Few questions for the crowd... Is Leblanc eligible to play at all? If not, why not squeeze him into some Rockford games. And will Rockford make the playoffs?

As evidenced all night last night.
- John Jaeckel

The fact that all three Yotes players - including David Schlemko (WHO?) made the same move on Crawford in the shootout tells me they took notes from last year on how and where to beat him. I said it last night, I have nothing against Crawford and would like nothing better than to see him have an outstanding playoff and lead this team to the cup, but his penchant for giving up backbreaking, momentum killing, deflating, soft goals at the most inopportune times scares the hell out of me. If he is your starter and falters in the playoffs, his career as the Hawks starting goalie and perhaps a starting goalie on another team in the NHL will be in jeopardy.

The fact that all three Yotes players - including David Schlemko (WHO?) made the same move on Crawford in the shootout tells me they took notes from last year on how and where to beat him. I said it last night, I have nothing against Crawford and would like nothing better than to see him have an outstanding playoff and lead this team to the cup, but his penchant for giving up backbreaking, momentum killing, deflating, soft goals at the most inopportune times scares the hell out of me. If he is your starter and falters in the playoffs, his career as the Hawks starting goalie and perhaps a starting goalie on another team in the NHL will be in jeopardy.
- RetiredGoalie

Schlemko? You didnt know that guy was a dead on sniper???

I love watching everyone defend these guys like its your kids trying to make a traveling team. CC has holes and inconsistencies, Razor has a bionic hip which is one loose screw from blowing up. Play great team D in front of them, take pressure off them and play usual good puck possession O and we should be fine.
- Morganskaner88

So true!

First I was quite clear on what was needed from CC.

I have no problem doing that and do see those other issues often when other players drop the ball. Last night looked like a tired team, but my concern came up with that bouncing goal from center ice. Im not dumping all of this on CC. Sad truth is this.. those OT goals dont go in.. there is no concern with CC. but they did. So he needs to shake those demons. I say over and over.. I want CC to do well hence we should start him against the Nuckers. But I think if both 30 and 50 are healthy and ready to go.. my gut says say Emery should start round 1. Just an opinion. Emery has more playoff experience and has played in the finals.
- z1990z

Don't wager much more than loose change on that happening - CC will be the starter in Game 1. If bad things develop, then you will see Emery much quicker than if the team did not have a capable backup.

Few questions for the crowd... Is Leblanc eligible to play at all? If not, why not squeeze him into some Rockford games. And will Rockford make the playoffs?
- z1990z

Rockford's fate is in the hands of Milwaukee. Peoria needs to beat the Admirals today in regulation for the Icehogs to make the playoffs as they had one game in hand but they are tied.

Also, Leblanc wasn't eligible to play during the regular season or the playoffs in RFD. He missed the cutoff by 2 days. Chris Block has a great article explaining all of this:
http://thethirdmanin.com/...c-stephen-johns-and-more/

1) Jaekel, this article is a joke.

2) First off, yes the hip did get hurt from overuse. how could it not?

3) Second, how many games in the pros did you play at goalie? once you ask that question you have to answer it. im guessing the answer is none.

Third, a meaningless game at the end of april where he was mediocre in the first 20 minutes and wait did you not watch the last 40? he was outstanding. period.

Fourth, if you even try and tell me how bad he was in the shootout, you lose ALL credibility.

Fifth, its been obvious the last two games the Hawks were not really trying. you could easily tell by watching them that they were pretty much trying not to get hurt. some of the passes and such were lazy and undisciplined, thing that we havent seen all year.

4) In the end, if the D continues to play the way they have all year, it will NOT matter who starts in goal.

But when the D breaks down, Crawford has the ability to be so much better and play more games in more days, which is assuredly going to happen in the playoffs. Crawford has a higher floor and a higher ceiling. 5) Emery has been good, ill give you that, but he and his hip could give out at any time and be plain awful, as he was in the series against Nashville in 2011.
- Blackhawks1919

1) You are entitled to your opinion, not to be a jerk. BTW, where's your "article", Ace?

2) So when Crawford had a concussion it was from overuse of his head? Nice logic. You are jumping to a conclusion. And you question my credibility.

3) How many games did you play in the pros, much less at goalie? So my opinion is weak because I haven't, but yours isn't because you haven't?

4) No disagreement.

5) And he was what, six months past the surgery in the 2011 playoffs, andplaying for a #8(?) seed. And again, your Corey Love seems to skip conveniently by the two softest playoff goals in the history of the Hawks.

So, buddy, come back with some facts, and not insults.

The fact that all three Yotes players - including David Schlemko (WHO?) made the same move on Crawford in the shootout tells me they took notes from last year on how and where to beat him. I said it last night, I have nothing against Crawford and would like nothing better than to see him have an outstanding playoff and lead this team to the cup, but his penchant for giving up backbreaking, momentum killing, deflating, soft goals at the most inopportune times scares the hell out of me. If he is your starter and falters in the playoffs, his career as the Hawks starting goalie and perhaps a starting goalie on another team in the NHL will be in jeopardy.
- RetiredGoalie

Careful, someone will question how much you've played goalie because you disagree with them. Wait . . .

Rockford's fate is in the hands of Milwaukee. Peoria needs to beat the Admirals today in regulation for the Icehogs to make the playoffs as they had one game in hand but they are tied.

Also, Leblanc wasn't eligible to play during the regular season or the playoffs in RFD. He missed the cutoff by 2 days. Chris Block has a great article explaining all of this:
http://thethirdmanin.com/...c-stephen-johns-and-more/
- TyCamScore

Thanks!

After last Sunday's game in St.Louis did you question whether Crawford was ready, willing and capable?

Now because he allows 6 goals in 2 meaningless games against those 2 dog franchises you have lost faith in him.

Crawford is what he is - an average NHL goaltender with holes in his game both technically and probably mentally (although I don't know that for a fact). And he and Razor will have to be good enough because the Hawks have no plans to bring in Lundqvist, Rinne, Quick or Luongo. But it may tell you something about why they pursued Martin Brodeur during the offseason.
- RickJ

Yes.

The playoffs are not about winning shootouts.

The fact is that both goalies have been very solid virtually all season. I see a huge improvement in Crawfords game over last year and his confidence level is much higher - he does not get rattled like he used to in the past. In case anybody needs to be reminded, this team has given up fewer goals than any other team in the league.

I believe that Q will continue to use both of them throughout the playoffs, and will likely lean on one more than the other if either one gets a hot hand. The team has been playing solid defence all year in front of both goalies. Why change the recipe going into the playoffs?

So frankly this whole debate is moot in my view.
- SAVOIRFAIRE

I actually agre with all of this. I just prefer Emery as 1A over Crawford as 1B

If all you're gonna do is lump me in with "some magical blogging consortium" whose views are totally independent of mine then this isn't really going to go anywhere. For example I never said anything about Alexander Salak

For the record I remember Emery being the best goalie in hockey down the stretch for the Ducks in 2011. THE BEST GOALIE IN HOCKEY. I then saw him be be good but not great and get worse with each game against the Preds. I know his 2011 playoffs was about as good as Corey Crawford's playoffs against Vancouver. But if Crawford's playoff performance is called sub-par for losing to the Canucks in 7, well then Emery's dwindling performance against the much less offensive Preds must be too.

6 weeks ago you beamed about Corey Crawford. Said it was the best you'd ever seen him and that if he played like this you're supremely confident. Now you've changed your mind, on two whole goals in an absolutely meaningless game.
- yahoodi

This is fair except he had a game or two earlier in the year where he fell into this, and it's the inconsistency that I find troubling. With this defense, you don't need Patrick Roy. But you also don't need a guy who will fall apart mentally when it gets tough . See Huet, C. A guy I supported (actually) for a long time because like Crawford (actually very similar goalies stylistically) he could be great for stretches and then fall apart—albeit more spectacularly than Crawford.

Hey JJ... any word on Sharp? Did he re-injure that shoulder or are they just being careful with the playoffs coming up by giving him extra days off?

I poked and stroked till my wrist when numb ....
- paulr

Had a buddy in college that was a huge Zappa fan and that was one of his favorites.

I want to see a goalie assess each situation and react accordingly not just stake out a position fall to his kness then cross his fingers. Crawford is too predictable, everyone knows what he'll do before he does. Just skate in on him and when he drops to his knees shoot high preferably to his glove side. Earlier in the year he didn't always commit first, he relied on using his mind, senses, positioning and athleticism. Now he immediately and mindlessly drops to his knees preventing himself from doing anything ther than blocking a shot.
- paulr

Exactly, watch the frickin' tape of the last two games. Now, can he correct that? Absolutely. And if Emery is not healthy/ready, you better hope Crawford can Because most of his "big saves" last night were positional blocks on low shots. The Vrbata goal would have gotten huet roasted, I know, because goals like that did. Was it super soft? Nah. Was it a result of exactly what you're referring to? Absolutely. Just like when the hawks torched Gustavsson in Detroit a couple of weeks ago. "Oh look, he's going down like an anchor, go high." Bingo.

Sure shootouts don't matter in the playoffs. We ALL get that. But the way Crawford played those shooters is COMPLETELY relevant. Go watch it again.

Hey JJ... any word on Sharp? Did he re-injure that shoulder or are they just being careful with the playoffs coming up by giving him extra days off?
- z1990z

Shoulder's never fully healed. He'll be back.

No shoot outs in the playoff's
- moots

As I said in the last blog, so far.

Careful, someone will question how much you've played goalie because you disagree with them. Wait . . .
- John Jaeckel

Frankly, I just don't get all the defensiveness some guys have over Crawford. I don't think any of us who are on the other side of the coin say that Corey sucks, or he's a sieve or doesn't belong in the NHL. He's an average NHL goaltender, who when he's on his game can be very effective and when he's not on his game, well . . . uh . . not so good. I agree with Rick that Corey is going to be the starter in game 1. Not saying, that I agree with that, but it's what I think the Hawks will do. And as Rick said, if Emery is unable to play in at least two of these last four regular season games, then it would be hard to just start him in the playoffs. The ONLY point I made about Crawford is his history of giving up the "soft" goal. To say he only gives up soft goals in games the Hawks lose is not accurate. He has given up a softie here and there in others games that the Hawks are able to overcome and win the game. I guess that's what some guys refer to as a soft goal that didn't matter or "came at a good time."

I also don't get the statements like, "Lundquist played like crap last night" or "Schneider gave up a softie. Uh okay, just what does this have to do with Crawford. I mean if he gives up a bad goal that costs the Hawks a game, is it okay, because one of the other "Elite" goalies in the league also played bad that night? I don't see where one has anything to do with the other. Why should we care how Lundquist, or Schneider or Rinne is playing.? None of those guys are playing goal for the Hawks. It's like committing a crime and then saying it should be okay because somebody else committed a crime on the same night. I judge Crawford on his play in a given game and how others guys did that night don't even factor into the equation for me.

I respect everyone has varying opinions on this and have no interest in trading barbs with guys or ridiculing there opinion if they feel different. For me, the soft goals concern me and I don't have total confidence in the guy. No more, no less. With that said, I hope he stands on his head in the playoffs and takes this team to the finals. I don't think any true Hawks fan wants to see the guy fail and the Hawks lose in the playoffs, just so they can say, "see I told you he sucks!"

Shoulder's never fully healed. He'll be back.
- John Jaeckel

Will he be effective?

Will he be effective?
- StLBravesFan

I hope so for hes a really good 2 way forward.

Little off topic but what happened to the Preds? Was Suter that valuable? I for sure thought those guys would be in the playoffs.

1) You are entitled to your opinion, not to be a jerk. BTW, where's your "article", Ace?

2) So when Crawford had a concussion it was from overuse of his head? Nice logic. You are jumping to a conclusion. And you question my credibility.

3) How many games did you play in the pros, much less at goalie? So my opinion is weak because I haven't, but yours isn't because you haven't?

4) No disagreement.

5) And he was what, six months past the surgery in the 2011 playoffs, andplaying for a #8(?) seed. And again, your Corey Love seems to skip conveniently by the two softest playoff goals in the history of the Hawks.

So, buddy, come back with some facts, and not insults.
- John Jaeckel

It always amazes me that whenever someone disagrees with JJ he insults them while at the same time accuses them of insulting him simply by disagreeing with him.
---
Fact: Emery's hip is hurting him. Fact: He played a lot of hockey. Fact: His original hip injury was from playing hockey. Unkown: did he suddenly hurt his hip eating yogurt at home? Doubtful.

Fact: Crawford had a concussion. Fact: Crawford took a blow to the head during a game before having a concussion. Fact: anyone pointing out simple facts to JJ gets attacked if those facts don't line up with JJ's inconsistent view of the world.

Why?

If it worked during the season, it seems like it would work in the play-offs (and I know - play-offs are a different animal).
- StLBravesFan

Can't remember a Cup winning team that rotated goalies the whole way through ? Can you ?

Exactly, watch the frickin' tape of the last two games. Now, can he correct that? Absolutely. And if Emery is not healthy/ready, you better hope Crawford can Because most of his "big saves" last night were positional blocks on low shots. The Vrbata goal would have gotten huet roasted, I know, because goals like that did. Was it super soft? Nah. Was it a result of exactly what you're referring to? Absolutely. Just like when the hawks torched Gustavsson in Detroit a couple of weeks ago. "Oh look, he's going down like an anchor, go high." Bingo.

Sure shootouts don't matter in the playoffs. We ALL get that. But the way Crawford played those shooters is COMPLETELY relevant. Go watch it again.
- John Jaeckel

I won't begin to theorize on why Crawford comes out of a technical groove from time to time after playing so well in St.Louis. Goaltenders might know, I don't. James Reimer looked less than stellar in a loss to NYI Thursday night, last night he stops 49 of 50 and stones the Senators.

Whats more disconcerting to me is how weak goals adversely affect the momentum of a game. Where do you want the Coyotes - playing from behind down a goal or 2. Seabrook gives the Hawks a lead and then within minutes all of the air is out of the balloon. Changes the whole dynamic and the opposition gets to play their style of
game. That's how an inferior team can knock off better opponents.

It always amazes me that whenever someone disagrees with JJ he insults them while at the same time accuses them of insulting him simply by disagreeing with him.
---
Fact: Emery's hip is hurting him. Fact: He played a lot of hockey. Fact: His original hip injury was from playing hockey. Unkown: did he suddenly hurt his hip eating yogurt at home? Doubtful.

Fact: Crawford had a concussion. Fact: Crawford took a blow to the head during a game before having a concussion. Fact: anyone pointing out simple facts to JJ gets attacked if those facts don't line up with JJ's inconsistent view of the world.
- Hemingways

Fact: John is fair, balanced, and pretty humble whether right or wrong. Remember, tone is often difficult to discern in text.

Fact: avascular necrosis has many potential causes - a lot of which are thoroughly unrelated to playing hockey. Could be a congenital issue.

Fact: a healthy Emery at the peak of his game probably is a better handler of pressure than C2, but if the team plays its game, who is in the net is of marginal relevance from what I see. I think fans have a real reason for concern if Ray is suffering from his previous condition. Hutton is not who anyone wants as #2 for the playoffs.