Last night the Blackhawks did not score first nor did they lead after the opening period. What they did accomplish was to effectively outplay the Nashville Predators and skate away with a well deserved 4-2 victory.
Khabibulin was solid although fortunate on a few Predator chances. Khabby seemed to not follow the puck as well as in his last few outings. It’s hard to be critical though as he was always in position to make the save and Nashville really didn’t have many second chance scoring opportunities.
The Hawks were the better Club for most of the night and stayed within their game plan. They came at Nashville in waves and forced turnovers and won many of the individual battles.
The Blackhawks are playing within themselves and also are winning the low scoring tight checking contests that gave them problems for much of the season. They have also showed the willingness to battle against desperate Clubs and have come out ahead on the scoreboard.
Everything is going nicely in preparation for the Playoffs but all is not perfect… it seldom will be.
The power play still is not generating enough quality scoring chances.
That will be hard to do unless Campbell and Barker can get shots on goal. Last night neither recorded a shot on net.
It would also be better for the Hawks if Campbell could consistently play with confidence. It could because of the style of games the Hawks have competed in of late but Campbell seems to seldom have the puck. His ice time last night was also less than 16 minutes.
Consistently winning faceoffs is also a problem in some games but overall has been better.
Going in the right direction are the performances from Dustin Byfuglien and Patrick Kane.
As written a few times recently big Buff seems to have gotten it.
He has been able to use his size effectively and also has been able to get himself into position to score. Byfuglien has thee points in the last four games but beyond the stats he has been a much better player. His goal last night was a big one for a few reasons.
Most important is that Byfuglien did everything right on his scoring play. He worked hard and then was quick to get into position to win a battle and score. Lastly he converted a chance on a puck at his feet which has often been a problem.
Kane in somewhat the same way as Byfuglien, put himself in a position to score last night on many occasions. When Kane records four or five shots on goal in a single game it could be a misleading stat in some ways. Quantity matters but quality matters more so.
When Kane is skating and working hard to find open ice around the net he will be the most effective. He was in close to the Predator goal last night and although he didn’t convert on every chance he stayed with the correct plan.
Kane and Byfuglien weren’t the only Hawks that stayed with the game plan throughout the night. The entire team has been playing smart and effective hockey.
If the correct type of effort continues the Hawks will stay tough to beat.
Al’s Shot’s
The Canucks defeated the Flames last night and are now tied in points.
The Hawks can clinch a 4th seed and home ice for the 1st round of the Playoffs with a victory over the Blue Jackets tonight.
Just my thinking….no whispers…I think Khabibulin starts tonight in net.
If the Hawks pick up two points versus the Jackets their weekend games will only be a tune-up for the Post Season. More accurately this weekend can be used to rest certain players.
No matter what, the Hawks will want keep their top efforts going against the Wings but it would be great for them if the pressure was off for a couple of games.
It would make some sense for Huet to play tonight and one game over the weekend but I have a feeling Q. may do it differently.
If Khabby starts tonight and wins he may not see the ice versus Detroit over the weekend.
I am thinking Sharp will not return to action tonight but I am not certain.
The Hawks will again be facing a team that has a lot to play for… the Jackets need one point to clinch their first Playoff appearance ever.
Usually the United Center playing surface is fine. Actually those who should know have told me the UC has better ice than many other buildings around the NHL.
The last two times the Hawks have played at the UC the next day following a Bulls game the ice has not been good. The Bulls played last night so I will be interested to see how the playing surface is tonight.
The Hawks are more of a finesse team… bad ice hurts them more so than some other Clubs.
Hopefully the ice at the UC will not be a problem for the Playoffs.
The magical season of accomplishments continue tonight for the Hawks.
The 8,547th fan to enter the UC tonight will signify an all time Blackhawk attendance record.
The former 82 year old Franchise attendance record was 835,972 which will be easily surpassed tonight.
It was also nice to see a sellout crowd in Nashville last night. The Preds will now have to win out and then need help to make the Playoffs.
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I wanted to let all my readers know that starting Monday April 13th I will be writing for a new website called ESPN Chicago.com. It is very exciting to be covering the Blackhawks for ESPN the leading sports network in the United States. I will be writing opinions on the Hawks as usual but will be doing so at a website geared toward Chicago sports.
I will still be posting at HB through Friday and then look forward to hearing from many of you at the new ESPN site which starts up on Monday.
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