So I made a deal with Corey. I start writing at HockeyBuzz covering the Blackhawks and he won't let a goal in… for the rest of the year. So, you're welcome, this is going to work out well for all of us.
The Hawks current MVP for the 2017-18 season does it again. Crawford, now with 6 straight periods of elite level tending of the goal. His Vezina type season continues.
The eye test tells me that the Blackhawks played their best overall game in a while. The stats back that up as they had their highest CF% for the year, finishing up at 60.61.
The Hawks didn't blow the doors off the second the puck dropped, but they calmly controlled the play for the majority of the game. They gave up some high-end chances to the Wild, but as a whole, they resembled more of the Blackhawks we are accustomed to watching.
I'm not going to dwell on the negatives because A) there weren't many and B) let's keep this mojo going heading into the game vs. the Habs tonight.
What we can read from the score sheet:
* Chicago outshot the Wild by a 35-24 margin. * Hawks, by their standards, murdered in the faceoff dot, winning 57% of draws. Here's the funny part, Toews was the "worst" on the night (Anisimov – 63%, Wingels – 58%, Schmaltz – 57% & Toews – 57%) * Minny led in hits (19-8) and was blocking more shots (22-9)
Quenneville, Dineen, and Ulf did a great job breaking up the ice time, which, I'm sure was a strategy with the Hawks play back-to-backs. Keith led the way with 24:58, the opposite was Hartman at 10:57.
A couple guys I want to call out, for better or for worse would be Kempny, Rutta, Anisimov, Kane, and Franson.
Kempny had a really solid game. He finished +1 with 6 SOGs. Those shots from the point in the first were very noticeable as #6 was doing a great job getting pucks through. He also finished with 18 mins TOI, just slightly higher than his countryman, Rutta.
Speaking of Rutta, Just as I praised him he has a game like that. He wasn't awful, but he wasn't, not awful. His 17:40 was only 2nd lowest TOI since his NHL debut. Maybe the experiment of #44 playing his offside is coming to an end already.
Anisimov now has 4 goals in 4 games. It's weird what happens when you go to the net.
I posted on Twitter last night that Kane has been noticeably bad on clearing his own zone this year. It's reminiscent of a young Kane who didn't put a lot of effort into his own zone. Maybe he needs a big-bodied centre to swoop in for support, like Anisimov, but it seems like more times than not when he gets the puck around the boards, if he has any pressure, he turns it over. On top of that, he was invisible last night. He needs to get going to crank this offense up.
The Franson-era is upon us and he's here to stay for a while. He had another effective game, partnered with Keith. He didn't face a lot of oncoming, high-end speed from Minnesota and maybe it's a different story when he does, but for now, get used to #11.
High-fives all around for a 2-0 win.
Now, on to Montreal: they played last night as well. Al Montoya led them to a 5-4 OT win over the Jets. Yes, they had 5 goals.
A team that has struggled for offense all year must be riding high from that. Not only did that spark their scoring with 5 goals, it was off of 50 shots on goal and an excellent 3-6 power play performance.
The big question will be (and I'll add an update as soon as I hear) is Carey Price playing? Or is Charlie "please don't look at my 3.35 GAA & .885 SV% through 9 AHL games this year" Lindgren?
The Canadiens struggles this season has been talked about at length so far this year. So let's keep it short:
* They can't score * Was the Drouin trade worth it? * Why is Galchenyuk not playing centre/on the 4th line/still on this team? * Does Carey Price now suck? * Where'd PK go?
Ok, I think we covered it off.
The Habs will be coming into the UC hungry and looking to turn their season around by racking up consecutive wins. Coach Q better have his guys ready.
The Hawks were outplayed in Montreal but came out with a 3-1 win on October 10th. Alex Debrincat scored his 1st NHL goal in this game.
I don't foresee Quenneville to make any lineup changes for tonight's game, but check out the Twitter machine to see the final decisions.
Will Crawford play? He just might. Minnesota only had 24 shots on goal, plus the Anton Forsberg didn't have a strong game vs. Colorado last outing, so Q may be gun shy to start him tonight.
Looking forward to seeing if the Hawks can keep their overall play for 60 minutes rolling.
Tonight, I will be looking for the Saad-Schmaltz-Kane line to get going. They were disappointing vs. Minnesota and the Hawks offensive drive will rely on this trio to get going. If not, the coaching staff will be forced to break them up.
I'll also be keeping a close eye on the Hawks PP. They did get a goal, but I'm going to guess you guys weren't very impressed.
I did see signs of life with more movement from the 5-man unit. Seabrook cutting through the middle of the ice and getting a really solid scoring opportunity was a prime example.
The Habs penalty killers are clipping at 71.4% this year, good for 29th in the league. So, if the Hawks wanted to really get going with the man advantage, this is the team.
Follow me @JustinLoweHB for more leading up to the game.
JL
--- Who we got tonight: Montreal Canadiens
Season Matchup: Chicago ✔ Montreal
5-8-1 = 11 pts 6th in Atlantic Last game: WON vs. Jets (5-4 in OT) GF: 38 / GA: 55 PP% = 17.2 %(19th in NHL) PK% = 71.4% (29th in NHL) Sniper: Brendan Gallagher – 6 goals Producer: Brendan Gallagher & Shea Weber –11 points Tough Guys: Andrew Shaw– 20 PIMs / Shea Weber – 39 hits