Call my obsessive, but I got up at 3 am and i figured I use my new STREAMS subscription to rewatch the game, since I missed watching a big part of period one while blabbing on the phone with TRUE GRIT, who was nice enough to call me to tell the Brighthouse Cable though not showing teh game in the HD Centre ice package was showing it in SD.
Maybe my fancy Pioneer Elite TV snubbed it's noce up to SD, because it looked so unclear I had trouble seeing it- the on line feed was so clear!

That coupled by whomever the color analyst was...as this WAS the Dallas feed.

The guy was the homer of homers.anybody know his name, I want to write him a letter, and tweet him. Every play seeemed to caused by Stars superiority, even the ones that weren't. People crap talk Eddie, but he has always been more fair and giving of due, as MANY of the home team 'casters, but this could wait to chime in yah yah garbage. I just hate when simple hockey bounces are suddenly the brilliance of Dallas players...

I even wondered if part of his prep for the match was him reading that article froma few days ago someone pointed out about using the off handed wins on the point for one timers from the point...the funny thing is the Stars power play set up the very same way the hawks did with a left shot left side & right shot right side.

I think the situation in Q's mind, dictated playing his top four a lot, and then TVR and and lastly Runblad as rest fillers.

The only way he gets comfotable with these guys IS playing, them, and if they mess up, that simply is how he uses this bench as a teaching device.

I bet the top four were HAPPY to pay a lot.

and finally I guess we can dismiss the "Richards has lost a step" worries as his skill hands and head along with good jump were pretty impressive, and I gotta give it to the lines Q concocted...a greta reaosn for all you hockey fans to reframe from make a list illustrting t

To all of us where you think each player should be playing, and to the Crawford detractors, you got served, I watch big parts of the other game sin my insomniatic night and he he clearly was really stellar and on.

Also though having Rousel against Kane early, pushing buttons was a nice touch to the way Future Stars Hawsk games will be played.
- wiz1901

I thought Richards was invisible. Sure he didn't make any mistakes but we brought him in to make plays and create offense. Bickel was okay last night. I thought he had some good action bringing the puck to the net a few times.

I agree that this team is still missing complimentary players with size. Basically, Andrew Shaws plus 20 or 20 pounds.

Call my obsessive, but I got up at 3 am and i figured I use my new STREAMS subscription to rewatch the game, since I missed watching a big part of period one while blabbing on the phone with TRUE GRIT, who was nice enough to call me to tell the Brighthouse Cable though not showing teh game in the HD Centre ice package was showing it in SD.
Maybe my fancy Pioneer Elite TV snubbed it's noce up to SD, because it looked so unclear I had trouble seeing it- the on line feed was so clear!

That coupled by whomever the color analyst was...as this WAS the Dallas feed.

The guy was the homer of homers.anybody know his name, I want to write him a letter, and tweet him. Every play seeemed to caused by Stars superiority, even the ones that weren't. People crap talk Eddie, but he has always been more fair and giving of due, as MANY of the home team 'casters, but this could wait to chime in yah yah garbage. I just hate when simple hockey bounces are suddenly the brilliance of Dallas players...

I even wondered if part of his prep for the match was him reading that article froma few days ago someone pointed out about using the off handed wins on the point for one timers from the point...the funny thing is the Stars power play set up the very same way the hawks did with a left shot left side & right shot right side.

I think the situation in Q's mind, dictated playing his top four a lot, and then TVR and and lastly Runblad as rest fillers.

The only way he gets comfotable with these guys IS playing, them, and if they mess up, that simply is how he uses this bench as a teaching device.

I bet the top four were HAPPY to pay a lot.

and finally I guess we can dismiss the "Richards has lost a step" worries as his skill hands and head along with good jump were pretty impressive, and I gotta give it to the lines Q concocted...a greta reaosn for all you hockey fans to reframe from make a list illustrting t

To all of us where you think each player should be playing, and to the Crawford detractors, you got served, I watch big parts of the other game sin my insomniatic night and he he clearly was really stellar and on.

Also though having Rousel against Kane early, pushing buttons was a nice touch to the way Future Stars Hawsk games will be played.
- wiz1901

Crawfords biggest knock wasnt ever that he couldnt lock it down though, its his consistency. He was good for about 1 stoppable goal a game last year. Nice part is neither of those you can pin on him. If he could do that every night (not stand on his head per se), but just make all the necessary, stoppable stops, then the Hawks should go a long way.

Best part of crows game last night was he stayed patient and in position. A Waite factor there? But he routinely lost his angle and net last year, didnt really do that at all last night

I wasn't impressed with Rundblad's play either. Same with Morin. I saw more of the regular Morin I've seen in Rockford for the past few seasons - unmotivated, looking slow while making some real questionable decisions during the game.
I know it's only game one and that can change as time goes on. Then again, I'm not holding my breath for Rundblad to put it together.
- EKolb13

As I said last night you saw what Runblad can do in the four on four.

I think you just have to play him, remove all the doubt. He knows he is up for contract and he knows he has be good all over the ice.

I thought he diagnosed things well once he got in a couple shifts and wanted to be active, but when was the last time he saw game speed in a game?

I thought Richards was invisible. Sure he didn't make any mistakes but we brought him in to make plays and create offense.
- Bjm84

I thought he made many middle zone plays.

What a perfect way to end a very entertaining hockey game

Hmmm, i was expecting a crawford is elite debate in here....

Hmmm, i was expecting a crawford is elite debate in here....
- stljam

Give it time

Call my obsessive, but I got up at 3 am and i figured I use my new STREAMS subscription to rewatch the game, since I missed watching a big part of period one while blabbing on the phone with TRUE GRIT, who was nice enough to call me to tell the Brighthouse Cable though not showing teh game in the HD Centre ice package was showing it in SD.
Maybe my fancy Pioneer Elite TV snubbed it's noce up to SD, because it looked so unclear I had trouble seeing it- the on line feed was so clear!

That coupled by whomever the color analyst was...as this WAS the Dallas feed.

The guy was the homer of homers.anybody know his name, I want to write him a letter, and tweet him. Every play seeemed to caused by Stars superiority, even the ones that weren't. People crap talk Eddie, but he has always been more fair and giving of due, as MANY of the home team 'casters, but this could wait to chime in yah yah garbage. I just hate when simple hockey bounces are suddenly the brilliance of Dallas players...

I even wondered if part of his prep for the match was him reading that article froma few days ago someone pointed out about using the off handed wins on the point for one timers from the point...the funny thing is the Stars power play set up the very same way the hawks did with a left shot left side & right shot right side.

I think the situation in Q's mind, dictated playing his top four a lot, and then TVR and and lastly Runblad as rest fillers.

The only way he gets comfotable with these guys IS playing, them, and if they mess up, that simply is how he uses this bench as a teaching device.

I bet the top four were HAPPY to pay a lot.

and finally I guess we can dismiss the "Richards has lost a step" worries as his skill hands and head along with good jump were pretty impressive, and I gotta give it to the lines Q concocted...a greta reaosn for all you hockey fans to reframe from make a list illustrting t

To all of us where you think each player should be playing, and to the Crawford detractors, you got served, I watch big parts of the other game sin my insomniatic night and he he clearly was really stellar and on.

Also though having Rousel against Kane early, pushing buttons was a nice touch to the way Future Stars Hawsk games will be played.
- wiz1901

Cheap and effective. My only gripe with it is you need a lot of bandwidth in your house or you can only watch the low quality stream. Still even THAT looks pretty good on my iPad or laptop. Watch home or away announcers, too. Hard to beat, plus all the minor and junior games you get.

I thought he made many middle zone plays.
- wiz1901

I had no huge issue with him. Looks like Pavel Freaking Bure compared to Zus.

Hmmm, i was expecting a crawford is elite debate in here....
- stljam

If not for Crow the Hawks wouldn't have gotten anywhere NEAR the WCFs last year. He's elite enough for me, has a Cup under his belt and took us through 2 series' last year. He badly outplayed Miller in the Blues series and at times against the Wild he was under a deluge of attackers and stayed strong and got us through that in 6.

And he was NOT at fault for the Kings series. Crow is damn close to a Top 5 goalie in my view.

Not a bad idea. Saad on the third line with Shaw and Smith?
- Bjm84

Here's what I'm thinking:

Bickell/Toews/Kane
Sharp/Richards/Hossa
Saad/Shaw/Morin
Carcillo/Kruger/Smith

That's what I would like to see for a game or two...

I'd love to see Smitty on the 3rd line, but with the way Morin played and Carcillo's knack to go gonzo at any given moment, there isn't much there on that line that's dependable outside of Kruger.

Perhaps it's me, but I thought that the line of Carcillo/Kruger/Morin looked like hot garbage last night. At least the little of saw of it. Was Q even rolling that combination together all that much?

That coupled by whomever the color analyst was...as this WAS the Dallas feed.

The guy was the homer of homers.anybody know his name, I want to write him a letter, and tweet him. Every play seeemed to caused by Stars superiority, even the ones that weren't. People crap talk Eddie, but he has always been more fair and giving of due, as MANY of the home team 'casters, but this could wait to chime in yah yah garbage. I just hate when simple hockey bounces are suddenly the brilliance of Dallas players...

- wiz1901

Yea that guy was definitely a homer but probably not the worst I've heard. I've gotten the NHL package the past few years and, as I'm sure many of my fellow out of state Hawks fans can relate to, have had the displeasure of suffering through many an away broadcast. For my money it doesn't get any worse than the Sharks color guy. Fortunately I think I read that he's gone this year but jeez Louise that guy was brutal. Biggest homer I've heard in my life by a pretty wide margin.

The Bruins guys I can't stand either, not because they're super biased and won't give any credit to the other team but because they act like every play made my the Bruins is the best play in the history of sports. In general they give credit where credit is due and they're fairly reasonable but they just lose their minds when the B's do literally anything positive. Like even the most pedestrian save by Rask becomes some Hasek-esque feat of mind-blowing proportions.

As I said last night you saw what Runblad can do in the four on four.

I think you just have to play him, remove all the doubt. He knows he is up for contract and he knows he has be good all over the ice.

I thought he diagnosed things well once he got in a couple shifts and wanted to be active, but when was the last time he saw game speed in a game?
- wiz1901

For the team's sake, I hope Rundblad can put it together. All I'm expressing is my doubt in him, and that I didn't like what I saw last night that feeds that doubt.

A couple of observations:


Refs were brutal. A couple of questionable calls and non-calls both ways. As someone stated earlier, if your gonna take Morin for getting the stick up when being charged well after the whistle, you gotta take Roussell and Garbut for the same crap.

Like Q said after the game...call the cops because we stole 2 pts.
- TheTrob

Officiating in the games I have seen the last 2 nights has been terrible. They seem to have no directives to follow on interference etc... Last night you'd get an interference call and then see it 3-4 more times without a whistle.

Steve Walkom sucks.

Yea that guy was definitely a homer but probably not the worst I've heard. I've gotten the NHL package the past few years and, as I'm sure many of my fellow out of state Hawks fans can relate to, have had the displeasure of suffering through many an away broadcast. For my money it doesn't get any worse than the Sharks color guy. Fortunately I think I read that he's gone this year but jeez Louise that guy was brutal. Biggest homer I've heard in my life by a pretty wide margin.

The Bruins guys I can't stand either, not because they're super biased and won't give any credit to the other team but because they act like every play made my the Bruins is the best play in the history of sports. In general they give credit where credit is due and they're fairly reasonable but they just lose their minds when the B's do literally anything positive. Like even the most pedestrian save by Rask becomes some Hasek-esque feat of mind-blowing proportions.
- daaaahawks

Good call, San Jose's guy is brutal. The guy last night sucked...another one we can't forget is Pittsburgh. They are pretty horrific as well.

For the team's sake, I hope Rundblad can put it together. All I'm expressing is my doubt in him, and that I didn't like what I saw last night that feeds that doubt.
- EKolb13

Agree on Rundblad. Not only looks limited in quickness but very indecisive as well. Very bad combination.

Glad to see Bickell step in for Sharp on Benn and Dillon. Agree with JJ - good to see Sharp show some "snarl".

Rousell cheap shots Toews... no response. Reasonable though as a penalty was called. Still would have liked someone to get in his face.

Rousell cross checks and goes at HOSSA after the whistle. No response by anyone on the ice or coming on. Not good.

The Central division is basically the SEC of hockey. There isn't an easy division game out there.

When TvR played, I thought he was ok. He's going to make mistakes as a rookie. Rundblad looked tentative at times.

Good read

I think Dallas will be in the playoffs. It' only one game but they look like a fast big team. LA in Green. They looked a lot better than the Hawks. I still can't get over Carcillo taking up a roster spot.....Insane but I will learn to live with it I guess.

Crawford won that game in Periods 1 and 2. Could have easily been 7-1.
Hawks signed Richards to be the second line center and yet Shaw is playing 2LC. What did I miss?

Bickel's play is so average ...for what he is paid.

Can someone explain to me why Fiddler didn't get called for Goalie Interference when it has been called on much less contact? That was That is a perfect example of what happens when a team knows it has the officials on it's side.

I had no huge issue with him. Looks like Pavel Freaking Bure compared to Zus.
- John Jaeckel

Can someone explain to me why Fiddler didn't get called for Goalie Interference when it has been called on much less contact? That was That is a perfect example of what happens when a team knows it has the officials on it's side.
- powerenforcer

Because the only directive the officials have from Walkom is "let em play".

Really a step back for the NHL if this is the direction officiating continues to go.

It will also mean teams like the Hawks will have a serious disadvantage against the bigger, more physical teams.

Can someone explain to me why Fiddler didn't get called for Goalie Interference when it has been called on much less contact? That was That is a perfect example of what happens when a team knows it has the officials on it's side.
- powerenforcer

Who do you think shot Kennedy ?

Who do you think shot Kennedy ?
- mrploves33

Bettman!

For the team's sake, I hope Rundblad can put it together. All I'm expressing is my doubt in him, and that I didn't like what I saw last night that feeds that doubt.
- EKolb13

I didn't think he looked that bad, honestly. He had a couple nice moves to keep the puck in the zone and get around a few guys late in the game. I think it's easy to pick apart the new quys quickly. Let's keep in mind it was only the first game. Let these guys get a few games and get into a groove before we start to right them off.
I saw Kieth make a horrible pass, through the crease and out in front of our own net with Dallas swarming. As nervous or tentative as Rundblad may have been (which I'm sure he was), I didn't see him violate that Hockey 101 rule.

Who do you think shot Kennedy ?
- mrploves33

Walcom!

McCauley and OHalloran were the other corners of the triangulation shot. Not sure yet which one was on the grassy knoll.