Fearless
Al Cimaglia | Jan 29, 2010 | Comments 12
Many teams would have folded their tent and called it a night after relinquishing a three goal lead to the San Jose Sharks. Most likely that would be the so if the club surrendering the three goal advantage was playing their seventh contest of an eight game road trip.
But most NHL teams are not like the Blackhawks.
In the three previous meetings between San Jose and Chicago the Hawks had the better of the play in every game. Last night it appeared San Jose would steal momentum and seal a victory over the Hawks by dominating the middle frame.
After the Sharks tied the score early in the third period, it was the Hawks who jumped on the gas pedal and swarmed the Sharks. San Jose was the tentative club for most of the last period. It seemed like they were playing not to lose rather than win.
If the Blackhawks have a distinct flaw it is they can’t downshift.
At times if the throttle isn’t wide open flaws begin to surface. San Jose rebounded from a poor opening period and applied pressure throughout the middle frame. Once the game was deadlocked the Blackhawks took over and deserved the extra point received from their overtime win.
The Hawks aren’t perfect but they combat most of their mistakes in a relentless fashion.
The Washington Capitals may score the most electrifying goals in the NHL but no team plays a more exciting game than the Blackhawks.
No doubt the Sharks missed the injured Dan Boyle. In addition, San Jose’s best players were not as strong as their Blackhawk counterparts.
The Sharks top line was held without a goal and was a minus three on the night. Brouwer, Kane and Toews were all a plus one as they were often matched up against San Jose’s top scoring unit.
It was nice to see Troy Brouwer rewarded with two goals as he brings a top effort quite often. His game winner was a beautiful shot high over Evgeni Nabokov. The Sharks netminder allowed a questionable goal on Brouwer’s first tally but was very good afterward.
Thorton, Heatley and Marleau couldn’t ignite the Sharks offense largely because Cristobal Huet was at his best. Except for the second period, total team defense was sharp for Chicago. But in the end this was a victory which can be credited to Huet. It was his best effort in many starts and he couldn’t be faulted on any of the Shark goals.
Kris Versteeg is a hockey coach’s dream and nightmare.
He has tremendous talent and is very creative. But until he learns simple is often best he will continue to have sporadic performances. Last night he was forcing some passes and was offside, for no apparent reason a couple of times. Versteeg receives no favors from officials as he is a young player who likes to yap when a call goes against him.
Versteeg showed last night he can be a force by just doing the basics.
On Brouwer’s game winner, Versteeg took the center lane and charged straight to the net. Exactly what he should do, and the result was perfect. Versteeg helped screen Nabokov which allowed Brouwer’s shot to find the net.
Versteeg was held without point last night but he was a plus two for the contest. He did the right thing when it mattered most and that’s a big part of being an effective player.
The Hawks have played better games this season and I’m sure the same can be said about the Sharks. One has to be impressed with the Hawks determination. They are a dangerous, confident, fearless bunch.
The Sharks realize the same.
Al’s Shots
Joel Quenneville went strength against strength last night and came out on top.
The Hawks 2nd through 4th lines are stronger than the Sharks, so Q. can often win if the top units just offset each other.
Unofficially I had heard Cam Barker missed games recently because of a rib injury. That might be the reason why he has not seen much ice time since his return. Last night only 10:57 of playing time.
I could make the case he is the least reliable Hawk defenseman and that’s why Sopel and others play more often.
Barker is a talented offensive defenseman although not a speedy skater.
He would probably put up much better numbers on a team where he could play top four minutes.
For that reason Barker could be the player that Stan Bowman will dangle on the trade market.
I still feel the Hawks need to add depth on the blueline, so if Barker is dealt it could be for another defender.
Actually the Hawks most likely will want to find another proven NHL defenseman even if Barker stays.
There isn’t anyone in Rockford that could serve as an eight defenseman for the playoffs.
Every team will want to pound the Hawks defense because that is the way to slow down their offense.
Niklas Hjalmarsson and Brent Sopel take a beating every game.
Bowman will have to find another dman for insurance.
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Filed Under: Chicago Blackhawks • Featured • NHL
al great writing, brouwer has a lethal wrister he has quite a few of those this year. sharks dont matchup well against puck control teams like hawks and wings but regardless they are a big team that dont play as physical as they should or like the canucks do but am i wrong to think that sharks dont scare me as much as ducks and canucks do? that being said do teams like ducks and canucks wear themselves out more than their opponents because they play that style 82 games plus because as big as they might be it still takes a toll on them maybe that is why hawks won round 2 against the canucks last year. still the hawks need one or two players that have size and physical presence especially on D
I believe the Hawks biggest obstacle now is the Canucks.
But they have to play their game against all the top team for a majority of the game.
The Ducks know how to win but aren’t deep enough. They appear to be on the cusp of the playoffs and if they fall short…They will be active this summer.
They have Getzlaf and Perry to build around.
A healthy Wings team would be a problem too.
i guess i would like to see the hawks meet the canucks in the playoffs because i think the hawks will take it more seriously to see what kind of team we have before we do any trades and you’re rite Al that would be the biggest obstacle. i remember coach Q screaming at someone on the ice towards the end of the canucks game and i dont think it was the ref maybe a little frustration came out but march 5 should a good one. Al, i really hate the canucks and i dont hate any other team but them because they seem to be a bunch of whiners and they play pretty dirty but thats my opinion
Al, I think those of us who had concerns about the Hawks’ weaknesses may have been encouraged by not only level of effort last night against the Sharks, but also the quality.
‘Fearless’ is as good a word as I can think of.
The marathon NHL season is being played at a frenetic pace this year because of the Olympic break. It’s reasonable to believe that at some point teams have gaps in their game simply because of the mental and physical fatigue.
What I found remarkable about last night’s performance was that while the Hawks were clearly tired in the second period as the well-rested Sharks poured the pressure on, the Blackhawks found the strength to withstand the onslaught.
They never let the Sharks take the lead–though lesser teams would have–and the Hawks, Version 08-09, would have.
The overtime win was pure courage, and desire to vanquish a worthy opponent.
This is a very, very different group of Chicago Blackhawks than the fresh faced one that surprised everyone last year.
They remind me very much of the powerful Hawk teams of the 1960′s and 70′s. Hossa, Toews, Kane and Keith are every inch the superstars to match Hull, Hull, Mikita, and Pilote. They are of course very different as individuals, from those players (though I see Pilote and Keith as startingly similar). There is a mix of energy, skill, and controlled aggression, that evokes those Hawk squads.
Troy Murray has said he believes this year’s team has the elements to win the Stanley Cup. He has expressed the opinion that their will to win will determine, even more than their talent, how close they will come to realizing that dream.
I agree with that view.
Based on what we saw last night, I think it would be difficult not to agree.
dave you are rite i thought the same thing about last night one thing i noticed was toews in the second lost a couple battles along the boards and he looked super tired but then in the third period when sharks tied it up and the timeout super toews came in to the rescue as well as the whole team but toews is pure leader and winner last night showed. in comparing a past hawks player to keith i totally see doug wilson except the shot but he is getting better and better last night he was awesome but its nice to hear comparison to a 61′ hawks team it gives me a warm feeling
As far as a comparison to past Chicago teams they are probably deeper although younger.
Going back only to 1992 this team is probbaly more skillful but less experienced.
I know there are other very good team out there…But last years Penguins team isn’t as good as the one that beat the Hawks and won two Cups in a row.
al you’re rite about that the crosby penguins cannot compare to 91,92 team IMO the pens would have never won last year if the wings did’nt get beat up by the ducks and alittle bit from the hawks plus for some reason the nhl wanted to start the finals so quickly and have saturday and sunday games and it showed towards the end of the series the wings were out of gas. i still believe a full detroit team is still the best team and Al you have stated this last year in one your blogs and i felt the same way about it
Yep… the Wings were beat up and the schedule couldn’t have been worse for them.
Al, I agree completely with your perspective regarding the comparison with previous Hawks teams. This group is remarkable for its youth and depth.
As one watches the current Blackhawks progress, and realizing most of them are in their early twenties, one can imagine they will only get better.
Troy Brouwer is now the player attracting the accolades from NHL pundits. After Keith, Seabrook, Kane and Toews, Brouwer has been added to the ‘list’ of top notch talent on the club.
Stan Mikita and Bobby Hull were just 20 and 21 when they won their Stanley Cup.
Perhaps these new Hawks are closer than we think to the big prize.
al your rite about the canucks being the next obstacle for the hawks to overcome. the style that canucks , predators and ducks play is the one style that can make it close games to hawks and wings style if you look at games in the last few years those teams have kept games close but i think its a bigger fight for those teams than it is for the style the hawks and wings play therefore i would love to see the hawks meet any of them in the playoffs it will prove what kind of team the hawks are
Right now there isn’t much to seperate about five or six teams…as you know many times the playoffs don’t go to form.
That said the Hawks will be one of the favorites if Bolland and Burish come back strong and they can all hit April fairly healthy.
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