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For now, Joel Quenneville looks to have the Hawks firing on all cylinders.
The coaching staff and/or team leadership seem to have pressed the right buttons since Sunday's loss in Vancouver, and the Hawks played one of their best games of the season last night, beating Colorado in Denver, 3-2.
Even in the notable absence of forward Patrick Sharp, the lines looked strong and balanced last night. More importantly, the Hawks' style of play was balanced; there were some pretty plays and puck movement up and down the ice but the Hawks were also physically tough last night, and everyone seemed willing to go to the high traffic areas, work for pucks and sacrifice their bodies.
When the Hawks do all that, and the forwards backcheck like they did last night, they are a very tough team to beat. And were it not for a huge performance by Avs netminder Calvin Pickard, the game might not have been that close.
So the Hawks sit at 3-1 on the Circus Trip with tougher tests to come.
DOES HITTING LEAD TO WINNING?
Before continuing, go read this:
http://sports.yahoo.com/blogs/nhl-puck-daddy/does-hitting-lead-to-winning-in-the-nhl---puck-momalytics-001817973.html
My take? The content of the article is very scholarly, and accurately presents the case that high hit counts don’t correlate to winning in the NHL. This is a point that I agree with. Anecdotally, teams that outhit their opponent (especially in the regular season) are generally chasing the puck and getting outshot. So they tend to lose more.
The problem is the article’s title poses a question that is much broader? “Does hitting lead to winning in the NHL?…
High hit counts don’t, as the writer makes perfectly clear and supports with some really rich, compelling stats.
But here’s the problem. Hitting (independent of hit counts) absolutely does lead to winning in the NHL. Specifically, in the playoffs. When winning and losing matters a bit more as well.
While I realize that fans of numerous teams will read this blog, I will assume the vast majority of readers are Hawk fans. So I will use the Hawks’ playoff teams of 2009, 2010, 2011 and 2013 as examples.
It is almost impossible to quantify, using things like hit counts, shot totals, and Corsi, the effect that a clean hit delivered by a 200-plus pound player at NHL speed has on an opponent. But ask anyone who has ever been on the receiving end and they will tell you: it hurts. They leave marks. Bones get broken. Concussions are inflicted. They can affect the continuance of the same play, the outcome of the same game, and a playoff series. They affect the psychology of both the hitter and the hittee. Depending on the outcome, one is typically emboldened, the other disheartened.
In more graphic terms, big (and repeated) hits come playoff time can slow down an opponent, decimate their depth, and change series. And if you don’t deliver them, you will probably receive them. Case in point, the 1st game of the Hawks’ first round matchup in 2011 versus eventual Western Conference Champion Vancouver. In the first period or so, the Hawks were hit out of the building. No, I don’t have the hit count in front of me. I don’t need it. Anyone who saw the game remembers that the Canucks came out and blasted the Hawks, who in turn were back on their heels, panicking and bewildered. The then defending Stanley Cup champs came back and almost won that game and the series.
In the two previous years' playoff series versus Vancouver, it went the other way, big hits by Troy Brouwer, Brian Campbell, Dustin Byfuglien and Niklas Hjalmarsson changed the complexion of those series, effectively minimizing or negating players like Sami Salo and Alex Edler. In the 2010 Cup Finals, Byfuglien, Andrew Ladd, and Brouwer eventually wore down Chris Pronger.
In 2013? How about Bryan Bickell's devastating hit on Niklas Kronwall, or Dave Bolland on Mike Richards? Hits that limited and intimidated opponents, fatigued them—and eventually opened the ice up for the likes of Patrick Kane. Big hits—especially when you don't run around and get out of position to deliver them—will change any hockey game. Just finishing checks and keeping physical pressure on an opponent matters in most games.
Yes, if you have high hit counts game after game, you are probably losing more than winning. But if you aren't capable of delivering the lumber in big games or come playoff time, it will be delivered to you, and you'll be playing golf as soon as you feel up to it.
Until the rules of hockey change, hitting—in the right way and at the right time—does lead to winning.
JJ