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Blackhawks Get to Play Another Game of Hockey… FINALLY

October 10, 2019, 8:45 AM ET [532 Comments]
Tyler Cameron
Chicago Blackhawks Blogger • RSSArchiveCONTACT


This has been such an anti-climatic start to the Blackhawks season that I don't have the energy to write a comprehensive, in-depth game day blog.

Nope, not going to do it. Instead, I'm going to rattle off a few storylines for both teams and then let's drop the damn puck.

For the Blackhawks' opponent tonight - the San Jose Sharks – I think we can expect some angry dudes entering the United Centre.

The Sharks have started 0-4 and are clearly frustrated.

They are so beside themselves that they have gone out and sign Patrick Marleau who's been sitting on the curb outside of the SAP Center waiting for GM Doug Wilson to tap him on the shoulder.

It seemed to be the only place Marleau wanted to be and it all worked out after he inked a 1-year / $700k deal this week. He will make his season debut tonight.

Also, goaltending has been a topic of contention in San Jose with the inconsistent play of Martin Jones (I'm so happy I traded him last year in my fantasy hockey pool) and Aaron Dell. Well, Dell will get the nod tonight as he attempts to get the first win for SJ goalies this year.

I would love to say I'm shocked that the Sharks are 0-4, however, I'm not. I looked at their roster on opening day and as a hardcore hockey fan, I was concerned when I didn't even know who 3-4 of their players were.

This summer, out goes Pavelski, Donskoi, Braun, Nyquist, Haley, J. Ryan and in comes… Patrick Marleau 4 games in?

I've heard NHL pundits talk about how they think the Sharks could win it all this year, however, I would beg to differ.

I'm not just saying this after a 0-4 start, I'm saying this because of the amount of stock they have put in guys like Lean Bergmann, Danil Yurtaikin, Lukas Radil, Mario Ferraro… and the list of unknowns goes on.

I'm not by any means am suggesting this is going to be an easy game. As I mentioned above, these Sharks be angry and they are going to have an emotional boost with Marleau re-joining the team. This is going to be a tough one.

Also, the Blackhawks have been sitting stagnant for the last 6 days.

Well, I wouldn't say stagnant; they have been running some fast-paced practices and I'm sure watched a lot of video from Prague.

The quick updates regarding the lineup are that Connor Murphy is in and Calvin de Haan and Kirby Dach appear to be out still.

I think it's the correct call by Colliton (I love alliteration), to keep the lines as is.

The Philadelphia / Prague debacle could have been an anomaly and you Colliton has kept some of these lines together for most of the preseason so to change them now would be a little silly.

The way the Hawks talked during this week was that this felt more like their "first game of the year" now that they have "that Europe trip out of the way".

What I want to see tonight is that the Hawks come out with a lot of energy, relentless forechecking and puck pursuit and crisper passing.

Heck, the Hawks even practice dump-and-chase drills yesterday in practice. This is not an indication of how they will be playing moving forward, however, it is a tactic that they are going to have to use from time-to-time.

I guarantee they were practicing this because one of those times they should have executed it was in Game #1 vs. Philly. There were moments in that game where PHI created a wall of defenders in the neutral zone and the Hawks need to adjust to getting it by them and retrieving.

The Hawks have added more "retrievers" than they had last year in the likes of Shaw, Carpenter and Kubalik to go along with guys like Caggiula, Kampf, Saad and Toews.

I'm also looking for the defence to plug a hole in that leak.

Connor Murphy's return should help on that 3rd pairing with Koekkoek. But the Hawks need more from Keith and Gustafsson if they are going to play the most 5-on-5 minutes.

Crawford should be the starter tonight but that will be announced today.

What are you hoping to see (other than a Hawks win) tonight?


See ya out there!

TC

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