Blackhawks GAA at even strength with the score close by month.

Oct - 3.08 9th highest in the NHL.
Nov - 3.01 9th highest in the NHL.
Dec - 3.45 5th highest in the NHL.
Jan - 3.20 11th highest in the NHL.
Feb - 2.94 12th highest in the NHL.

Goals for average for the same months at even strength (score close)

Oct - 5th highest 3.29
Nov - 29th highest 1.72
Dec - 11th highest 2.85
Jan - 24th highest 2.18
Feb - 1st highest 4.15

Here are the goaltending SV% for the same situations.

Oct - 23rd best - 90.27 SV%
Nov - 12th best 91.73 SV%
Dec - 21st best 90.55 SV%
Jan - 19th best 91.60 SV%
Feb - 16th best 91.88 SV%

And just to illustrate what the goalies had to deal with, High Danger Chances against

Oct - 3rd most - 13.67 per 60
Nov - 1st most - 14.76 per 60
Dec - 2nd most - 13.90 per 60
Jan - 1st most - 16.86 per 60
Feb - 2nd most - 15.79 per 60

Not everyone. Murph is a solid 2nd pair guy.
- Elbows15

Agree 100%

Playing with the likes of Kruger and Kampf for the most part? Yes, its beast mode.

Maybe he needs to throw a few hits for you or something.

Sporting a 53% Corsi on a team that bleeds shots. A CorRel of 5.4. Which means his team is far better when he is on the ice than not.
- Elbows15

I actually like him on the third line, he is the type of player who "needs the puck", love when he takes the puck with speed into the zone and goes wide or cuts in towards the net. Different than playing with Kane who you want with the puck. DeBrinket works with Strome well and on the PP, because he is more of a trigger man, he is effective when you get him the puck in position to score, Saad can create his own scoring opportunities. Not meaning he is not top 6 talent, or that he doesn't deserve to be on the top line, he still plays power play and penalty killing, so he still gets his minutes.

Blackhawks GAA at even strength with the score close by month.

Oct - 3.08 9th highest in the NHL.
Nov - 3.01 9th highest in the NHL.
Dec - 3.45 5th highest in the NHL.
Jan - 3.20 11th highest in the NHL.
Feb - 2.94 12th highest in the NHL.

Goals for average for the same months at even strength (score close)

Oct - 5th highest 3.29
Nov - 29th highest 1.72
Dec - 11th highest 2.85
Jan - 24th highest 2.18
Feb - 1st highest 4.15

Here are the goaltending SV% for the same situations.

Oct - 23rd best - 90.27 SV%
Nov - 12th best 91.73 SV%
Dec - 21st best 90.55 SV%
Jan - 19th best 91.60 SV%
Feb - 16th best 91.88 SV%

And just to illustrate what the goalies had to deal with, High Danger Chances against

Oct - 3rd most - 13.67 per 60
Nov - 1st most - 14.76 per 60
Dec - 2nd most - 13.90 per 60
Jan - 1st most - 16.86 per 60
Feb - 2nd most - 15.79 per 60
- breadbag

Those last stats, the HDC, are the most consistent and tell the story - the Hawks have to improve their D, either by way of a different system, better D men, buy in from fowards.

An improved PK is paramount for next year, too.

Playing with the likes of Kruger and Kampf for the most part? Yes, its beast mode.

Maybe he needs to throw a few hits for you or something.

Sporting a 53% Corsi on a team that bleeds shots. A CorRel of 5.4. Which means his team is far better when he is on the ice than not.
- Elbows15

LBR, is that you? She'd be proud.

Let's consider Keith, Seabrook and Joki as locks for next year (for various/obvious reasons). Are ANY of the remaining players currently on this team worth keeping, or do you simply cut bait on all of them and try to start over?
- Chunk

Look at our options:
Does any Dman's game at the Rock scream this guy should be in the NHL?
Do we have a prospect that we are sure is ready to make the jump to the NHL from Europe, juniors or college?
Go to Capfriendly and look at the UFA's. Are their many cheap, young, good Dmen available?
Then on the same site look at RFA's. Are their many young, good Dmen available whose next contract will be affordable and that you want to give up high draft picks for?
Finally look at the good Dmen likely to be available from other teams. What will it take to get them? What do we have to trade for them?

It is easy to say cut bait and start over.

But at best they add one top 4 dman to Keith, Seabs, Joki, Gus, Murphy and Koekkoek. They need to have a good goalie, a good system, good coaching, and a commitment from all 20 players if they want to improve the team defense. A lot to ask. But possible.

I am not so down on the personnel we have now.

last nights showtime. Kane on the winner should solidify him for the Hart. How many times has he did that this season. he is standing on his head to carry team late, Kutcherov has big leads at this stage and lots of help from four lines.
- holyJumpin_NL

Except he didn't do poop before that moment. He floated all night and looked disinterested.

I think you have to define little a bit.

They allow 5% more SOG and 21% more GA in exchange for a 9% increase in GF.

A 4+ GA/game avg requires a LOT of defensive improvement for them to be much more than "more entertaining to watch"
- Return of the Roar

Ok, but lets give them a little more time to improve before we just write them off for next year already. Even if they bring back mostly the same defense with maybe one addition, they should simply improve from having played the system for longer, and single player improvements. If they don't, like I said, I will start to worry about it next year. I just don't think a few months is enough, especially when you have a bunch of younger guys trying to learn the pro game at the same time that they are learning a new defensive scheme.

LBR, is that you? She'd be proud.
- mohel

A moment of silence....

Doumelin is probably unrealistic. Maata would probably be the one they move. Him I would pass on. Good player but can't stay healthy.
- Elbows15

Maata is pretty slow for a young guy too.

He's certainly having an MVP year, but he was a ghost til he buried there at the end.
- nickmo2699

I also think the Ducks did a good job of "Kane awareness". They closed the gap on him and finished their check on him all night and kept him pinned to the boards. That is one reason the Hawks have a tough time against good teams. They are aware of where they are at all times and their main focus is to take away time and space away from Kane and Toews.

A moment of silence....
- StLBravesFan

She's only gone from here. Her skills are still on display at the 2nd City....

I actually like him on the third line, he is the type of player who "needs the puck", love when he takes the puck with speed into the zone and goes wide or cuts in towards the net. Different than playing with Kane who you want with the puck. DeBrinket works with Strome well and on the PP, because he is more of a trigger man, he is effective when you get him the puck in position to score, Saad can create his own scoring opportunities. Not meaning he is not top 6 talent, or that he doesn't deserve to be on the top line, he still plays power play and penalty killing, so he still gets his minutes.
- LAHawk

That is exactly where I want Saad. Even now he still tends to defer to both Kane and Toews. He seems to be thriving carrying his own line. His effort is there every night. He has upped his physical game and is driving the net consistently.


IDAF what line he is playing on with his cap hit. He keeps playing like this and he is worth it.

LBR, is that you? She'd be proud.
- mohel

She learned me good

She learned me good
- Elbows15

She must be (frank)ing patient.....

Blackhawks GAA at even strength with the score close by month.

Oct - 3.08 9th highest in the NHL.
Nov - 3.01 9th highest in the NHL.
Dec - 3.45 5th highest in the NHL.
Jan - 3.20 11th highest in the NHL.
Feb - 2.94 12th highest in the NHL.

Goals for average for the same months at even strength (score close)

Oct - 5th highest 3.29
Nov - 29th highest 1.72
Dec - 11th highest 2.85
Jan - 24th highest 2.18
Feb - 1st highest 4.15

Here are the goaltending SV% for the same situations.

Oct - 23rd best - 90.27 SV%
Nov - 12th best 91.73 SV%
Dec - 21st best 90.55 SV%
Jan - 19th best 91.60 SV%
Feb - 16th best 91.88 SV%

And just to illustrate what the goalies had to deal with, High Danger Chances against

Oct - 3rd most - 13.67 per 60
Nov - 1st most - 14.76 per 60
Dec - 2nd most - 13.90 per 60
Jan - 1st most - 16.86 per 60
Feb - 2nd most - 15.79 per 60
- breadbag

On the high dangers against, the trend is going in the wrong direction. If you cumulate and average Oct-Dec & Jan-Feb, it’s a 15% increase over the last 60 days.

Not everyone. Murph is a solid 2nd pair guy.
- Elbows15

In the AHL....or on a very bad team - yes, very solid 2nd pair guy

He treated his customers like dirt. He didn't just disagree, he ridiculed. And used his position to threaten the posting status of those who disagreed with him. Add to that the appearance that he made up rumours. Other than that, he was a gem.
- mohel

More out of context gotcha bs. Classic. And more dredging up more crap to divide the board. Enjoy your stay, Pal.

Agree 100%
- nickmo2699

I think some expect D-men to be perfect. They're not. They all get beat and make mistakes. The Hawks puck support is a huge issue. How many times are the D-men under pressure and there isn't any other option but a pass up the boards to a forward standing still at the blue line? How many times do all 3 forwards get their asses stuck behind the puck in the O-zone leaving the D-men facing numbers coming at them with a head of speed? Not to mention the complete confusion of having 5 guys back and not a single player looking for the late guy coming into the slot reading the paper and waving his ding song around for a pass.

Not to say the D-men don't have their issues but some better puck support or recognition would go a long way to helping cut down HDCA and SAT.

Blackhawks GAA at even strength with the score close by month.

Oct - 3.08 9th highest in the NHL.
Nov - 3.01 9th highest in the NHL.
Dec - 3.45 5th highest in the NHL.
Jan - 3.20 11th highest in the NHL.
Feb - 2.94 12th highest in the NHL.

Goals for average for the same months at even strength (score close)

Oct - 5th highest 3.29
Nov - 29th highest 1.72
Dec - 11th highest 2.85
Jan - 24th highest 2.18
Feb - 1st highest 4.15

Here are the goaltending SV% for the same situations.

Oct - 23rd best - 90.27 SV%
Nov - 12th best 91.73 SV%
Dec - 21st best 90.55 SV%
Jan - 19th best 91.60 SV%
Feb - 16th best 91.88 SV%

And just to illustrate what the goalies had to deal with, High Danger Chances against

Oct - 3rd most - 13.67 per 60
Nov - 1st most - 14.76 per 60
Dec - 2nd most - 13.90 per 60
Jan - 1st most - 16.86 per 60
Feb - 2nd most - 15.79 per 60
- breadbag

Is it more due to the system or the players?

In the AHL....or on a very bad team - yes, very solid 2nd pair guy
- PatShart

Right.

She must be (frank)ing patient.....
- mohel

I don't think she is a nurse.

Is it more due to the system or the players?
- RaleighHawk

That is probably the million dollar question. Both is my guess. I mean, the Hawks need some more depth and they also changed some of how they play the game, which may not be best or may take time to get right.

I think overall they need to be better in the neutral zone. Maybe that is on how they play, but I still think teams walk up the ice and get chances too easily. If they could shut down more plays in the middle and protect their blueline better, I think it would be a good improvement.

I could be remembering wrong, but I recall Keith used to do it a lot. Force turnovers in the middle, turn it around for a counter attack. I think the frequency of those types of plays has dropped a lot. I've never personally studied the zone entries against, but I don't think we are good at defending there. I think it turns into more time defending in their end, more shots against, more high danger chances against, more mistakes under pressure.

More out of context gotcha bs. Classic. And more dredging up more crap to divide the board. Enjoy your stay, Pal.
- Ogilthorpe2

More re-education? Crap.....

How many guys hit the goalie in the chest or miss the net on that play last night? 90%+ IMO. Kane is a stone cold ice hockey assasin. You give him one look and he finishes. As long as the Hawks have Kane, Toews, Saad, and Debrincat playing at an ELITE level, they are ahead of 60% of the NHL just with the play of those 4. Get Strome to improve his skating, Kahun getting more comfortable in the NHL, Murphy growing, and some of the young Blueliners living up to their potential...Hawks are a playoff team.