Tyler Cameron: The Good and the Bad from Game #1 I was ready to go on Friday as the Hawks took on the Flyers at 2 pm EST; the kick-off to the 2019-20 season.

Concern grew quickly as the Hawks didn't appear to start the game with the level of engagement that I had hoped.

Here is a look at the Good and the Bad from the season opener.

might be my first, first ever.

Glad I had to work and didn't see it

Good morning Tyler. Great overall observation and breakdown of the game.

You mentioned murphy and Calvin as a pair ? You mentioned and it's been well written about in regards to Keith and Gus struggling together in the preseason and game 1.

Would it be better to pair Calvin with Keith and put Gus with murphy ?

Gus defensively doesn't make sense pairing with Keith who is more of a offensive player whom uses his speed , foot work and stick as aposesed to his size and body defending ?

Pretty darn good analysis of Game 1, covers everything well!
One has to think the return of Murphy and 'Hawk debut of de Haan will improve team defense. Given Keith and Seabs' age, expecting 20+ Minutes 5v5 ice time for them to continue is not realistic. Pairing Keith with Gus will be rough on Keith, especially as Keith works to get his legs under him here early in the season.

If Keith ends up being more of a #3-4, then none of it matters, because it would leave the hawks with all #'s 3-6 playing D.

With Murphy and DeHaan back, we’ll start to see Stan’s full vision of a revamped blue line: Maatta, Murphy, Keith, DeHaan, Seabrook and Gustafsson.

This, on paper at least, passes the snicker test. Hopefully everyone stays relatively healthy and we see them in action for a good string of games.

If Keith ends up being more of a #3-4, then none of it matters, because it would leave the hawks with all #'s 3-6 playing D.
- RaleighHawk

I think that’s what we’re looking at - which makes it even more critical for JC to get the pairings and deployments right.

I am willing to be patient with this team, as there are so many new faces. I reserve judgement until de Haan and Murphy play, and Dach's 9 game tryout is over to see where he plays this year. Bad thing, the Central is a beast of a division, cannot get buried early. Hopefully the Hawks take advantage of playing in front of the hometown fans. Thursday will not be easy, as the Sharks will come in a different team, as Evander Kane and Erik Karlsson will both be at the UC. That instantly makes the Sharks much, much better!! Plus, they will be playing with some snarl, as they are 0-3 right now.

If Keith ends up being more of a #3-4, then none of it matters, because it would leave the hawks with all #'s 3-6 playing D.
- RaleighHawk

So if Keith, deHaan, Murphy, Maatta all play like 3/4 defensemen, and Seabrook and Gus can play like legitimate NHL 5/6 - that could work nicely with better forward support and the kind of goalie play we expect.

Certainly a defined top-2 pairing would be nice - and necessary to compete for a Cup - but baby steps - get a defensive Corp working at a good consistent positionally-responsible level with forward support, and you’ve got a playoff-contending team.

DK looked exactly like a 36 year old Dman who once had the speed to make up for any mistakes.

Tyler Cameron: The Good and the Bad from Game #1
I was ready to go on Friday as the Hawks took on the Flyers at 2 pm EST; the kick-off to the 2019-20 season.

Concern grew quickly as the Hawks didn't appear to start the game with the level of engagement that I had hoped.

Here is a look at the Good and the Bad from the season opener.
- Tyler Cameron

On the bright side... at least there was no ‘ugly’.

So if Keith, deHaan, Murphy, Maatta all play like 3/4 defensemen, and Seabrook and Gus can play like legitimate NHL 5/6 - that could work nicely with better forward support and the kind of goalie play we expect.

Certainly a defined top-2 pairing would be nice - and necessary to compete for a Cup - but baby steps - get a defensive Corp working at a good consistent positionally-responsible level with forward support, and you’ve got a playoff-contending team.
- StLBravesFan

Fingers crossed that this team “gets it” and commits entirely to the defensive structure. Because without the forwards providing assistance, it’s going to be tough for any blue line group to be effective.

Fingers crossed that this team “gets it” and commits entirely to the defensive structure. Because without the forwards providing assistance, it’s going to be tough for any blue line group to be effective.
- Chief4Feathers

I heard from sources that JC has a system that requires the forwards to stand at the offensive blue line until the defensemen take the puck away from the other team in the Hawk defensive zone, carry it up to the forward, and place it on the stick of said forward.

Has anyone checked out the standings?

Colorado leading the west as expected
St Louis 1 point behind

But Winnipeg and Dallas in the basement

It would be great if Chicago's opener was a chance to dust off the rust and move forward by winning.

With murphy and Calvin coming back hopefully JC moves Gus down to 3rd pairing .

Keith's age is starting to show and IMO it would be most beneficial to Keith and the teams succes to put Calvin with Keith to help compliment his game and limit Keith's mistakes due to age .

Gus sorry to say this but he should have been traded last summer when his stock was so high.

Chicago has some nice depth in Rockford to overcome Gus being traded .

Gilbert, boqvist

I heard from sources that JC has a system that requires the forwards to stand at the offensive blue line until the defensemen take the puck away from the other team in the Hawk defensive zone, carry it up to the forward, and place it on the stick of said forward.
- mohel

I heard from sources that JC has a system that requires the forwards to stand at the offensive blue line until the defensemen take the puck away from the other team in the Hawk defensive zone, carry it up to the forward, and place it on the stick of said forward.

I heard the same thing from a guy in line at Jewel who knows a guy that works for the Bulls that has a friend who works for the Hawks. First hand knowledge of JC system

Has anyone checked out the standings?

Colorado leading the west as expected
St Louis 1 point behind

But Winnipeg and Dallas in the basement

It would be great if Chicago's opener was a chance to dust off the rust and move forward by winning.

With murphy and Calvin coming back hopefully JC moves Gus down to 3rd pairing .

Keith's age is starting to show and IMO it would be most beneficial to Keith and the teams succes to put Calvin with Keith to help compliment his game and limit Keith's mistakes due to age .

Gus sorry to say this but he should have been traded last summer when his stock was so high.

Chicago has some nice depth in Rockford to overcome Gus being traded .

Gilbert, boqvist
- Taylorst1

You forgot to mention San Jose record - Zero wins, 3 losses. The Peg did not look good last night

Hard to make any kind of read on this team when playing two D-men that really should never be paired together in an NHL game (Koekkoek & Gilbert) and two others that should be a third pairing not a second pairing. Have to believe having DeHaan and Murphy in lineup will be a significant upgrade there. 4th line brought great energy. As said before, its nice to have an NHL-level 4th line again.

You forgot to mention San Jose record - Zero wins, 3 losses. The Peg did not look good last night
- glennjpawlak22

Good call I forgot about them. Winnipeg I think most people had question marks about this year's team. Losing big buff is some big shoes to fill.

Colorado's Achilles heel is their goaltending. However their still a young good team.

So far Seabrook and maatta seem to be working well

Good morning Tyler. Great overall observation and breakdown of the game.

You mentioned murphy and Calvin as a pair ? You mentioned and it's been well written about in regards to Keith and Gus struggling together in the preseason and game 1.

Would it be better to pair Calvin with Keith and put Gus with murphy ?

Gus defensively doesn't make sense pairing with Keith who is more of a offensive player whom uses his speed , foot work and stick as aposesed to his size and body defending ?
- Taylorst1

de Haan is a LHD... not sure how comfortable he is on the right-side.

Keith and Murphy didn't work that well a couple years ago, but could be re-explored if they wanted to shake things up.

I still think it's going to be:

Keith - Gus
de Haan - Murphy
Maatta - Seabrook


I did hear over the weekend, that if these pairings don't produce the results that the Hawks were hoping for when they brought in guys like de Haan and Maatta... then you might see Boqvist up sooner than expected.

de Haan is a LHD... not sure how comfortable he is on the right-side.

Keith and Murphy didn't work that well a couple years ago, but could be re-explored if they wanted to shake things up.

I still think it's going to be:

Keith - Gus
de Haan - Murphy
Maatta - Seabrook


I did hear over the weekend, that if these pairings don't produce the results that the Hawks were hoping for when they brought in guys like de Haan and Maatta... then you might see Boqvist up sooner than expected.
- Tyler Cameron

Hey Tyler, thanks for that intel on Boqvist - however, i dont think its a puck moving D man that is the issue, so far its been overall D (D + F group) - just no solid structure. If the team had overall solid structure with both the D and F group, i think we could be fine with Gus. Somehow this team needs to commit to a D first team mentality.

Has anyone checked out the standings?

Colorado leading the west as expected
St Louis 1 point behind

But Winnipeg and Dallas in the basement

It would be great if Chicago's opener was a chance to dust off the rust and move forward by winning.

With murphy and Calvin coming back hopefully JC moves Gus down to 3rd pairing .

Keith's age is starting to show and IMO it would be most beneficial to Keith and the teams succes to put Calvin with Keith to help compliment his game and limit Keith's mistakes due to age .

Gus sorry to say this but he should have been traded last summer when his stock was so high.

Chicago has some nice depth in Rockford to overcome Gus being traded .

Gilbert, boqvist
- Taylorst1

Winnipeg could be in some trouble this season. While they still have loads of talent on their roster they've taken a hit on defense (Trouba, Myers, Byfuglien) and Hellebuyck has taken off where he left last season, which isn't good. Plus Little is out with a concussion to make matters worse.

I'm not a fan of trading Gus... yet. But if Stan makes a move it seems that Winnipeg could be a good trade partner.

So if Keith, deHaan, Murphy, Maatta all play like 3/4 defensemen, and Seabrook and Gus can play like legitimate NHL 5/6 - that could work nicely with better forward support and the kind of goalie play we expect.

Certainly a defined top-2 pairing would be nice - and necessary to compete for a Cup - but baby steps - get a defensive Corp working at a good consistent positionally-responsible level with forward support, and you’ve got a playoff-contending team.
- StLBravesFan

Good point, and possibly a nice pipeline of D over the next few years.

You forgot to mention San Jose record - Zero wins, 3 losses. The Peg did not look good last night
- glennjpawlak22

It’s a copycat league...expect some teams to try to replicate the Blues model from last season.

Sorry Tyler but watching that game kampf was horrible and if he is our 3rd line center then he better be better at the dot. To me kampf is a depth forward and mor accurately and a ahler. IMO. Its only one game but a lot of glaring errors and what is the defensive zone scheme?