United Center Blues

February 26, 2020

The stench from the garbage emanating from the United Center is so bad you should be wearing a face mask. For the third consecutive year, neither the Bulls nor the Blackhawks will make the playoffs. This is hard to accomplish when half the teams in their respective conferences reach the post season.

What I can’t figure out is how good the Hawks were prior to the All-Star break. They had pulled to within three points of a playoff spot. They came out of the break and lost 4 out of 5 games to teams they were battling with for the final playoff spot. The next two games were home games and the thought was maybe they could get back on track. However, the problem is that they have a losing record at home. This should never happen. The first game was a 6-3 loss to the N.Y. Rangers where they didn’t register a pulse. The next game, the Hawks beat the Nashville Predators. Because it was an overtime win, they only gained 1 point. They reside in last place in their division.

The Hawks have goal scorers. Jonathan Toews is having a good season and Patrick Kane remains one of the best players in the NHL. Brandon Saad is having his best year since rejoining the Hawks. Alex DeBrincat is snake bitten and his goal production is down, though he is creating multiple chances.  They are getting contributions from Dominik Kubalik, who leads all rookies in goals, and fellow rookie Kirby Dach keeps improving. So what’s the problem? It may be lack of speed, as they continue to employ the dump and run offense, while opponents pass and skate the puck into Hawks territory.

A bigger problem is the defense can’t get the puck out of their own end. When they finally do clear the zone, the offense dumps it in to change lines because they are exhausted. Therein lies the big problem: the only reliable defensemen are Connor Murphy and rookie sensation Adam Bovqist. Duncan Keith is still good. However, at this stage of his career he has too much ice time which leads to mistakes, particularly takeaways. They also never come out with a possession when fighting for the puck along the boards

.

The Blackhawks problems are nothing compared to the Bulls. In the third year of their rebuild, they’ve gotten worse. People point out to me that the Bulls are plagued by multiple injuries. Even without the injuries they wouldn’t be much better. To start the season, prior to injuries they were 2-6.

Believe it or not, there are teams worse than the Bulls. As of right now the Bulls have the eighth worst record in the league. The Bulls would have to be extremely lucky to avoid another inconsequential pick in the draft. The Bulls need an impact player and should put together a good offer to a team with a top three pick. Maybe Zach LaVine and your first round pick?

The only positive is, rumor has it that there will be changes in management. John Paxson will probably will be in charge of hiring a new General Manager. If this person has complete autonomy, his first move should be getting rid of Coach Jim Boylen. Boylen continues to say and do stupid things. Calling time-outs when the Bulls are being blown out. There are many examples, but my personal favorite is, the Bulls were losing by 25 points to the Raptors and he called a time out with 1:04 left in the game. He continues to refer to games as good losses. To me, there is no such thing.

Hawks Slogan One Goal Now Refers to Making the Playoffs

January 31, 2020

Three seasons ago the Chicago Blackhawks were swept out of the playoffs in the first round. The following year they missed making the playoffs. Last year with the team struggling, the Hawks let go Joel Quenneville, the coach of three Stanley Cup championship teams. He was replaced by 33 year old Jeremy Colliton, coach of their minor league affiliate the Rockford Ice Hogs. Initially under Colliton the Hawks were an unmitigated disaster. They were playing their worst hockey since Rocky Wirtz took control of the team. The Hawks had fallen out of playoff contention by the All-Star break.

Colliton made changes that turned things around. When he inserted Erik Gustafsson on the point, the power play was the best in the NHL. By putting Patrick Kane and Jonathan Toews on the same line, both had career years. Playing inspired hockey, the Hawks were making a push to reach the playoffs. However, the hole they had dug for themselves was too deep to overcome. They ran out of gas and missed the playoffs.

Buoyed by their play at the end of last year, I was optimistic about this season. Once again the Hawks started slowly.  Bad and inconsistent play landed them in last place in their division. However, it seemed  as if a light switch went on and the Hawks went on an 11-5 tear prior to the All-Star break. This stretch  gives them a legitimate chance of reaching the playoffs.

Part of the blame for the poor start was that the Hawks suffered a number of injuries.  Connor Murphy, who I think is the Hawks best defensemen,, missed the first nine games. Calvin de Haan, acquired in a trade, was injured for the first two games and played a total of only 29 before going down with a season ending injury. Duncan Keith had to sit out a few games. Luckily, Brent Seabrook is out for the season. The defense is being saved by the outstanding goal tending of Robin Lehner.

Let’s start with two injuries to key players. Brandon Saad was having his best season since the Hawks reacquired him. After missing a month he is back and still playing well. Goal scorer Dylan Strome has been in and out for most of the year. He is close to returning. Hopefully when he comes back he can help Alex DeBrincat regain the form that netted him 41 goals last year.

The kids are all right. The decision to hang on to 18 year-old Kirby Dach is paying off. Although he’s not filling up the score sheet, he is getting better and better. Defenseman, 19 year-old Adam Boqvist has looked really good and will also improve. I believe both will be NHL stars. Then there is 24 year-old Dominik Kubalik who leads all rookies with 21 goals.

u are tempting fate if he has to save 35-40 shots a game. This is exasperated by the dump and run offense. More often than not, the opponents take possession and head up the ice. The other obstacle in reaching the playoffs is their February schedule is brutal.  It includes eleven road games all against contending teams. We’ll know a lot more regarding their playoff aspirations when March arrives.