Love Love Dach, Kid is a BEAST and is going to be one for sometime. de Haan was a sneaky good trade by Stan, i thought he was outstanding last night.
- SaskHawkFan

Totally agree, Dach moves so smoothly for such a big guy and he's not yet reached his physical prime, so he'll be winning even more board battles in the future. I remember when we had Bickell standing in front of the net, blocking the goalie view and Bickell having just enough skill to put in a few rebounds.

But Dach seems slightly bigger and he definitely has more offensive touch down low, so our power play could really become a force next year if he's camps down low on a regular basis.

Completely agree with this assessment and want to add, they pin us to the boards until more help comes, we do this stick check thing over and over and over again and maybe come away with the puck 25% of the time.
- BetweenTheDots

Yup, this as well.

Love Love Dach, Kid is a BEAST and is going to be one for sometime. de Haan was a sneaky good trade by Stan, i thought he was outstanding last night.
- SaskHawkFan

Not that I'm an expert by any stretch, but if I were to give Dach advise on which part of his game to work on - it would be shooting. He's not a great shooter. If he could improve his shooting to go along with his other attributes - WOWZER!

Personally i think for the powerplay the Oil are determined to block shots and take away the 1 timer from Kubalik, so the only option left is to anticipate the block, so you design a play where let's say Kane shoots it but he intentionally shoots it at the defender and you have another forward buzzing around the defender to anticipate the puck falling around that defender.

Personally when the defender lays on the ice to prevent the pass i would slap shot the puck into him. Good chance of that puck flying up in the air right in front of the goalie and leave a nice mark

Sometimes it's better to be lucky than good, but they had some bad luck early in the game. Dach had a couple missed chances early because of the choppy ice. A couple posts too. The power play was bad. Edmonton does a great job of shutting down the passing and shooting lanes. The Hawks need to put a couple guys in the crease and get some more dirty goals.

But this turned into a playoff series. It was getting chippy out there. More hitting by the Hawks. Great to see the Hawks showing up for the series. The Rangers didn't look like they even wanted to be there.

I would hate to see Edmonton, Pittsburgh, or Nashville get the #1 pick, but would love to see all three of them get knocked out.

Personally i think for the powerplay the Oil are determined to block shots and take away the 1 timer from Kubalik, so the only option left is to anticipate the block, so you design a play where let's say Kane shoots it but he intentionally shoots it at the defender and you have another forward buzzing around the defender to anticipate the puck falling around that defender.

Personally when the defender lays on the ice to prevent the pass i would slap shot the puck into him. Good chance of that puck flying up in the air right in front of the goalie
- BetweenTheDots

The Oil don't respect Keith at the point. They can pack it in and take away the shooting lanes from the wings, and Keith does not shoot it hard enough that IF he gets it through, that the goalie has a hard time controlling the rebound. It really is like 4x4.5 on the power play with Keith at the point.

The Oil don't respect Keith at the point. They can pack it in and take away the shooting lanes from the wings, and Keith does not shoot it hard enough that IF he gets it through, that the goalie has a hard time controlling the rebound. It really is like 4x4.5 on the power play with Keith at the point.
- LAHawk

That's a very good point

I'm a bit worried about my guy Boqvist he really seems timid out there

I'm a bit worried about my guy Boqvist he really seems timid out there
- BetweenTheDots

He is a 19 year old d-man. If anything his skating has worried me a bit. He is smooth and has good edge work but I haven’t really seen him use his skating to escape the forecheck or make a play in either zone. Maybe that will come with more experience. Not really seeing any elite skills from him... but again only 19.

Something Keith has done his entire career. Use his quick feet and skating to make plays.

Yep, CC has been great for the Hawks and he has the skins on the wall to prove it.

However, he hasn't played great in the 3 games as evidenced by his sub 0.900 SV% in all 3 games. Yes, the woeful defense in front of him is a factor, and yes, a lesser goalie would probably have an even worse SV% - but at some point the numbers mean what they mean and a SV% under 0.900 is not good enough.
- EbonyRaptor

He is not a problem for the Hawks IMO. Yeah, this series has had a lot of goals but don't overlook all of the factors here.

1) First and foremost, 3 games is a tiny sample size to really hammer him on the numbers, especially facing the same team each time. The way teams match up against each other is unique.

2) This has not been a defensive series at all. It's all offensive plays and powerplays. The goalies on both sides are all near the bottom of the league for SV% because both teams suck at holding a lead.

3) Edmonton has 2 of the best finishers in the league. McDavid especially can skew some numbers on the short term when he is going and both their guys are going right now. Draisatil scored on nearly 20% of his shots this year and McDavid was just over 16%. Either one of those guys is on the ice for about 2/3 of the game and very motivated to perform.

4) Don't forget the situation either. Crawford was off for a good while. He had Covid. Like the start of a new season, the team is a little rough around the edges. (scoring always seems to be high when teams come out of camp every year)

I'm not saying Crawford has been outstanding in this series, he has had a great playoff career and can battle and come up big. I just think there are reasons he isn't on top of his game at the moment, but I don't think any goalie is likely to have good #s against Edmonton right now unless they have some kind of crazy D or luck.

50 playoff wins for #50

50 wins - 38 loses 2.35 GA .917 S% 5 shutouts

2 cups; 1 leddy deflection away from 3 finals...

This guy is the MVP of the hawks for the last 7 years and has overcome alot including league wide disrespect: you can have the king, rhinne, price, bobro, quick, holtby, rask
etc

He is not a problem for the Hawks IMO. Yeah, this series has had a lot of goals but don't overlook all of the factors here.

1) First and foremost, 3 games is a tiny sample size to really hammer him on the numbers, especially facing the same team each time. The way teams match up against each other is unique.

2) This has not been a defensive series at all. It's all offensive plays and powerplays. The goalies on both sides are all near the bottom of the league for SV% because both teams suck at holding a lead.

3) Edmonton has 2 of the best finishers in the league. McDavid especially can skew some numbers on the short term when he is going and both their guys are going right now. Draisatil scored on nearly 20% of his shots this year and McDavid was just over 16%. Either one of those guys is on the ice for about 2/3 of the game and very motivated to perform.

4) Don't forget the situation either. Crawford was off for a good while. He had Covid. Like the start of a new season, the team is a little rough around the edges. (scoring always seems to be high when teams come out of camp every year)

I'm not saying Crawford has been outstanding in this series, he has had a great playoff career and can battle and come up big. I just think there are reasons he isn't on top of his game at the moment, but I don't think any goalie is likely to have good #s against Edmonton right now unless they have some kind of crazy D or luck.
- breadbag

All i know is the team with 1 starting goalie is up 2-1 compared to the team with 2 starting goalies. The only play i thought was a bad play by him was when he whiffed on the puck behind the net.

Our defense if they clean up more of the rebounds Coreys numbers would be way better

Not that I'm an expert by any stretch, but if I were to give Dach advise on which part of his game to work on - it would be shooting. He's not a great shooter. If he could improve his shooting to go along with his other attributes - WOWZER!
- EbonyRaptor

ive noticed he is tentative with his shot, hopefully just an adjustement that will come with time. love love his speed and how he uses his reach and stick.

What happened last night?

What a finish to that game. The Oilers must be still stunned this morning.

Some good and some bad last night. I will have a blog out later tonight or tomorrow AM on my thoughts.

Quickly though... some thoughts and teasers:

* Hawks have a great shot at moving on and I have thoughts on what that means for them and their future.

* Colliton needs to get that Strome and Nylander line going

* 4th line redemption

* Crow good enough

* Kirhy Dach... the 19 year old manimal

Another Great team win and the %s say you win 2/3 in a 5 game your chances are 75% to win it, balah, blah, blah....

It is not over yet!

Totally agree on the "once a fan deems a mid range player six, they have real trouble changing."

The fan cannot see the things those guys do well enough to get them there in the bigs.
And the playoffs are jut the place were guys like that add their most.

Dach IS a beast. The Ennis crush rated up there for me with my NHL greatest hits, but more importantly, when he came over the blue line into the attack zone and got that hard sandwiched upper thigh body hit from 2 Oilers, he shook it off and came back and didn't change his style. He is just so big, so fluid, and so smart.

His game in junior wasn't very different than what we are seeing now, that is why the comparisons were Ryan Getzlaf. (Aside:I liked Cozens a lot but NEVER saw him as a comparable to Getzlaf I have also seen in print.)

IF you go back and look at the junior goals Dach scored you will see ones from outside, but his bread and butter is scoring from in closer, and setting teams ages up from everywhere, not necessarily scoring from everywhere. I dont doubt there will be work on his shot, but his strength is puck handling diganosing quickly and hadn't teammates the puck for apples.

My other favorite moment last night (besides the success of the lesser lights and high more getting a reward and result to his hard work, was a play where both Boqvist and Keith were both very close to Boqvist's side near the wall and the puck was moving towards there and Keith just simply reacted and blew by Boqvist to handle it and start the transition.
My eyes widened. The hackney News in a comparison of Quint Hughes vs. Adam Boqvist called Boqvist a beautiful effortless skater and better. I still think that hold up, but my point is Duncan Keith has been a gift to the hawks in the 2nd round and anyone who things he needs processing time when he is on the ice is delusional. He just reacts.
It is my hope that Boqvist develops that too. And that every defender they bring in gets to learn from him, so he just bursts as Keith did on a routine transition puck reception that closed down any though of an Oiler entry.

And Kampf is a solid hockey player and Drake Caggulia is a hockey player, and I can go down the list...inbcluding the rest of this "slow" defensive corps that is doing an admirable job.

Win or lose this series, the positives are outweighing the negatives.

All i know is the team with 1 starting goalie is up 2-1 compared to the team with 2 starting goalies. The only play i thought was a bad play by him was when he whiffed on the puck behind the net.

Our defense if they clean up more of the rebounds Coreys numbers would be way better
- BetweenTheDots

I'm with you there. A lot of the goals are chances from areas where McDavid and Draisatil will beat nearly any goalie. I mean last night, Draisatil got the cross ice feed a few feet out with a wide open side, he ain't gonna miss from there. His second goal, turnover by the team, puck redirected off Highmore and Crawford had to react fast to get it. I can't fault him for not catching it clean based on what happened. Then the puck bounced right to Draistail's stick. He is gonna bury that 9 times out of 10 easily. The 3rd goal he has more of a chance, but McDavid is such a freaking talent in tight to the net. The team gave him time and space to tuck that in from right at the crease.

I'm not sure we found any serendipitous discoveries in the game - I think we already knew everything that has been borne out in the first 3 games.

And, BTW, until the Hawks win the 3rd game, my Laffy dream is still alive ... although it is now back on life support.
- EbonyRaptor

Puck luck off crazy bounces ... that isn't skill. Game one was more domination. That was more of what I meant.

Another Great team win and the %s say you win 2/3 in a 5 game your chances are 75% to win it, balah, blah, blah....

It is not over yet!

Totally agree on the "once a fan deems a mid range player six, they have real trouble changing."

The fan cannot see the things those guys do well enough to get them there in the bigs.
And the playoffs are jut the place were guys like that add their most.

Dach IS a beast. The Ennis crush rated up there for me with my NHL greatest hits, but more importantly, when he came over the blue line into the attack zone and got that hard sandwiched upper thigh body hit from 2 Oilers, he shook it off and came back and didn't change his style. He is just so big, so fluid, and so smart.

His game in junior wasn't very different than what we are seeing now, that is why the comparisons were Ryan Getzlaf. (Aside:I liked Cozens a lot but NEVER saw him as a comparable to Getzlaf I have also seen in print.)

IF you go back and look at the junior goals Dach scored you will see ones from outside, but his bread and butter is scoring from in closer, and setting teams ages up from everywhere, not necessarily scoring from everywhere. I dont doubt there will be work on his shot, but his strength is puck handling diganosing quickly and hadn't teammates the puck for apples.

My other favorite moment last night (besides the success of the lesser lights and high more getting a reward and result to his hard work, was a play where both Boqvist and Keith were both very close to Boqvist's side near the wall and the puck was moving towards there and Keith just simply reacted and blew by Boqvist to handle it and start the transition.
My eyes widened. The hackney News in a comparison of Quint Hughes vs. Adam Boqvist called Boqvist a beautiful effortless skater and better. I still think that hold up, but my point is Duncan Keith has been a gift to the hawks in the 2nd round and anyone who things he needs processing time when he is on the ice is delusional. He just reacts.
It is my hope that Boqvist develops that too. And that every defender they bring in gets to learn from him, so he just bursts as Keith did on a routine transition puck reception that closed down any though of an Oiler entry.

And Kampf is a solid hockey player and Drake Caggulia is a hockey player, and I can go down the list...inbcluding the rest of this "slow" defensive corps that is doing an admirable job.

Win or lose this series, the positives are outweighing the negatives.
- wiz1901

Keith to me is playing some of his best hockey of recent seasons. He is always a good player, but he is making good choices on the ice and playing a lot of minutes, especially at age 37. There have been times he used his speed well to close the gap on McDavid and keep him from winding up. I think he only took the one penalty too, for whacking an Oiler a little too much.

Any word on Ennis? The way he was laboring in obvious pain - something is broken or a few ligaments aren’t attached.

Dach did that - then took a hard (but clean) low hip check - and kept on playing.

Kid is a gamer.

What happened last night?

What a finish to that game. The Oilers must be still stunned this morning.

Some good and some bad last night. I will have a blog out later tonight or tomorrow AM on my thoughts.

Quickly though... some thoughts and teasers:

* Hawks have a great shot at moving on and I have thoughts on what that means for them and their future.

* Colliton needs to get that Strome and Nylander line going

* 4th line redemption

* Crow good enough

* Kirhy Dach... the 19 year old manimal
- Tyler Cameron

on the positve side i did not see any lazy ass turnovers from nylander last night...
given the cap constraints going forward nylander will continue to be given chances to figure it out...and boy do the hawks need him to get it figured out..

Any word on Ennis? The way he was laboring in obvious pain - something is broken or a few ligaments aren’t attached.

Dach did that - then took a hard (but clean) low hip check - and kept on playing.

Kid is a gamer.
- Chief4Feathers

nhl has locked it down with injury reports...to me looked like his knee got crushed

on the positve side i did not see any lazy ass turnovers from nylander last night...
given the cap constraints going forward nylander will continue to be given chances to figure it out...and boy do the hawks need him to get it figured out..
- bogiedoc

Agreed - step one with Nylander is to play responsible hockey - and he did that last night. Offensive skill is not his problem.

Not that I'm an expert by any stretch, but if I were to give Dach advise on which part of his game to work on - it would be shooting. He's not a great shooter. If he could improve his shooting to go along with his other attributes - WOWZER!
- EbonyRaptor

I’m ok with his shot - just needs to use it more. I’d like for him to be better at the dot - but that’s more of a learning curve for young centerman.

Agreed - step one with Nylander is to play responsible hockey - and he did that last night. Offensive skill is not his problem.
- Chief4Feathers

I thought Nylander had a good game. He carried it into the zone, and made a couple of nifty passes. He also made the simple plays exiting the zone. I thought he looked more comfortable away from Kane. It appears when he plays with Kane he defers to him too much, and is much more timid then when he plays away from Kane and handles the puck.

Dach just keeps better and better. He was EASILY the best forward on the ice yesterday for the Hawks. He deserved every minute of team-leading ice time and responsibility yesterday. We really did luck out in the lottery last year, and if it doesn't happen this year that's a-ok in my book.
- TommyHawk

Be interesting to know if they'd have taken him at #'s 1 or 2.

If not, they did luck out getting the 3rd and not 1 or 2.