Canada's PP really helped 'em out. Same with yesterday against Slovakia.

Fins lose to the Swiss.


Also didn't see until now, but Phaneuf getting a 7 yr, 49 million deal from Toronto.
- prd797

Swiss move on - Fins out?

Swiss move on - Fins out?
- StLBravesFan

The former Miss New Jersey has the Quarterfinal line-up Saint. Finns are in.

EDIT: Checked. Finns play the Czechs.

Crawdaddy!!


- DarthKane

Swiss move on - Fins out?
- StLBravesFan

Top 4 move on. No more bye's . So its cross over 4 - 1 3 -2

Said it when they won the first time, will say it again.

When this team is rolling the guy between the pipes is inconsequential and they can win with anyone who is mostly competent
- fattybeef

When u need a better than average goalie is when the guy at the other end is just as good or better and the Hawks can't score more than two goals....Like last night.

An efficient performance as Raanta blanks the Kings 1-0. Saad-Shaw-Bickell and more: On The Blackhawks-Fox Chicago:http://bit.ly/1eTmf50

On Twitter@AlCimaglia
Happy New Year!

John Jaeckel: No Goalie Controversy
- John Jaeckel

Baltic questionmark?
Finland isn't A Baltic country, btw...

The play of Raanta gives the Hawks the luxury of not having to rush Crawford back in goal. I think to a man the hawks have really made an effort to tighten it up in front of Raanta, except on a couple of occasions, and Crawford will benefit from that as well. Worst case would be if Crawford were to reinjure himself then I think the hands of the Hawks would be forced to look at Ward or Peters from Carolina or maybe former Hawk Craig Anderson from Ottawa.

agree...

An efficient performance as Raanta blanks the Kings 1-0. Saad-Shaw-Bickell and more: On The Blackhawks-Fox Chicago:http://bit.ly/1eTmf50
- Al

>Al, looking forward to your thoughts on NHL officiating
>Any idea how the NHL schedules its officiating crew?
>Perhaps the league could improve its awful officiating with some permanent pairings of refs
>Also, the best refs should get the games with the best teams playing
>Let refs who grade poorly do the Sabres-Hurricanes type tilts
>Lastly, great to see that Toews has his legs back -- a great performance last night -- Shaw, too

Baltic questionmark?
Finland isn't A Baltic country, btw...
- OnIceEnforcer

Doesn't it touch the Baltic Sea? Gulf of Finland to the southeast, Gulf of Bothnia to the Northwest, and the Baltic Sea in the southwest?

Doesn't it touch the Baltic Sea? Gulf of Finland to the southeast, Gulf of Bothnia to the Northwest, and the Baltic Sea in the southwest?
- faustus1500

Finland is A part of Scandinavia. Baltic countries are Estonia , Latvia, lithuania. Yes, Baltic sea is right here but that's another thing.

The play of Raanta gives the Hawks the luxury of not having to rush Crawford back in goal. I think to a man the hawks have really made an effort to tighten it up in front of Raanta, except on a couple of occasions, and Crawford will benefit from that as well. Worst case would be if Crawford were to reinjure himself then I think the hands of the Hawks would be forced to look at Ward or Peters from Carolina or maybe former Hawk Craig Anderson from Ottawa.
- jvanda

The cost of any of those players would probably be TT or the equivalent. I think if Crow were to get hurt they would ride out Raanta.

This front office has been forced to trade from weakness before (post cap nightmare in 10). Doubt they will do it again.

Crow says he is 100 % - see what a game or 2 back shows. If not, sit him until they are sure he is healthy.

...which means whoever the back-up is will not see a lot of playing time.

I'd rather see Labarbera riding the pine as opposed to Raanta, provided LaBarbera could handle the back up role.
- EKolb13

Why not give Crow a good number of nights off, and keep Raanta as a relatively busy backup instead? Then CC can stay fresh rather than be overworked, beat-up and burnt-out by playoff time, and Raanta can continue to get both practice and game experience on the NHL level. Win-win.

When u need a better than average goalie is when the guy at the other end is just as good or better and the Hawks can't score more than two goals....Like last night.

An efficient performance as Raanta blanks the Kings 1-0. Saad-Shaw-Bickell and more: On The Blackhawks-Fox Chicago:http://bit.ly/1eTmf50

On Twitter@AlCimaglia
Happy New Year!
- Al

My major concern.

Quick (presumably), Hiller, Halak, Smith - even Niemi and Luongo - all can play shut-down goal - can Crawford be consistent enough this year against them?

My major concern.

Quick (presumably), Hiller, Halak, Smith - even Niemi and Luongo - all can play shut-down goal - can Crawford be consistent enough this year against them?
- StLBravesFan

Yes.

Teravainen showing some great hands, his passing skills are wonderful....too bad they couldn't cash in on the PP...The TSN crew on TSN2 just gave props to Teravainen again...also mentioning that he reminds them of Larionov....and they had a line about the Blackhawks in there too....they said when Teravainen makes it to the NHL, the rich are just gonna get richer
- captainserious

You're in Canada? If so I envy you to be able to catch the coverage of the WJC up there. We get little to none here except for Chris Peters who does a fantastic job covering all USA teams. Guess he used to work for The National Team Development Program and is fed a lot of scoop. A link to his site for US fans: http://unitedstatesofhockey.com/

And Ferraro is light years better than listening to Starman do color, which you guys get up in Canada. Ferraro laughed has he mentioned in juniors he played with Hextall and that one year Hextall had 15 assists, 125 PIM and was their toughest player and he played goal!!

Also worth mentioning to any fans diggin this incredible tournament that 22 of the 23 kids on the US roster played in the USHL. You could have seen all 22 of them in Bensenville play the Steel.

One more thing, how in the hell could Sutter not start Fucale from Day 1? Kid is a 1st rate goalie but more importantly has it between the ears (Corey Crawford) to win big under pressure. Kid is a Memorial Cup winner and he's gonna start this tournament with Patterson in goal?!?!

Watch out for Canada now that they have a goalie who will allow that team to play without worrying about 2-3 softies a game as they've done for the last 3-4-5 years......

Yes.
- DarthKane

I think so, too.

But - a concern.

Why not give Crow a good number of nights off, and keep Raanta as a relatively busy backup instead? Then CC can stay fresh rather than be overworked, beat-up and burnt-out by playoff time, and Raanta can continue to get both practice and game experience on the NHL level. Win-win.
- Tugboat

A well rested Crawford could turn into a rusty Crawford. I'm not a fan of that idea. Crawford got a nice fat contract to start, and that's what he should do. He should get the occasional game off (especially during back to back games), but Crawford needs to start the majority of games in order to stay sharp.

Look, Raanta has shown that he can handle the job. I get that. The point I'm trying to make is that the Hawks need to find out what LaBarbera can and can't handle. I'd hate to see another situation where both goalies are on the shelf and all the sudden one of the league's best teams are relying on untested replacements, just like last month.

If LaBarbera is good enough to spell Crawford for a start or two every couple of weeks, then why not let LaBarbera stay in Chicago for the rest of the season while Raanta gets the majority of the playing time in Rockford? Raanta can come back when the playoffs start and be the back up then. If LaBarbera can't handle the job, it's better to find out now rather than going into the playoffs and finding out that LaBarbera can't cut it.

A well rested Crawford could turn into a rusty Crawford. I'm not a fan of that idea. Crawford got a nice fat contract to start, and that's what he should do. He should get the occasional game off (especially during back to back games), but Crawford needs to start the majority of games in order to stay sharp.

Look, Raanta has shown that he can handle the job. I get that. The point I'm trying to make is that the Hawks need to find out what LaBarbera can and can't handle. I'd hate to see another situation where both goalies are on the shelf and all the sudden one of the league's best teams are relying on untested replacements, just like last month.

If LaBarbera is good enough to spell Crawford for a start or two every couple of weeks, then why not let LaBarbera stay in Chicago for the rest of the season while Raanta gets the majority of the playing time in Rockford? Raanta can come back when the playoffs start and be the back up then. If LaBarbera can't handle the job, it's better to find out now rather than going into the playoffs and finding out that LaBarbera can't cut it.
- EKolb13

Preach brother, preach.

A well rested Crawford could turn into a rusty Crawford. I'm not a fan of that idea. Crawford got a nice fat contract to start, and that's what he should do. He should get the occasional game off (especially during back to back games), but Crawford needs to start the majority of games in order to stay sharp.

Look, Raanta has shown that he can handle the job. I get that. The point I'm trying to make is that the Hawks need to find out what LaBarbera can and can't handle. I'd hate to see another situation where both goalies are on the shelf and all the sudden one of the league's best teams are relying on untested replacements, just like last month.

If LaBarbera is good enough to spell Crawford for a start or two every couple of weeks, then why not let LaBarbera stay in Chicago for the rest of the season while Raanta gets the majority of the playing time in Rockford? Raanta can come back when the playoffs start and be the back up then. If LaBarbera can't handle the job, it's better to find out now rather than going into the playoffs and finding out that LaBarbera can't cut it.
- EKolb13

So how much rope do you give LaBarbera?

So how much rope do you give LaBarbera?
- Beaver-Warrior

Really, I would have liked to have seen LaBarbera get a start when he was in Rockford.

I'd like to see LaBarbera get a couple of starts and go from there. If he can't cut it, pack him on the bus to Rockford.

Finland is A part of Scandinavia. Baltic countries are Estonia , Latvia, lithuania. Yes, Baltic sea is right here but that's another thing.
- OnIceEnforcer

From a Norwegian, Finland is a part of Scandanavia.

So how much rope do you give LaBarbera?
- Beaver-Warrior

About this much...

It might be Stan's year..

About this much...


- Ogilthorpe2

See that's the thing about the length of the rope. Too little and "pop",the body and head are separated from each other. Too much and you don't get that "clean" breaking of the neck.

A well rested Crawford could turn into a rusty Crawford. I'm not a fan of that idea. Crawford got a nice fat contract to start, and that's what he should do. He should get the occasional game off (especially during back to back games), but Crawford needs to start the majority of games in order to stay sharp.

Look, Raanta has shown that he can handle the job. I get that. The point I'm trying to make is that the Hawks need to find out what LaBarbera can and can't handle. I'd hate to see another situation where both goalies are on the shelf and all the sudden one of the league's best teams are relying on untested replacements, just like last month.

If LaBarbera is good enough to spell Crawford for a start or two every couple of weeks, then why not let LaBarbera stay in Chicago for the rest of the season while Raanta gets the majority of the playing time in Rockford? Raanta can come back when the playoffs start and be the back up then. If LaBarbera can't handle the job, it's better to find out now rather than going into the playoffs and finding out that LaBarbera can't cut it.
- EKolb13

This. Raanta needs to keep playing. That is what he gets at Rockford. I just hope they find out what they have in LaBarbera sooner rather than later. If he's not going to be able to handle it then they should find out now.