1. Agree. Watch the tape and watch Seabrook's reaction on the first goal. Pure Disbelief. Catches the guy on a breakaway, forces hiim to the short side, and it still goes in. That has to be stopped 9 out of 10, and Crawford's reaction got into his own head. From there...it was just a matter of WHEN not IF.

2. Disagree. Scotty carries a bigger stick. His title may be "advisor" but you don't pay a guy to watch EVERY game in the NHL, and sit in on operations meetings if you aren't valuing his opinion. He;s more like a HEAD SENIOR scout then advisor. Advisor would be explaining to McDonough the technicalities of the game. The Frolik trade was mainly Scotty. The Savard FIRING was also Scotty, after he sat and watched Savard botch his way through a training camp.

3. Agreed. He panics and you can see it trickle down to the players. Any of us who have played this game, realize you need some sort of connection with line mates. With the Hawks, Q just keeps moving everyone around...

4. I think both....Flash back to last April...Who PUBLICLY campaigned for, and had professionally trained (skating), John Scott? Stan Bowman.

Like I said before, I think there is a MAJOR power struggle going on, and anyone who has seen moneyball...think Art Howe vs Billy Beane. Q is refusing to play certain guys, Bowman is forcing his hand....it's chaos.

Sadly, I think it's just getting bad...cue the Credence....the bad moon is rising...
- SteveRain

I agree I think a power struggle is going on and Q will lose it. Maybe Stan will fire Q and hire Scotty to coach the rest of the season.

Phil,

I brought your point up today in my article.

But Waite said last week he finds nothing technically wrong with Crawford...
- Al

Waite should be fired then. Crawford's technique going post to post is terrible. He's slow, bad on his skates and just plain clumsy. On top of that, HE IS DOWN TOO EARLY AND TOO OFTEN. I've never bought into the butterfly mania that has been adapted by the rank and file goaltender fraternity. STAND UP !!! Watch hilites night in, night out and you'll see a very good percentage of goalies being beaten top shelf. Why? Because their on their fricking knees, violating the number 1 rule of goaltending...NUMERO UNO...which is DON'T COMMIT FIRST...DON'T MAKE THE FIRST MOVE. Yet so many of these clowns are down early looking for Clinton's cigar. Crawford and Emery are two of the worst for his. If Waite can't see this, he's not up to the job.

Some people wanted Scott to jump somebody last night....he should have jump crawford......and I'm sick of our pu$$y a$$ active stick bull$hit defensive coaching style ....hit some dam body tell keith and leddy to hit someone or its 3rd pair if they still don't its press box

Bad team defense = declining goalie confidence = bad mechanics/decisions. It's a team game folks. When you are a goalie and your team is not doing what it is supposed to do in front of you, you start to second guess what you as a goalie are supposed to do in the name of bailing your team out. If he "stays in position" he would likely get roasted for not trying to be more aggressive.

The first goal was a redirect off of Seabrook's stick ten feet from the crease. One of the "out of position" goals given up last night (the third one I think) was 100% due to late to the dance Leddy and his freaking size 25 clown shoes that pushed Crawford out of the crease back toward the trapezoid, ensuring that he could not get back in time.

I wish C2 broke more sticks over crossbars in games like this. SOMEONE has to send a message to the team at large that they are not playing as a team.

Keep the focus on the real problem - the 2010 "system" does not work with this group of players. The lack of adjustment to play to the strengths, or at least to play away from the weaknesses of your players' talents is a COACHING issue. A stubborn adherence to a system that is failing is the shortest path to the links in April. What is the point of showcasing guys like Mayers on TV for grit when they are not allowed to use it?
- Return of the Roar

Good Post ROTR !!!!

1. Agree. Watch the tape and watch Seabrook's reaction on the first goal. Pure Disbelief. Catches the guy on a breakaway, forces hiim to the short side, and it still goes in. That has to be stopped 9 out of 10, and Crawford's reaction got into his own head. From there...it was just a matter of WHEN not IF.

2. Disagree. Scotty carries a bigger stick. His title may be "advisor" but you don't pay a guy to watch EVERY game in the NHL, and sit in on operations meetings if you aren't valuing his opinion. He;s more like a HEAD SENIOR scout then advisor. Advisor would be explaining to McDonough the technicalities of the game. The Frolik trade was mainly Scotty. The Savard FIRING was also Scotty, after he sat and watched Savard botch his way through a training camp.

3. Agreed. He panics and you can see it trickle down to the players. Any of us who have played this game, realize you need some sort of connection with line mates. With the Hawks, Q just keeps moving everyone around...

4. I think both....Flash back to last April...Who PUBLICLY campaigned for, and had professionally trained (skating), John Scott? Stan Bowman.

Like I said before, I think there is a MAJOR power struggle going on, and anyone who has seen moneyball...think Art Howe vs Billy Beane. Q is refusing to play certain guys, Bowman is forcing his hand....it's chaos.

Sadly, I think it's just getting bad...cue the Credence....the bad moon is rising...
- SteveRain

I don't doubt Scotty wields a powerful stick within the organization especially as it relates to what personnel the team has chosen to go forward with. I don't think he is physically present in Chicago very often. Even so, it will be tough for him to swallow that Junior has made some evaluation errors if he himself made the evaluations for him.

Remember what happened after the last trip to Edmonton. After losing to the Sharks 1-0, this team rattled off a pretty impressive stretch, going 12-3-1 starting with the game vs Anaheim through December 30th. Many of those games were at the UC, but the fact is that this team can turn it around. They can play a full 60, they just need a reminder every so often.

As a side note: for those blaming Kitchen, I don't understand how you all know so much about the coaching staff. Do you see practices? Why is he to blame? Was it his fault Shaw was running around like a rookie last night and getting exposed, or because Keith left his man on several occasions?

Thankfully nobody has mentioned the S-word yet (Salak). IF you've paid any attention to what's happened in Rockford, that kid isn't much to write home about so far. Last I checked, he was backing up Alec Richards and Carter Hutton. Changes need to happen from within the current roster.

Waite should be fired then. Crawford's technique going post to post is terrible. He's slow, bad on his skates and just plain clumsy. On top of that, HE IS DOWN TOO EARLY AND TOO OFTEN. I've never bought into the butterfly mania that has been adapted by the rank and file goaltender fraternity. STAND UP !!! Watch hilites night in, night out and you'll see a very good percentage of goalies being beaten top shelf. Why? Because their on the fricking knees, violating the number 1 rule of goaltending...NUMERO UNO...which is DON'T COMMIT FIRST...DON'T MAKE THE FIRST MOVE. Yet so many of these clowns are down early looking for Clinton's cigar. Crawford and Emery are two of the worst for his. If Waite can't see this, he's not up to the job.
- philco28

90% of NHL goalies do this, take away the bottom of the net, vulnerable up high. In fairness, i tis awful hard to get a puck up in that close, the odds favor the goalie. Crawford is down too early and his glove is a disaster right now.

Scotty is just an "adviser" --- Jimmy Howard could be a more accurate comparison, he had a not good year but the 60 games he played paid off in the long run.

Everyone still seems to be under the assumption they are 100% committed to winning this year...

After they won they had to gut the team. Rebuilding / retooling usually takes a few years. This isn't surprising, especially when they have 5 million playing in Europe and over 3 in the AHL. Just because Wirtz is loaded, it does not justify pissing away money or assets on another potential albatross.

Looking at it from an analytic, long term success and business plan perspective their actions / lack there of are not at all surprising. You wont seen a dominating team for another year or two... Sorry to ruin your day. At least they are still pretty exciting / entertaining to watch most nights and we are blessed enough to be able to see the games on TV which was not an option half a decade ago.
- fattybeef

You don't push your propaganda of "one goal" and consider yourself a franchise that is only concerned with "winning cups" then.

I don't disagree with what YOU are saying, but that's on the hawks. The core is there to win....TODAY. All you had to do was fine this roster and as a GM, you had done your job. Olesz STILL has no business being on this roster. You had cap room to fill holes. Your core was rested. Your next "big time" goalie showcased himself last spring.....What are we missing here? Oh yeah, an egotistical GM who goes to the press and builds up PROSPECTS. Why? All this guy, Stan, does is burry himself with asinine comments in the media. It never ends. So now every idiot thinks Brandon Saad is god. The Hayes brothers are going to drop 40 each a year. Olsen will win a Norris.

You watch, they trade one of these guys for a rental, and ALL HELL will break loose in some circles on this blog. Why? It seems to me that 4 of your top 6 Forward spots are blocked, 3 or 4 of your top 6 D are blocked....

Fact is, instead of going ALL in, Bowman did a half ass job and now you are seeing his glaring holes sink Good Ship Blackhawk. They have 3 NHL ready D men TODAY...Yes, Leddy will be great in 2 years, but as this season has gone on, he's gotten worse. Can't dispute that. So instead, his 3 d men are over taxed. Leddy is over taxed. Montador is at best serviceable. John Scott? Holy christ. He's not good enough to play in a men's league. Lepisto? Is he still alive? O'Donnell? Dude played in the mid 90s.....How much does he have left?

His top 4 scorers have to produce every night because his depth sucks.

it gets old saying it, and watching it...

Goalie blames the D.
D blames the forwards.
Forwards counter with we have to score 4 a night to win....
Q plays subtle power tricks
Bowman campaigns he's doing EVERYTHING he can...

All of them have a leg to stand on., as they pass the blame...

Didn't the Devils twice fire their coach late in the season and make a playoff run including winning the cup once when Larry Robinson came in?

Of course this team needs help personnel wise but given this power struggle, maybe they make a coaching change if the Hawks get their doors blown off tonight in Calgary.

Remember what happened after the last trip to Edmonton. After losing to the Sharks 1-0, this team rattled off a pretty impressive stretch, going 12-3-1 starting with the game vs Anaheim through December 30th. Many of those games were at the UC, but the fact is that this team can turn it around. They can play a full 60, they just need a reminder every so often.

As a side note: for those blaming Kitchen, I don't understand how you all know so much about the coaching staff. Do you see practices? Why is he to blame? Was it his fault Shaw was running around like a rookie last night and getting exposed, or because Keith left his man on several occasions?

Thankfully nobody has mentioned the S-word yet (Salak). IF you've paid any attention to what's happened in Rockford, that kid isn't much to write home about so far. Last I checked, he was backing up Alec Richards and Carter Hutton. Changes need to happen from within the current roster.
- eburgio

I believe Emery played most of those games.

This sums it up. You can all stop reading/posting now. Have a gorgeous day everyone!

You don't push your propaganda of "one goal" and consider yourself a franchise that is only concerned with "winning cups" then.

I don't disagree with what YOU are saying, but that's on the hawks. The core is there to win....TODAY. All you had to do was fine this roster and as a GM, you had done your job. Olesz STILL has no business being on this roster. You had cap room to fill holes. Your core was rested. Your next "big time" goalie showcased himself last spring.....What are we missing here? Oh yeah, an egotistical GM who goes to the press and builds up PROSPECTS. Why? All this guy, Stan, does is burry himself with asinine comments in the media. It never ends. So now every idiot thinks Brandon Saad is god. The Hayes brothers are going to drop 40 each a year. Olsen will win a Norris.

You watch, they trade one of these guys for a rental, and ALL HELL will break loose in some circles on this blog. Why? It seems to me that 4 of your top 6 Forward spots are blocked, 3 or 4 of your top 6 D are blocked....

Fact is, instead of going ALL in, Bowman did a half ass job and now you are seeing his glaring holes sink Good Ship Blackhawk. They have 3 NHL ready D men TODAY...Yes, Leddy will be great in 2 years, but as this season has gone on, he's gotten worse. Can't dispute that. So instead, his 3 d men are over taxed. Leddy is over taxed. Montador is at best serviceable. John Scott? Holy christ. He's not good enough to play in a men's league. Lepisto? Is he still alive? O'Donnell? Dude played in the mid 90s.....How much does he have left?

His top 4 scorers have to produce every night because his depth sucks.

it gets old saying it, and watching it...

Goalie blames the D.
D blames the forwards.
Forwards counter with we have to score 4 a night to win....
Q plays subtle power tricks
Bowman campaigns he's doing EVERYTHING he can...

All of them have a leg to stand on., as they pass the blame...
- SteveRain

You don't push your propaganda of "one goal" and consider yourself a franchise that is only concerned with "winning cups" then.

I don't disagree with what YOU are saying, but that's on the hawks. The core is there to win....TODAY. All you had to do was fine this roster and as a GM, you had done your job. Olesz STILL has no business being on this roster. You had cap room to fill holes. Your core was rested. Your next "big time" goalie showcased himself last spring.....What are we missing here? Oh yeah, an egotistical GM who goes to the press and builds up PROSPECTS. Why? All this guy, Stan, does is burry himself with asinine comments in the media. It never ends. So now every idiot thinks Brandon Saad is god. The Hayes brothers are going to drop 40 each a year. Olsen will win a Norris.

You watch, they trade one of these guys for a rental, and ALL HELL will break loose in some circles on this blog. Why? It seems to me that 4 of your top 6 Forward spots are blocked, 3 or 4 of your top 6 D are blocked....

Fact is, instead of going ALL in, Bowman did a half ass job and now you are seeing his glaring holes sink Good Ship Blackhawk. They have 3 NHL ready D men TODAY...Yes, Leddy will be great in 2 years, but as this season has gone on, he's gotten worse. Can't dispute that. So instead, his 3 d men are over taxed. Leddy is over taxed. Montador is at best serviceable. John Scott? Holy christ. He's not good enough to play in a men's league. Lepisto? Is he still alive? O'Donnell? Dude played in the mid 90s.....How much does he have left?

His top 4 scorers have to produce every night because his depth sucks.

it gets old saying it, and watching it...

Goalie blames the D.
D blames the forwards.
Forwards counter with we have to score 4 a night to win....
Q plays subtle power tricks
Bowman campaigns he's doing EVERYTHING he can...

All of them have a leg to stand on., as they pass the blame...
- SteveRain

Olesz>Bickell and probably Brunette (not that it matters)

Remember what happened after the last trip to Edmonton. After losing to the Sharks 1-0, this team rattled off a pretty impressive stretch, going 12-3-1 starting with the game vs Anaheim through December 30th. Many of those games were at the UC, but the fact is that this team can turn it around. They can play a full 60, they just need a reminder every so often.

As a side note: for those blaming Kitchen, I don't understand how you all know so much about the coaching staff. Do you see practices? Why is he to blame? Was it his fault Shaw was running around like a rookie last night and getting exposed, or because Keith left his man on several occasions?

Thankfully nobody has mentioned the S-word yet (Salak). IF you've paid any attention to what's happened in Rockford, that kid isn't much to write home about so far. Last I checked, he was backing up Alec Richards and Carter Hutton. Changes need to happen from within the current roster.
- eburgio

Kitchen's a career loser and a bad karma influence IMO. He says the right things, but the results just ain't there. I believe he's the pp coach..or is it the pk coach...whatever he is, he makes Willam H. Macy's character in The Cooler look like Dante. If he is the pp coach...CAN HIM ASAP.

I don't doubt Scotty wields a powerful stick within the organization especially as it relates to what personnel the team has chosen to go forward with. I don't think he is physically present in Chicago very often. Even so, it will be tough for him to swallow that Junior has made some evaluation errors if he himself made the evaluations for him.
- RickJ

They'll never admit it, but they are trying to copy EXACTLY what the Wings are doing.

Pay very little for goalie
Lock up your core, and replace the depth guys (Ladd, Versteeg, Buff, Brouwer, etc), with younger cheaper versions.

If you see Scotty come out of the wood work to do an interview on an NHL radio show, that's his vote of confidence for his son. Did the same thing the year they stuck with Niemi/Huet and didnt pursue Vokoun.
"We're not concerned about our goaltending..."

Didn't the Devils twice fire their coach late in the season and make a playoff run including winning the cup once when Larry Robinson came in?

Of course this team needs help personnel wise but given this power struggle, maybe they make a coaching change if the Hawks get their doors blown off tonight in Calgary.
- golfbard

Pittsburgh did it also the last time they won the cup. I think Bylsma took over about mid season and the Pens turned it around and beat Detroit for the Cup.

90% of NHL goalies do this, take away the bottom of the net, vulnerable up high. In fairness, i tis awful hard to get a puck up in that close, the odds favor the goalie. Crawford is down too early and his glove is a disaster right now.
- John Jaeckel

Getting pucks up in tight quarters isn't easy. Just ask Brendan Morrisson. But our guys are on their knees when a guy is winding up from 45 feet.

90% of NHL goalies do this, take away the bottom of the net, vulnerable up high. In fairness, i tis awful hard to get a puck up in that close, the odds favor the goalie. Crawford is down too early and his glove is a disaster right now.
- John Jaeckel

Once he is down he is very, very slow to get back up. If he goes down on his knees and gives up a rebound, instead of trying to get back up to his feet or put himself in a postion to make the second stop he often starts "swimming" and then gets caught out of his net, much like the second goal last night. He's not very athletic, much like a Rinne, who is a huge goalie but gets up and down in the blink of an eye. He has to be positionally perfect and he's simply not doing that right now. His play along with the defensive philosophy on this team is like oil and water. They don't go good together, hence the results we've been seeing this year.

I believe Emery played most of those games.
- John Jaeckel

Emery played in 8 in a row, starting 12/3 vs St. Louis through the Pittsburgh game, at a clip of 6-1-1

They'll never admit it, but they are trying to copy EXACTLY what the Wings are doing.

Pay very little for goalie
Lock up your core, and replace the depth guys (Ladd, Versteeg, Buff, Brouwer, etc), with younger cheaper versions.

If you see Scotty come out of the wood work to do an interview on an NHL radio show, that's his vote of confidence for his son. Did the same thing the year they stuck with Niemi/Huet and didnt pursue Vokoun.
"We're not concerned about our goaltending..."
- SteveRain

.

I believe the organization might play a role in this. Let's face it, he is their hockey bona fides. They don't have a Holland or even a Doug Wilson.

Olesz>Bickell and probably Brunette (not that it matters)
- John Jaeckel

Honestly...not sure.

The fact he isn't on the roster, says a lot. If he does come back, that's the end of any hope for a trade. Guy did little to impress.

Frolik gives effort.
Brunette can at least work the boards. that's all he can do.

Bickell and Olesz are the same in my world....At least Bickell is making 1/7 of what Olesz is....

Once he is down he is very, very slow to get back up. If he goes down on his knees and gives up a rebound, instead of trying to get back up to his feet or put himself in a postion to make the second stop he often starts "swimming" and then gets caught out of his net, much like the second goal last night. He's not very athletic, much like a Rinne, who is a huge goalie but gets up and down in the blink of an eye. He has to be positionally perfect and he's simply not doing that right now. His play along with the defensive philosophy on this team is like oil and water. They don't go good together, hence the results we've been seeing this year.
- RetiredGoalie

110% agreed. Funny you mention Rinne. To me, and I have said this here I believe, Crawford when he's on is like a poor man's Rinne.

Honestly...not sure.

The fact he isn't on the roster, says a lot. If he does come back, that's the end of any hope for a trade. Guy did little to impress.

Frolik gives effort.
Brunette can at least work the boards. that's all he can do.

Bickell and Olesz are the same in my world....At least Bickell is making 1/7 of what Olesz is....
- SteveRain

Olesz will at the very least give you more defensively, much more, as a lower line forward than either Bickell or Brunette. All this gets lost.

110% agreed. Funny you mention Rinne. To me, and I have said this here I believe, Crawford when he's on is like a poor man's Rinne.
- John Jaeckel

Yes. Similar size, similar style, and neither one of them really strong at handling the puck. The difference to me is that Rinne is so athletic. Even with his exceptional size, he gets down on the ice and makes those sliding post to post saves look easy. He is super quick for being so big and he is almost never out of position. I wonder how good that vaunted Nashville defense would look if they didn't have him backing them up.

Olesz will at the very least give you more defensively, much more, as a lower line forward than either Bickell or Brunette. All this gets lost.
- John Jaeckel

Agreed.

Again, how important is home ice to this team? they haven't won a road game since.....Minnesota, before Christmas. That took a shoot out. Last regulation road win? St. Louis...December 3rd.

Anyone know what the line up is for tonight?

I hope i don't hear any of these 3 names Bickle, Crowford and Scott!