The hit on Rosi was clean IMO but the Kane trip at full speed at the goal line...very dangerous and subtle dirty play. Fabbri is a solid player already. Hopefully he stays snakebitten and keeps making rookie mistakes along with Parayko.
- EnzoD

It was just a sneakier version of what Yandle did to Panarin - dangerous trip sends them slamming into the boards.

Kinda how Rosy took out Upshall with the puck no where around. Fabbri hit Rosy clean and is the size of Marty St Louis.
- Gerk

I thought the hit on Rosy was clean, too. I thought the trip on Kane was dangerous though

He must have been watching the Hossa files
- philco28

Or Sharp all of last year

With these goalies being razor sharp, shooters often try to make the perfect shot and miss the cage entirely.
- philco28

Surprised the Blues just didn't put the puck on more instead of trying to set up the perfect play or pick a corner.

I felt like this was a chance to get to Crawford as he shouldn't be razor sharp right now and we let him off the hook last night.

Surprised the Blues just didn't put the puck on more instead of trying to set up the perfect play or pick a corner.

I felt like this was a chance to get to Crawford as he shouldn't be razor sharp right now and we let him off the hook last night.
- carcus

The 5 skaters in front of Crawford did a pretty good job of covering all the ice last night. Probably the best all season they have looked at being puck hounds as a group. When St.Louis did get shots on Crawford, they were either from bad angles and/or low danger areas for the most part. Deflections happen but STL had VERY FEW clean looks at Crawford

The 5 skaters in front of Crawford did a pretty good job of covering all the ice last night. Probably the best all season they have looked at being puck hounds as a group. When St.Louis did get shots on Crawford, they were either from bad angles and/or low danger areas for the most part. Deflections happen but STL had VERY FEW clean looks at Crawford
- hawkeytalkman

Agreed. TVR and Hammer with 3 and 5 blocked shots respectively, at least according to the score sheet. I thought they each blocked a handful more than that. If there is a player that clearly had a switch to flip coming into the playoffs that guy is Hjalmarsson. He has looked better since Keith went out (surprise surprise) but last night he looked like Warrior Hammer from last playoffs. He must be completely spotted with bruises today.

I thought Rosy had a solid, simple game. He won some board battles I wouldn't have expected him to win, glad he came back okay after the quiet room.

The forwards that are already solid defensively kept it up, and some of the more defensively-deficient forwards played a tighter game and helped the D out more.

Agreed. TVR and Hammer with 3 and 5 blocked shots respectively, at least according to the score sheet. I thought they each blocked a handful more than that. If there is a player that clearly had a switch to flip coming into the playoffs that guy is Hjalmarsson. He has looked better since Keith went out (surprise surprise) but last night he looked like Warrior Hammer from last playoffs. He must be completely spotted with bruises today.

I thought Rosy had a solid, simple game. He won some board battles I wouldn't have expected him to win, glad he came back okay after the quiet room.

The forwards that are already solid defensively kept it up, and some of the more defensively-deficient forwards played a tighter game and helped the D out more.
- maria_wyeth

I liked him too. He seems to know when to bring it come playoff time. He did last year after looking terrible all season then decided to multiply the amount of bones in his leg.

But he laid some lumber last night and we need more of that. Rozy can paste guys when he wants to

Missed last night stuck on a plane out of LAX, with no DirectTV. Had to listen to the WGN Radio feed. If the Hawks continue to dominate like the numbers say they did, things should work out OK.

From War On Ice:

5 0n 5
Scoring Chances - CHI 27 - STL 13
High Danger SC - CHI 13 - STL 5

All
Scoring Chances - CHI 37 - STL 21
High Danger SC - CHI 17 - STL 8

Gonna win most of the games when you double your opponents SC.

I liked him too. He seems to know when to bring it come playoff time. He did last year after looking terrible all season then decided to multiply the amount of bones in his leg.

But he laid some lumber last night and we need more of that. Rozy can paste guys when he wants to
- hawkeytalkman

Seabs doesn't hit the way we know he can when he's babysitting rookies so Rosy had the most hits of any dmen last night (5, second on the team to Ladd with 8). Rosy's (lack of) speed is a problem but his positioning and hockey IQ are great, especially in comparison when Gus, Sved, and Ehrhoff are the other options.

Q should save Rosy for the road games, and give him rest at home where he can shelter the 3 weakest links (or 4 if #5 ever sees the ice). We know that 32 can be very effective when he's not overused.

2/7
4/57
home games: whatever combo of 43/52/55 is going to hurt you the least, and play them primarily with Kruger's line (when not deploying Kruger against Tarasenko) if Kruger plays like he did last night and Shaw gets closer to 100% we know that line can be a possession monster and you can maybe give the 3rd pairing more minutes as a result and not tax the top 4 as much

away games: Rosy and whichever one of 43/52/55 has been playing the best

Missed last night stuck on a plane out of LAX, with no DirectTV. Had to listen to the WGN Radio feed. If the Hawks continue to dominate like the numbers say they did, things should work out OK.

From War On Ice:

5 0n 5
Scoring Chances - CHI 27 - STL 13
High Danger SC - CHI 13 - STL 5

All
Scoring Chances - CHI 37 - STL 21
High Danger SC - CHI 17 - STL 8

Gonna win most of the games when you double your opponents SC.
- scottak

I didn't watch the game with a counter but it didn't feel like that big of a disparity. 60/40 maybe. Some of the problems I have with some of the analytics are who is determining what a high danger sc is, what a high quality save is, etc. Very subjective like the nhl's questionable recording of giveaways, takeaways, etc.

Surprised the Blues just didn't put the puck on more instead of trying to set up the perfect play or pick a corner.

I felt like this was a chance to get to Crawford as he shouldn't be razor sharp right now and we let him off the hook last night.
- carcus

that the blues style also teams like the bruins and kings: whip it around high to low and shoot to look for deflections and rebounds...boring as hell but thats the way teams like to play in a league that traps, grabs, holds and packs it in defensively

Surprised the Blues just didn't put the puck on more instead of trying to set up the perfect play or pick a corner.

I felt like this was a chance to get to Crawford as he shouldn't be razor sharp right now and we let him off the hook last night.
- carcus

The Blues actually did put up 60 shots total, even tho only 18 were on net.

Did anyone get a good look at the play that face-planted AA? I was streaming so I couldn't rewind. Should the cross-check have been called?

It was just a sneakier version of what Yandle did to Panarin - dangerous trip sends them slamming into the boards.



I thought the hit on Rosy was clean, too. I thought the trip on Kane was dangerous though
- maria_wyeth

I was OK with the Fabbri hit even though he took quite a few steps to make it. Rosy's head bounced off the glass or stanchion.

But where I come from Maria, the next time that little paperweight shrimp tries to make that hit on Rosy or another Dman he would receive a mouthful of hockey stick such that his dentist would be doing about 8 implants in the summer to correct Robbi babys smile.

And people wonder why Keith did what he did. There is payback in this game, Duncs just chose the absolute wrong way to go about it.

‏@NHLBlackhawks
Big congrats to @aladd16 on the addition of Walker Gordon Ladd! Mom, dad, big brother and big sister are all doing well.

Very nice of the boy to wait until after the game. Saw Ladd come in with Rocky pre-game, so hopefully, the Wirtz helicopter or plane got him back to the hospital in time for the birth.

Seabs doesn't hit the way we know he can when he's babysitting rookies so Rosy had the most hits of any dmen last night (5, second on the team to Ladd with 8). Rosy's (lack of) speed is a problem but his positioning and hockey IQ are great, especially in comparison when Gus, Sved, and Ehrhoff are the other options.

Q should save Rosy for the road games, and give him rest at home where he can shelter the 3 weakest links (or 4 if #5 ever sees the ice). We know that 32 can be very effective when he's not overused.

2/7
4/57
home games: whatever combo of 43/52/55 is going to hurt you the least, and play them primarily with Kruger's line (when not deploying Kruger against Tarasenko) if Kruger plays like he did last night and Shaw gets closer to 100% we know that line can be a possession monster and you can maybe give the 3rd pairing more minutes as a result and not tax the top 4 as much

away games: Rosy and whichever one of 43/52/55 has been playing the best
- maria_wyeth

most of the hits come from forwards on D....the so called finish your check after puck is 50 feet away. hawks forwards have never been hitters...thats not going to change now...the hawks best "hitter" and net presence guy is 65 and he looks limited to me...

not buying this BS about healthy rosters with either team....

most of the hits come from forwards on D....the so called finish your check after puck is 50 feet away. hawks forwards have never been hitters...thats not going to change now...the hawks best "hitter" and net presence guy is 65 and he looks limited to me...

not buying this BS about healthy rosters with either team....
- bogiedoc

Never understood why that wasn't interference a lot of the time.

FYI 65 only had 13:30 of TOI. Definitely hurt.

I was OK with the Fabbri hit even though he took quite a few steps to make it. Rosy's head bounced off the glass or stanchion.

But where I come from Maria, the next time that little paperweight shrimp tries to make that hit on Rosy or another Dman he would receive a mouthful of hockey stick such that his dentist would be doing about 8 implants in the summer to correct Robbi babys smile.

And people wonder why Keith did what he did. There is payback in this game, Duncs just chose the absolute wrong way to go about it.
- RickJ

i agree....but what hawk forward is going to do that...shaw?? desi?? maybe ladd...

i understand the hawks don't play that way and have 5 WC finals and 3 cups to validate it...but it would be nice to see some of these youn pugilist forwards like fabri get a nice reminder that they can get tattoed once in a while

most of the hits come from forwards on D....the so called finish your check after puck is 50 feet away. hawks forwards have never been hitters...thats not going to change now...the hawks best "hitter" and net presence guy is 65 and he looks limited to me...

not buying this BS about healthy rosters with either team....
- bogiedoc

All signs/quotes I've seen point to Hitch coaching his players to go even harder with the hits. He wants them to almost double last night's tally. If that's the case, a) I hope none of already-hurt players gets seriously injured (seemed like they are definitely targeting them specifically in addition to Kane), and b) STL gets the same results as ANA did last year with that strategy.

Never understood why that wasn't interference a lot of the time.

FYI 65 only had 13:30 of TOI. Definitely hurt.
- Jason Millen

should be...the defender sees the dman reverse the puck or move it up and then the forechecker ignores that and just rocks the defender...i understand that's been a hockey play forever...but i find it odd...to me its the equivalent of a late hit on QB....the puck is gone...lighten up

Can't believe nobody is picking up on the Hitch quote from after the game...

They asked Hitch about the game being a must win because Keith was out and he said "He's just a player on the other team" and smirked a little.

Of course today Hitch responded buy saying "I got him medals, so we're good friends"

Can't believe nobody is picking up on the Hitch quote from after the game...

They asked Hitch about the game being a must win because Keith was out and he said "He's just a player on the other team" and smirked a little.

Of course today Hitch responded buy saying "I got him medals, so we're good friends"
- Jason Millen

Apparently that stopped immediately after the Olympics:
Keith on playing for Hitch in Olympics: "I really enjoyed playing for him and trying to pick his brain."

"On the flight home [from Sochi], I asked if he wanted to talk hockey. He said, 'Not anymore, we’re enemies now.' "

And a bonus re: my earlier post:
Keith with a zinger ... "When they say 70 hits, I'm not going to be out on the ice for them to get 70 hits on one guy."

Q on Hitchcock saying he wants 70 hits: "I hope he tries to get to 70. That means we have the puck the whole game."

OK, now this is just getting absurd:

Eric Lear ‏@BHTVeric
Duncan Keith will likely be paired with Niklas Hjalmarsson for Game 2.

I thought Hammer and TVR were very good together, even if put on their off sides. We know 2 and 7 are good together.

All signs/quotes I've seen point to Hitch coaching his players to go even harder with the hits. He wants them to almost double last night's tally. If that's the case, a) I hope none of already-hurt players gets seriously injured (seemed like they are definitely targeting them specifically in addition to Kane), and b) STL gets the same results as ANA did last year with that strategy.
- pdx2ord

Yes, hopefully we can joke about Hitch's statements the same way as Kesler's "no human..." I don't mind Hitch directing them to double their hits. More than once they ignored the puck to make a hit, and that's exactly what the Hawks want them to do.

I do worry about injuries, though. Shaw seems the least healed of the three that were out, although I think JJ mentioned Hossa has been playing through an injury for a while and is doing so again. Shaw and AA definitely had targets on their backs last night and AA was much more timid after getting leveled. Fabbri could have seriously injured Kane with that trip, he slid into the boards at an awkward angle. Thank god Keith wasn't around, probably would have slashed him for that. Shattenkirk already told the press that's what they're aiming for with him back - get him angry enough to retaliate and he'll get suspended again. Keith needs to keep his cool.

I'm most concerned about Crawford though... a LOT of whacking at him post-whistle, Brouwer definitely targeted him with that elbow to the head

Seabs and Panarin #1 and #2 in plus-minus - go figure

Listening to Bernstien today talking about hitch's comments, have to actually agree with him here. Now, myself in earlier post had given the Blues their props regarding some of their younger kids and even the coach , and he comes out and says dumbcrap like you need to double the hits. Well that tells me that the Hawks will have the puck even more and with this skill,Hitch better be careful what he asks for.
Last night, the Hawks deserved a better fate, Was this the best the Blues can throw at you? Friday,Keith comes back ,and hopefullyQ willputeither Panik or Weise on that 3rd line and pull the plug on Mashintor odds could be with the Hawks. If they steal Friday,now theyare in the Blues heads and you know at some point Hitch will dig Steve Ott out of the closet and here we go.
Back to Mashintor, if he could be as effective and lay punishing hits like Ryan Reaves and play some,then you kind of justify his presence in the line up, but he is neither. Hopefully Q will insert either of Weise or Panik on that line. A win Friday night and now the pendulum shifts to the Hawks and the shadow of doubt will crepe into the Blues heads and I willbe happy to eat crow if the Hawks win the series.
On another subject,I am glad Claude Julien will be brought back in Boston,he's a good coach and hopefully Sweeneygets what they need over the summer.

OK, now this is just getting absurd:

Eric Lear ‏@BHTVeric
Duncan Keith will likely be paired with Niklas Hjalmarsson for Game 2.

I thought Hammer and TVR were very good together, even if put on their off sides. We know 2 and 7 are good together.
- pdx2ord

Absurd is exactly what it is

Keith and Hammer have been TERRIBLE together all season

Guess that means we can expect 53 in the lineup again too... clearly Q didn't pay attention to the last few games where both TVR and Hammer have been better than they've been on other pairings