Capital Offense (chicago)

Blackhawks Game Summary

Starting Lineup

Hagel - Toews - Kane DeBrincat - Dach - Strome Kubalik - Borgstrom - Khaira Hardman - Slavin - Carpenter

Gustafsson - S Jones McCabe - Murphy Kalynuk - C Jones

Fleury Lankinen

Scratches: R Johnson, de Haan

Scoring Recap

1st Goal (1-0): DeBrincat (Kane, S Jones) 2nd Goal (1-1): Dowd (Hagelin, Hathaway) 3rd Goal (2-1): Kubalik (DeBrincat, Dach) PP 4th Goal (2-2): Kuznetsov (Ovechkin) 5th Goal (2-3): Hathaway (Dowd) 6th Goal (3-3): S Jones (Slavin, McCabe) Shootout (4-3): Kane

Capitals: * Kuznetsov (miss) * Sprong (miss) * Ovechkin (miss)

Blackhawks: * Toews (miss) * Kane (goal)

SOG For/Against: 28/28 PP: 1-for-2 PK: 1-for-1 Faceoffs Won: 50%

Game Notes

* According to head coach Derek King, the extent to Connor Murphy's injury is unknown at the moment but more should be known later today.

* Josiah Slavin registered his first NHL point assisting on Seth Jones' GTG in the 3rd frame plus rattled off 3 shots on goal which is more than Kirby Dach (0) and Dylan Strome (0) combined.

* Jones had an active game logging 29:38 TOI and racking up 6 blocks, 3 hits, and 3 shots on goal along with his goal and assist.

* The Capitals first goal is an example of where a defender (Erik Gustafsson in this case) should have stayed focused on and shadowed the closest opponent to him rather than fixate on the puck which got him twisted in his coverage.

* Dominik Kubalik got off the schneid by scoring his first goal in 15 games (October 24) albeit all with a man advantage (3 PP markers and one with an extra attacker) so he's still searching for his first ES goal; yet, sometimes you don't ask how but how many.

Highlights

Goal by Alex DeBrincat

Goalie Depth

While Malcolm Subban was the first goalie to be moved, it wouldn't be surprising if Delia gets shipped out at the TDL or is simply not re-signed as his contract lapses this offseason. He's still expendable given Soderblom having the upperhand on the depth chart.

According to ESPN's Emily Kaplan, the Hawks are listening to trade offers for Fleury who's highly unlikely going to be with the team past this season anyway. Kevin Lankinen is also on an expiring contract so the Hawks need to make decisions on their goaltending future.

Is Lankinen worth re-signing? If so, who's his backup next season? Perhaps Soderblom. But what if the Hawks don't re-sign Lankinen? They would then need to confirm a starter and a backup. The ones in the organization are far from sure bets to perform at a dependable level.

Soderblom is the only netminder signed beyond this season. Even if drafted goalies Drew Commesso and/or Dominic Basse ink ELCs this summer -- which is very doubtful as they should play at least one more college season -- they would still be several years away from being NHL ready.

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IceHogs Updates

He's a good lottery pick. Yes, he has a tough climb to be NHL viable but he's at least great depth for the Hogs. Late picks like Yetman could help blaze the way for others like him. For instance, 2021 7th rounder Jalen Luypen could have a similar path.

In his 4th WHL season, Luypen is scoring at more than a PPG like last year. While his offense is nice, what's to like even more is his energetic play in all zones. Scott Powers of the Athletic had a recent article stating the Hawks want Luypen to watch and emulate Brandon Hagel.

As the gold standard, Hagel is a perfect role model for not only Luypen but Yetman as well.

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Brent Seabrook

See you on the boards!

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