Which defensive pairs were on the ice for the goals against? There appears to be a pattern.

6-39
39-56
6-39
5-56
6-39
2-27
EN

Gilbert on for 4 GA. Maatta for 3. Gustafsson for 2.

If JC wants to make the playoffs with this roster, it’s going to take playing Keith, Murphy and Boqvist the majority of the minutes.

Gilbert is a rookie, and prone to mistakes.
Maatta is not good.
Gustafsson is what he is.

Unfortunately, the Blackhawks are 1 defenseman short, after the deHaan & Seabrook injuries.
- scottak

Ho Ho Ho keeping holiday spirit alive

Ho Ho Ho also if you are intimating Boqvist is anything close to solid. He plays with Keith. You know how far Boqvist has to come to be a descent dman? Did you catch AEL_FOX mention how Boqvist was following the puck too much and not keeping close enough eye in his coverage, specificy the man in his zone while in Rockford. Boqvist is learning and improving in a force fed because Bowman wants youth served, he wants to hopefully see a fast riser and he is mesmerized by his great skill. Boqvist swap out with another and suddenly how well does he play not playing on top defense pair and not often with too offensive line.

It will take a masterful juggling of dmen, yramattes help and good coaching just to give young dmen the edge they need to get even a passing grade. Potential improvement nice moments but Boqvist is still closer to raw than anything else. Don't kid yourself

He is also a teenager not yet strong enough playing for first season against quality of players smarter and more experienced than him (a rookie).

Ho Ho Ho keeping holiday spirit alive

Ho Ho Ho also if you are intimating Boqvist is anything close to solid. He plays with Keith. You know how far Boqvist has to come to be a descent dman? Did you catch AEL_FOX mention how Boqvist was following the puck too much and not keeping close enough eye in his coverage, specificy the man in his zone while in Rockford. Boqvist is learning and improving in a force fed because Bowman wants youth served, he wants to hopefully see a fast riser and he is mesmerized by his great skill. Boqvist swap out with another and suddenly how well does he play not playing on top defense pair and not often with too offensive line.

It will take a masterful juggling of dmen, yramattes help and good coaching just to give young dmen the edge they need to get even a passing grade. Potential improvement nice moments but Boqvist is still closer to raw than anything else. Don't kid yourself

He is also a teenager not yet strong enough playing for first season against quality of players smarter and more experienced than him (a rookie).
- jhawk59

Well, the point was more about Gilbert & Maatta, but I enjoyed your 4 paragraphs on the guy I mentioned only casually.

Ho Ho Ho keeping holiday spirit alive

Ho Ho Ho also if you are intimating Boqvist is anything close to solid. He plays with Keith. You know how far Boqvist has to come to be a descent dman? Did you catch AEL_FOX mention how Boqvist was following the puck too much and not keeping close enough eye in his coverage, specificy the man in his zone while in Rockford. Boqvist is learning and improving in a force fed because Bowman wants youth served, he wants to hopefully see a fast riser and he is mesmerized by his great skill. Boqvist swap out with another and suddenly how well does he play not playing on top defense pair and not often with too offensive line.

It will take a masterful juggling of dmen, yramattes help and good coaching just to give young dmen the edge they need to get even a passing grade. Potential improvement nice moments but Boqvist is still closer to raw than anything else. Don't kid yourself

He is also a teenager not yet strong enough playing for first season against quality of players smarter and more experienced than him (a rookie).
- jhawk59

Boqvist has the best gap control of anyone (in part because he is the best skater on the roster) can make a pass and i wish they would let him move it with his feet.

CooCoo, Maatta, Gus and Gilbert are all just as bad if not worse at coverage and decisions. At least play the kid who can make a play before the puck enters the zone or track down a dump in and flip the ice.

Boqvist is the lesser evil for sure and way more potential for production at the other end.

I'm typically a stats guy but coocoo is terrible on the eye test.

Murphy's a good hockey player.
- fattybeef

I’m not so sure on KK. His underlying stats were pretty good last year too.

And he is better defensively than 3 of the D that wore Blackhawk sweaters last night. I know that’s damning with faint praise, but still...

I'm typically a stats guy but coocoo is terrible on the eye test.

Murphy's a good hockey player.
- fattybeef

Murphy has been outstanding and their best dman...

Boqvist has the best gap control of anyone (in part because he is the best skater on the roster) can make a pass and i wish they would let him move it with his feet.

CooCoo, Maatta, Gus and Gilbert are all just as bad if not worse at coverage and decisions. At least play the kid who can make a play before the puck enters the zone or track down a dump in and flip the ice.

Boqvist is the lesser evil for sure and way more potential for production at the other end.
- fattybeef

bokie has been playing a smart and contained game...for a young guy with his skill that seems to be the best track for him. Grow and get confidence playing a simple "easy" defensive game as opposed to running all over and flash his offensive skills...that will come.

Gilbert has contributed more than Jokiharju ever did and he was picked 13 over all. Defenseman take time to develop. Measure him not on where he is, but how far he has progressed since training camp.

He's trending in the right direction.

Not too mention, this defense has made Keith look bad at times. When your team defense is not tight, it pulls even the best defenseman out of position.
- catrisc

Gee- wasn’t Jokiharju a defenseman who needed time to develop?

Since we're on defensemen, here is the 5v5 xGF% & OZstart% for the Hawks:

Murphy 51.36% - 39.52%
Koekkoek 50.47% - 53.49%
Boqvist 48.63% - 63.64%
Keith 46.72% - 55.71%
de Haan 46.72% - 51.16%
Gustafsson 43.56% - 61.31%
Maatta 43.45% - 49.34%
Seeabrook 41.22% - 41.54%
Gilbert 40.37% - 41.18%

Ho Ho Ho keeping holiday spirit alive

Ho Ho Ho also if you are intimating Boqvist is anything close to solid. He plays with Keith. You know how far Boqvist has to come to be a descent dman? Did you catch AEL_FOX mention how Boqvist was following the puck too much and not keeping close enough eye in his coverage, specificy the man in his zone while in Rockford. Boqvist is learning and improving in a force fed because Bowman wants youth served, he wants to hopefully see a fast riser and he is mesmerized by his great skill. Boqvist swap out with another and suddenly how well does he play not playing on top defense pair and not often with too offensive line.

It will take a masterful juggling of dmen, yramattes help and good coaching just to give young dmen the edge they need to get even a passing grade. Potential improvement nice moments but Boqvist is still closer to raw than anything else. Don't kid yourself

He is also a teenager not yet strong enough playing for first season against quality of players smarter and more experienced than him (a rookie).
- jhawk59

????

I'm typically a stats guy but coocoo is terrible on the eye test.

Murphy's a good hockey player.
- fattybeef

I am opposite of you. I enjoy the stats, but don't put a lot into them. Some mean something, some are irrelevant. But, I do agree.

You just have to watch a couple Hawk games. And you can see Murphy is good at hockey. Murphy should be a #3-4 for years to come and be one less piece the hawks are seeking to fill.

yep...were with in inches of blowing a 4 goal lead vs the flames
they have coughed up a lot of 2 and 3 goal leads this year...
but when you are at the bottom of the league in almost all defensive categories and require your goalies to sport 95% save percentages to have a chance..alot of leads are going to disappear..
- bogiedoc

Until this team decides to play a better D zone system, its not going anywhere. 500 hundred hockey is going to be the norm. Still giving up way too many shots/scoring chances. Score 5 and lose? Geezus. And you are correct. We were lucky to escape Calgary with a win. I just dont see JC as the guy who is going to turn this team around.

Gee- wasn’t Jokiharju a defenseman who needed time to develop?
- StLBravesFan

See JC for that decision. That was just plain stupid to trade Joki. I would rather have Joki out there then the train wreck known as Gustafson.

See JC for that decision. That was just plain stupid to trade Joki. I would rather have Joki out there then the train wreck known as Gustafson.
- z1990z

You will not have to worry about Gus soon we will have Mitchell in the lineup. The Hawks did not play that bad of a game yesterday, Markstrom made some big saves in the 1st period and we had a couple go off the post. I will be happy if we can win 3 out of 4 games all season.

You will not have to worry about Gus soon we will have Mitchell in the lineup. The Hawks did not play that bad of a game yesterday, Markstrom made some big saves in the 1st period and we had a couple go off the post. I will be happy if we can win 3 out of 4 games all season.
- Sn1362

That is the way I see it. We also played a hot team (now won 6 in a row). I don't see how a different defensive scheme would of made a difference. The goals were primarily deflections and turnovers. Turnovers aren't a defensive scheme issue, it is a personnel issue. On the deflections, the Vancouver players were not wide open. It was an even game in my estimation (and eye test, I will leave the advance stats people to tell me where I am stupid).

bokie has been playing a smart and contained game...for a young guy with his skill that seems to be the best track for him. Grow and get confidence playing a simple "easy" defensive game as opposed to running all over and flash his offensive skills...that will come.
- bogiedoc

He still makes mistakes, like any rookie does (at any position.) I don't always see the smart pass out of the zone. He treats the puck like a hand grenade a lot of the time. If he's under pressure, he doesn't use his legs, he passes the puck to another player not that far away & is also under pressure. He did last night, he was lucky that the player defending Adb was dumb & tripped him, otherwise, a could have been costly play. Boq will grow & learn to not feel pressured, use his legs, & make better decisions with the puck.

See JC for that decision. That was just plain stupid to trade Joki. I would rather have Joki out there then the train wreck known as Gustafson.
- z1990z

Must’ve been more to it that we don’t know about with JC/Joki. That’s the only thing that makes sense. That trade still boggles my mind.

You will not have to worry about Gus soon we will have Mitchell in the lineup. The Hawks did not play that bad of a game yesterday, Markstrom made some big saves in the 1st period and we had a couple go off the post. I will be happy if we can win 3 out of 4 games all season.
- Sn1362

Let’s see what happens in the next five - should be able to get at least 8 points here - Wings, Flames, Preds, Ducks (all at home), Sens in the Great North.

That is the way I see it. We also played a hot team (now won 6 in a row). I don't see how a different defensive scheme would of made a difference. The goals were primarily deflections and turnovers. Turnovers aren't a defensive scheme issue, it is a personnel issue. On the deflections, the Vancouver players were not wide open. It was an even game in my estimation (and eye test, I will leave the advance stats people to tell me where I am stupid).
- LAHawk

You passed the eye test, pretty close to a coin flip game. Also another good Blackhawk road performance. (All situations)

Corsi 64-60 VAN
Shots 37-33 VAN
Scoring chances 33-30 VAN
High Danger SC 13-9 CHI

happy new year....

3 nice wins.....and a defensive breakdown across the board and another step back.

Fair to say they need to take 9 of the next 10 points before they take the ice in Montreal. Especially with 4 of those at home.

Have to wonder if Bowman isn't ready to sell on Gus yet.....We all have seen Marc B in person scouting the Hawks and then yesterday he sends Reilly to Ottawa, and then takes on Scandella (another pending UFA). So did Bowman say NO, ask for more then Montreal was willing to give?

I know...it's "fat ass" fault for being a sieve last night......

Until this team decides to play a better D zone system, its not going anywhere. 500 hundred hockey is going to be the norm. Still giving up way too many shots/scoring chances. Score 5 and lose? Geezus. And you are correct. We were lucky to escape Calgary with a win. I just dont see JC as the guy who is going to turn this team around.
- z1990z

It's not the system's fault when Keith consistently skates out from behind the net but forgets to take the puck with him.

That is the way I see it. We also played a hot team (now won 6 in a row). I don't see how a different defensive scheme would of made a difference. The goals were primarily deflections and turnovers. Turnovers aren't a defensive scheme issue, it is a personnel issue. On the deflections, the Vancouver players were not wide open. It was an even game in my estimation (and eye test, I will leave the advance stats people to tell me where I am stupid).
- LAHawk

Vancouver was playing a hot team too that's the way the puck bounces hot home team won.

happy new year....

3 nice wins.....and a defensive breakdown across the board and another step back.

Fair to say they need to take 9 of the next 10 points before they take the ice in Montreal. Especially with 4 of those at home.

Have to wonder if Bowman isn't ready to sell on Gus yet.....We all have seen Marc B in person scouting the Hawks and then yesterday he sends Reilly to Ottawa, and then takes on Scandella (another pending UFA). So did Bowman say NO, ask for more then Montreal was willing to give?

I know...it's "fat ass" fault for being a sieve last night......
- SteveRain

“Lard ass” to you, fella....

Must’ve been more to it that we don’t know about with JC/Joki. That’s the only thing that makes sense. That trade still boggles my mind.
- Assman22

Because next year Joki would be #4 RHD, with Murphy, Bovquist, and Mitchell. Hawks have no top end forward talent depth. Yes Nylander has sat the past couple of games, but we now have Carpenter playing top 9 minutes because of the lack of depth. Joki is playing as a #5, 6 with Buffalo, Stan didn't trade the next (in his prime) Kimmo Timmonen IMO.

happy new year....

3 nice wins.....and a defensive breakdown across the board and another step back.

Fair to say they need to take 9 of the next 10 points before they take the ice in Montreal. Especially with 4 of those at home.

Have to wonder if Bowman isn't ready to sell on Gus yet.....We all have seen Marc B in person scouting the Hawks and then yesterday he sends Reilly to Ottawa, and then takes on Scandella (another pending UFA). So did Bowman say NO, ask for more then Montreal was willing to give?

I know...it's "fat ass" fault for being a sieve last night......
- SteveRain

I don't think there were any untipped unscreened shots that got past Lehner.

Gilbert has contributed more than Jokiharju ever did and he was picked 13 over all. Defenseman take time to develop. Measure him not on where he is, but how far he has progressed since training camp.

He's trending in the right direction.

Not too mention, this defense has made Keith look bad at times. When your team defense is not tight, it pulls even the best defenseman out of position.
- catrisc

Gilbert has taken over the "protect my teammates" role, but I think the dig on Joker is unwarranted. Colliton gave him none of the opportunity he has given Gilbert, and the Hawks are not a better team with Nylander. And with the Seabrook/deHaan injuries plus Gustafsson playing to his ability defensively (i.e. very little), Joker would not be unwelcome on this squad. The Rockford boys are contributing more than Nylander.