Errrrrr . . . Corey Crawford?
Marcus Kruger?
Ummmmm . . . Bryan Bickell?!
Who am I kidding? Of course, I have words. The Chicago Blackhawks have looked as bad for the last 7 games as they have in many years.
Can't score. Can't defend.
Andrew Shaw is a good hockey player. But when he's a better player than a large handful of guys making between $5 million and $11 million a year, Houston, we have a problem.
As suggested above, I don't have an easy prescription for what ails this team. But I do have "thoughts."
THE DEFENSE
Someone get Trevor van Riemsdyk to produce a birth certificate—could he be Joel Quenneville's Love Child? This is not to blame all of this on the player lovingly called TVR by so many. At the same time, Q rides this guy like a 5 year old on Penny The Pony at Meijer. And the results don't exactly bear it out.
He's being used too much in too many situations and probably the wrong way. This guy is smart and steady, but he's somewhat limited athletically. Play him on his right (right) side. Pair him with a veteran. And he's fine. Mistake him for Niklas Hjalmarsson (THE Niklas Hjalmarsson, not the facsimile we're watching right now), and you will pay for your foolishness.
Which brings me to my next point. Maybe Christian Ehrhoff is hurt. Maybe not. And if not, you went out and traded for this guy (granted, it was just for a big smelly bag of used Scuderi), play him. Because in all likelihood, you are going to need him come playoff time.
And here's the other reason—he's better than Erik Gustafsson. At least right now. Clearly.
While you're at it, maybe flop Niklas Hjalmarsson over to his natural side as well. Keith, Hjalmarsson, Ehrhoff, Gustafsson on the left. Seabrook, van Riemsdyk, Rozsival on the right. Mix and match to taste.
What's so hard about that?
OFFENSE
Shaw and Richard Panik showed up to play last night and kept it up all night. This team has zero pushback when it's stars or its goalie get run. I don't know whether it's the coaches or the players but it signifies a team that is not "in it" together and is playing without heart and conviction.
Wanna hit the fairways in April or May? That's the way to do it.
There are signs of life from Marian Hossa, Andrew Desjardins, and a couple of others, but that's really about it. Dale Weise and Andrew Ladd need to assert themselves physically. They can, they have in the past, and that leads me to believe maybe they're being overcoached.
These guys need to just play hockey and an emphasis from the coaching staff needs to be placed on finishing checks, getting to the front of the net, and playing hard whistle to whistle. I know. The old cliché's. Thing is, they're old cliche's for a reason. They work, especially when a team is trying to play its way out of a funk.
This isn't the Columbus Blue Jackets or the Phoenix Coyotes. A team where playing hard is the ONLY thing they can do. With the collection of talent on the Chicago Blackhawks, playing hard WILL lead to success. Shaw and Panik were the Hawks two most noticeably physical forwards last night. Check the scoresheet.
And maybe when Kruger does return, which is rumored to be soon, the coaching staff needs to roast a sacred cow and sit one of its "stars" for a game or two.
Maybe Bickell does need to be recalled and told to go out and light up some opponents with some big checks—one thing he can still do.
Shake it up, but do so in more ways than just juggling lines. Send some messages, primarily, get pissed off and play with some malevolence.
But that's just me. Back with more as I have it.
JJ
FOB (good peeps, good reads)
Chris Block Al Cimaglia http://www.thethirdmanin.com
Frank Nova http://www.hockeenight.com
Greg Boysen http://www.letsgohawks.net
Puckin’ Hostile Crew http://www.puckinhostile.com