Ryan "The Savior" Miller today. 18 shots against, 3 went in. .833 Save Percentage.
- mohel

Wait....i thought TT was "The Savior" ?

Every day the feet hit the floor is a great day Beav.
- Elbows15

Damn straight. The rest is frosting.

The newly crowned Stanley Cup Champion St. Louis Blues just got dropped by the Flyers, 4-1. Hawks can start to make the Central race pretty interesting win with a W tomorrow night.

Whooooooooooooo


blues lossssseeeeee
- mrpaulish

Flyers playing really well - maybe an a Eastern sleeper?

Does Mason have a long play-off run in him?

Inquiring minds want to know....

Flyers take out the Blues 4-1!

...although the Blues played well enough to win most nights.

Nice analysis savvy. Always love people looking further in to the numbers that are there. The only thing about Keith's numbers, is he is averaging a much higher P/60 (which takes out the TOI discrepancy). On the PP, 2 5.65 P/60, 7 4.24 P/60, 8 4.55 P/60.

At evens, 2 1.52 P/60, 7 1.24 P/60, 8 1.08 P/60. 5v5, Leddy is still pretty far behind, but I think that's fairly evident watching the games. Keith plays less than a minute more at evens than Seabrook, so it's not really a huge difference. Plus Keith gets more SH, with him and Hammer getting the #1 minutes.

The TOI helps Keith's numbers, and I know you don't like him, but he's the best defenceman on the team, and he deserves/ needs to play those minutes. He's the clear leader by every metric, and I'm sorry, but he was a top pairing defenceman on team Canada, he's the best defenceman in the league, and is going to win his second Norris and pretty much lock up the HOF.

Edit: Also the idiot who writes the committed indian (sorry bows) called Leddy the third best defenceman on the team (he's not), might want to give that blog a check too
- rollpards19

Roll, thanks -- some more good #'s. It's not that I don't like Keith -- far from it. What I don't like is all the press and the announcers falling all over the guy. Yes, he's very good -- not denying that. But part of him being good is being matched up with the right guy (yes, even on Team Canada). It does make a difference.

Considering all those #'s, I think Leddy's done damn good. He's not where Keith is (obviously) and I wouldn't call him 3rd best D man on the team. But I do think, paired with either Seabrook or Hjalmarsson, he would fare ok. My biggest concern (and likely that of Q) is not being able to play SH time. That's a big one -- but if I recall, Q had some of those same issues with Soupy and Soupy was a veteran already when he came here -- but it took a while before Q trusted him at all SH.

Anyway, good to hear from you and love the discussions we can have here!

Wait....i thought TT was "The Savior" ?
- SimpleJack

No, that's Ogie.

Ryan "The Savior" Miller today. 18 shots against, 3 went in. .833 Save Percentage.
- mohel

Lololololololololol

Flyers playing really well - maybe an a Eastern sleeper?

Does Mason have a long play-off run in him?

Inquiring minds want to know....
- StLBravesFan

I would agree. Flyers have come a long way since the disastrous start.

Looking solid.

Flyers take out the Blues 4-1!

...although the Blues played well enough to win most nights.
- ArlingtonRob

Good. Now they know what its like to be the Hawks most of this regular season.

Ryan "The Savior" Miller today. 18 shots against, 3 went in. .833 Save Percentage.
- mohel

Maybe the Hwaks got into his head the other night?

Flyers playing really well - maybe an a Eastern sleeper?

Does Mason have a long play-off run in him?

Inquiring minds want to know....
- StLBravesFan

It's going to be a Boston vs. Hawks rematch.


Hawks will again win in 6

De Ja Vu my friend......

It's going to be a Boston vs. Hawks rematch.


Hawks will again win in 6

De Ja Vu my friend......
- mrpaulish

That was one hell of a 17 second stretch.

Flyers playing really well - maybe an a Eastern sleeper?

Does Mason have a long play-off run in him?

Inquiring minds want to know....
- StLBravesFan

Yeah iv been wondering lately if they might pose a serious threat to the Bruins come playoff time. They look like the 2nd best team in the East right now for sure. I just dont think their D is solid enough, and Mason has played great but he wont hold up either if it came down to a series VS Boston IMO.

Ryan "The Savior" Miller today. 18 shots against, 3 went in. .833 Save Percentage.
- mohel

Guy had one great season, and it was great, outside of that he's average.

Ah. having a good time?
- Elbows15

Yeah I'd say it has been pretty good. Got to scrap the rust off my Castellano and get some consistent sun for once.

And Spanish food is a lot better than what I'm usually eating, anyway.

Though the lack of pint glasses has been a tad disappointing...

Mason played great for the Flyers, especially in the third when the Blues controlled the pace.

I thought Miller was fine...don't consider any of the 3 he gave up to be "bad" goals.

This year...that's a game the Blues have won most of the time, but not today.

Flyers stay HOT. The east looked dreadful early, but as the season's progressed several clubs are looking solid for perhaps long runs.

You can feel the playoffs are gettin' close...

Made the mistake of counting the Hawks out for the Central crown about a week back. Things can change fast, and now there is still a chance. Blues gotta play at Pittsburgh tomorrow, and we get the Preds at home. Might be only 2 pts back come Monday, and although the Blues still have a game in hand the one game we have remaining with them is at home. So thats big. Its on folks. And speaking of the Penguins, with them giving up 3 goals today the Hawks are now 8th in the league in GA.
- SimpleJack

Keep doing it Jack. The reverse jinx is working.

It was last season Savvy and that season was an aberration for many players due to the lockout. Seabrook was their best D-man between the Cups when Keith was floundering around. There is no one in the system and on this team that plays the same game as Seabrook. The guy is considered a top 15 D-man according to many polls.

I get your point to an extent about pairing Leddy with different partners. However, there is another way to look at it Savvy. Couldn't it mean that Q has confidence in Leddy's ability to adjust? Isn't it a way to accelerate the learning curve? And Leddy's biggest progression as a pro came from playing with a solid pro in Rozy. Trying to pair him with Seabrook weakens the team D. Leddy is no where close to Keith in his own zone yet. When all the best in the world gathered Keith was on the top pair on the top team for a reason Savvy.
Can Leddy get there? As a Hawk fan I sure hope so.
- Elbows15

Another really good post Elbows!

You might be right about pairing Leddy with different partners to force him to learn to adjust. As I just replied to Roll, Leddy isn't at Keith levels in our zone yet, but I believe he's made some great strides this yr. I think it is really tough for the D and especially the Hawks system for guys to know what they need and are expected to do.

Plays like last night's beauty pass to Steeger gives me lots of hope. I cringe when I see Nick simply skate down, beat everyone and then have no one to pass to -- would rather see him shoot or do as he did last night, let up a bit and look for that guy filling the lane. If he can do that, at 22, man can he help the Hawks.

I think you would all agree that there are few guys that can do that in the league from the D position. Nick seems much more focused and I hope he remembers a bit of the sting of not playing much in crunch time. We need plays like he made last night.

Sharp has more snarl to his game than Saad NTH. Also Sharp can drop them and go if needed. That is why I put him there.
- Elbows15

I can see that. Nice "problem" to have if TT works out. That top 6 is sick.

Good. Now they know what its like to be the Hawks most of this regular season.
- SimpleJack

My thought exactly! The Hawks have lost a number of games this year in similar fashion.

F' the Blues!

Wonder if Oshie was hurt when he blocked that shot in the third...I didn't see him return to the game.

...any word?

No, that's Ogie.
- EKolb13

Well. To be honest about it, he is the one most often closest to God.

Roll, thanks -- some more good #'s. It's not that I don't like Keith -- far from it. What I don't like is all the press and the announcers falling all over the guy. Yes, he's very good -- not denying that. But part of him being good is being matched up with the right guy (yes, even on Team Canada). It does make a difference.

Considering all those #'s, I think Leddy's done damn good. He's not where Keith is (obviously) and I wouldn't call him 3rd best D man on the team. But I do think, paired with either Seabrook or Hjalmarsson, he would fare ok. My biggest concern (and likely that of Q) is not being able to play SH time. That's a big one -- but if I recall, Q had some of those same issues with Soupy and Soupy was a veteran already when he came here -- but it took a while before Q trusted him at all SH.

Anyway, good to hear from you and love the discussions we can have here!

- savvyone-1

I think one of the things maybe hindering Leddy's advancement, because I'm not so sure he wouldn't thrive with more ice time, is the construction of the defense. If Hammer and Oduya didn't get such tough minutes (they play the hardest minutes of any pair in the league) then Leddy probably could be a top 4 right now, but since they're in such a defensive role, it'd be a weird spot to put Nick, amplify his flaws and cover up his strengths, so the only position is really the #1 LD spot, and he's just not better than Keith. The Blues deploy Shattenkirk as an offensive 3/4 because they have to rely on Petro/Jbouw to play D, but because 27/4 can do it, 2/7 get to play tons of offense, and it's been working about pretty well so far. Good for the team, a little tough for Leddy

My thought exactly! The Hawks have lost a number of games this year in similar fashion.

F' the Blues!

Wonder if Oshie was hurt when he blocked that shot in the third...I didn't see him return to the game.

...any word?
- ArlingtonRob

He did return. But as we all know sometimes players return only to end up missing the next game(s) anyways. And yes, indeed, F the Blues. Thats the mentality u need! No more worrying about how this woeful Hawks team is gonna be able to handle the big bad St. Louis Blues. Their luck is running out. The Hawks are just now gaining steam.

Left a morning in one of my post for your back reading pleasure.
- Elbows15

What does that mean? I did my back reading - didn't notice any turds this morning... Give me a better hint.