Deferred Dividends (tanner pearson)

tanner pearson

Deferred Dividends

By Theo Fox

Oct 22, 2021 • 1:35 pm

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In press conferences, head coach Jeremy Colliton has talked about getting the team to progressively play the right way so that the wins will start rolling in. But how much patience does management show with this manner of future team growth when it was built to win now?

The Hawks need to start paying dividends given how much was invested in the offseason to upgrade the roster and kick the youth movement can down the road for at least another year. And if the payout doesn't happen sooner or later, who gets the boot?

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Game Summary

Starting Lineup

Hagel - Dach - Kane Kubalik - Toews - Khaira DeBrincat - Borgstrom - Strome Johnson - Carpenter - Entwistle

McCabe - Murphy de Haan - S Jones Stillman - Gustafsson

Lankinen Fleury

Scratches: Gaudette, Hardman, Kurashev

Scoring Recap

1st Goal (0-1): Dickinson (Highmore, Hoglander) 2nd Goal (1-1): DeBrincat (Kane, Jones) PP 3rd Goal (1-2): Pearson (Hughes, Garland) 4th Goal (1-3): Boeser (Pettersson, Miller) PP 5th Goal (1-4): Garland (Poolman, Myers) EN

SOG For/Against: 30/25 PP: 1-for-4 PK: 3-for-4 Faceoffs Won: 45%

Thoughts & Notes

* Alex DeBrincat drew 3 penalties and scored on one of the ensuing power plays.

* While he made the obligatory mistakes but who hasn't on this Blackhawks team, Erik Gustafsson has actually been staying around the crease more to help protect the net and even playing the body.

* Riley Stillman continued to be a physical presence on the back end dishing out hits and getting under the skin of the opposition yet may need to pick his spots judiciously over the course of the season.

* The Hawks forwards -- especially the 4th line, Henrik Borgstrom, Dominik Kubalik, and of course Brandon Hagel -- were aggressive on the forecheck.

* Dylan Strome's hooking penalty on Jack Rathbone was a good example of a lower-than-needed compete level as he stopped moving his feet and water skiied to keep up with the puck handler.

* On the Canucks 2nd goal, Tanner Pearson created havoc in the crease first jostling with Seth Jones -- who went on to defend another part of the slot -- then had an easy time to deflect the point shot home as Calvin de Haan didn't do much to push him out of Kevin Lankinen's way.

Highlights

Goal by Alex DeBrincat

Seth Jones

Jones uses his long wing span to knock away pucks and neutralize plays as well as to reach and recover pucks when in pursuit in all zones. Although not the fleetest of foot, he plays with considerable pace to keep plays moving forward in transition and alive when on offense.

This isn't to say that Jones is Mr. Dependable now and on his way towards a Norris Trophy nomination. Far from it especially evidenced by his late coverage of Brock Boeser on the Canucks 3rd goal. Yet, Jones has been trending in a better direction and is becoming more of a team strength than a liability.

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Mike Hardman

Now, do the Hawks stay at 14 forwards and add back in a 7th defenseman? If so, who are the candidates? Ian Mitchell would make sense since he began the season with the big club and wasn't a liability in his lone game he played before getting reassigned to Rockford.

Another candidate would be Jakub Galvas who was impressive in training camp and already has 5 years of pro experience logged in his native Czech Republic and Finland. If he plays the same way he has in his first few AHL games, then an NHL cup of coffee could be in the cards.

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IceHogs Weekend Games

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Salute to Troy Murray

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See you on the boards!

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