Conflicted
Al Cimaglia | Mar 28, 2011 | Comments 15
Being a lifelong Blackhawk fan I feel conflicted these days.
The die hard fan in me wants the Hawks to reach the playoff and win at least one round. After all they are the defending Champs and making the playoffs should be a given, regardless of the salary cap issues and the fact half the team was jettisoned. In my book, with the way the season has gone, anything more than winning one round is a significant achievement.
The realist in me says this is all going to end with a thud and maybe it is best not to qualify for the playoffs. If the Hawks aren’t fully healthy going into round one a quick exit would not be a surprise. Maybe it is best to fold the tent early and rest up for next season. In many ways this group has failed to get it all together and is still struggling to find the correct mix.
With an early finish management would realize it is a short hop from being a Cup Champion to playoff bubble team. Certainly there is a need for personnel changes and quite possibly the Hawks’ style of play has to be adjusted as well.
Maybe by falling short of the playoffs the desire will burn even hotter in October for players and those in the front office. With the correct additions the Hawks could make a serious Stanley Cup run next season.
If the Hawks don’t capture at least one point over the next two games there probably won’t be a reason to be conflicted any longer.
Regulation losses to the Red Wings and Bruins would mean the Hawks would need to capture nine points in the remaining six games to end the year with 97. But even a 97 point finish doesn’t guarantee a playoff slot.
It’s not impossible for the Hawks to achieve two upcoming road wins but complete efforts will be required. Although the Wings and Bruins aren’t on fire the Hawks don’t have effective replacements for the injured Dave Bolland and Patrick Sharp.
Without earning at least one point by Tuesday night the will of the players may diminish. Down deep they will realize they are a big long shot to qualify for the post season.
Duncan Keith commented after the loss to the Ducks that they weren’t out of it yet….Funny after one loss he would mentioned any reference to being out of it. But the players know the schedule and the standings.
The next couple of lines are taken from an Adam Jahns Sun Times article from Sunday… This pretty much says it all about the loss to Anaheim.
Here is a Marian Hossa quote immediately following the game…“Sometimes we tried to be a little too cute. Against a good defensive team like this, that’s sometimes not going to work.”
Jahns adds…That’s a common refrain for the Hawks after losses, especially when they muster a few quality scoring chances and traffic is minimal. I couldn’t agree more.
Versus the Coyotes Mr. Kane seemed to be stuck in second gear. His effort against the Panthers wasn’t great as he made a few poor decisions with the puck. But then Kane did what all great players often do…He came through.
Against the Panthers, Kane made a fantastic pass to Toews which changed the game. His turnovers and sloppy defensive efforts are forgiven because nothing looks as bad after a victory. But now there is no margin for error, especially when the Hawks don’t score a power play goal.
On Saturday night Kane was caught between a rock and hard place. Kane knows down deep the Hawk offense needs him more than ever. This puts Kane into a position to force things. When that happens mistakes take place.
I have mentioned on a number of occasions Kane is the best perimeter player in the league. Unfortunately at times Kane’s hockey IQ does not match his physical ability. He is still young, but old enough to know better.
When the same old song is sung by players about keeping things simple and getting dirty goals those comments are probably meant for Kane’s ears more than anyone else.
In the third period Saturday it wasn’t exactly a pure turnover, but Kane forced a low opportunity shot at the wrong time and the Ducks tied the score. His careless play resulted in the Ducks having an easy breakout which left every Blackhawk forward behind. Not surprising because the Hawk forwards were all below the faceoff circle in the Ducks’ zone when Kane tried a bad angle, low reward shot.
Kane has to realize although goals are precious now they don’t always have to be created by him. Kind of a tough spot for Kane but many times simple is best.
After Kane’s shot didn’t get through to the net he should have had only one thought in mind. Kane needed to skate as fast as possible to get to the far post before Corey Perry….Strike two.
Kane started to race with his head down but he let up for a few strides inside the Hawks’ blueline. Perry and company don’t need a lot of space to score and Kane wasn’t close enough.
The winning tally was created because the Ducks won board battles and were more determined. One would have thought Anaheim would have been the tired, road weary club but in reality they controlled the final forty minutes. The Ducks knew the formula for beating the Hawks. They kept Kane and others on the perimeter and were physical.
Without Bolland and Sharp the Hawks’ lineup has big holes. The Ducks were able to play with a consistent effective effort, even if minutes were piled on their top line.
The Ducks top unit was hands down better than the Toews’ line. Actually the top six forwards for Anaheim were stronger. I can’t tell what the game plan is for the Chicago third and fourth line but it isn’t working.
Joel Quenneville put all his eggs into the Duncan Keith Keith – Brent Seabrook basket. The basket broke in the third period and now the Hawks will probably struggle mightily to finish eighth.
Considering Sharp and Bolland won’t be back soon, maybe qualifying for the playoffs is a pipe dream. But the best chance to pick up any points in the next two games will probably be in Detroit. The Hawks are catching the Wings with some injuries. The Bruins will be more rested than the Hawks and they should pound away from the opening puck drop.
There were some curious decisions made by Quenneville concerning playing time.
There could be injuries involved in the decision process which we are unaware of but…
Niklas Hjalmarsson has been playing very good hockey but only saw the ice for a little less than 15 minutes.
That’s 14 minutes less than Keith, 13 minutes less than Seabrook and about four minutes less than Brian Campbell and new comer Chris Campoli.
Marcus Kruger played 11:30 at even strength. At even strength Ryan Johnson was on the ice for only 6:02.
Fernando Pisani did not play on special teams and had only 5:47 of playing time.
Bryan Bickell recorded only one hit against a very physical Ducks squad and played a total 13:54. A bad Bickell is still better than John Scott, but he hasn’t been bringing much to the party.
They say a head coach has the best feel for his team. On Saturday night Randy Carlyle was the better coach and the Ducks were the best team.
Al’s Shots
Another Hawk loss when they were outscored in the third period…Evidently a hard pattern to break.
If possible go to the Blackhawks’ website and listen to a recent interview of Quenneville on NHL Live.
Interviewing Q. was Ken Daneyko, who was a former three time Stanley Cup winner with the NJ Devils. Daneyko was a bona fide tough guy and a good defender. Pay attention to the question from Daneyko about the thought process involved when adding John Scott to the roster.
Scott isn’t a newly drafted player…He is 28 years old. So it was amazing to hear Quenneville comment that Scotts’ play on the blueline has improved a lot since the beginning of the season.
Scott might not have many fans in Chicago but he has the head coach in his corner.
By the way…If there ever was a time the Hawks could have used a physical presence, which could play hockey, it would have been versus the Ducks.
Before anyone wonders why there wasn’t any post game quotes available from the likes of Patrick Kane or Jonathan Toews….They didn’t stick around long enough to be questioned.
Evidently those two and others got out of Dodge quickly as only Keith and Hossa endured the post game media scrum.
Filed Under: Al Cimaglia • Chicago Blackhawks • Featured • NHL
Expectations have been up and down all season. At the trade deadline I wouldnt have been upset if they made some trades for the future. A couple weeks later it was all playoff talk.
Now…? Guess it’s just time to hang on. If the Hawks do make it to the playoffs, it’s hard to imagine them having the energy and consistency to go far.
Hopefully having said that the Hawks will go on a tear and it will be full bandwagon city again!
Nice post Al. I feel the same way, especially after Saturday night’s performance.
Hearing reports of Brouwer on the top line for tonight. Do you think his performance in the next 2 weeks, if he stays there. might make or break his stay here in Chicago? He has 17 goals but seems like he has been completely invisible the last 3 months.
Also, Leddy only played 9:50 against Ducks. He was essentially done after the second period. That’s about 5 more shifts than what Scott would of played.
Down the stretch and if in the playoffs…Leddy won’t play more than 8-12 mins unless the game is decided early.
Brouwer has been shuffled all over…
He isn’t going to get scoring chances with Bickell and whomever centers that group beside Bolland.
I had my doubts Stalberg would be able to play on the top line for long because he isn’t great along the boards.
Q. is trying to hit a homerun with Kruger….Maybe he will get lucky but it is way too early to pile on the mins.
I would play Johnson a lot more.
But this team is without players they really can’t replace.
Al, as always, you give us a unique perspective…and food for thought.
The Anaheim game was–and everyone knew this–a chance for the Hawks to give themselves at least SOME room to breathe.
Instead, they’re swimming with their heads barely above the water line.
We’ve seen this before, where a hockey team lurches and sputters, while showing flashes of competitiveness and even excellence, on its way to the end of a season.
The fans have collective cardiac arrest with good reason.
Last year it was Flyers and Rangers (and Habs) fans, biting their nails to the final horn…this year, the drama is being played out in the West.
The Blackhawks carved out this scenario for themselves early in the season by dropping games they should have won.
At this point, it’s not about individuals…these ARE playoff games for the Blackhawks, and the game-winning actions have to come from anybody/everybody.
Teemu Selanne, Corey Perry, and Ryan Getzlaf are players who already know what it’s like to win the Cup and miss the post-season shortly afterward. They play every game as if it is their last.
You can’t teach that, and you can’t expect it. A player either has that attitude, or they don’t.
The chips will fall where they may.
The guys whose jobs are on the line, need to know they don’t necessarily have jobs next year. We already know who they are. The question is whether *they* do, and what they’re going to do to earn one.
I heard something today…Chgis Kuc from the Trib said Saturday’s game was the 25th critical game of this season….
How many more will there be?…
If the Hawks get two points tonight the bandwagon will still have some gas in the tank.
“With an early finish management would realize it is a short hop from being a Cup Champion to playoff bubble team.”
Unless you are the Detroit Red Wings, whose closest brush with being a playoff bubble team in the last 20 years was last year. Still finished 4th in the WC & had home ice in the first round. Cap, no cap, Demers, Scotty, Dave Lewis, Babcock, ect. It can be done, but you need better ownership & front office management to build that kind of track record.
The Wings are one of the best organization in all sports..
What happened here was a combination of a many young players becoming very good all at once and needing to be paid.
That said the Hawks have been trying to be like the Wings for years…And they aren’t alone.
With Rocky in control you have a fighting chance to get there. Continuity (and competence) in ownership is vastly underrated, and I could easily see Rocky & Stan forming a team similar to Illitch & Holland down the road (though as a Wings fan it would piss me off as well!)
“That said the Hawks have been trying to be like the Wings for years…And they aren’t alone.”
And… they aren’t there yet either.
Lets just say the next 4 months will be very, very interesting.
I’m curious …Are you a Wings fan or Hawks fan?
Well, that was a huge loss in my books. A 3 point lead with a game in hand on the Ducks would have made all the difference to their playoff seeding chances. Now, with the Ducks and Kings, Sharks and Yotes pounding each other and the Preds with an easy schedule the chances of them finishing any higher than 7th seed is negligible. Better hope the Pacific teams beat up on the Stars too. Could be the ‘hawks are destined to play the Canucks again. I still think they’ll make it, but if their first round match-up involves the Sharks or the ‘nucks, look out. I don’t think Toews will allow it.
On the question of missing the playoffs being a good thing, in the long term view, I agree. But management has to know the team’s deficiencies at this stage of the game.
As for Carlysle, he definitely outcoached Q on Saturday. The one guy they had to shut down was Perry and he bit them hard. Maybe too hard.
But management has to know the team’s deficiencies at this stage of the game.
They should but…
I’m wondering if the Hawks run and gun style may have to be somewhat dampered in the future.
Have to disagree Al with your sentiment that missing the playoffs might be a better long term scenario.
If they were to miss I’m not saying they can’t be back next year for a Cup run but everything you mentioned in terms of adjusting personnel and/or style of play can happen regardless of making the playoffs.
I think we all agree it would take a minor miracle for the Hawks to win the Cup this year but even a little playoff experience and success would really help develop guys like Bickell, Leddy, Kruger, Stalberg, Crawford. And should they have a decent run even better!
I think there are more long term benefits there than missing.
And if mgmt doesn’t realize how easy it is to go from champs to being a bubble team by now missing the playoffs probably won’t make a difference.
Also I am going easy on Q for the Ducks game. In the absence of Bolland who is he supposed to put on Getzlaf if not Toews plus 2 and 7?
And that’s exactly who was on the ice when Perry scored twice.
And Brouwer keeps making bone headed defensive plays – that’s why he gets shuffled around.
It’s too easy to blame Q. These guys are pros – handling line shuffling is part of their job description and in Brouwer’s case he was here last year so I don’t find that to be a good reason for his underachievement lately. Q continually shuffled his lines all the way to the Cup last year.
As Dave said if they can’t handle it they may not be here next year.
I agree there are more advantages to making than missing…Primarily keeping the buzz in the city and the experienced gained for many.
But there is no denying the heart of this group has played a ton of games the past two years..
The benefit to shutting it down early would be to have ample time to recharge their batteries.
Gotta agree with that one, though the revenue from the playoff games would certainly help.
When Detroit went deep 3 years in a row (07 WCF, 08 & 09 Finals), then had to make a strong stretch run just to make the playoffs last year, you could see the result in the Sharks series.
Though the officiating in that series was bad, the fact of the matter is that many of the Wings penalties were of the “tired legs” variety: hooking, holding, interference, tripping, ect. Keep in mind they also blew leads in the 3rd period in three of those games, which may be another sign of fatigue.
Having said all this, I think it’s still better to get in & take your shot, because you just never know!