We've Got A Ways To Go

November 24, 2017

If the playoffs started today the Blackhawks would not make the field. However, there are still 60 games left on the schedule. Despite a 3-2 loss to Tampa Bay (currently with best record) they have been playing much better as of late with victories over the Rangers and Penguins.

The backbone of this team is Corey Crawford. Aside from one poor performance he has played Vezina-caliber in goal. When the Hawks were going through the scoring drought, he won games; pitching a couple of shut outs while being bombarded with shots.

Once a year, it seems the Hawks have trouble scoring for long stretches. The offensive players are probably partially to blame.  Helping out in the defensive end is holding up the offense. Coach Quenneville seems to have settled on his defensive pairings to help turn the tide.  Duncan Keith is still playing at a high level and teams up with Cody Franson as their top defensive pairing. Whereas, Connor Murphy and his partner, overpaid, slow and untradeable Seabrook make another pairing. This has got to change. The final pairing of Forsling and Rutta could be the new version of the old Keith-Seabrook pairing. Both are young, good and getting better.

There are some questions on offense. In recent games, the fore checking and possession in the opponent’s end is improving. You can count on getting consistent production from Anisimov, Scmaltz, and one of the top players in hockey, Patrick Kane. Saad, Toews and Panik haven’t clicked. Toews is an excellent player whose goal and points production have regressed. Panik had a couple of good streaks, but I think this line would be better served with 19 year old Alex Debrincat who is a future star. Sharp, Hartman and Panik plus Bouma, Wingels and Hayden are all doing what they’re supposed to.

Don’t fret too much. This team will make the playoffs. The regular season games will become meaningful and much more fun to watch. What you want to happen is for the Hawks to get on a roll going into the playoffs e.g. last year’s Nashville Predators. That being said, I don’t think there will be a rally in Grant Park. The Hawks still have problems with teams with a lot of speed. Maybe they can figure out a way to combat this.

With the Bears, Bulls and Blackhawks when does baseball’s spring training start?