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5 Thoughts on a Blackhawks Weekend |
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It was a sloppy 7-3 win but a win nonetheless.
Patrick Kane came up huge with 4 points which was nice as I believe I was sitting amongst some of his family members.
I've been to a lot of Blackhawks games in different barns, but I'm not sure I've quite seen so many Chicago fans as I did last night in Buffalo. Even in a poor year, the Hawks have their supporters coming out in waves 530 miles away.
My "Live Thread" ended abruptly last night after I picked up my kids, drove to Buffalo and proceeded to take my daughters to the washroom, get more popcorn, etc. Such is Dad Life.
Anyway, it was great to take in a live game and here and see a big win like that (even if I really want Hughes or Kakko).
I wanted to pop in 5 thoughts I'm thinking after watching the Hawks live in Buffalo and before their game in Minnesota tonight:
1) Team Building / I Got Your Back – The official game sheet only said 9 hits each for both teams, however, there were moments where it got quite chippy. For anyone who's ever played hockey, the "standing up for each other" element creates a level of camaraderie on the bench, in the dressing room and off the ice.
That feistiness and chemistry to my eye has been missing over the last few years on this Blackhawks team. While the Hawks aren't going to make the playoffs this year, this type of behaviour can help for future and even spill into next year.
Some examples I witnessed were Gustafsson sticking up for Kahun, Toews for Kane, Seabrook for Kane, which makes my heart warm.
2) Thanks Again Chiarelli – Drake Caggiula probably won't stay on that top line with Toews and Kane, but he's been about 10x more useful than Brandon Manning was for this team. Caggiula brings that sparkplug energy with a side helping of skill; 1G and 2A last night for the kid. For me, he's a nice role player for this year, next season and maybe beyond.
3) Brandon Saad – I really don't fully believe that if the Hawks wanted to move Brandon Saad that they would have to eat salary. Let me rephrase that – the Blackhawks will not be eating salary on Saad on a trade, they would keep him on this team before doing that.
A nice 2-goal effort last night (his first goal? Wow, what a laser of a shot), this guy would be a welcomed addition to a team heading into the playoffs (that have cap space for this year and in the foreseeable future). He looks like he has settled into a 25 goal / 50 point but he's also an experienced cat in the playoffs with 72 postseason games with 16 goals and 37 points to his name.
4) Thanks – You guys and gals are awesome. You shared some pretty incredible stories of your favourite games and Blackhawks moments yesterday. That was fun to read.
5) "One year, you're good. The next, you're not" – Duncan Keith had a solid interview yesterday when he was being pressed about being traded and whether he's up for a rebuild:
"What's a rebuild, or a retool?" he said. "Who knows what that is? I don't know what that is. New Jersey was good last year and now they're not good this year. So what happened? I don't know. They beat us 8-5. They're out of the playoffs. I don't really know. The league's different now. One year, you're good. The next year, you're not. I don't really think too much about it. Just play my game and (not) worry about all that other stuff. (It's) for you guys to write about. Makes no difference to me." (source: The Athletic)
So the Hawks scored 7 goals last night. They are actually 10th in the entire NHL for GF. The problem is they are dead last in GA with 193. Woof.
My theory is that, while Stone and Panarin would be nice, they might be a luxury the way this team is structured.
They need defence and after watching it live last night, they need to go back to zone defence. I've watched a lot live (Blackhawks and other teams) of the man-to-man defensive scheme and I am not a fan.
It will be interesting to see what Stan does at the deadline and in the offseason but if he was able to acquire a top 4 D and a couple really strong defensive / 200-feet forwards, I think it would go a long way.
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That's all I got for now.
See ya out there,
JL