I stayed home and watched last night’s odd game on the tube as the brutally cold weather brings out the worse in cars. I have to admit it was not a very enjoyable game to watch. Not because of the TV telecast, which was fine, but there was no flow to the game because of all the penalties.
The Rangers aren’t normally a team which takes a lot of penalties. I find it a bit strange that they were whistled for so many infractions. I could tell some were deserved ......I just hope hockey fans are not in store for a 2nd half of this season which will be filled with whistles from NHL refs.
There is nothing worse than getting a lot of power play opportunities, especially 5 on 3's, and not being able to score. Naturally it is not as bad as taking frequent penalties but it does destroy the flow of the game. It is also screws with the ice time for some players and if a team doesn’t convert with the man advantage they usually aren’t as effective there after.
The Hawk players appeared drained at times and the high emotional response from the crowd also got depleted.
The Hawks had 15 shots on goal while on the power play. They had 14:34 of man advantage time including almost 7 minutes of 5 on 3 advantage. Coming out of that with only 1 goal would normally signal disaster.
In some ways the Hawks should be credited for coming away with at least a point. In reality this was a game they should have won going away if they conveted on the power play a few more times.
Lundqvist is one of the best goalies in the NHL. As I mentioned it was an odd game as the Seabrook lone power play strike was one that he would normally save. In total the Hawks didn’t have that many great chances to score on the Rangers and didn’t have very many rebound opportunities with the man advantage.
I don’t see the necessary screens during power plays by those Hawks who were near the crease. Maybe now that Keith is out of the lineup Byfuglien will go back to the point and be able to fire his rocket of a shot.
Big Buff still doesn’t look comfortable in front of the net. He is often not in the best position to provide a proper screen and he still has trouble finding the puck at his feet.
Before fans get down on Byfuglien a few facts need to be considered. Most players don’t have the ability to play offense as well as defense in the NHL. Buff never saw any action at forward before last season and the NHL is a tough place to learn new skills.
His success of last year was misleading as his goal total was too lofty too soon. I also thought he would be a lock to score more often this season but he has had challenges to deal with including some injuries.
It is silly to believe, although I was sucked into the notion as well, that Byfuglien could become the Hawks Tomas Holmstrom in a short period of time.
Now I would like to see Byfuglien use his big shot more often, as in the way he scored against the Predators. I would also like to see Ladd used in the slot on the power play.
The Blues, who once again have been a handful for the Hawks this season, are on tap for tonight. St Louis also catches the Hawks at favorable time, no Keith, and this will be the 3rd game in 4 nights for Chicago.
The Blues are on a bit of a roll and the Hawks will have to be sharp early on or this game could slip away. St. Louis has some nice young talent but they are still last in the Conference. All that said they have are 2-0 against the Hawks this season.
Patrick Kane has been very cold and the Hawks offense has been spotty of late. The power play hasn’t been very good in general and was horrible last night. I thought the Hawk defense played well against NY especially considering they were without Duncan Keith.
It is time to score a few ugly goals and to get back to basics on the power play. It is also not the time for the Hawks to be sucked into a fight filled game if there is any chance they will be more heavily penalized than the Blues.
Although St Louis has had many injuries this season they have also given up a lot of goals. The Hawks need to get their offense rolling and tonight would be a great time to start.
It should be another good test to conclude a tough week of games.
Al’s Shots
The Rangers are the 2nd best PK team in the NHL... very impressive last night.
The Hawks and Rangers were dead even at the Dot last night 50%-50%.
The real problem for the Hawks was when the penalty killers took draws. Bolland lost the last one and was 2-10 on the night. Frasor was only slightly better at 33% for the evening.
Coach Q. made the right decision even though it didn’t turn out well for the Hawks in OT.
Frasor was 1-6 in faceoffs versus Drury.
Although Bolland lost the last draw to Drury in OT, he was 1-1 before that.
There hasn’t been a Brent Sopel sighting in a long time.
It appears that the consistent lack of physical play may have caused Brouwer to fall out of favor with Coach Q. Maybe it was the lack of goal scoring too but Brouwer has been a frequent scratch lately.
It almost seems as if Petri Kontiola is not allowed in Chicago unless playing against the Wolves. I say that jokingly because Kontiola was so highly thought of entering this season.
In reality, although stats don’t tell everything, Jack Skille and Pascal Pelletier appear to be having better seasons.
The major factor preventing Skille from staying in Chicago before was his weak defense and the lack of a Bonus Cushion for this year.
In 36 games he has been credited with 15 goals and 19 assists for 34 points. He is close to a point a game which is good but more importantly Skille is a +11.
In 41 games played Pascal Pelletier has 20 goals and 18 assist for 38 points but he is a -3 for the year. The 5’11’’ Pelletier is nifty with the puck and plays left wing. He also is hot now having scored 10 points in his last 6 games.
Skille is a 6’1” right winger who Dale Tallon always seems very high on.
Troy Brouwer is also a big right wing who has only played 5 games in January for the Hawks while being credited with 1 assists. Brouwer is a +7 on the year but he has played with a lot of skillful mates.
I am thinking it might be time to see young Skille in Chicago. It also might be time to see him used on the Hawk power play in front of the net.
The rub for bringing Skille up has to do with Cap space once again. Skille is a $1.275 hit while Pelletier is only earns $550,000. Pascal would be the easier substitution for Brouwer.
Something may give soon.... Brouwer, who is a $675,000 Cap Hit, could be in jeopardy of slipping back to Rockford.
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