0 8 0 650K/650K
Totals/Averages 6’ 1” 203.0 26.8 2.65/g +8 8.7g 47 5 30.6g 8.6% Klein and Hamhuis were hammered territorially on Friday, but the Hawks didn’t make it count. They must do so tonight. # Goalie HT WT AGE GPI GS Min GAA W L OT SO SA GA Sv% G A PIM Salary 35 Pekka Rinne 6’ 5” 207 27 58 54 3246 2.53 32 16 5 7 1541 137 .911 0 0 2 725K/725K 39 Dan Ellis 6’ 0” 193 29 31 28 1715 2.69 15 13 1 1 848 77 .909 0 1 4 2.0M/1.7M Totals/Averages 6’ 2” 200 28 2.70 47 29 6 8 29.2/g 221 .910 0 1 6 TOTAL CAP NUMBER: $ 43,669,323 CAP SPACE: $ 13,130,677 Probable Lines Probable Pairings *space also affected by buyouts and injured players Left Wing Center Right Wing 6 Weber 20 Suter Injury List 33 Wilson 19 Arnott 10 Erat 2 Hamhuis 8 Klein Denis Grebeshkov - Questionable (Lower 26 Sullivan 9 Goc 29 Ward 32 Franson 51 Bouillon Body) Patric Hornqvist - Questionable (Undisclosed) 71 Dumont 11 Legwand 22 Asshat 25 Smithson 13 Spaling 3 Belak The Kris Versteeg Taxi Service Direct routes are for pussies!
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GAME FIGHT TIME Bloody Black Bruised Just Analysis Nose Eye Ego Dancing 2-14-08 Barker vs. 1st. Clearly during Barker’s Time of The Ortmeyer 8:03 √ Month, and Ortmeyer bares the brunt. 12-26-07 Wiz vs. Too- 3rd. This is probably the reason that Wiz be- too 20:00 came a false idol to Hawks fans, beating √ √ ever-loving shit out this ever-loving shit. Simply a magical moment. 12-19-07 Burish vs. 3rd. Burish finds someone who won’t render Nichol 13:51 √ him dizzy. 1-20-07 Smolinski vs. Nothing to write home about, much like Zidlicky √ most of Smoke’s games as a Hawk.
What To Expect: Well, the Hawks ire should be up, and the more time spent exposed to Jordin Tootoo will increase the bile (as well as a chance for a rash), but the Preds just don’t bring enough heat. Nothing tonight. Power Play Penalty Kill adjusted for short-handed goals against adjusted for shorthanded goals for Team Opp PPG SHGA PP% Team Opp PPG SHGA PP% Team TS PPGA SHG PK% Team TS PPGA SHG PK% WSH 313 79 8 22.7% OTT 290 49 4 15.5% CHI 265 39 13 90.2% MTL 311 53 4 84.2% VAN 325 68 6 19.1% CGY 268 43 2 15.3% STL 342 45 7 88.9% MIN 306 53 4 84.0% PHI 317 68 8 18.9% CBJ 308 56 9 15.3% BOS 272 37 6 88.6% CBJ 334 61 6 83.5% LAK 307 64 6 18.9% COL 310 56 9 15.2% BUF 284 38 4 88.0% COL 303 60 8 82.8% DET 307 59 1 18.9% BOS 265 44 4 15.1% SJS 327 49 8 87.5% CAR 320 62 7 82.8% MTL 261 57 8 18.8% NYI 306 49 3 15.0% DET 267 43 8 86.9% FLA 287 59 7 81.9% SJS 309 65 9 18.1% STL 307 52 6 15.0% PIT 327 52 7 86.2% ANA 324 67 8 81.8% ANA 300 63 9 18.0% MIN 309 59 13 14.9% OTT 318 50 6 86.2% LAK 304 60 4 81.6% TBL 326 63 6 17.5% ATL 316 51 4 14.9% NYR 318 50 5 85.8% TBL 336 67 2 80.7% NJD 273 51 5 16.8% PIT 326 56 8 14.7% NJD 239 41 7 85.8% DAL 288 65 9 80.6% BUF 313 55 3 16.6% CAR 332 56 8 14.5% PHX 317 49 3 85.5% WSH 316 67 4 80.1% CHI 294 52 4 16.3% NSH 286 47 6 14.3% ATL 320 57 9 85.0% EDM 305 67 6 80.0% DAL 328 61 8 16.2% PHX 314 46 7 12.4% CGY 305 54 8 84.9% NSH 258 59 5 79.1% NYR 301 55 7 15.9% TOR 315 44 7 11.7% PHI 335 57 6 84.8% NYI 300 71 7 78.7% EDM 301 52 5 15.6% FLA 309 44 8 11.7% VAN 320 59 9 84.4% TOR 288 73 4 76.0% Spotlight
Shea Weber
We’re sure Weber will thank us for the comparison to Ah-nold, we doubt his pecs look like that and we have no idea what is envi- romental and economic policies are though, however. Before Game 1 we wondered who coach Barry Trotz would try and get Weber and his partner Ryan Suter out against. Turns out, with being the road team and not having last change, Trotz didn’t really try to manuever too much. Weber saw equal time amongst the top two lines of the Hawks. He managed three shots, two on the power play, and his Corsi was exactly 0. Basically, Weber played his opponent’s to a standstill. But what he did do, according to the eye test, was be a mastodon against any forward he came into battle with. He held numerous pucks in the Hawks zone to keep the pressure on that end, and every contested clearance he won. He threw some Hawks forwards around like ragdolls. There’s no question that Weber is one of the premier defensemen in the league. While we thought the Hawks would win this series due to their superior depth on the bottom side of the roster, they won’t go very far if their best players aren’t better than the other team’s best players. Toews, Hossa, Sharp, and Kane were not bad by any means, but they’re going to have to be better than Weber and Suter. Though it is no easy task, they’re going to have to find a way to win the battles with Weber. Maybe they can’t do it by strength, but they can outskate him (although only just). When in their own end, they’re going to have to get clearance attempts past him, and work their ass off to not give him any space. They were able to duck Weber having clear shooting lanes most of the night, but that’s not going to happen all series. In the Preds end, they just have to find that extra gear, because Weber is going to be out there 25-30 minutes a night. Andrew Ladd is probably being bumped up to the top line as he is only one of a few Hawk forwards (Brouwer and Hossa the others) with the size to grapple with Weber. Perhaps tonight is when Trotz has Weber focus on snuffing out Patrick Kane exclusively, but we doubt it. If Toews and Hossa can get the better of their duels with Weber tonight, it will go a long way to evening up this series.
KNOW THY ENEMY
The other half of the excellent On The Forecheck, Chris Bur- While the feeling around here is the Hawks have a couple ton is here to help us find out where we go from here. more gears to move through, do the Preds have another level in them? What would you expect the Hawks to try and do differ- Energetically and physically, if they do, I’ve never seen it. Its ently tonight? been a long time since I saw them skate and hit like they did A couple things. What I’m anticipating from Q and Co. is in Game One. That said, they certainly have another level more traffic in front of Rinne, and a lot more rubber sent his offensively. The two goals were more a result of hard work way. It was one of my keys for Chicago, and they didn’t than good puck movement or shot placement, and we’ve seen do it. Rinne will stop everything he sees, so obviously you them score in bunches at times. The power play also had a need to block his sightlines. Purely on percentages, its going stretch of something like ten goals in ten games, which means to be harder for him to stop 40 shots than 25. Also, I don’t they are capable of more. Whether Trotz gets it out of them is know how much Quenneville changes personnel around, but another matter; the team seems to be able to turn up the work a couple of the D-pairs had serious trouble moving the puck ethic much easier than the offense. up on Friday. They need to figure out a more efficient way of breaking out. Does this change your outlook on the series? You know, not as much as I thought it would. I have to stand Will the Predators try and change anything? by my pick, but the way Nashville won wasn’t all that reas- On the roster side, I think that we see trade deadline acquisi- suring. The goal that changed the game was a complete fluke, tions Dustin Boyd and Denis Grebeshkov inserted into the and Chicago didn’t have much sustained offensive pressure lineup. No one seems to know why Boyd was out, but he’s fit at all. It’s doubtful that Niemi will let in one of those a game, like a glove since Poile robbed him from Calgary and is one and there’s little to no chance we see the same type of defen- of those ‘Swiss Army Knife’ type players. Grebeshkov was sive performance from the Predators for three more games. a real spark on the power play before he needed emergency If the Preds had been able to score on the power play or get surgery in the nether regions, and is probably the safer bet a more ‘conventional’ goal (if that makes sense) I’d feel a defensively over Franson. lot better. I like the Hawks tonight, but still have to go with Game plan wise, I kind of doubt it. We won, so until Preds in seven. Quenneville solves the system or something goes wrong you don’t fix what isn’t broken. I didn’t feel like we were able to get enough shots on Antti Niemi, though, and you may see some changes on the power play with Boyd and Grebeshkov back in. Anyway, ask me again when we fall behind by a goal or two or lose.
Preds-HAWKS: The Last 4
April 16th, 2010: Preds 4 - Hawks 1 Dec. 27th, 2009: Preds 4 - Hawks 5 Game 1 starts out ok, with Hawks controlling Hawks end Central Division debate with this second procedures for the most part for 40 minutes. Kane win in a row over the Preds. Hawks surge to 4-2 3rd pots a rebound in 2nd, but a fluky bounce and a ter- period lead but cough it up to Hamhuis and Horn- rible Brouwer turnover give Preds lead they wont’ qvist, but Kane wins it with 44 seconds left. relinquish, complete with annoying Erat goal.
Dec. 26th, 2009: Hawks 4 - Preds 1 Dec. 4th, 2009: Preds 4 - Hawks 1 Hawks only bother to play for second half of 2nd Much closer than score indicates. Toews opens period, get three goals, then wait for the bus. 3rd scoring with his yearly “I’m going through all you period resembles stock footage film festival, but fuckers” move. Hamhuis ties it, Erat with one of his it’s two points. patented shoot-yourself-annoying goals wins it. Hockey Sabermetrics CHICAGO Every game, we provide you with the Behind The Net numbers. These are at even strength, 5-on-5. Key: TOI/60- Time on ice, per 60 minutes, that player spends on ice at full-strength. QUALCOMP- A measure of the quality of competition each player faces on the ice. Calculated by averaging RATING for opponents on the ice against player. QUALTEAM- A measure of the quality of teammates each player plays with. Calculated by averaging RATING for teammates on ice with player. GFON/60, GAON/60- Goals for and against team per 60 min. player is on ice +/-ON/60- Team’s Plus/minus, per 60 minutes, while player is on ice. +/-OFF/60- Plus/minus of team while player is off ice, per 60 minutes. RATING- +/-ON/60 subtracted by +/-OFF/60.
NAME TOI/60 QUALCOMP QUALTEAM GFON/60 GAON/60 +-ON/60 GFOFF/60 GAOFF/60 +-OFF/60 RATING Kim Johnsson 16.77 0.003 -0.015 2.86 2.45 0.42 2.22 2.91 -0.7 1.11 Nick Boynton 14.08 -0.032 0.029 2.52 1.91 0.61 2.7 3.11 -0.41 1.02 Marian Hossa 13.86 0.037 0.048 3.11 2.05 1.06 2.77 2.62 0.15 0.91 Patrick Sharp 13.5 0.003 0.01 3.31 2.28 1.03 2.56 2.35 0.21 0.82 Ben Eager 8.26 -0.087 -0.174 2.78 1.69 1.09 2.84 2.45 0.4 0.69 Jonathan Toews 14.71 0.046 0.133 3.27 2.41 0.86 2.65 2.37 0.28 0.57 Patrick Kane 15.01 0.011 0.013 3.12 2.39 0.73 2.61 2.3 0.31 0.42 Brent Seabrook 17.57 0.104 -0.01 3.07 2.45 0.61 2.57 2.36 0.2 0.41 Troy Brouwer 12.56 0.033 -0.03 2.57 2.14 0.43 2.74 2.39 0.35 0.08 Jordan Hendry 11.33 -0.119 -0.009 2.83 2.09 0.74 3.13 2.43 0.69 0.04 Brian Campbell 18.66 -0.076 -0.087 2.6 2.22 0.38 2.72 2.32 0.4 -0.02 Duncan Keith 19.52 0.081 0.034 3.19 2.77 0.41 2.48 2.02 0.47 -0.05 Colin Fraser 8.08 -0.092 -0.092 2.65 2.12 0.53 2.8 2.19 0.61 -0.08 Kris Versteeg 12.29 0.003 -0.229 2.6 2.41 0.19 2.76 2.27 0.49 -0.31 Andrew Ladd 12.8 -0.017 -0.062 3.09 2.91 0.17 2.66 2.11 0.54 -0.37 Tomas Kopecky 8.59 -0.086 -0.011 2.36 2.26 0.09 2.93 2.31 0.62 -0.52 N. Hjalmarsson 16.58 -0.034 0.015 1.97 1.97 0 2.99 2.45 0.55 -0.55 Brent Sopel 12.22 -0.055 0.005 2.42 2.62 -0.2 2.78 2.07 0.71 -0.91 John Madden 12.62 -0.002 -0.185 2.29 2.53 -0.24 2.94 2.19 0.75 -0.99 Dustin Byfuglien 13.2 -0.009 -0.081 1.94 2.22 -0.28 3.09 2.37 0.72 -1
Power Play Ratings Penalty Kill Ratings Corsi Rating This is a measure of a team’s goals-for Shots attempted for a team vs. how many are at- Penalties Drawn This measures how many goals a team per 60 minutes of player being on the tempted against while a given player is on the ice, gives up per 60 minutes the player is on vs. Taken ice on the power play the ice on the PK. per 60 min. . Player GFON/60 Player GA/60 NAME CORSI NAME PDRAW/60 PTAKE/60 Jonathan Toews 9.49 Jonathan Toews 2.66 Marian Hossa 12.3 Patrick Kane 1.4 0.3 Patrick Kane 7.97 Dave Bolland 3.34 Patrick Sharp 10.3 Jonathan Toews 1.3 0.7 Patrick Sharp 7.5 Nick Boynton 4.17 Jonathan Toews 8.8 Colin Fraser 1.3 0.3 Troy Brouwer 7.39 John Madden 4.5 Patrick Kane 5.6 Kris Versteeg 1 0.5 Brian Campbell 7.13 Troy Brouwer 4.72 Brian Campbell 5 Marian Hossa 0.8 0.5 Duncan Keith 7.03 Duncan Keith 4.82 Duncan Keith 4.8 Tomas Kopecky 0.8 1 Dustin Byfuglien 6.91 Brent Sopel 4.89 Jordan Hendry 2.9 Ben Eager 0.8 1.5 Brent Seabrook 6.48 N. Hjalmarsson 4.91 Nick Boynton 1.8 John Madden 0.8 0.2 Dave Bolland 5.53 Brent Seabrook 5.71 Tomas Kopecky 0.5 Jordan Hendry 0.7 0.5 Kris Versteeg 5.17 Marian Hossa 5.87 Andrew Ladd -0.2 Andrew Ladd 0.7 0.7 Kim Johnsson 4.63 Patrick Sharp 6.61 Kris Versteeg -1.1 Brent Sopel 0.7 0.7 Marian Hossa 4.59 Colin Fraser 6.69 Kim Johnsson -1.2 Troy Brouwer 0.6 0.7 Colin Fraser -2.4 Dustin Byfuglien 0.6 1.2 Ben Eager -3 Brian Campbell 0.5 0.3 Face-offs Troy Brouwer -3.8 N. Hjalmarsson 0.5 0.5 Player Face-Offs Taken FO% N. Hjalmarsson -4.3 Patrick Sharp 0.4 0.7 Jonathan Toews 1397 57.3 Brent Seabrook -4.8 Kim Johnsson 0.4 0.8 John Madden 1156 53.0 Dustin Byfuglien -5.4 Brent Seabrook 0.4 0.6 Dave Bolland 555 49.4 Brent Sopel -7 Duncan Keith 0.3 0.6 Colin Fraser 445 48.8 John Madden -11.1 Nick Boynton 0.3 1.7 Total Rank: 3rd 52.4 Hockey Sabermetrics NASHVILLE NAME TOI/60 QUALCOMP QUALTEAM GFON/60 GAON/60 +-ON/60 GFOFF/60 GAOFF/60 +-OFF/60 RATING Cody Franson 12 -0.104 0.056 2.92 1.5 1.42 2.07 2.39 -0.32 1.74 Patric Hornqvist 12.77 -0.044 0.05 2.97 1.78 1.19 2.14 2.42 -0.28 1.47 Marcel Goc 12.58 -0.071 0.067 2.71 2.12 0.6 2.22 2.27 -0.05 0.64 Dustin Boyd 10.64 -0.073 0.003 1.81 1.45 0.36 2.24 2.3 -0.06 0.42 J.P. Dumont 12.36 -0.061 0.105 2.66 2.13 0.53 2.34 2.2 0.14 0.4 Jordin Tootoo 10.89 -0.085 -0.014 2.31 2.09 0.22 2.18 2.25 -0.06 0.28 Ryan Suter 18.1 0.033 -0.097 2.66 2.41 0.25 2.16 2.16 0 0.25 Steve Sullivan 13.82 -0.031 0.16 2.73 2.47 0.27 2.2 2.18 0.02 0.25 Denis Grebeshkov 16.52 -0.035 -0.05 1.99 3.13 -1.14 1.9 3.19 -1.29 0.15 Jason Arnott 14.66 -0.015 0.113 2.97 2.9 0.07 2.12 2.12 0 0.07 Dan Hamhuis 17.48 0.02 -0.077 2.68 2.59 0.09 2.15 2.05 0.1 -0.01 F. Bouillon 16.07 -0.067 -0.029 1.73 1.68 0.05 2.69 2.53 0.16 -0.12 Shea Weber 17.56 0.019 -0.001 2.57 2.57 0 2.32 2.12 0.2 -0.2 Martin Erat 13.75 0.01 -0.074 2.75 3.05 -0.3 2.33 2.05 0.28 -0.58 Joel Ward 14.02 0.105 -0.307 1.96 2.26 -0.31 2.65 2.33 0.32 -0.63 David Legwand 14.55 0.092 -0.272 2.04 2.39 -0.36 2.48 2.2 0.28 -0.64 Jerred Smithson 11.59 0.056 -0.254 2.05 2.51 -0.46 2.5 2.12 0.38 -0.84 Kevin Klein 16.6 0.012 -0.051 1.81 2.53 -0.72 2.66 2.14 0.52 -1.24
Power Play Ratings Penalty Kill Ratings This is a measure of a team’s goals for This measures how many goals a Corsi Rating Penalties Drawn per 60 minutes of player being on the team gives up per 60 minutes the This measures how many shots are attempted for a ice on the power play. player is on the ice on the PK. team vs. how many are attempted against while a vs. Taken given player is on the ice, per 60 min. Player GFON/60 Player GAON/60 NAME CORSI NAME PDRAW/60 PTAKE/60 Jason Arnott 7.24 F. Bouillon 6.36 Patric Hornqvist 12.8 Jordin Tootoo 1.9 0.6 Martin Erat 6.33 D, Grebeshkov 6.37 Cody Franson 11.8 Martin Erat 1 1.1 Denis Grebeshkov 6.31 Nick Spaling 7.48 Martin Erat 11.2 Joel Ward 1 0.4 Shea Weber 6.09 David Legwand 7.78 Marcel Goc 6.8 Jason Arnott 0.9 0.7 Ryan Suter 6.05 Ryan Suter 7.92 Shea Weber 6.7 Dustin Boyd 0.9 0.4 J.P. Dumont 5.92 Shea Weber 8.04 Ryan Suter 4.9 Patric Hornqvist 0.8 0.7 Patric Hornqvist 5.58 Marcel Goc 8.8 Jason Arnott 4.5 Marcel Goc 0.8 0.4 Steve Sullivan 5.06 Jerred Smithson 8.86 Dan Hamhuis 3.2 Dan Hamhuis 0.7 0.8 Joel Ward 4.68 Dan Hamhuis 9.01 Steve Sullivan 2.9 Denis Grebeshkov 0.6 1 Cody Franson 4.57 Kevin Klein 9.54 Jordin Tootoo 2.6 Jerred Smithson 0.6 0.8 David Legwand 4.18 Joel Ward 9.97 J.P. Dumont -0.5 F. Bouillon 0.6 0.9 Colin Wilson 3.8 David Legwand -3.3 Shea Weber 0.4 0.3 Cal O'Reilly 3.76 Dustin Boyd -4 Steve Sullivan 0.4 0.4 F. Bouillon 3.71 Denis Grebeshkov -4.5 J.P. Dumont 0.4 0.5 Joel Ward -5.5 David Legwand 0.4 0.6 Face-offs Jerred Smithson -9.8 Kevin Klein 0.3 0.3 Player Face-Offs Taken FO% Kevin Klein -10.3 Cody Franson 0.2 0.7 Dustin Boyd 105 58.1 F. Bouillon -13 Ryan Suter 0.2 0.7 Marcel Goc 912 52.1 Jason Arnott 1077 48.8 David Legwand 1124 47.9 Total Rank: 20th 49.2
McClure For Pain Stay Positive
It’s not in my nature to blow sunshine up people’s asses or to be all saves he can see. Pollyanna exuding positive energy. Even my own mother has in the past re- ferred to me as “Eeyore” and “The Prince of Darkness” with regularity. It is Physicality - From the top of the roster down, a committment to finish abso- with that said that I am here to tell you that Game 1’s loss is not necessarily a lutely every single check was evident in Game 1. While not as dumbfuck in harbinger of playoff doom, so put the knives away, get off the ledge, and lose implementation as Calgary, and to a certain extent Vancouver attempted last the can of kerosene and the zippo. playoff year, over a seven game series, those hits all add up, and will give Nashville even the slightest pause in retrieving the puck from a corner or In spite of the result, there was actually a lot to like about Friday going to the net. But the important part of it was that everyone on the roster night’s game...at least through in the first 40 minutes. Clearly, the final frame has fully bought into the idea. It’s not just the usual culprits from the Hawks left something to be desired, but that’s not what we’re (who somewhat unfoundedly get a reputation as a “small” discussing at present. Here were just a few things that this team, when their average team size is in line with NHL observer took away from Friday that should be encourag- averages), and that’s the most important part. It’s not just ing as the series deepens. Eager, Brouwer, Ladd, and Seabrook laying the lumber, but now guys like Toews, Versteeg, and the aforemen- Marian Hossa - As he has demurely intimated in the tioned Marian Hossa initiating contact, meaning there are press, it’s become very clear that Marian Hossa’s ass has no shifts for the opposition when they’re not going to get grown weary of all of the talk of his playoff goat status, or hit. some cockamamie curse that he’s somehow carrying, and he let his play show that. From the first shift on, Hossa The Fourth Line - It’s been inching ever closer to being showed he was going to skull-fuck his way to getting his beaten to death at this point, but the fourth line’s recent name on the Cup, or die trying. While he didn’t register (and honestly, fucking inexplicable) Legion of Doom a point, he was a factor all over the ice creating chances, impersonation has allowed Quenneville to consistently protecting the puck along the wall, and even steamrolling roll all four lines over out onto the ice, which is is key in Patric Hornqvist along the boards. If he keeps this level of Matt McClure conserving the energy of his go-to guys not only within play up, the points will come by the truckload. the context of a game, but also throughout the course of what will hopefully be a deep playoff run. Given that six Dave Bolland - Both in print here, and on Second City Hockey, I’ve been of those go-to-guys played around seven extra games in Vancouver because calling out Dave Bolland to at least be a factor in the offensive zone, even Gary Bettman is a dipshit, the fourth line’s role in spelling the top lines if if he’s not putting up monster numbers. Last night was the first time I saw only for a handful of seconds cannot be overlooked and will pay dividends. what I wanted from 36 in red, as he and Kane seem to be finally finding one another well. Additionally, another aspect of his game that had been an area So there you have it, you short-attention-span-having, perspective- of concern were his faceoffs, and Bolland was 7 of 9 at the dot. In order for lacking, hand-wringing defeatists. One game, or Game 1, do not a series he and Kane to be effective on a line together, he has to get Kane the puck, make. In a vacuum, everyone knows that the Hawks have a better roster than and winning draws, even if not directly to Mullet Boy, is certainly a way to the Preds. While the outcome was not ideal, the Hawks certainly showed establish possession. Bolland is a far bigger key to the Hawks post-season a lot more positives than negatives in the game, many of which could and success or lack thereof than many realize, and he will need to continue his should have long-term effects. Of course, if they drop this one too, then we improving play in order for the Hawks’ depth to be something few teams can can all resume climbing out onto the edge of the nearest balcony so we can live with. light ourselves on fire and slit our wrists while in mid fall. I’ll probably be right there with you. Defensive Zone Coverage - Down the stretch, after the Olympic break, there were numerous stretches where the excellent positional play we saw Matt McClure is the technical supervisor/supervising technician of Second in the first months of the season in their own end had become something City Hockey.com. You can have him regail you wtth the story of his senior that more closely resembled a rodeo clown convention. Friday night saw a hockey awards dinner at Bradley University for the 43rd time if you reach recommittment to to taking away the middle of the ice from the opposition. him at [email protected] Additionally, save Troy Brouwer’s screw up that led to the second goal, the forwards did a servicable job of not pinching too low and abandoning their coverage assignments of their Nashville point men. The Hawks will need to consistently execute what we saw on Friday to keep the still wet behind the ears Antti Niemi from having to bail the team out, rather than just make the NHL PLAYOFF LEADERS Goals Points GAA SV% Player Team G Player Team P Player Team GAA Player Team SV% 1 N. Backstrom WAS 4 1 N. Backstrom WAS 5 1 J. Quick LA 2.21 1 J. Quick LA .929 2 A. Kostitsyn MTL 3 2 A. Kostitsyn MTL 5 2 R. Luongo VAN 2.21 2 Ryan Miller BUF .928 3 H. Zetterberg DET 3 3 S. Crosby PIT 5 3 Ryan Miller BUF 2.52 3 Tukka Rask BOS .918 4 C. Stewart COL 3 4 M. Richards PHI 4 4 Tukka Rask BOS 2.52 4 R. Luongo VAN .915 5 M. Sam’sson VAN 3 5 M. Cam’lleri MTL 4 5 B. Boucher PHI 2.52 5 B. Boucher PHI .911 Block Party Oh So Close All that separated the Blackhawks from victory and a 1-0 series just kind of out there. A guy with no identity. Hendry and Byfuglien were lead Friday night were a bad bounce Antti Niemi didn’t read and a bonehead regular partners while teammates in the Hawks farm system, but before to- Troy Brouwer miscue midway through the third. Well, and then there was day there was a Norris Trophy finalist hanging around to correct Byfuglien’s Pekka Rinne. blunders. I sense trouble here. Nashville did exactly what everyone expected them to do in Game Even more puzzling is the new first power play unit. With the 1. No surprises. No upset. They cluttered the neutral zone with white Hawks power play at this point scoring less often than its penalty kill, who jerseys, forcing Blackhawk puck carriers to the outside and for the most part, could blame Quenneville being open to try almost anything? Since Brian kept the scoring attempts Rinne did see to favorable distances. The Hawks Campbell was pushed into the UC end boards from behind by Alexander didn’t respond. They didn’t force enough pucks or bodies to front the Finn- Ovechkin, the Hawks power play has scored just four times (4 for 50) or ish netminder. They didn’t get their proverbial noses dirty. They didn’t play converted on 8% of those chances. It’s shockingly bad on a team with this ‘playoff hockey’ and now they’ve lost their home ice advantage. But all is much firepower. If the Hawks don’t tune the PP up in a hurry, Nashville not lost. The Hawks can win four of the next six games. They should any- won’t have much trouble taking this series. how, provided they show up tonight like a team interested in doing anything You wouldn’t think however, the answer would be to put two for victory. non-defenseman, currently providing nothing offensively themselves, on the The Blackhawks probably will win a game in this series 1-0, but points with the first power play unit. But that’s exactly what Quenneville they can’t expect to and their performance in the third period Friday night did at practice yesterday. The aforementioned line-killer, Dave Bolland was proof. and Dustin Byfuglien skated on the first unit with Toews, Kane and Sharp. A few things came out of Friday’s effort worth Quenneville has used Bolland there many times in the past, concern for Blackhawk fans. One; not only did the Hawks sur- and it never really clicked before so why he’s revisiting this render a third period lead, but they allowed Nashville dictate now is your guess, not mine. Considering getting traffic in the play to them during the final frame, getting out shot 13-4. front of six-foot five Pekka Rinne is an immediate concern, Dave Bolland continues to be largely invisible skating on a Byfuglien’s tall, wide-body would be better suited to park in line with one of the game’s brilliant offensive players, Patrick the deep slot as opposed to sixty feet out. Quenneville will Kane. There’s Patrick Sharp, who’s connected with opposing defend the move citing Byfuglien’s big shot, but Seabrook has twine just once in the past eight games. He’s getting lots of a decent one too and he’s a lot better at getting pucks through chances, so you figure he’ll bounce one or two in here soon, traffic than Byfuglien. Not to mention, for reasons I couldn’t but the Hawks can’t wait another week for him to do so. begin to rationalize, everybody’s favorite Norris Trophy While Bolland was near perfect on face offs in the candidate can’t crack the first power play unit. More trouble? opener, 7 for 9, it’s an aspect of the game he’s been hot and Chris Block Are you getting a little urpy? cold in during his young NHL career and as the second center Additional changes see Sharp reunited with Kane on the on a team aiming for a Stanley Cup Finals bid, he needs to pro- Bolland line. This drops Brouwer to the Madden-Versteeg vide so much more. In his last 19 games, Bolland has just 2 goals and 4 as- line. Toews and Hossa will now have Andrew Ladd on their left side. sists. He’s been playing with Patrick Kane for a couple of weeks and should Kane and Sharp have great chemistry so perhaps Sharp breaks have more to show for it than a goal, one assist and seven shots in those eight the slump tonight? Of all the moves, this one makes the most sense, or any games. Purely unacceptable. His interference penalty two minutes after J.P. sense at all. If Bolland can just stay out of the way now. Dumont’s shot from along the half wall deflected off Duncan Keith’s stick The formula is simple. Get pucks to the net. Drive hard and crash and two-hopped past Antti Niemi to tie the game was the epitome of stupid. the crease for rebounds. With the groove Rinne is in currently, he’s going As it turned out, Nashville were held without a shot on goal during the ensu- to make the first save and then the battle is between the Hawk forwards and ing power play, but Bolland’s timing, per usual, was ill-fated. Predators’ defenseman. If the home team forgets to bring the heat again in You can expect some changes tonight. One glance behind the Game 2, we’re looking at a long night and a lot of unhappy folks heading for Blackhawks bench late Friday could’ve told you so. As Nashville twice the exits. pounced on the home team’s vacated net and Joel Quenneville’s face became That’s not to suggest Brouwer or Ben Eager take another run at increasingly tautened, it was apparent his wheels were spinning and line Rinne. In 1991, Dirk Graham ran Jon Casey in the opening game of a series combos would soon too. You know, because in Quenneville’s world, a loss with heavy underdog Minnesota North Stars. The act didn’t jar Casey but it of course means a goalie change, line shuffling, or we are all punished by a did the Hawks as they never regained their composure. Storming the crease period or two of Kris Versteeg playing center. and guys like Sharp and Hossa driving wide and cutting around defense- The biggest and definitely most interesting change made for man to the net will eventually create all kinds of problems for Rinne and the tonight is the reuniting of Brent Seabrook and Duncan Keith. The pair have Nashville defense. Before the league eliminated the clutching and grabbing, been together for nearly their entire five year careers but were split up out the dreaded “trap” was very real. Today, it’s only a trap if you stand around of necessity last month after injuries to Brian Campbell and Kim Johnsson and let it be. The Hawks must be more assertive going forward. depleted an already struggling defense core. The Blackhawks are still the better team. They own a decidedly On the surface it appears to be a panic move as it will weaken more potent offense and a defense that is at least as good, even now, as the other two pairings and core six unnecessarily. Dustin Byfuglien is now Nashville’s. This is still the Hawks series to lose. I wouldn’t go as far to skating with Jordan Hendry and Niklas Hjalmarsson with Brent Sopel. Keith classify tonight as “must win” as much as it’s important the Hawks get their and Seabrook will be asked to skate 30 minutes tonight for sure. Barry Trotz game going and instill some doubt in a Predators group beaming with confi- knows this and will instruct his forwards to be as physical as possible and dence right now. If they don’t, this won’t take very long. make those a hard 30 minutes. Keith was darting around Friday like he was streamlining amphetamines. He may need to. In case you haven’t noticed, Hjalmarsson has been jittery of late. [email protected] Now his turnovers will leave Brent Sopel alone to clean up, and as much as I BlogTalkRadio.com/TheThirdManIn commend his play this season, that’s a big dropoff from Seabrook. Hendry is a nice fill-in until Campbell gets back. He’s not prone to many mistakes and is a good enough skater to join a rush when the occasion presents but he’s not someone you’d classify as a shut down d-man. He’s The Making of The Chicago Blackhawks
YEAR DRAFT TRADE FREE AGENT Kim Johnsson (NYR 11th round 1994) Marian Hossa (OTT 1st round 1997) and Nick Leddy (MIN 1st round 2009) Tomas Kopecky (DET 2nd round from MIN for Cam Barker (CHI 1st 2000) round 2004) John Madden (NJ Undrafted FA Nick Boynton (BOS 1st round 1999) 1997) from ANA for future considerations 2008-2009 Brian Campbell (BUF 6th round 1997 Cristobal Huet (LA 7th round 2001) Antii Niemi (Undrafted FA) 2007-2008 Patrick Kane (1st round) Ben Eager (PHO 1st round 2002) from Brent Sopel (VAN 6th round 1995) PHI for Jim Vandermeer (FA PHI 2000) Andrew Ladd (CAR 1st round 2004) from CAR for Tuomo Ruutu (CHI 1st round 2001) 2006-2007 Jonathan Toews (1st round) Kris Versteeg (BOS 5th round 2004) from BOS for Brandon Bochenski (OTT 7th round 2001) 2005-2006 Niklas Hjalmarsson (4th round) Patrick Sharp (PHI 3rd round 2001) Jordan Hendry (Undrafted FA) from PHI for Matt Ellison (CHI 4th round 2002) and CHI 3rd round pick 2006 2004-2005 Dave Bolland (2nd round) Bryan Bickell (2nd round) Troy Brouwer (7th round) 2003-2004 Brent Seabrook (1st round) Colin Fraser (PHI 3rd round 2003), Dustin Byfuglien (8th round) Jim Vandermeer (PHI FA 2000) and 2004 2nd round pick from PHI for Alex Zhamnov and 2004 4th round pick (WIN 4th round 1990) 2002-2003 Duncan Keith (2nd round) Adam Burish (9th round)
info in part provided by hockeyreference.com GM HISTORY Present: Stan Bowman COACHES 2005-2009: Dale Tallon Head Coach-Joel Quenneville Too Fucking Long, Too Many Fucking Times: Bob Assistant Coach-John Torchetti Assistant Coach-Mike Haviland Pulford Assistant Coach- Marc Bergevin 2001-2004: Mike Smith Goaltending Coach-Stephane Waite 1999-2000: Bob Murray The Making of The Nashville Predators
YEAR DRAFT TRADE FREE AGENT 2009-2010 Dustin Boyd (CAL 3rd round 2004) from CAL for Marcel Goc (SJ 1st round 2010 4th round pick 2001) Denis Grebeshkov (LA 1st round 2002) from EDM Francis Bouillon (MTL Un- for 2010 2nd round pick drafted FA 1997) 2008-2009 Joel Ward (MIN Undrafted FA 2006) 2007-2008 Nick Spaling (2nd round) Wade Belak (QUE 1st round 1994) from TOR 2008 Dan Ellis (DAL 2nd round 5th round pick 2000) 2006-2007 Jason Arnott (EDM 1st round 1993) J.P. Dumont (NYI 1st round 1996) 2005-2006 Cody Franson (3rd round) Cal O’Reilly (5th round) Patric Hornqvist (7th round) 2004-2005 Pekka Rinne (8th round) Jerred Smithson (Undrafted FA)
2003-2004 Ryan Suter (1st round) Steve Sullivan (NJ 9th round 1994) from CHI for Shea Weber (2nd round) 2004 and 2005 2nd round picks Kevin Klein (2nd round) 2002-2003 2001-2002 Dan Hamhuis (1st round) Asshat (4th round) 1999-2000 Martin Erat (1st round) 1998-1999 David Legwand (1st round)
COACHES GM HISTORY Head Coach: Barry Trotz 1999-Present: David Poile Asst. Coach: Brent Peterson Asst. Coach: Peter Horacek Goaltending Coach: Mitch Korn The Hawks Record When...
Playing at United Center..... 29-9-3 Allowing 30 shots or more...... 9-7-1 during 4-on-4...... 40-18-6 Playing on road...... 22-14-4 Allowing 30 shots or less...... 43-16-7 Konroyd thankfully fills-in for Eddie O 8-3-2 Playing at ridiculous neutral site for no reason... 1-0-1 100 Level doesn’t cheer for anthem. 21-5-0 Pat Foley screws up a name...... 43-15-4 Scoring first...... 40-10-7 1st of a back-to-back...... 7-9-3 Ice Crew wear skirts...... 25-8-2 Opponent scores first...... 12-13-1 2nd of a back-to-back..... 15-1-3 Ice Crew wear pants...... 1-0-0 Shoot the puck bimbo scores...... 4-2-0 Opponent played night before.... 10-6-0 Ice Crew comes out on the ice at the wrong time.... 2-0-0 Shoot the puck bimbo doesn’t score...... 24-7-3 Taking more than 5 penalties..... 15-9-1 Member of Ice Crew hilariously falls on her shapely ass.... 0-0-0 Shoot the puck bimbo blows editors of Commited Indian..... 0-0-0 Taking 5 or less penalties.... 37-14-7 Sarah Kustok hilariously falls on her shapely ass.... 1-0-0 Playing on a Monday...... 4-0-0 Taking yet another fucking too-many men penalty.... 3-4-1 Leading after 2 periods...... 35-2-3 Playing on a Tuesday...... 6-5-0 Keith takes a penalty...... 15-9-0 Losing after 2 periods...... 7-18-1 Playing on a Wednesday...... 9-3-0 Toews takes a penalty..... 16-3-0 Tied after 2 periods...... 10-3-4 Playing on a Thursday...... 8-4-0 Kane takes lazy offensive zone penalty.... 6-3-1 In overtime...... 6-2 Playing on a Friday...... 6-4-3 Brouwer takes a penalty... 12-5-2 In shootout...... 9-6 Playing on a Saturday...... 10-4-2 Seabrook takes a penalty... 15-2-1 On Heritage Nights.... 6-0-1 Playing on a Sunday...... 9-3-2 Sopel takes a penalty... 10-4-1 On Rick Vaive Heritage Night.... 0-0-0 Are out-muscled by opponent.... 3-12-0 Versteeg is country stupid...... 45-21-7 In 1-goal games..... 24-9-8 Outshoot opponent...... 44-19-7 Versteeg actually dumps a puck in correctly... 7-0-1 In 2-goal games...... 5-8-0 Are outshot by opponent.... 8-3-1 Sharp floats around and doesn’t do much.... 7-5-1 In 3-goal games...... 16-4-0 Patrick Kane scores...... 21-5-2 At least 1 fight in 300 Level... 11-4-0 In 4+ goal games...... 6-2-0 Jonathan Toews scores...... 13-3-3 No fights in 300 Level..... 17-3-2 Scoring more than 3 goals..... 29-2-2 Patrick Sharp scores...... 14-4-3 Playing Eastern Conference..... 11-5-2 Scoring 3 goals or less...... 23-21-6 Dustin Byfuglien scores...... 12-1-2 Playing Western Conference..... 41-18-6 PA plays Ministry...... 0-0-0 Dustin Byfuglien turns into Cam Fucking Neely.... 7-2-1 Playing Central Division...... 15-9-1 PA plays some Faces finally!..... 3-1-1 Dustin Byfuglien reverts back to useless bag of crap.... 45-20-7 Playing Northwest Division.... 15-2-2 PA fucking plays 3’s and 7’s! Fuck and Yes!...... 3-0-1 Andrew Ladd scores...... 10-2-2 Playing Pacific Division 10-7-3 PA plays TOOL!!!!!! 2-1-0 Marian Hossa scores...... 14-7-1 Playing Atlantic Division 4-2-0 PA plays P.J. Harvey...... 0-0-0 51 Phantom scores...... 6-1-0 Playing NASCAR Division 3-1-2 Fraser fights...... 4-0-1 51 Phantom does his little turn on the catwalk... 36-15-3 Playing Northeast Division 4-2-0 Brouwer fights.... 3-0-0 Coach Q misuses Brian Campbell.... 23-9-3 Playing in October.... 8-3-1 Seabrook fights..... 3-0-0 Duncan Keith scores...... 10-3-1 Playing in November.... 8-3-2 Burish fights...... 1-1-0 Brent Seabrook scores...... 3-1-0 Playing December.... 11-4-0 Versteeg throws some fucking haymakers...... 1-0-0 VerStud scores.... 14-4-1 Playing in January... 10-4-1 Eager fights and risks getting his 36th concussion...... 6-1-1 Troy Brouwer scores.... 15-3-2 Playing in February... 4-1-1 On Comcast...... 34-12-6 Scoring a Power Play goal...... 29-6-6 Playing in March.... 6-7-2 On WGN...... 12-6-1 Not scoring a Power Play goal... 23-17-2 Playing in April.... 5-0-1 On Vs...... 5-3-1 Allowing a Power Play goal...... 18-11-4 Playoff Record.... 0-1-0 On NBC.... 1-1-1 Not Allowing a Power Play goal...... 34-12-4 Huet’s glove-hand is sloth-like.... 3-8-2 Torchetti interviewed before 3rd... 24-7-0 Scoring a short-handed goal...... 6-3-1 Obliterate teams on faceoffs...... 34-10-5 Haviland interviewed before 3rd... 15-8-7 Allowing a short-handed goal...... 0-2-1 Opponent is even close on faceoffs.... 18-13-3 New 300 Level bars are filled with drunk trixies... 29-8-3 Taking 30 or more shots...... 39-19-5 Eddie O tells crew to “stop it right here!”.... 40-18-6 Some drunk moron claims Havlat is better than Hossa.... 1-0-0 Taking less than 30 shots..... 12-4-3 Eddie O tells us D have the forwards and forwards have the D Kustok asks dumb questions in postgame interview.... 20-4-2
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