No, but if I see it on the schedule will check it out. I usually see 6 or 7 different things in a year. Its culture you know.
- RickJ

Pfffft ... "culture" ... the only culture I got is growing under my toe nails.

ARI & DAL rank 28th & 29th in goals scored. TOR ranks 4th and has scored 59 more goals than ARI.
- scottak

Some folks seem to expect Toronto to score 59 goals tonight. If the Hawks keep the consistent effort they can come out on top. I think they will just need to be careful with the puck at their own blueline. I think if the Hawks fail tonight, it will be because of D under pressure that make rushed passes that result in a turnovers at the blueline.

the leafs can light it up and they are better defensively than the hawks...

i suspect the leafs will come out very strong and push the pace; the MO with the hawks has been come at them early and hard; usually a 2 goal lead results

JLO,

Couple of comments on a well written piece.

1. Stan 180 - His moves are now clearly in sync with his coach. Which is further evidence of the chasm in philosophy with Q. Watched a bit of Caps game last night and just kills me to see Kempny, their #2 guy skating with Carlson. And that guy could not get on the ice here and all we got was a third round pick.

2. Regarding assessment of being a few players away vs deeper concerns, I believe Hawk fans have been spoiled and have a finer taste than others. What I mean is that most have a standard, which is unlikely to every be experienced again regarding depth of talent etc. So compared to that, yes we see, or believe we see, greater holes in roster. I would posit that should one do a similar examination of other/all teams, they would find, outside of Tampa, same or similar holes. When you do that, you see that even on paper, the Hawks are not as lacking as is generally accepted.

I am going to go out on a limb and state that there will be some splash made with a big free agent in the off season and that is primarily due to the change in style and philosophy of how this team plays. That is what will make the team a destination again for free agents. It clearly had fallen out of favor over the last 3 or 4 years. yes some of that was cap stuff, but most of it was team philosophy.

Pfffft ... "culture" ... the only culture I got is growing under my toe nails.
- EbonyRaptor

You may want to see a doctor about that.

Lets see how the defense looks tonight against a high power offense and speedy forwards. If they do what they did against dallas and Arizona then i will start to believe this is maybe a playoff team. But still too many holes top 6 forward maybe Perlini can be that but i see him on a 3rd line with caggulia and a center to named later. Top 4 d man that can stabilize preferably a veteran. 2 or 3 phyiscal forwards that can forecheck play that hard nose game also have speed and some scorin ability. And a backup goalie I don't think delia is ready yet on more year in the rock. So in my opinion the hawks are 5 players short of becoming a cup contender now whether those players come from within trades or free agency time will only tell. Hawks are improving but still the hill they have to climb to get in is too much it seems that the team as a whole are finally adapted to JC system.

Pfffft ... "culture" ... the only culture I got is growing under my toe nails.
- EbonyRaptor

TMI!

ARI & DAL rank 28th & 29th in goals scored. TOR ranks 4th and has scored 59 more goals than ARI.
- scottak

Yeah but ... LA and Anaheim are both inept offensively too and they scored 5 and 6 goals against us prior to the Arizona and Dallas games.

I know it's not their MO but would like to see this team more physical tonight, slow the game down,
typically the less talented team has to play this way.

Strome has to focus on defense tonight and Cat needs to make good passes out of the zone.

Go after the Leafs dmen

I was going to say what others on here have already stated. It's pretty easy to shut down teams that already win mostly with defense. Toronto is a completely different story. I expect the Toronto goalie will be able to read a lot of Hawks' defensemen numbers tonight as they chase Toronto forwards.

Good to see Perlini playing well with more ice time and better linemates. He appears to be a finisher. Maybe the Hawks are 8 or 9 forwards deep. Still need another gun in the top six I think, but not nearly as bad off as Summer 2018. Bowman definitely patched some holes. They are in a tough position on the back end with roughly 73 defensemen in the system and maybe 2 of them can actually play NHL defense. They need to pick up a couple guys on short contracts to hold the fort until those "A" prospects are NHL ready.

JLO,

Couple of comments on a well written piece.

1. Stan 180 - His moves are now clearly in sync with his coach. Which is further evidence of the chasm in philosophy with Q. Watched a bit of Caps game last night and just kills me to see Kempny, their #2 guy skating with Carlson. And that guy could not get on the ice here and all we got was a third round pick.

2. Regarding assessment of being a few players away vs deeper concerns, I believe Hawk fans have been spoiled and have a finer taste than others. What I mean is that most have a standard, which is unlikely to every be experienced again regarding depth of talent etc. So compared to that, yes we see, or believe we see, greater holes in roster. I would posit that should one do a similar examination of other/all teams, they would find, outside of Tampa, same or similar holes. When you do that, you see that even on paper, the Hawks are not as lacking as is generally accepted.

I am going to go out on a limb and state that there will be some splash made with a big free agent in the off season and that is primarily due to the change in style and philosophy of how this team plays. That is what will make the team a destination again for free agents. It clearly had fallen out of favor over the last 3 or 4 years. yes some of that was cap stuff, but most of it was team philosophy.
- TrueGrit

Getting rid of Q was the best move made this year. Too bad this was not done a year earlier because some mistakes as a result of the management/coaching disconnect could have been avoided.
It is evident and refreshing to see that we are planning ahead now with everyone on board.

Getting rid of Q was the best move made this year. Too bad this was not done a year earlier because some mistakes as a result of the management/coaching disconnect could have been avoided.
It is evident and refreshing to see that we are planning ahead now with everyone on board.
- 67hawks

Who would be the coach now if Stan would have fired Q last year? Would Stan have brought JC up last year after not having a full season in the AHL as a coach? Would JC say yes? Hard to say if we would be as good as we are now or worse. It would be interesting to see if Stan would have signed Manning or not in the off-season, because supposedly Manning was a "Q pick."

Who would be the coach now if Stan would have fired Q last year? Would Stan have brought JC up last year after not having a full season in the AHL as a coach? Would JC say yes? Hard to say if we would be as good as we are now or worse. It would be interesting to see if Stan would have signed Manning or not in the off-season, because supposedly Manning was a "Q pick."
- Flying Puck

I know this is hard logic, but if he was an SB guy and not a Q guy, why is he gone?

JLO,

Couple of comments on a well written piece.

1. Stan 180 - His moves are now clearly in sync with his coach. Which is further evidence of the chasm in philosophy with Q. Watched a bit of Caps game last night and just kills me to see Kempny, their #2 guy skating with Carlson. And that guy could not get on the ice here and all we got was a third round pick.

2. Regarding assessment of being a few players away vs deeper concerns, I believe Hawk fans have been spoiled and have a finer taste than others. What I mean is that most have a standard, which is unlikely to every be experienced again regarding depth of talent etc. So compared to that, yes we see, or believe we see, greater holes in roster. I would posit that should one do a similar examination of other/all teams, they would find, outside of Tampa, same or similar holes. When you do that, you see that even on paper, the Hawks are not as lacking as is generally accepted.

I am going to go out on a limb and state that there will be some splash made with a big free agent in the off season and that is primarily due to the change in style and philosophy of how this team plays. That is what will make the team a destination again for free agents. It clearly had fallen out of favor over the last 3 or 4 years. yes some of that was cap stuff, but most of it was team philosophy.
- TrueGrit

Pretty much agree. I am not saying a "Hossa" is out there, but signing Hossa changed the Hawks from a good playoff team to a serious legit cup contender. Part of that was Hossa's commitment to a 200' game. It is likely that the Hawks make a splash this summer, but that will only make them a legit playoff contender. To be a legit Cup contender they will need to have a lot of players improve and commit to a 200' game.

For those of you that are subscribers to The Athletic, Scott Powers has a really good article on the last few games. Specifically calls out commitment to defense by the forwards.

But one interesting thing is possession. All of our d-men were excellent during the Cup run because the Blackhawks kept possession. The last few years, not so much. But the last couple of games, the opposite has been true.

If the 'hawks can keep the Leaves to 3 goals, there's a good chance they'll at least get a point out of it.

The last two games were against teams that were slower and that have difficulty scoring and with the Hawks driving the play neither team got many chances to score. Tonight will tell us if the Hawks have tightened up defensively because the Leafs can skate and they can score. They also have players that can drive the play. I'll be surprised if the game isn't an all out track meet.
- paulr

Slow or fast opponent not withstanding, I was referring to scheme and structure. I feel that they have significantly tweaked the scheme in the neutral zone, and to a lesser extent in the dzone.

Q: Have the Hawks figured it out?
Short Answer: No
Long Answer: Hell no

In the previous 26 games (arbitrarily going back to 1/1/2019), they have let in an average of 4 goals per game. In the previous ten games, they let in an average of 4.5 goals per game. The last time that they finished a game with only letting one goal in was on 12/21/2018 (I was at that game and it was great fun!). Their last shutout was on 11/14/2018. This defense on this team is terrible and all should be held accountable, especially Bowman and his pet, Colliton.

Before folks begin to get excited about this team and where they may be headed, I ask this very simple question:

Could this team beat any of the top six teams in the West in a seven-game series?

Here is the answer: Hell no

The last time they beat one of the top six in the West was 12/18/2018 and the only team that they have had success against that is currently in the top six is St. Louis when they accumulated three wins prior to Thanksgiving. The only other team in the top six in the West that they have a win against is Nashville when they won on 12/18/2018. Do not kid yourself, this is a bad hockey team that is piling up points against other bad hockey teams. Pointing to success against Dallas or Minnesota or Arizona is a fool's errand. It is like being the tallest midget. The wild card teams from the West will be golfing after the first week of the playoffs.

Do I want to see this team win? Yes, and I will continue to cheer for them. However, I am a realist and see through the smokescreen that this team is putting up. Their offense is masking a huge problem that Bowman created. I applaud the Stromme and Caggiula deals but, Bowman should not be allowed anywhere near contract negotiations as he has completely hamstrung his ability to remake this team.

This team needs a massive overhaul on defense (preaching to the choir) and the bottom six is pretty terrible as well. Dylan Sikura is not an NHL player, let's get that straight and is nowhere near the type of player anyone expected. He looks lost and quite honestly, in over his head. At best he may be an AHL lifer. I want to see more out of Perlini and like Kampe, but the rest (looking at you Saad) need to step up their game or find new homes if this team is going to be a contender in the West.

I know this is hard logic, but if he was an SB guy and not a Q guy, why is he gone?
- TrueGrit

Rutta, Kempny, Saad, Shaw, Johns, Tuevo, Danault, + Panarin were all Stanley Bowman Draft Picks or UFA Signings. He traded away his own "guys" both during and after Quenneville's tenure. Manning is gone bc he sucked and I applaud Stanley for fixing his own mistake. Caggiulla, depending on the severity of his concussion and recovery, looks to be a solid grinder forward piece.

Yeah, damn Americans......
- I Am The Breadman

Build a wall - make Mexico pay for it.

I was going to say what others on here have already stated. It's pretty easy to shut down teams that already win mostly with defense. Toronto is a completely different story. I expect the Toronto goalie will be able to read a lot of Hawks' defensemen numbers tonight as they chase Toronto forwards.

Good to see Perlini playing well with more ice time and better linemates. He appears to be a finisher. Maybe the Hawks are 8 or 9 forwards deep. Still need another gun in the top six I think, but not nearly as bad off as Summer 2018. Bowman definitely patched some holes. They are in a tough position on the back end with roughly 73 defensemen in the system and maybe 2 of them can actually play NHL defense. They need to pick up a couple guys on short contracts to hold the fort until those "A" prospects are NHL ready.
- biskit67

That's the real challenge for Stan. Really good FA's will want term. My guess is that he trades for defenders with a year or two left on their contract. They will be placeholders until the prospects are really ready.

Even if we lose the majority of the games the rest of the season, I think you have to call this year a success (playoffs or not). think about the team that ended the season last year and our "hopes" for this year -

We were "hoping" that Schmautz would become a legit 2nd line center - The trade for Strome has answered that.

We were "hoping" that ADB would replicate his rookie year - goes without saying

We were "hoping" Saad would become Saad - for the most part yes

We were "hoping" Toews would be Toews - he has

We were "hoping" to get faster - with the additions we have and we have gotten younger

We were "hoping Stan" could get top 6 talented forwards - looks like we still need one more - Kahun has been playing top 6, and would consider him top 6, 39 points as a rookie is not too shabby.

We were "hoping" for more depth, Anisimov (basically a 3C now as opposed to 2C last year,Kampf, Perlini, Kreuger, Kunitz, Sikura, Hayden, Caggiula > than Sharp, Bouma, Wingels, Vinny, Duclair (and younger too).

We were "hoping" Seabrook would be better than last year. In spots yes, if he is slotted properly.

We were "hoping" Crawford would come back and be injury free - No, I do think goaltending is an area that needs to be beefed up next year. I am not as high on Delia as some are here.

We were "hoping" the defense would be better, Although individuals like Murphy, Dahlstrom, even Gus (offensively at least) are better than last year, the team defense is still horrid. Is it systems or the personnel. Hoefully Joki can become a regular next year, and I hope Stan either through trade or some other means can snag a legit top 4.

I am sure I am leaving some out both positive and negative, but record aside, I think the team has taken a step forward this year, and a couple of key additions with prudent use of the cap space will make them a playoff team next year that at least has a shot at winning the first round in a playoff series.

Kasperi Kapanen is concussed and will not play tonight. His speed would've caused fits for the Hawks dmen.

I find it very bizarre that everyone on the live broadcast clearly heard Morgan Reilly yell, "(frank)ing F*gott!. Yet, after a "investigation", nobody on the ice heard a thing.

Build a wall - make Mexico pay for it.
- StLBravesFan

Mexican Mexicans or American Mexicans?

JLO,

Couple of comments on a well written piece.

1. Stan 180 - His moves are now clearly in sync with his coach. Which is further evidence of the chasm in philosophy with Q. Watched a bit of Caps game last night and just kills me to see Kempny, their #2 guy skating with Carlson. And that guy could not get on the ice here and all we got was a third round pick.

2. Regarding assessment of being a few players away vs deeper concerns, I believe Hawk fans have been spoiled and have a finer taste than others. What I mean is that most have a standard, which is unlikely to every be experienced again regarding depth of talent etc. So compared to that, yes we see, or believe we see, greater holes in roster. I would posit that should one do a similar examination of other/all teams, they would find, outside of Tampa, same or similar holes. When you do that, you see that even on paper, the Hawks are not as lacking as is generally accepted.

I am going to go out on a limb and state that there will be some splash made with a big free agent in the off season and that is primarily due to the change in style and philosophy of how this team plays. That is what will make the team a destination again for free agents. It clearly had fallen out of favor over the last 3 or 4 years. yes some of that was cap stuff, but most of it was team philosophy.
- TrueGrit

Let’s address the last point first. You make somewhat of a strawman argument suggesting the Hawks will again be a destination team for free agents. When weren’t they? When was the last time Chicago had the cap room to even try to sign a free agent? And what free agent didn’t sign with Chicago because of the team philosophy?

What do free agents look for? You say team philosophy. I say money and if it is a winning team, in that order. Chicago will be a destination for free agents if they have cap room and if the team is winning, not because of philosophy or who coaches the team. Again can you point to an article or a link that says a player didn’t sign due to the team philosophy?

Hopefully when the Hawks dip into free agency it will only be done to fill holes in the lineup, like they did with Hossa. And this summer isn’t the time to sign a big name free agent who is likely to be almost as old as Kane and Toews and command a similar contract. If you look past the last two games, the Hawks do have glaring holes in the lineup. The defense is brutal. Their best defensemen are still Duncan Keith and Seabrook and neither are close to what they were 4 years ago. Gus is great offensively but he isn’t good in his own end. Murphy is OK and beyond that there is nothing in the current lineup. Yes they do have some good looking prospects on the way.

Now look at the forwards. Kane, Toews, ADB, Strome and Saad are a solid group. Kahun, Caggulia look pretty good, and Perlini is playing better the last four or five games. So let’s assume Perlini’s play of late isn’t an anomaly, the Hawks have 8 forwards.

So right now the Hawks need to find 4 forwards, at least 3 defensemen and a secondary goalie to backup and become Crawford’s replacement. They are not ready to open the vault and sign a 27 plus year old to a huge contract.

Kasperi Kapanen is concussed and will not play tonight. His speed would've caused fits for the Hawks dmen.

I find it very bizarre that everyone on the live broadcast clearly heard Morgan Reilly yell, "(frank)ing F*gott!. Yet, after a "investigation", nobody on the ice heard a thing.
- EnzoD

The Leafs still have plenty of speed. You being the big Kane fan should be interested in watching Mitch Marner who has many of Kane's attributes, especially his vision and playmaking ability. Marner is a good stickhandler but not as good as Kane. The one area Marner is better is defensively.