Wait...maybe I am incorrect but I thought I WAS the norm:

handwriting RIGHT
Baseball Bat right
Hockey shoot Left
- wiz1901

I fall into this "norm" too.

Wait...maybe I am incorrect but I thought I WAS the norm:

handwriting RIGHT
Baseball Bat right
Hockey shoot Left
- wiz1901

Therefore playing golf you could be ambidextrous and a low handicapper both ways.

Well, isn't that true league-wide?

the reaosn you want to be the team scoring first?
- wiz1901

yeah wiz...i get it..but discounting the hawks performance when trailing as...well don't they all...is just rationalization...

when a team is giving up 2, 3 goals in the 1st period around 30% of their road games with little or no push back or response that's a problem...

now maybe this is how the hawks "pace" themselves...in the playoffs they have shown much more push back; last year they gave up 3 in a period 7 times and won 4 of those...

I fall into this "norm" too.
- powerenforcer

Same here. I write and bat right handed, use a hockey stick left handed. I even use a pool cue left handed.

And for the record Phil, I am not a fan of a strict butterfly either. But for the most part the past couple decades that's the way goalies are coached. I feel your pain.
- 6628

It's almost blasphemous to question it now, but besides stopping the puck, the number 1 rule of goaltending from my upbringing, was DON'T MAKE THE FIRST MOVE.

When goalies default to their knees before the first ticket is scanned at the gate, they're in violation.

I think if you look around the league there is a lot of weak backup goaltending going on, not only Darling.

Stalock, Zatkoff, Markstrom and Nilsson all terrible. And even 1A's like Bernier, Hiller, Pavolec and Lethonnen aren't very good.

I was hoping Darling would get the net in 25 games because he would benefit from more playing time. But its not going to happen.
- RickJ

Darling's a good goalie and has shown it time and again, especially in the playoffs last year. The problem is his SLOW STARTS.

Same here. I write and bat right handed, use a hockey stick left handed. I even use a pool cue left handed.
- EKB13

Never really thought about it but everything I do is with my right hand, but I actually batted as good from my left side as my right with a little less power. I only use my left when my right gets tired it's my back up

Wondering if the feel good story for a Chicago kid has just about run its course. There were those that were ready to send Corey packing last summer and give this kid the full time job. Hence the reason Stan Bowman is the GM and we are not!
If he can't right the ship , I bet Bowman goes into the next season with a true NHL veteran ex starting goalie as his back up, some like a Jimmy Howard type. Darlings next gig will be a starting goalie job for 1of the teams in Johnny's Sunday morning elite league. Expect Corey to carry the majority of the mail from here on out!
- wonthecup10

I missed Raanta last night who the Hawks traded to NY for Ryan Haggerty

20-20 Hind Sight a great thing

Write lefty, shoot a gun lefty, throw righty, bat righty/lefty, hockey shot . . . righty.
- John Jaeckel

Never figured this out..
My Dad writes righty, bats righty, Shoots lefty, Throws footballs righty and throws baseballs lefty and righty.

I missed Raanta last night who the Hawks traded to NY for Ryan Haggerty

20-20 Hind Sight a great thing
- Colbyboy

Darling is fine 6-5-2 save % 913

Darling did not have it last night , but in his defense they got in late from Detroit probably did not have the usual pre game ritual and his 1st start in sometime . Kane line really did not have it last night either .On a positive Terivanainen had a good game 50% at the dot ,and making some nice plays . And solid in his own end .. I blame JJ for no pre game Blog !!!

Same here. I write and bat right handed, use a hockey stick left handed. I even use a pool cue left handed.
- EKB13

Everything righty,

If i'm not mistaken, that's a sign of extreme intelligence

My only concern going forward is the PK imo needs to be better. Hopefully Hossa and Kruger are able to comeback at full strength and be the shutdown guys I know they can be.

FWIW this is the biggest reason we were bounced in 2014 after game 1 in the series we were off and allowing clean shots to get on net. We cleaned it up but not soon enough and we know how that ended

Everything righty,




- vabeachbearIf i'm not mistaken, that's a sign of extreme intelligence

I added our usual red font for sarcasm,ok



Like I said yesterday, I WILL eventually go through the original six shoot hands to show the disparity and lack of right handers...

but you have to wonder as people are answering...as parents we continually tried putting the crayon in the right hand.
Granted more parents today will not course correct the kid coloring lefty, but lets just assume, maybe just maybe some of us where born left handed and our course writing corrected but in hockey the course self correct so the person shot the more natural right shot.

And yes some people have solid both hand skills, can even write both hands...

Like I said yesterday, I WILL eventually go through the original six shoot hands to show the disparity and lack of right handers...

but you have to wonder as people are answering...as parents we continually tried putting the crayon in the right hand.
Granted more parents today will not course correct the kid coloring lefty, but lets just assume, maybe just maybe some of us where born left handed and our course writing corrected but in hockey the course self correct so the person shot the more natural right shot.

And yes some people have solid both hand skills, can even write both hands...
- wiz1901

I am not one of those people! I do everything lefty, including shoot left in hockey. One of my sons is quite ambidextrous, righty dominant but lots of facility with his left (including switch-hitting in baseball and golf). He shot right-handed in hockey.

No game day blog, no Hawks win. I blame JJ

No game day blog, no Hawks win. I blame JJ
- Assman22

Write lefty, shoot a gun lefty, throw righty, bat righty/lefty, hockey shot . . . righty.
- John Jaeckel

Righty in most everything except hockey and putting (all other golf clubs I'm a righty, only putt lefty)

Darling's a good goalie and has shown it time and again, especially in the playoffs last year. The problem is his SLOW STARTS.
- philco28

I agree with this. He needs work, and he gets better the more he plays. He can also get into a zone where he is outstanding, the more he plays. No Cup last year without his performance in Round 1. And that was legit. Because he ha splayed that way at other times as well, just not on that big a stage.

Yep...CC was fine.

One large difference between CC and Darling is that CC was never a backup. After several years with a couple token call-up starts in 2010-11 CC was given the starting gig and 57 appearances.

2011-12 57 appearances
2012-13 30 of 48
2013-14 59 appearances
2014-15 57 appearances
2015-16 53 appearances so far, likely 65+

Tough to compare the 2 goalies for the most part, and not really fair. That said, the Hawks need a dependable backup for the playoffs and a tough choice may need to be made.

One thing is certain...we all better hope that CC is good to go for the entire playoff run this season.
- ArlingtonRob

Crow's first three (full) seasons:

SEASON TEAM GP W L T OT SO GA SA SV% GAA MIN

2010-2011 BLACKHAWKS 57 33 18 - 6 4 128 1,545 .917 2.30 3,337
2011-2012 BLACKHAWKS 57 30 17 - 7 0 146 1,507 .903 2.72 3,218
2012-2013 BLACKHAWKS 30 19 5 - 5 3 57 769 .926 1.94 1,761

Season 2 sticks out like a sore thumb. Just saying that the sophomore season is often not the season on which to judge a player's value.

Here's Darling's career so far:

SEASON TEAM GP W L T OT SO GA SA SV% GAA MIN

2014-2015 BLACKHAWKS 14 9 4 - 0 1 27 419 .936 1.94 833
2015-2016 BLACKHAWKS 17 6 5 - 2 0 39 446 .913 2.58 908

The sophomore season is often a crossroads in professional sports. Some people come back and thrive in a big way, as Crow did. Worst case, you might remember Joe Charboneau, MLB rookie of the year one year, then a sophomore slump he never recovered from. Thankfully the Charboneau stories are far and few between. We can't fall into the trap of thinking that every sophomore season means another Joe Charboneau is happening before our eyes.

Never figured this out..
My Dad writes righty, bats righty, Shoots lefty, Throws footballs righty and throws baseballs lefty and righty.
- Bustov22

I had a friend once who ate with his right hand but did everything else with his left. When I asked about this peculiarity, his response was that he got his knuckles rapped by his mother when he was young and used his left to eat.

This probably has already been talked about, but I haven't got time to read thru all these pages (credit to JJ).
This Ehrhoff guy has really impressed me:
-nice shot from the point on the power play (something this team has lacked)
-eating up minutes (almost the same as Keith last nite)
-aggressive in the offensive zone esp. considering that he is a new player on the team
To me he has had more impact than any of our other additions so far.

[/color]

I added our usual red font for sarcasm,ok



Like I said yesterday, I WILL eventually go through the original six shoot hands to show the disparity and lack of right handers...

but you have to wonder as people are answering...as parents we continually tried putting the crayon in the right hand.
Granted more parents today will not course correct the kid coloring lefty, but lets just assume, maybe just maybe some of us where born left handed and our course writing corrected but in hockey the course self correct so the person shot the more natural right shot.

And yes some people have solid both hand skills, can even write both hands...
- wiz1901

My mom did that with the baby spoon and tableware until I was about 6 years old. She was a lefty and hated it.

Darling had a rough game but hasn't consistently played all year. Going to happen. You'd like to see him get a few more but keeping Crow sharp and getting points for home ice are probably more important.

The Hawks had their chances and missed some open cages at the other end. Boston needs points desperately while Chicago is sitting a little more comfortably.

Panarin got a nice look at what an excellent defensive forward will do when they don't bite on his shake and bake so hopefully it will be a good teachable experience for him.

That third line is looking dangerous.

Rounding things out with a healthy Hossa is going to ratchet things up another level and getting Kooga back will be icing on the cake. Good things are coming.

I'll try to be as brief as possible so try to bear with me for a minute. Marchand is not 3rd in goals scored this year for no good reason. Backstabber sure, but a very good hockey player. On his goal last night a lot of us are saying Darling has to have that one, even Olcyk did. But I disagree.

Even a slug from 18-20 feet with no pressure can hit that far corner and with any mustard on the shot the goalie can't move fast enough. But a snipe like that was perfect. Marchand has the puck and Hammer is down on his knees trying to block. A good shooter knows a goalie is looking at his eyes to figure out where the shot is going. But in that situation Marchand isn't shooting at the net so much as he is trying to just miss Hammer. He knows that the closer the shot is to Hammer the harder it is to see for Darling, and if he just misses Hammer to the far side the puck has to cross Hammers body making it harder yet for Darling to see. Plus if he just misses Hammer the puck will still be on net and not wide. Hammer sees it all the way but can't react. Hammer is right in front of him so Darling holds his ground and doesn't come out to cut the angle and risk tripping over Hammer. Marchand executed the play perfectly. In that instant right then and there, nothing Darling could do about it. I don't like Marchand any more than the rest of you. Tonight I even copied the picture of Shaw kickin his ass and it's now my screen saver. But you have to tip the cap, he can score.
- 6628

Side note to guys who play D - Watch your goalie play while you are on the bench. Watch specifically when he comes out, how he comes out, and where he sets himself in the crease area. Use these placements as a barometer of how you manage your gap control. Your gap closure needs to end by the time you get to these areas, actually a bit in front of these areas. D need to be aware that they don't encroach on the goalie's natural movement regarding shot angles unless they are physically dealing with an opponent imho.

Hope that makes sense.