February 22, 2019
Following the NHL all-star break, I
thought Jonathan Toews was off his rocker when in an interview he talked about
making the playoffs. There are still many games left on the schedule. The
Blackhawks had sunk to the NHL abyss and showed no signs that they
could make a run. Lo and behold, with a mixture of young and experienced
players they have been one of the league’s hottest teams. The hot streak has
positioned them to compete for the eighth and final playoff spot.
New coach Jeremy Colliton started out looking to
be a bad choice. After getting to know his team, he has made some extremely
good moves. For the past couple of years the Hawks have been searching for
someone to energize Toews. By putting MVP candidate Patrick Kane on his wing,
Toews has 28 goals, one short of his career high. With the acquisition of 24-year-old Drake
Caggiula as the third winger, this could be one of the most dynamic lines in
hockey.
Winger Alex Debrincat is blossoming into a
star. As a first-year player he had 28 goals.With 21 games games remaining, he
already has 33 goals. Nick Schmaltz was a talented player but not a goal
scorer. General Manager Stan Bowman traded him for two players. Dylan Strome is
young and is playing exceptionally well and unlike Schmaltz, scores goals.
Brandon Saad is playing like they thought he would and has started to get going
with 21 goals.
Colliton’s replacing Duncan Keith with Erik
Gustafsson has turned the worst power play to the number one unit since 2019.
Plus/minus is a good barometer of player evaluation. So although
Gustafsson has sparked the power play,he has to work on
his defense as he is a -9. Brent Seabrook is washed up. He can no longer push
people from the crease and is frequently out of position; he is -7. His
longtime partner Keith has improved as of late. Playing a little
less the monster minutes he used to in the past, he now has a + 5 rating. I
have been really critical of General Manager Bowman for his trades,
especially the trading of Niklas Hjalmarsson for Connor Murphy. I was wrong,
as in his second year he leads the team with a
+11 rating. The Hawks have stockpiled young defensemen (too many to mention) who get better with every game. Rookie Collin
Delia and veteran Cam Ward for the most part have been solid in goal.
I wrote this all on Thursday, being extremely
optimistic going into the weekend. However, two excruciating losses on home ice
have diminished my enthusiasm. Against the Colorado Avalanche, the Hawks overcame
three one-goal leads, eventually succumbing 5-3. Sunday
they erased a 3-goal lead. I thought the momentum had swung their way
but a stupid too many men on the ice penalty, compounded by a tripping
penalty 28 seconds later, gave the Dallas Stars a five-on-three
they scored the go-ahead goal. What made matters worse, with a little
more than four minutes left to play, Dallas gave the Hawks a four-minute power
play. Having converting earlier I thought they could at least one maybe
two goals. Even when they pulled the goalie to give
them six-on-four they didn’t score.
So as is stands, the Hawks are five
points back of the eighth spot fighting multiple teams to make the
playoffs. The two goalies have done an admirable job but you don’t win many
games giving up four or more goals which has been the case as of late. Maybe
it’s time to see if Corey Crawford can put a spark into this team. Making the
playoffs will be a tough go. They will have to
get back to playing the way they were before last
weekend. I’m not real confident they will do so.
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