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Chicago Blackhawks (30-16-2) at Anaheim Ducks (32-11-6) 9:00PM Central/7:00PM Pacific WGN, PRIME, SportsNet
THE BUZZ
Another big game, and as far as the success of what could be a pivotal road trip, maybe bigger for the Hawks after failing to extract even a point from a third period lead in LA, night before last.
Good news for Chicago, the Ducks lost last night in San Jose (the Hawks’ next opponent), 6-3. Ilya Bryzgalov gave up 5 goals in the second period, before the Ducks tallied two in the third to make it somewhat respectable.
Expect the Ducks to try to follow the prescription that’s worked for the Caps, Jets, and Kings against the Hawks recently: forecheck and try to force panic among the Hawks’ smaller forwards and defensemen in their own end. For the Hawks, this is nothing really new—teams have used this approach for years now with them. But they always seem to need to adjust. So that’s their gameplan. Quick, smart breakouts, no panic, take the hit to make the play. Sustain pressure win Anaheim's end. The Hawks need this from more than just the first and (occasionally) the fourth lines.
THE NUMBERS
Power Play Chicago, 13th, 19.1% Anaheim, 18th, 17.7%
Penalty Kill Chicago, 2nd, 87.8% Anaheim, 18th, 80.9%
5-On-5 GF/GA Chicago, 4th, 1.25 Anaheim, 13th, 1.10
THE LINEUPS (PROJECTED)
Chicago
Saad Toews Hossa Sharp Richards kane Bickell Teravainen Shaw Nordstrom Kruger Smith
Keith Rundblad Seabrook Hjalmarsson Rozsival Oduya Crawford
Anaheim
Maroon Getzlaf Perry Palmieri Kesler Beleskey Cogliano Rakell Silfverberg Bourque Thompson Jackman
Fowler Lovejoy Beauchemin Lindholm Stoner Vatanen
Andersen
HAWKS DEAL ADAM CLENDENING FOR GUSTAV FORSLING
A 22 year-old, 5’11… puck-moving defenseman for an 18 year old, 5’11… puck-moving defenseman.
And there was some of the typical drool on Twitter last night over the great gifts of Forsling. Well, we’ll see. In similar contests at the same age (playing basically the same competition), Marcus Kruger looked (at times) like another Patrick Kane. Perspective is always a good thing.
Forsling did rip it up at last year’s World Juniors, the same stage where Niklas Hjalmarsson really emerged in 2007 (as I recall). And the increasingly Tre Kronor Hawks seem to have some good scouting in Sweden.
If you’re Vancouver, you need some NHL-ready or near-ready defensive help right now. That is Clendening, who, like current Hawk David Rundblad, looks all-world coming up the ice, but not so great going back the other way. From all I have heard and observed, Clendening is a good kid with a solid work ethic and he has undeniable talent. He is also not “contact-averse,… like some defensemen of the same profile. If Vancouver can be patient with him as far as defensive zone gaffes, they could have a nice piece.
If you’re Chicago, Clendening was expendable. Clearly, for all his blemishes, Rundblad appears to be favored over Clendening at the very least. As do prospects Klas Dahlbeck, Stephen Johns, Dillon Fournier, Carl Dahlstrom and possibly Robin Norell, who, believe it or not, is even smaller than Forsling and Clendening. The math the Hawks did must have been: “we know Clendening is not going to crack our lineup, so why not take a flyer on a kid we know can probably equal him offensively, but might end up stronger defensively?…
Hard to argue with that.
What’s interesting about this deal is it reflects on the nature of trade discussions and trade rumors—as I’ve related in the past. In one recent rumor, I had heard the Hawks were talking to Vancouver . . . about Zack Kassian. In another, I’d heard they were possibly discussing Clendening . . . with Arizona. Both rumors reported here. Connected dots? Maybe. Coincidences? Maybe.
But the truth of NHL trades is typically a team will have many discussions with many teams about a need they have and/or a player they want to move. And often, rumors will hint at what is actually going to go down, because they reflect a snapshot of the overall trade discussion process.
I’ll have a recap on the Ducks game tomorrow.