Really? I'll pretend you said Heiskanen.
- BetweenTheDots

Is that like pretending Strome is a better player than Murphy?

Especially forgotten, imo, is how much of that defense (pardon the American lingo) was provided by the forwards.
- mohel

I was taught that defense was the verb and defence the noun. But as usual, and to the chagrin (another cool word) of the Brits and English purists you Yanks have simplified the language. Now do something about knife and pneumonia will ya!

Also JC took a club expected by many, including myself, to be a bottom feeder due to a roster made up of a large amount of rookies, no obvious goaltending talent, cast offs, a lack of top end talent and experience and had them fighting for a playoff spot all season. The team ha worked hard, limited their mistakes and played much better than expected and I think that is a credit to Colliton.
- paulr

Does this make him the anti Q? He loves young players?

I was taught that defense was the verb and defence the noun. But as usual, and to the chagrin (another cool word) of the Brits and English purists you Yanks have simplified the language. Now do something about knife and pneumonia will ya!
- paulr

We could do something about the "Al you Min E Um" thing if you like

And we did something about pneumonia, we renamed it Covid

Is that like pretending Strome is a better player than Murphy?
- mohel

Pretending to understand

3......2.....1

3......2.....1
- BetweenTheDots

Colliton only did what any decent NHL coach should have done - the obvious move - I didn’t see anything special in it.

Doesn’t mean I don’t think he’s a good coach for now, developing a young team - or that he won’t be a good coach down the line when these guys are ready to compete for a Cup.

The jury in my head hasn’t yet seen enough of the evidence to decide about the latter....
- StLBravesFan

If you call a time out everytime things go wrong the team won't pay attention. Timeouts are overrated. Players play.

3......2.....1
- BetweenTheDots

That was last week 4/3/21...

I agree. Because of the lack of good 2nd and 3rd lines opponents are putting a shut down winger and shut down defender on Kane. The only answer is putting together a 2nd and 3rd line that have some scoring potential. Which means keeping Kampf on the 3rd or 4th line.

Kane, ADB, Dach, Kubalik are definite top 6. Strome, Suter, Soderberg, Hagel, Janmark, Connolly, Kurashev middle 6. Kampf, Carp, Hino bottom 6. Of course this will change after a trade or two later today or tomorrow.
- Ztra

Maybe Strome is middle 6 on a cup team? The rest are not. Perhaps "yet."

I was taught that defense was the verb and defence the noun. But as usual, and to the chagrin (another cool word) of the Brits and English purists you Yanks have simplified the language. Now do something about knife and pneumonia will ya!
- paulr

& colonel ...

We could do something about the "Al you Min E Um" thing if you like

And we did something about pneumonia, we renamed it Covid
- vabeachbear

Not even Canadians say Al you Min E Um or spell tyres.

Not even Canadians say Al you Min E Um or spell tyres.
- paulr

Do you guys call car parts boots and bonnets?

Do you guys call car parts boots and bonnets?
- boilermaker100

Nope trunks and hoods. And most of us say lew ten ant, not lef ten ant. We say knife and fork not fork and knife. We say 2 by 4 not 4 by 2. And we’d certainly never ask someone knock us up in the morning.

Do you guys call car parts boots and bonnets?
- boilermaker100

Do we need Paul's say so? Run with it!

I was taught that defense was the verb and defence the noun. But as usual, and to the chagrin (another cool word) of the Brits and English purists you Yanks have simplified the language. Now do something about knife and pneumonia will ya!
- paulr

Right after you explain how the plural of Leaf is Leafs.

Right after you explain how the plural of Leaf is Leafs.
- mohel

That one is uniquely Canadian

Do we need Paul's say so? Run with it!
- HawkintheD

3 .....2 .... 1

It is early. .....maybe you said a prayer in church for the Blackhawks. Maybe you just hope Mathews doesn't finish ahead of Kane in the points..The way Kane is playing now, he needs divine help to beat Mathews

So far today two transactions. Both players not worth a hoot. Gusev signs one year $1.1 mill to help Florida. Siegenthaler from Caps to Devils. Caps do not have a good defense, not deep defensively, yet they trade a young dmen to Jersey. He must not have a high ceiling. And Jersey maybe gets a body to replace the soon traded Vataanen. Yahoo these trades!

I’d rather he concentrate on being a 1st D-man.
- Ogilthorpe2

Can’t he both?

It is early. .....maybe you said a prayer in church for the Blackhawks. Maybe you just hope Mathews doesn't finish ahead of Kane in the points..The way Kane is playing now, he needs divine help to beat Mathews

So far today two transactions. Both players not worth a hoot. Gusev signs one year $1.1 mill to help Florida. Siegenthaler from Caps to Devils. Caps do not have a good defense, not deep defensively, yet they trade a young dmen to Jersey. He must not have a high ceiling. And Jersey maybe gets a body to replace the soon traded Vataanen. Yahoo these trades!
- jhawk59

I think Kane will win the Hart regardless of points. First of all he’s having a great year with no real help but I also think you’ll see Marner take away votes from Matthews and Draisaitl will take votes from McDavid. I don’t think Kane has a chance to win the scoring title.

Does anyone else feel that Strome and Kurashev just pull up or ease back multiple times a game when they are about 1 or 2 strides from making a play. Usually on the forecheck or on 50/50 pucks. Keep an eye out for this. They get there but at pedestrian speed.

I thought the same of Nylander last year.
- Ztra

A lot of the Hawks players are generally guilty of passing up on taking a shot to make a play to a teammate so not sure if it can be pinned on Strome and Kurashev only.

On Strome at least, I have observed him holding on to the puck a tad longer to make a better play, i.e. wait for a lane to open up. That takes patience, composure, and strength.

He would also work.
- Ztra

Who? And for what?

It’s amazing how many people forget the reason the hawks were so good in their cup days was because the great defence they played fueled their offense.
- paulr

Not forgotten. The D then and now could use Dmen with a variety of skill sets. Boqvist could be better offensively than any of the Cup dmen. I could see Boqvist being like a right handed Doug Wilson.

Nice recap Theo!

Other than a bad clear at the end, Kalynuk played another pretty steady game and was nice to see him get his first.

Dach's assist was a beauty. He's definitely looking a little better every game.

Colliton should get one of the game star's for pulling everyone over to the bench and telling them to WTFU.

Wonder if that was enough to satisfy the fans who don't like him because he doesn't go ballistic every other game...prolly not.
- HawkintheD

Thanks, D.

Kalynuk did play another solid game. Like Boqvist, Kalynuk manages gaps pretty well and mirrors the puck carrier closely rather than stay a stick length's away.

Boqvist does the little jabs and body bumps to neutralize. Kalynuk will also ride a player to the wall to seal off their drive and force them to cough up the puck.

Of the 4 young defenders (including Mitchell and Beaudin), Kalynuk is the best at net-front protection. The others venture too much to chase the puck.

Boqvist and Beaudin have gotten better at reseting back after venturing out. Mitchell keeps chasing which is fine if his D partner or the center stays in the paint.