Game 29: Hawks 2, Cats 4 (blackhawks)

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Game 29: Hawks 2, Cats 4

By Theo Fox

Mar 14, 2021 • 6:58 pm

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The Blackhawks played a sloppy game in a 4-2 loss versus the Panthers. The Hawks had an inability to sustain any pressure offensively as the Panthers defense suffocated them.

Florida dominated at the dot winning 2 out of every 3 draws. On special teams, both the Hawks and Panthers were perfect on the penalty kill at 2-for-2 and 4-for-4 respectively.

The Panthers poured on the offense with 3 goals in a 5-minute span in the 2nd period. This has been a disheartening and deflating pattern for the Hawks to allow goals in bunches.

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Starting Lineup

The starting lineup saw Ian Mitchell draw back in and the forward lines mixed up:

Scoring Recap

1st Goal: Hagel (1-0)

2nd Goal: Barkov (1-1)

3rd Goal: Verhaeghe (1-2)

4th Goal: Vatrano (1-3)

5th Goal: Barkov (1-4)

6th Goal: Boqvist (2-4)

(No video available)

Boqvist fired a one timer from dead center at the top of the zone for an inconsequential tally with 90 seconds left in the game. The goal was rather uneventful as there was no celebration.

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Game Notes

Defensive Dive

Puck Watching

The bad habit of puck watching while on defense is alive and well. The Hawks forgot to scan the ice to see where each opponent is which often leads to being overloaded to one side of the zone.

Poor Passing

Another bad habit that persists is poor passing. There were some improvements last night with successive short passes to move the puck up ice yet much of the game saw inaccurate passes.

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Player Notes

Connor Murphy

For being a physical defensive defenseman who can unleash monstrous hits, Murphy has some of the slowest and weakest clears of the zone. He not only takes too much time deciding on how and when to clear but his attempts often lack mustard and conviction.

Ian Mitchell

Although passing is generally a positive for him, an aspect of passing that Mitchell needs to improve upon is when to use long passes. Similar to Calvin de Haan, Mitchell employs the stretch pass too much and should use his legs more to skate to a better spot to make shorter feeds.

Alex DeBrincat

On the one hand, Alex DeBrincat’s aggressiveness with his carries is a bonus to his offensive arsenal and a feature of becoming more well rounded (i.e. not just a shooter). However, on the other hand, there are times when he skates himself into trouble instead of making a safer play to a teammate.

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Rockford Updates

The IceHogs came from behind to beat the Griffins in overtime. Matt Tomkins was razor sharp for a second straight start making 42 saves by tracking pucks, absorbing shots, and not giving up rebounds.

Despite the score, the Griffins dominated for a majority of the game pinning the Hogs in their end. The Griffins had the puck on a tether able to keep it in the zone no matter what the Hogs did.

Starting Lineup

Game Recap
1st Goal

Dmitry Osipov sent a weak clear off the boards to a Griffins player Taro Hirose who got the puck on net where Kyle Criscuolo was to tip it in past Tomkins.

2nd Goal: Chalupa (1-1)

After a flurry in front of Griffins goalie Kevin Boyle, the loose puck found its way to Matej Chalupa in the right circle who snapped it into the twine to tie the game up.

3rd Goal: McLaughlin (2-1) OT

Tomkins made a shoulder save forcing the puck to the corner and up the boards which Dylan McLaughlin corralled then charged down the left lane and wired the overtime winner.

Player Notes

Tomkins seems to have new-found confidence between the pipes so it’s a wonder if his time on the taxi squad recently -- while Collin Delia was on a conditioning stint with the Hogs -- paid dividends by way of training with goalie coach Jimmy Waite and practicing with NHL players.

Chalupa is starting to heat up using his size and industriousness. It was documented that he has struggled adjusting to North America due to lack of English proficiency. It helps that teammates Michal Teply and Michael Krutil are also Czech and can aid in acclimatizing together.

Krutil is still a mess at both ends of the ice. No matter how hard he tries, his play often leads to turnovers and unforced errors. It’s peculiar that the Blackhawks signed him to an AHL contract which could preclude him from returning to the Kelowna Rockets in the CHL.

While his activation on offense is a strength to build upon, Isaak Phillips still needs to make better reads at joining the rush at the appropriate time and getting back to his defensive perch when there’s clearly no scoring chance for him down low.

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See you on the boards!

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