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Chicago Blackhawks Blogger •
The Blackhawks turned in another solid effort last night in a 3-1 win versus Minnesota at the United Center.
With all the injuries the team is suffering and the issues with goaltending early on in the season, the Hawks might not have all their problems solved. But they appear to be moving in the right direction.
Cristobal Huet was solid again last night, allowing one forgivable goal in a crowded crease. He did not see quite as much pressure as he did against Nashville on Saturday, but was sharp nonetheless, with 20 saves.
A couple of things to note here. As we saw in the WCF last year, Huet has proven again he can bounce back and play at a high level when he gets his mind right. We're seeing that again. And that has to be encouraging. Because Antti Niemi has also shown that if Huet goes into a slide again, he can step in and provide effective goaltending.
Another Hawk who's taken a lot of flak from the fanbase, and who's redeeming himself of late, is Brent Sopel. The fact is, as much as Hawk fans liked Matt Walker, he could not fill the role Sopel is playing now, replacing Brent Seabrook as Duncan Keith's partner on the top pairing. And doing so effectively.
The Bolland-Kane-Byfuglien line was absolutely dominant last night, with Kane registering as pretty a goal as you will see. I don't know if he was aiming for the high glove side corner or not, but it was a full-speed spin-o-rama shot after a good 30 seconds of one man puck control through the Minnesota defense. Bolland got the Hawks on the board with a nice bang-in of a rebound.
Troy Brouwer had a nice goal as well. Nothing pretty, just banging home a rebound and taking a shoulder to the jaw to get it done. Brouwer also set a nice tone early on with a big hit on Minnesota agitator Cal Clutterbuck.
Right now, Hawk fans have to feel good, in spite of concussions to two of the team's best players, Seabrook and Jonathan Toews. The Hawks next game is not until Thursday, when they travel to Nashville. So, there is probably not a better three game stretch for numbers 7 and 19 to be out than these. That's not to say Seabrook and Toews will not play Thursday, but if ever there was a time the Hawks could afford to be cautious— with injuries that merit patience and caution— this is it.
I expect Huet will get the start again on Thursday. He's definitely on a roll and I suspect the Hawks will ride him until he either has a weak outing or they encounter a back-to-back.
JJ'S THREE STARS:
1) Pat Kane
2) Cristobal Huet
3) Troy Brouwer
HOG CALLS: Rockford stands at 5-4-1, third in their division. Corey Crawford is playing well with a .922 save percentage. Defenseman Daryl Boyle is +6. Kyle Greentree has 5 points in 8 games and is +5.
EUROS: Marcus Kruger has slowed down a bit, with 5 goals and 10 assists in 15 games with Djurgardens in the Swedish Elite League. Igor Makarov has 2 goals in 18 games with St. Petersburg in the KHL.
With all the injuries the team is suffering and the issues with goaltending early on in the season, the Hawks might not have all their problems solved. But they appear to be moving in the right direction.
Cristobal Huet was solid again last night, allowing one forgivable goal in a crowded crease. He did not see quite as much pressure as he did against Nashville on Saturday, but was sharp nonetheless, with 20 saves.
A couple of things to note here. As we saw in the WCF last year, Huet has proven again he can bounce back and play at a high level when he gets his mind right. We're seeing that again. And that has to be encouraging. Because Antti Niemi has also shown that if Huet goes into a slide again, he can step in and provide effective goaltending.
Another Hawk who's taken a lot of flak from the fanbase, and who's redeeming himself of late, is Brent Sopel. The fact is, as much as Hawk fans liked Matt Walker, he could not fill the role Sopel is playing now, replacing Brent Seabrook as Duncan Keith's partner on the top pairing. And doing so effectively.
The Bolland-Kane-Byfuglien line was absolutely dominant last night, with Kane registering as pretty a goal as you will see. I don't know if he was aiming for the high glove side corner or not, but it was a full-speed spin-o-rama shot after a good 30 seconds of one man puck control through the Minnesota defense. Bolland got the Hawks on the board with a nice bang-in of a rebound.
Troy Brouwer had a nice goal as well. Nothing pretty, just banging home a rebound and taking a shoulder to the jaw to get it done. Brouwer also set a nice tone early on with a big hit on Minnesota agitator Cal Clutterbuck.
Right now, Hawk fans have to feel good, in spite of concussions to two of the team's best players, Seabrook and Jonathan Toews. The Hawks next game is not until Thursday, when they travel to Nashville. So, there is probably not a better three game stretch for numbers 7 and 19 to be out than these. That's not to say Seabrook and Toews will not play Thursday, but if ever there was a time the Hawks could afford to be cautious— with injuries that merit patience and caution— this is it.
I expect Huet will get the start again on Thursday. He's definitely on a roll and I suspect the Hawks will ride him until he either has a weak outing or they encounter a back-to-back.
JJ'S THREE STARS:
1) Pat Kane
2) Cristobal Huet
3) Troy Brouwer
HOG CALLS: Rockford stands at 5-4-1, third in their division. Corey Crawford is playing well with a .922 save percentage. Defenseman Daryl Boyle is +6. Kyle Greentree has 5 points in 8 games and is +5.
EUROS: Marcus Kruger has slowed down a bit, with 5 goals and 10 assists in 15 games with Djurgardens in the Swedish Elite League. Igor Makarov has 2 goals in 18 games with St. Petersburg in the KHL.
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