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Blues Lucky...Nope...Hawks Just Not Sharp Enough |
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Once gain the Hawks scored early in a road game but couldn’t salvage a victory. I don’t think achieving 11 shots on goal in the first two periods gives the Hawks a great chance at obtaining a win. That certainly can’t be the case if Sharp, Havlat and Byfuglien are a combined -7. Sharp was coming off two solid efforts but last night he and his mates had a difficult time. Although Havlat was credited with four shots on goal Sharp had only one and Buff accounted for none.
I have always complimented Patrick Sharp on being a smart hockey player who can do most things well. There are two soft spots to his game and last night they both showed up. Sharp and the Blackhawks would be better off if he played wing not center. He is there now by default and so far has proved very costly on a few occasions. Defensively it is difficult on Sharp as he has trouble handling the opposition’s top centers. This is especially true on the road when he doesn’t benefit from a good match-up.
Sharp is not a great faceoff man in many games although he has his moments. Last night he was 45% at the dot but to make matters worse he was far better than Toews and Bolland. As a team the Hawks were successful on faceoffs only 36% of the time which will usually prove costly in a close contest. As has been the case all season the Hawks have been sporadic and this category is no exception. Against Phoenix the Hawks won over 60% of their faceoffs.
I don’t agree with Pat Kane’s comments after the game. I don’t believe the Hawks dominated the Blues although they were in position to win and did squander the opportunity. The entire Toews line performed well last night and Kane in particular was sharp. He played with lot energy and was creating chances for his mates.
The “lucky” Blue goals were scored on screens and deflection and were not pretty. The Blues did just what they had to do last night. They weren’t any better than the Hawks in most ways until it counted. The whole game featured both teams not taking advantage of their opportunities. The Hawks either continue to miss the net on good scoring chances or pump shots dead center into the keeper. The Blues were guilty of the same but it was the ugly goals which helped provide them the victory..
I used the term “ugly” not lucky. The St Louis goals were initiated from design.
First I will back up a second, the first Blues goal happened after a bad Byfuglien decision. Buff was a few feet from the blueline and he was checked. Instead of getting the puck out, he threw a poor back pass toward the other side of his zone. The result icing, no player change, a Sharp faceoff loss and a Blues screen shot goal.
The third period Blues goals were just a factor of simple smart hockey.
T.J. Oshie who I loved at ND and see no reason now to change my opinion of him in the NHL. He made a simple centering pass and caught Hendry and Sopel flat footed, the result was a Tkachuk goal.
As far as the third Blues goal….Yes it was a fortunate deflection but McDonald did exactly what he set out to do. He threw the puck on goal and sometimes good things result. Most importantly the Hawks got outworked the preceding minute prior to the last score. The puck was in their zone for too long. The Hawks managed to ice the puck but the same boys were stuck on the ice.
I give full marks to Patrick Kane as he came up with a big effort after a very emotional few days. It is well documented that he and Denis Savard were very close. He may have been caught up in the moment when he said the Blues got a couple of lucky goal.
Most goals in the NHL aren’t very pretty as points aren’t awarded for style. Kane is going to be an elite scorer in the NHL for years to come. He will realize that many of his points will come on those “lucky” types of goals. Actually more should happen that way right now.
Al’s Shots
Sople and Hendry are getting pushed around down low. Hendry’s spearing penalty wasn’t intentionally a dirty play but he does need to get tougher.
Hendry is catching a beating game in and game out and he needs to play with an edge.
The Hawk days for Barker are either going to start again soon or not at all is my guess.
Skille has gone from 2nd/3rd line minutes to seeing the ice for only about 8 minutes yesterday.
Barker and Skille were among Tallon favorites and both may not be part of the Roster this season.
Johnson has been a pleasant addition and he provides a steady defensive game and does hit.
Unfortunately if Barker comes back it won’t help the “D” get better from a physicality standpoint unless he finally plays to his size.
I think Versteeg has proven he deserves to be considered a top 6 forward for now.
It could be time to give Kontiola another shot until something else can be put together.
So far in Rockford after five games Brouwer has 8 points..Kontiola has 6 points with 4 goals.
After 3 games with Rockford Niemi had a 94% save percentage and in 2 games Crawford is close to 92%.
This could be the ticket….
Kane-Toews-Sharp
Havlat-Kontiola-Versteeg
Byfuglien-Bolland-Ladd
The only fourth line player who has stood out for me is Eager. Fraser has been ok too.
Skille could be headed back down shortly.
If Barker is not going to find a seat on the bench at the UC he could be elsewhere soon.
The Hawks need a big second line center.
The Leafs could be looking for young defenders. Barker in a package for Nik Antropov may work. Antropov is signed only through this season at about 2.1 million, which is less than Barkers 2.76 Cap hit.
I don’t know if the Hawks would want to trade Barker for a player who is going to be a UFA after this season but they may have little choice.
I would go in that direction rather than pursue Mike Comrie who earns almost twice as much as the Leafs center. Antropov is also a much bigger pivot. Comrie is only 5’10 and has been a minus player on average throughout his career.
Antropov could be the answer here for at least this season.
Somehow the Hawks should look to deal Craig Adams for a conditional draft pick and re-sign Kevyn Adams. Kevyn is a decent faceoff man which would help even on the fourth line..
Besides trying Campbell or maybe even Ladd or Buff in shootouts..How about the Hawks stick with wrists shots more often.
Ice time only a little different in general last night. The Hawks had 3 defenders with over 20 minutes. They did still have 4 forwards who logged in excess of 20 minutes of playing time.
The Canucks always give the Hawks problems with their cycle down low. The defenders will have their hands full with the big Canuck forwards.
Khabibulin doesn’t have a good record against the Canucks and neither do the Hawks in past seasons. He certainly can’t be faulted for last night’s loss but my guess is Huet gets the start.
Pat Foley night at the UC.. Hawk fans will hope Vancouver doesn’t spoil the party.
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