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From Scott Powers’ article today:
“Hawks are allowing, on average, more shot attempts, more shots on goal, more scoring chances and more high-danger chances than they did last season.Also,
overall:
defensive zone percentage 43.8 ranks 31st
offensive zone percentage 38.3 ranks 32ndat even strength:
defensive zone percentage 42.8 ranks 28th
offensive zone percentage 38.7 ranks 29thIt’s true, the play on the ice isn’t that much different from last season. Some tweaks and some younger personnel, but there are still a lot of the same flaws. The big part right now is that the Hawks have been finishing chances at a high rate and getting much better than typical goaltending. Losing Mrazek and adding knight has been a huge swing in ability to stay in games.
I might ruffle some feathers, but we don’t have a true #1 Center. Bedard is very talented, but he doesn’t at this time check all the boxes of a good and effective 1C. I’m not saying he doesn’t offer a lot, but the 200 foot game, the complete game, the board battles and everything that goes into it, it’s not at the level where you win more shifts than you lose yet. Nazar’s game is more complete but still he is growing into that top 6 C role and has more to round out. These are growing pains and things will work themselves out as more F bubble up through the system, but to me, Bedard will have to continue to improve his overall game or end up at wing.
Levshunov to me right now, should be playing AHL minutes. He has talent and does a lot of good things but there are still struggles and he is only 19. This whole 11F and 7D is a Band-Aid over the real issue. How is he going to get better playing in his own end when the coach is afraid to put him on the ice in the Dzone? They can only shelter him for so long before they have to either pull off the Band-Aid and let him play or send him down.
I’ll probably get flak for this too, but Kaiser should be and would be 3rd pair LD on a good team. I know he had a few good games to start the year and the coach has given him minutes, but the cracks have been showing against tougher competition. Grezlcyk is also a 3rd pair guy. The Hawks to be a better team would ultimately need another option in the top 4. The right side isn’t without issues either. Rinzel is learning on the job. Levshunov is inconsistent. Crevier is a 7th D. Murphy is wearing down and starting to really visibly struggle to keep up.
I like the direction the team is heading in, but just saying we have a ways to go before the wins come more regular, because we are gonna continue to be outplayed, relying on goaltending and counter-attacking with speed to try to close the gap.
That’s the thing though. Very few, if any of these kids are finished products. I wouldn’t even call Vlasic finished yet, so of course they won’t be playing like real top-4 D or top 6 F’s. 100% 11/7 is a Band-Aid, but it’s being used because they have more D that are ready than F’s. As much as you, I, and everyone else hate to say it, this is what this year is supposed to look like.
I’ve been on the “you don’t have to suck for multiple years” bandwagon, but the fact of the matter is that big FA’s will be less and less available in the next few years as the cap rises. Trades will also be difficult to pull off unless there is a team similar to the Hawks a few years ago who is intentionally tanking and only want picks or prospects back. The good news for the Hawks is that they have a high volume of top of the draft prospects. We all just have to be patient now and watch the kids grow up live.
A few have alluded to it already, but the fact he’s putting these kind of numbers up while paired with a still very green (and unpredictable) Levshunov should only raise the argument for him.
Good on him for taking the opportunity and running with it. It’ll be exciting to see these entire D-corps when they all get more used to playing their role and more comfortable.
Mikheyev with a monster 200′ game tonight. For all the roses people seem to throw at Dickinson’s feet, I think Mikheyev is the better player.
With all the young pups coming up including possibly Frondell next season as well, does Dickinson have a chance at coming back on a short deal since he’s a Blashill favorite thus far? I think the question is if Greene is ready to supplant Dickison at 3C at the end of the season. Mik def needs to be re-signed but think Foligno, Lafferty, and Reichel are elsewhere next season.
I don’t think Dickinson stays on the team, but I’m just not a huge fan of him. They have 5 forward contracts coming up that they can just walk away from (I’m assuming they want to keep Dach). Mikheyev, Foligno, Dickinson, Reichel, Lafferty. I see at least two of them gone by the TDL, and the only guy I see them wanting to keep would be Mikheyev.
Mikheyev with a monster 200′ game tonight. For all the roses people seem to throw at Dickinson’s feet, I think Mikheyev is the better player.
Glad they got a point but I didn’t want them to win this game. Starting in the 2nd this group played dumb undisciplined hockey and it started on that idiotic lazy PP that Bedard took a penalty during. Blashill takes as much blame for having Greene out for that PP making a less than stellar unit totally disjointed. Really, Greene on the PP?…… No, this club can’t think this was anywhere near accept6able enough to get two points.
1st period we saw last yrs Bedard’s weak/lazy defense, long shifts and losing hockey. He tried like hell to lose that OT all the way to taking a TWO minute shift… Yea yea, I know Rinzel and Nazar got caught out too but Bedard had chances to get off and didn’t. Loser hockey.
VAN was getting swarmed by the Hawk speed/tenacity in the 1st after playing last night and went down 2-0. But they came out like a vet club in the 2nd, buttoned up their structure nullifying that Hawk speed enough to tilt the thing their way. .. After that 1st they could have chalked it up to playing a back to back and traveling to play a hair on fire speedball club but they didn’t and get out with a smart 2 points.
Still can’t believe Knight is a Hawk. But as perfect and robotic as his movements generally look even he can get scrambly playing behind funk. Promise you he didn’t like his game. Laying on your belly or back in that many sequences tells him, and the viewer, he was off. …….
This is a game the Hawks can learn from. Hopefully that happens.
What’s the problem with Greene on the PP? He’s got some offense in his game, and who else would they put out there?
As far as OT goes, didn’t Van have the puck for most of the first half of it? Bedard in the first period was pretty much everything you want out of him. Battled for pucks (and won bunch) went through guys and not around them defensively, and generated some good chances.
Common guys recognize the dman activating
That’s the issue with 11/7. There are lines that get confused as to what their responsibility is.
Sorry to you and everyone for how difficult it’s been to comment or reply lately — it’s often not working, and unfortunately, it’s out of my control. I really wish I could fix it.
That said, Bedard is only going to get better. He worked hard this summer and clearly wants to take the next step. If he can improve his faceoffs, it’ll make a big difference in the long run. Honestly, the Blackhawks should consider hiring a faceoff specialist to help both Bedard and Nazar take that next leap.
I thought that I saw that Yannick Perrault was still working with them this training camp. They also have Peca on the coaching staff, who was no slouch. I really don’t think it’s a matter of coaching with the FO’s. It’s mostly younger/weaker players taking them and they need to gain the experience and strength necessary to improve there. It would also help if their wingers were stronger and better at fighting for and winning some of the 50/50 pucks that can go either way.
Anyone notice how often the Hawks come in waves? They gain the zone and often enough they have a man coming in the 2nd tier and then another after him. They’ve done this a few times and it creates fantastic chances. Did that v Florida a couple times too….. Really tough to defend.
You can see the glimmers, it’s just ugly right now. There is very little consistency, and if one guy is having an off night, the entire line just gets buried. The Nazar-TT-Bert line tonight struggled to maintain much of anything. TT couldn’t handle anything on his stick and Nazar looked like he didn’t know what was going on in several occasions.
If Burakovsky can bring this 75% of the time he’ll have a good year.
Off topic – I still don’t know why the D-men are so reluctant to shoot. Especially after Crevier scored, that should have gotten all of them to be more aggressive taking shots from the points. Rinzel seems to mostly take them if he skates it in, and Lev seems kinda lost as to when he wants to shoot (although his move to set-up Burakovsky was really nice).
They really tried to give that game away today. Soda gets the point for this game.
One forward has got to protect the center of the ice in the dzone to many grade A chances for Boston.
Might as well let the kids play if you continue to play 5 and 48 together, yikes
Yeah, Gryz is just a guy there. Outside of not clearing that puck out of his feet hard, he wasn’t horrible, but he’s nothing to get excited about. Outside of Kaiser, Vlasic, and sometimes Murphy, there are a lot of “hope” passes from the backend that become turnovers or icing. Hopefully after about 10 games those numbers come down.
Just gotta say don’t trust a coach to much if he can’t take advantage of am extra guy on the ice, this is concerning
I was somewhat concerned in the preseason but have to admit this is embarrassing
How is that on the coach? The players have been taking a crap all over their face-offs and entries.
OK Rico, for as much as I think Crevier is “just a guy”, he certainly knows when to take an open shot. Love to see it.
Bedard’s gonna take a ride on the pine if he keeps trying to stickhandle out of trouble behind the net.
