Well, doesn’t all that teeth-gnashing in March seem a little silly now? Don’t worry, we’re not gloating, we were right there with you. But after last night’s solid effort, and the Canucks win over Calgary, the Hawks need two points out of the last six on offer to host Game 1 next week. Also, never in our wildest dreams in September did we think the Hawks could top 100 points, which they have every chance of doing now. Sure, 100 points these days doesn’t mean quite as much as it once did, thanks to Gary Bettman’s soccer-mom- pleasing-everyone-gets-a-trophy points policy. But it sure looks cool, doesn’t it? The Hawks have managed four stellar defensive efforts in a row, despite including Matt Walker in some of them. It’s hearten- ing to see that whatever game the Hawks are required to play, they can do it. When you’re path in the playoffs could require you to grind it out with Vancouver, then shoot it out with San Jose or Scum, the Hawks shouldn’t be too worried about shifting through the gears. One Toke Over Two Lines, Sweet Jesus During this last little streak, the Hawks can look at two lines, at opposite ends of the ice. We never used to be comfortable with Havlat playing with Daydream Nation (that would be #19 and #88, for those who don’t speak our language), but these past few games that line has been weaving some sort of black magic up and down our spine. At times it looks like a Globetrotter routine, and we think Pat Foley might have a brian bubble. In the four games they’ve been permanently together, they’ve put up 16 points. Perhaps it bunches the Hawks scoring just a little too much, but you’d be shocked if they’re broken up anytime soon. On the other side of the ice...actu- ally, it’s been on both ends, is the play of Ladd-Pahlsson-Buff. They’re +8 in the last four games, and have been chipping in with goals as well. Sure, the only extremely hot line they’ve cancelled out was St. Louis’s Kids Line, but they haven’t given Nash of Columbus or Nashville’s top line a sniff when they’ve been out there against them. Obviously, Buff can count, as he must’ve figured out when Sharp and Brouwer both got healthy it was his ass that could very well be planted next to Sassone and Ziehm. Maybe it’s that he isn’t asked to score now, only check, but whatever it is, we have to admit he’s played awfully well the past few games. We know a lot of Hawks fans are still trembling at the idea of a first round date with Vancouver. But a lot of that pounding came as the Sedins ran wild against Bolland’s line. Well, Pahlsson has already drank the Sedins’ milkshake once in the playoffs, we think he can do it again. Should he do so, the Hawks can easily match the Canucks in secondary scoring. But time will tell. Masters Week, Jackets Everywhere To tonight, and the visit of the panting-to-the-finish-line and banged-up Columbus Blue Jackets. After a scorch- ing stretch in March -- winning six of seven -- the Jackets are slowing down and having pieces starting to fall off. If the season were two weeks longer, they’d look like Elmer Fudd driving with nothing but a steering wheel and seat after Bugs has pulled the pin causing it to fall apart. They’re short an important d-man in Rostislav Klesla -- perhaps searching for Tuomo Ruutu’s knees -- and have taken a huge hit in their scoring with the absences of Fredrik Modin and Kristian Huselius. This was after future-stud Derick Brassard was lost for the year trying to beat the shit out of James Neal of Dallas (Derick, if you’re going to injure yourself fighting a Star, make it a Star worth it. Ott, Ribeiro, Madano, Robidas, there’s so many to choose from). Still, the Blue Jackets are going to have to fuck up in Blagojevich-proportions to miss their first playoff berth. For that, they can thank Steve Mason (more on him inside) and Rick Nash, who’s pretty much had to do it himself. The Blue Jackets don’t get any scoring from their blueline -- Hitchcock might think hockey works like lacrosse, where your d-men can’t cross the red line. Their power play is beyond woeful, so they’ve had to scrap and claw for every goal, and it’s usually Nash doing the scoring. Still, he got knocked on his ass twice by T.J. Oshie, so it’s hard to take him that seriously. Helping out a little have been the two midseason additions, old friend Jason Williams and Antoine Vermette. Both are averaging just slightly under a point-per-game. After staring out flaming like he was on Halsted St., Vermette has cooled to five points in his last 10 games. With their injuries, this is about all the BJs have in attack. You know the drill here. Though they don’t score much, the defensemen of Columbus do what is in the name, defend. Mike Commodore and the criminally underrat- ed Jan Hejda make life for forwards hellish in a way only prisoners can understand, and you know Hitch will have landmines in the neutral zone tonight as the Jackets chase the few points they need to shore up a playoff spot. It’ll be another glass-chewing, goiter-ugly, taffy-pull of a game. If the Hawks continue to be as solid in their own zone as they have been, it will once again only require Mason to turn his head in disappointment once or twice, and those two games against Scum will be academic. -Gordon Brown We’ve Worked Too Hard For Our Illusions Just To Throw Them All Away [email protected]April 8th, 2009 The Committed Indian The REal Fan’s Program 99 POINTS AND A BITCH AIN’T ONE $3 secondcityhockey.com $3 “He’s day-to-day with a lower body injury”
Transcript
Well,doesn’tallthatteeth-gnashinginMarchseemalittlesillynow?Don’tworry,we’renotgloating,wewererighttherewithyou.Butafterlastnight’ssolideffort,andtheCanuckswinoverCalgary,theHawksneedtwopointsoutofthelastsixonoffertohostGame1nextweek.Also,neverinourwildestdreamsinSeptemberdidwethinktheHawkscouldtop100points,whichtheyhaveeverychanceofdoingnow.Sure,100pointsthesedaysdoesn’tmeanquiteasmuchasitoncedid,thankstoGaryBettman’ssoccer-mom-pleasing-everyone-gets-a-trophypointspolicy.Butitsurelookscool,doesn’tit? TheHawkshavemanagedfourstellardefensiveeffortsinarow,despiteincludingMattWalkerinsomeofthem.It’shearten-ingtoseethatwhatevergametheHawksarerequiredtoplay,theycandoit.Whenyou’repathintheplayoffscouldrequireyoutogrinditoutwithVancouver,thenshootitoutwithSanJoseorScum,theHawksshouldn’tbetooworriedaboutshiftingthroughthegears.One Toke Over Two Lines, Sweet Jesus Duringthislastlittlestreak,theHawkscanlookattwolines,atoppositeendsoftheice.WeneverusedtobecomfortablewithHavlatplayingwithDaydreamNation(thatwouldbe#19and#88,forthosewhodon’tspeakourlanguage),butthesepastfewgamesthatlinehasbeenweavingsomesortofblackmagicupanddownourspine.AttimesitlookslikeaGlobetrotterroutine,andwethinkPatFoleymighthaveabrianbubble.Inthefourgamesthey’vebeenpermanentlytogether,they’veputup16points.PerhapsitbunchestheHawksscoringjustalittletoomuch,butyou’dbeshockedifthey’rebrokenupanytimesoon. Ontheothersideoftheice...actu-ally,it’sbeenonbothends,istheplayofLadd-Pahlsson-Buff.They’re+8inthelastfourgames,andhavebeenchippinginwithgoalsaswell.Sure,theonlyextremelyhotlinethey’vecancelledoutwasSt.Louis’sKidsLine,buttheyhaven’tgivenNashofColumbusorNashville’stoplineasniffwhenthey’vebeenoutthereagainstthem.Obviously,Buffcancount,ashemust’vefiguredoutwhenSharpandBrouwerbothgothealthyitwashisassthatcouldverywellbeplantednexttoSassoneandZiehm.Maybeit’sthatheisn’taskedtoscorenow,onlycheck,butwhateveritis,wehavetoadmithe’splayedawfullywellthepastfewgames. WeknowalotofHawksfansarestilltremblingattheideaofafirstrounddatewith
Perhaps I made too much of it, but I felt a certain chill at the final horn on Friday. Judging by the wall of noise that greeted it, I’m sure I wasn’t the only one who felt that way. When the “2009 Stanley Cup Playoffs” graphic flashed across the United Center scoreboard, my heart jumped, for just a second. The waiting was over, and no more would I have to sit and watch the 1st round and wonder when it would be our turn. And Lord, has it been a wait. Seven years, and for some like myself, it’s been even longer. I didn’t live in the country the last time the Hawks made the postseason, and from all reports it didn’t sound like I missed much. So my last playoff experience with the Hawks was 1997, and their 1st round tolchocking by the Avs. Sure, the Hawks battled back to get that series to 2-2, but when Colorado decided they’d had enough, they did away with the Hawks pretty easily. The year before is the only playoff game I’ve attended, which is a status that will change next Wednesday or Thursday. It was Game 6 in the second round vs. those same Avs. That was Jeremy Roenick’s last game, and the last game of a Hawks’ Era. They haven’t been the same since. When Sandis Ozolinsh banged home a rebound in the 2nd overtime that night, it’s probably as close as I’ve ever felt (and hopefully will ever feel) to being shot. That Hawks team wasn’t young, it was clear that it was Roenick’s last game as a Hawk, and I think we all knew that night that there was no way the Hawks would be able to overhaul Colorado and Scum, the powers of the conference at that time. Clearly, they never
did.
I can’t even describe the giddiness I feel that I will be at the UC when the next Hawks Era officially arrives. Game 1 will signal that all that garbage and misery we’ve slogged through lo these many years is over. It will join
all of the other playoff memories that I have from my childhood. Savard’s goal against Edmonton (yes, I was four, but I remember the radio call); the heartbreaker-loss to Minnesota in 1991, probably the best team we had; JR starting the roll to the Finals in St. Louis; Dirk Graham pounding home a dump-in off the boards in Detroit to put the Hawks up 2-0, and the Brent Sutter finishing them off two games later; the 1992 Finals Game 1, which I’ve still never gotten over; JR’s overtime winner against Toronto in 1994, the win over those same Leafs a year later in Game 7, where I ditched a class outing in DC so I could watch it (lots of detention for that one); Joe Murphy tying the game with less than a minute to go in Game 6 in that ‘96 series vs. Colorado, and him leaping into
Gary Suter’s arms just as I leapt into my brother’s. And then the trash can I knocked over on my way out after that game. And those are the ones that are just off the top of my head. May there be many more this spring.
-We’ll have a note in Sunday’s issue about this as well, but due to our printer’s closing on Easter, we have to print out Sunday’s issue on Friday. Hence, we have decided to make it a Season Review Issue, with thoughts and contributions from all our regular guests. It’ll still contain the wit and swear words you’ve come to enjoy, just look a little different. We’ll be back with our normal issue for the first home playoff game.
Top 10 Things We Hate From Ohio10. Mike Tomczak- lowered every Bears fans’ expectations for a QB, which were only corrected last week9. THE Ohio State University- otherwise known as THE team that gets skull-fucked in the championship game8. Thom Brennaman- Listen to him call a Reds game against the Cubs sometime, you’ll swear he’s pouting7. Cavs fans- you know LeBron is fucking off to New York in a year, right? 6. The BJs P.A. Announcer- which, sadly, looks like the Hawks have picked up on5. The Dog Pound- those people have kids, y’know4. Speed traps- seriously, don’t the fucking cops have anything else to do? Not like Toledo is a war zone, or anything3. Some of it is far too close to Detroit2. All you have is the Rock N’ Roll Hall of Fame, and you didn’t give it near enough space1. Skyline Chili sucks. Really, it does.
*late game not included
T.J. Oshie knocking Rick Nash on his big, soft ass twice in two days: We’re sorry, it just never gets old. St. Louis Gametime has probably put these photos in the St. Louis Art Museum already. We know we’ll grow to absolutely abhor T.J. Oshie, but come on, this is awesome, isn’t it? Rick Nash has six inches and 40 pounds on him, and he goes down quicker than a freshman on the school quarterback. The best is the second one, when Nash charged from one corner to the other to have his revenge on Oshie, and he still get flattened. That’s your captain, Columbus.
teams that have clinched playoff berth in italicsteams that have clinched division in bold italics
Committed Indian T-shirts....
Chicago Blackhawks 44-24-11
# Pos Player Ht WT AGE GP G A P +/- PIM PP SH GW S S% Salary (Cap Hit)
Campbell was as tentative and hesitant as we’ve seen him this year last night. Maybe it was seeing what his taxes look like now. Look, Soupy, we don’t expect much in the defensive zone from you, but we need sound offensive decisions.
See? We said we weren’t that impressed with Khabby’s stretch after his return, and he responds with possi-bly his best four games of the year. We knew what we were doing all along.
Why
?
# Pos Player Ht WT AGE GP G A P +/- PIM PP SH GW S S% Salary (Cap Hit)61 L Rick Nash 6' 4" 218 24 75 38 38 76 11 50 6 5 5 253 15 $5,400,000
20 L Kristian Huselius* 6' 1" 179 30 74 21 35 56 1 44 5 0 2 212 9.9 $4,750,000
29 R Jason Williams 5' 11" 185 28 77 18 28 46 -2 24 7 0 4 148 12.2 $1,053,000
This injury really hurts, as Huselius put up 11 points in 15 M
arch games,
and is one of very few threats for the BJs.
ASK THE ICE CREW!!It’s time for a season-ending edition of...
The free Bulls tickets I got in January. It was in a box, we had so much food and drinks, I didn’t even have to watch the game!
Favorite moment is when Russian Legend Khabibulin outplayed French surrender-poodle to once again prove Russia is God’s Chosen Country! Long live Drago!
When that pasty bizz-nitch on the right fell on her pasty, flat ass on center ice. Dat shit was muth-fuckin’ comedy gold, playa-playa! Too bad she ain’t got no paddin back there like my fine badon-kadonk caboose! SHEEEEIIIIITTT!
What was your favorite moment of the season?
The construc-tion helmets! This job is supposed to be fun! I swear there were people aiming for me! If I wanted to get hit, I’d still date that foot-ball player from college!
Having you morons publish my thoughts and claim I’m from Russia, when I’m actually from Argen-tina. How short is the bus you take to the arena?
Any of dese fuckin’ road watch parties. Bunch of fat, devil-foo’s in a Hawks jersey trying to kick some game on this sistah with a fuckin’ chicken wing in his beard and his whiny shorty right there cryin’ about some-thin’.SHEEEEEIIIIIIT!
What was your least favorite moment?
I guess so. Too cold to sit in the Wrig-ley bleach-ers and have frat boys buy us mai-tais. Though last August I woke up naked in a hotel room in Naperville.
Sort of, would be better if losers were thrown in Gulag, like my grade-school teams.
Fuck yes, bitch be needin’ her ben-jamins! Gots to keep rollin wit’ my brown and blunts. Why you be hatin’? Need lots of playoff games, I got expen-sive tastes and shit. Can’t be seen in no hoopdie!SHEEEEEIT!
Are you looking forward to the playoffs?
What To Watch For: Maybe some events. These two just played, are still chasing points desperately, and the Blue Jackets can frus-trate any opponent. Jackass Boll is the Jackets’ leader with 23 forays into the physical, and he was running around a bit on Sunday.
Pulls that again on UC ice, someone might have something to say.
Team Opp PPG PP%DET 342 87 25.4WSH 329 83 25.2SJS 343 84 24.5
2nd.13:55 √ √ Jackass Boll throws an elbow up at legendary
toughie Campbell, Walker defends his partner with several rights.
11-1-08 Fraser vs.Tollefson
1st.3:14 √ Fraser challenges Scandanavian much larger
than he, and takes the worst of it. We must conclude Fraser hates Scandanavians, simply
because it’s fun to do so.
3-26-08 Seabrook vs.Rome
3rd.18:40 √ Rome bumps Biscuit on the way back to the
bench, linesmen get in but #7 is able to land an upper-cut between them.
11-14-07 Vandermeer vs. Nash
3rd.20:00 √ √ Our favorite Nash moment ever. After taking
several shots from Vandy, calls for referees to stop the fight. All heart, Nash.
HAWKS vs. JACKETSFight Stats provided by Hockeyfights.com
The Fight Card
Spotlight
Steve Mason
It’s clearly the obvious choice, but any discussion of Columbus begins and ends with Steve Mason. He’s made all that Versteeg-for-the-Calder talk seem pretty silly, as he’s a sure bet to take that one home. He’d probably be a leading contender for the Vezina, too, if it wasn’t for Tim Thomas’s deal with the devil. He’ll still be a finalist for that, with his league-leading 10 shutouts. Sure, he doesn’t face that many chances most nights, the Blue Jackets are 4th in the league in shots against. Most of those are from the outside as well, as the entire point of Columbus’s game is to keeps shots to the outside. But with a team that’s 21st in scoring, and woefully dead-last in the power play, Mason has an awfully small margin for error, and has made all the saves the Jackets have needed. He’s second in the league in goals-against, and 8th in SV % to go with all the no-no’s. However, you begin to wonder if he isn’t starting to tire, just a little, from the strain of being ridden so hard by coach Ken Hitch-cock (a fucking Budweiser Clydesdale would struggle under that ride). Though he certainly looked sharp against the Hawks on Sunday, that came after coughing up eight goals in two games against St. Louis, and another four to Nashville. There have been good perfor-mances mixed in there too, but the consistency is starting to drop, ever so slightly. It would seem like an awful big ask of a rookie to start 60 games and walk the tightrope that the Blue Jackets style presents, but that’s the charge Mason has been given. For the most part, he’s flourished, and he’s gotten Columbus to their first postseason, which was the stated goal. It’s questionable how much will be left in the tank in order to make any noise once there, however. Still, this kid will be a problem in our division for a long, long time.
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April 5th, 2009: Hawks 1, BJs 0 (OT)One of the better games of the year. Tight, tense,
and eventful, like fucking a teenager. Both Mason and Khabby makes some incredible saves, before
VERSTEEG! ends it.
March 18th, 2009: Hawks 3, BJs 4 (OT)Hawks take the lead twice, and Huet contrives to cough both of them up with some of the dumber
goals you’re likely to see. Vermette wins it in over time after out-skating Campbell, who was advertised
as fast once.
March 13th, 2009: BJs 5, Hawks 3Hawks fight back in 2nd from 2-0 down to tie, only
to somehow manage to give up a PP-goal late in period that they never come back from. Typical
Huet game, big saves to keep Hawks in game that he let get away in the first place.
Dec. 14th, 2008: BJs 1, Hawks 3#4 of The December March To The Sea. Sharp
scores with less than a second left in the 2nd to tie it, Havlat bags the winner halfway through the 3rd to
win a contest that was an absolute glass-chew.
For the final time this year, Bethany from Bethany’s Hockey Rants on Kukla’s Korner is patient enough to put up with our shit. God bless her.
So now that the playoffs are assured (barring an epic and hilarious collapse), what is the feeling in Colum-bus? Are they getting more attention than what soror-ity girl was getting spit roasted by however many OSU football players?I think it’s nerves. We are waiting until the Jackets clinch to get excited. There was so much tension in the arena on Sunday it was ridiculous. I have noticed that there appear to be more Blue Jacket fans popping up on the internets. That has to be good. Also, a collapse would cause me to have a heart attack and die, so please no epic fail.
So who do you want to catch in Round 1, Vancouver or Calgary?I think it’s looking more like Calgary....but either way there are two VERY goaltenders for either team. I really like the drama that comes with the Calgary series. A Flames vs. Jackets series would rip my family apart, and I couldn’t think of a better first round opponent to beat. If it is Vancouver, then yeah, 10 goals scored, 9 by the Jackets and 1 by the Nucks, Jackets win the series in 5 games no problem. Haha.
We’ve heard Brassard might be back for the playoffs. How big would that be? Tell Hawks fans how good this kid is....Oh Brass, he won’t be back until at least May, so we would have to win a playoff series first. If he comes back it would be HUGE. The top line with Nash - Brassard - Huselius was easily one of the best lines probably in Jackets history.
Brassard also played on the “Goat Line” (Chimera, Brass, and Voracek) and that was our best line at the beginning of the season. I think the Blue Jackets have finally found their top line center. Brassard can do anything, score, pass, and he can skate beautifully.
The biggest obstacle to your playoff success would be the flaming mess that is your power play. Vancouver will take its share of penalties, so you need to bury your chances when they do. Why has your power play struggled so? Talent? System?Our power play has never really been that great. I think this season we missed have a right handed shot, and we missed having a guy on the point and when we got Wil-liams we put him down low, it doesn’t make sense to me, because we have guys that can score, it’s just a matter of doing it when we have the man advantage. I definitely don’t think that the system has anything to do with it. It has been better since Hitchcock kind of took over or helped it along or whatever he did.
You’ve had a full month with him now, what has An-toine Vermette shaken out as?AMAZING. I love Vermette! He is a gorgeous skater, and makes beautiful passes. He has chemistry on nearly every line he’s on. He can play in any situation. Great trade in my eyes. I don’t miss Pazzy at all.
Ok, really, Nash got dumped on his ass twice by Oshie?FUCK OSHIE.
Every game, we provide you with the Behind The Net numbers. These are at even strength, 5-on-5. Key: QUALCOMP- A measure of the quality of competition each player faces on the ice. Calcu-lated by averaging +/-/60 for opponents on the ice against player. QUALTEAM- A measure of the quality of teammates each player plays with. Calculated by averaging +/-/60 for teammates on ice with player. TOI/60- Time on ice, per 60 minutes, that player spends on ice at full-strength. GFON/60, GAON/60- Goals for and against team per 60 min. player is on ice +/-ON/60- Team’s Plus/minus, per 60 minutes, while player is on ice. +/-OFF/60- Plus/minus of team while player is off ice, per 60 minutes. RATING- +/-ON/60 subtracted by +/-OFF/60.
Player GFON/60
Cam Barker 9.98
Troy Brouwer 8.45
Patrick Sharp 7.93
Patrick Kane 7.82
Jonathan Toews 7.37
Brian Campbell 6.88
Dustin Byfuglien 5.8
Duncan Keith 5.68
Martin Havlat 5.66
Brent Seabrook 5.16
Kris Versteeg 4.95
Player GA/60
Troy Brouwer 4.48
Aaron Johnson 5.71
Adam Burish 5.76
Duncan Keith 6.22
Brent Seabrook 6.24
Brent Sopel 6.43
Colin Fraser 6.76
Kris Versteeg 6.93
Samuel Pahlsson 7.07
Cam Barker 7.22
Matt Walker 7.29
Dave Bolland 8.46
N. Hjalmarsson 13.82
Power Play RatingsThis is a measure of a team’s goals-for per 60 minutes of player being on the
ice on the power play.
Penalty Kill RatingsThis measures how many goals a team
gives up per 60 minutes the player is on the ice on the PK.
Corsi RatingShots attempted for a team vs. how many are at-
tempted against while a given player is on the ice, per 60 min.
NAME CORSI
Jonathan Toews 18.3
Martin Havlat 16.8
Troy Brouwer 14.6
Brian Campbell 14.5
Patrick Kane 14.4
Andrew Ladd 13.6
Patrick Sharp 12.9
Duncan Keith 12.7
Brent Seabrook 12.2
Kris Versteeg 12.2
Dustin Byfuglien 11.2
Cam Barker 10.5
Dave Bolland 10.2
Matt Walker 8.7
Ben Eager 8.3
Adam Burish 7.4
Aaron Johnson 6.6
N. Hjalmarsson 3.6
Colin Fraser 2.8
Brent Sopel -4.3
Samuel Pahlsson -10.5
Penalties Drawn vs. Taken
NAME PDRAW/60 PTAKE/60
Adam Burish 1.9 1.4
Ben Eager 1.5 2.3
Patrick Kane 1.5 0.9
Colin Fraser 1.4 0.6
Kris Versteeg 1.4 0.6
Dave Bolland 1.3 0.8
Jonathan Toews 1.3 0.8
Patrick Sharp 1.3 0.8
Andrew Ladd 1.2 0.7
Troy Brouwer 1.2 0.9
Martin Havlat 1.1 0.6
Dustin Byfuglien 1.1 1.2
Aaron Johnson 0.9 1.7
Brent Sopel 0.5 1
Matt Walker 0.4 0.6
Brian Campbell 0.4 0.4
Samuel Pahlsson 0.4 1.1
Brent Seabrook 0.3 0.8
Duncan Keith 0.1 0.9
Cam Barker 0.1 0.6
N. Hjalmarsson 0 0
Face-offsPlayer Face-Offs Taken FO%
Jonathan Toews 1227 54.6
Samuel Pahlsson 1188 53.6
Colin Fraser 750 47.7
Dave Bolland 1121 44.4
Total Rank: 23rd 48.0
Hockey Sabermetrics
Player GAON/60
Rosti Klesla 3.18
Jason Chimera 3.21
Jiri Novotny 4.15
Fedor Tyutin 4.75
Marc Methot 5.73
Jan Hejda 5.79
Andrew Murray 5.86
A. Vermette 5.93
Michael Peca 6.33
M. Malhotra 6.61
Mi. Commodore 6.77
R.J. Umberger 6.78
Rick Nash 7.59
Chris Gratton 8.37
Power Play RatingsThis is a measure of a team’s goals for per 60 minutes of player being on the
ice on the power play.
Penalty Kill RatingsThis measures how many goals a team gives up per 60 minutes the
player is on the ice on the PK.
Corsi RatingThis measures how many shots are attempted for a team vs. how many are attempted against while a
1 Evgeni Malkin PIT 1102 A. Ovechkin WAS 1083 S. Crosby PIT 1014 Pavel Datsyuk DET 975 Zach Parise NJ 9326 Martin Havlat CHI 73
Goals
Player Team G
1 A. Ovechkin WAS 552 Jeff Carter PHI 453 Zach Parise NJ 444 I. Kovalchuk ATL 425 M. Hossa DET 4016 J. Toews CHI 33
GAA
Player Team GAA
1 Tim Thomas BOS 2.072 Steve Mason CBJ 2.223 Pekka Rinne NSH 2.204 N. Backstrom MIN 2.315 Jonas Hiller ANA 2.326 N. Khabibulin CHI 2.38
SV%
Player Team SV%
1 Tim Thomas BOS .9332 T. Vokoun FLA .9263 Craig Anderson FLA .9244 N. Backstrom MIN .9235 Pekka Rinne NSH .9208 N. Khabibulin CHI .918
Redefining the brand that is the Chicago Blackhawks so far has gone more swift or smooth than anyone could’ve ever imagined. But rougher waters remain ahead and key decisions on highly-touted prospects and their easily-detectable imperfections are, in some cases, only months away. To date, the following passages may quickly be discerned as rookie mis-takes or crossing the learning curve. However, warning signs are clear and evident. Dale Tallon has drafted several players of questionable character during his tenure as Blackhawks’ GM and those individuals’ arrivals are on the immediate horizon. One prospect at the forefront of those concerns is Akim Aliu, who we’ll pertinently deem “The Nigerian Nightmare.” A fearsome force on the ice, Aliu was born in Okene, Nigeria on April 24, 1989 but was raised until the age of eleven in Ukraine, where his mother hailed and father was an athlete. By 12, Aliu and his family moved to the Toronto area. Until then, Aliu did not know the sport of hockey existed. By the age of 16, he played on elite midget teams in Toronto and was a team-mate of future Edmonton Oilers’ 2007 1st round pick Sam Gagner. And in four short years, he’d become one of Canada’s hottest young prospects. Aliu’s junior hockey career began in Windsor as a 16-year old rookie in the Ontario Hockey League. But his stay there would be short after a rookie hazing incident orchestrated by team veterans, including current NHL agitator Steve Downie, befell a major team blow up. On a bus ride back from Sept. 9, 2005 preseason game in London, Ontario, Downie and other vets ordered the rookies (report-edly six or seven), including Aliu, to strip nude and cram into the rear bus bathroom, which was the equivalent in size of a airplane labora-tory. Aliu refused, as he did for any subsequent rookie ‘initiation’ ritu-als. In some eyes, Aliu’s actions were seen as insubordination. Others saw a young man steadfastly guarding his morals. Tensions between Aliu and Downie escalated to a boiling point later that month when the two exchange words during a practice leading to Downie charging Aliu from the bench and cross-checking the rookie in the mouth, chipping three of Aliu’s teeth. Aliu received brief treatment before returning to the practice and challenging Downie to a fight. The two brawled and both sus-pended by the team. Downie never played for Windsor again and Aliu was eventually traded to his second OHL team, Sudbury, and his second of four stops in four OHL seasons. Perhaps the lingering stain on Aliu’s reputation in Windsor was his father Tai’s accusation that his son’s teammates frequently threw racial slurs in the younger Aliu’s direction, including allegedly referring to him as “8 Ball.” After another OHL investigation, those accusations were dismissed. But Aliu has created his own troubles as well. He’s walked out on coaches on multiple occasions and has been sent home for team disciplinary reasons more times than even Antonio Alfonseca’s hand can signal. This spring Aliu was sent away from the London Knights’ preseason camp to “get his head straight.” After an impressive summer rookie camp in Chicago, where Aliu arguably turned in the Hawks’ best performances, Aliu too believed his own hype. As he told the Canadian Press in August, “Hopefully my junior career is over.” Knights’ head coach, and former Washington Capitals’ center, Dale Hunter was none too impressed with Aliu’s effort in the ensuing OHL preseason camp, ac-cusing Aliu of saving himself for upcoming Hawks’ camp and half-assing drills. As a veteran entering his final season of junior eligibility, Hunter couldn’t accept Aliu’s behavior and dismissed him from London’s camp and put Aliu on a plane to Chicago four days earlier than planned. When Aliu’s NHL camp was derailed by a groin injury, Aliu returned to London with mixed emotions and fought back and forth with Hunter. Things came to a head after the Christmas break when Aliu was unwilling to adhere to coach Hunter’s rules and was again, for the third time in four months, sent home. Aliu was traded back to Sudbury two weeks later and recently finished his junior career there after a first round playoff loss to Belleville. Aliu was then assigned to Rockford by the Blackhawks. In two games he has seen limited time on the third line and has already been booted from a game for verbally abusing a referee. Aliu is a tremendous prospect though with an amazing upside if he can allow himself to be led by the best teachers and compadres in the game. He’s strong-willed and defiant, but now he’s arrived to the pro-level and maybe he’s ready to learn? Or will the Nightmare’s reign be just that? Kyle Beach however, for sure, is trouble in waiting. Kyle’s on-ice behavior has observers and scouts split into two schools of thought. Either Beach is a childish, irrational egotist or a staunch believer in the Sean Avery-school of antagonism. Take your pick. It’s not like Beach is a bad kid. From all reports, he’s a stand-up person in the dressing room, always available to the media and never avoids the tough questions.
He’s a spotlight guy and relishes in being the focus of attention. There’s nothing inherently wrong with that (unless you’re someone who prefers your hockey players be the dumbed-down farmboy rednecks Hockey Canada unknowingly portrays them as) as long as his on-ice discretions don’t get in the way of the team’s goals. But in Beach’s case, you can debate they have. Arguably his most deplorable 2008-09 suspension (of three) played out near the end of a blowout loss at the Medicine Hat Tigers on Feb. 21. Beach (6’3 – 220), entering the play off a line change, snuck behind diminutive Tigers’ center Brennan Bosch (5’7 – 169) and jumped the unexpecting skill player, pummeling him with fists to the back and side of the head before wrestling him to the ground. It was a scene which could’ve easily been reminiscent of the infamous Todd Bertuzzi/Steve Moore episode (the right hand to the back of the head that ended Moore’s career) had Bosch not seen Beach approaching in a split second’s notice. Beach received a three-game suspension for his actions. A full-out line brawl ensued. Beach started this season with his original junior team, Everett Silvertips.
He was traded to the Lethbridge Hurricanes on Jan. 6 as the ‘Canes stacked up for a playoff drive. He didn’t take long to make an impres-sion. In his first seven games with Lethbridge, Beach scored seven goals and three assists. The last of those seven though was the most notable; an empty-net shot that ignited a good ‘ol teenage-line brawl. As Beach strode alone into, again, the Medicine Hat zone, he slowed down, turned towards the oncoming ‘Hat checkers and eventually fired the puck into the empty Tigers’ goal with more emphasis than was necessary. In response to this, a Medicine Hat player hurled his stick at Beach resulting in everyone on the ice converging into the space Beach had picked to celebrate. All gloves were dropped and each hammered his frustrations on the other. Beach was not suspended. But three nights later karma caught up with the controversial centre. After the regulation clock timed out in a 5-3 loss at Red Deer,
Beach erroneously fired a wicked slap shot over the glass and into the crowd, injuring a male fan. For that, he received a three-game suspension. Beach most recently was suspended for one playoff game for cross-checking Saskatoon Blades defenseman Jyri Niemi in the head on Mar. 20. Bill Peters, now the head coach of Chicago’s AHL affiliate Rockford Ice-Hogs, was fined last year by the WHL for being quoted as saying Beach was a “high maintenance guy” as well as saying Beach’s on-ice behavior is simply “a charade” and “schtick.” Peters was the head coach of the Spokane Chiefs, an intra-state rival of the Everett Silvertips (Beach’s junior team up until this past January), at the time. Ironi-cally, he may be more right than mistaken in his assessment. 2008 third-round draft pick Shawn Lalonde, a wiry slick-skating offensive defenseman, quit his junior team, the Belleville Bulls, for a day in late February after a dispute with his coach over how Lalonde, 18, felt he should be used. After the dis-agreement, Lalonde chose not to join his teammates for a bus trip to Brampton, and a first-place showdown game the next day, leaving an already injury-depleted Belleville group another player short for the all-important game. When Belleville returned home after the Brampton game, Lalonde met with his coach and agreed to return to the team with both sides suggesting he never “quit” the team. Lalonde told the Belleville Intelligencer, “I looked at everyone of my teammates and told them I wouldn’t do anything stupid like that again. I told them, that yes, I may be mad at [head coach George Burnett] sometimes but I can’t take it personally and I have to move on.” 2005 sixth-round draft selection and University of New Hamphire co-captain Joe Charlebois was ruled academically ineligible in January by the NCAA for the second half of his senior season. Charlebois, who turned 23 in February, is a right-shooting defensive defenseman who led all UNH Wildcats in plus/minus last sea-son. For his ‘efforts’ Charlebois was rewarded with an amateur-tryout contract with Rockford in February and has appeared in eleven games so far, registering one assist, thirteen penalty minutes and an even plus/minus rating. Don’t dismiss these insubordinations and trials or think they’re going un-noticed by those in the Hawks’ front office with more pull than Dale Tallon. At some point, a message will be sent to these and all Blackhawks’ prospects that behavior like those outlined above will not be tolerated. John McDonough’s background is in pro-moting a fun, friendly environment both on and off the field of play. Aliu and Beach in particular skate in stark contrast to current flag bearers Messrs Kane and Toews. Their anticipated fall arrivals to the NHL club will test the Blackhawks’ locker room chemistry, if not McD’s patience.
YEAR DRAFT TRADE FREE AGENT2008-2009 Samuel Pahlsson (COL 7th round 1996) and
Logan Stephenson (PHX 2nd round 2004) from ANA for James Wisniewski (CHI 5th round 2002) and Petri Kontiola (CHI 7th round 2004)
Brian Campbell (BUF 6th round 1997Cristobal Huet (LA 7th round 2001)Matt Walker (STL 3rd round 1998)Aaron Johnson (CLB 3rd round 2001)
2007-2008 Patrick Kane (1st round) Ben Eager (PHO 1st round 2002) from PHI for Jim Vandermeer (FA PHI 2000)Craig Adams (HAR 9th round 1996) from CAR for future considerations.Andrew Ladd (CAR 1st round 2004) from CAR for Tuomo Ruutu (CHI 1st round 2001)
Brent Sopel (VAN 6th round 1995)
2006-2007 Jonathan Toews (1st round) Martin Havlat (OTT 1st round 1999) from OTT and Bryan Smolinski (BOS 1st round 1990) for Tom Preissing (FA SJ 2003), Josh Hennessy (SJ 2nd round 2003) and Michael Barinka (CHI 2nd round 2003)Kris Versteeg (BOS 5th round 2004) from BOS for Brandon Bochenski (OTT 7th round 2001)
2005-2006 Niklas Hjalmarsson (4th round) Patrick Sharp (PHI 3rd round 2001) from PHI for Matt Ellison (CHI 4th round 2002) and CHI 3rd round pick 2006
Colin Fraser (PHI 3rd round 2003), Jim Van-dermeer (PHI FA 2000) and 2004 2nd round pick from PHI for Alex Zhamnov and 2004 4th round pick (WIN 4th round 1990)
2002-2003 Duncan Keith (2nd round)Adam Burish (9th round)
YEAR DRAFT TRADE FREE AGENT2008-2009 Nikita Filatov (1st round) Antoine Vermette (OTT 2nd round 2000) for
Pascal LeClaire (CLB 1st round 2001) and 2009 2nd round pickJason Williams (DET Undrafted FA 2000) from ATL for Clay Wilson (ANA Undrafted FA 2006) and 2009 6th round pickRaffi Torres (NYI 1st round 2000) from EDM for Gilbert Brule (CBJ 1st round 2005)
Kristian Huselius (FLA 2nd round 1997)R.J. Umberger (VAN 1st round 2001)Mike Commodore (NJ 2nd round 1999)Chris Gratton (TB 1st round 1993)- off waiversWade Dubielewicz (NYI Undrafted FA 2003) - off waivers
2007-2008 Jakub Voracek (1st round) Fedor Tyutin (NYR 2nd round 2001) and Christian Backman (STL 1st round 1996) from NYR for Nikolai Zherdev (CBJ 1st round 2003) and Dan Fristche (CBJ 2nd round 2003)Aaron Rome (LAK 4th round 2002) from ANA for Geoff Platt (CBJ Undrafted FA 2005)
Fredrik Modin (TB 3rd round 1994) and Fre-drik Norrena (TB 7th round 2001) from TB for Marc Denis (COL 1st round 1995)
2005-2006 Kris Russell (3rd round)Jared Boll (4th round)
Jason Chimera (EDM 5th round 1997), Cale Hulse (NJ 3rd round 1992, and Mike Rupp (NJ 3rd round 2000) from PHX for Geoff Sanderson (HAR 2nd round 1990) and Tim Jackman (CBJ 2nd round 2001)
2004-20052003-2004 Marc Methot (6th round) Manny Malhotra (NYR 1st round
1997)2002-2003 Rick Nash (1st round)
Ole Tollefson (3rd round)2001-2002 Andrew Murray (8th round)2000-2001 Rostislav Klesla (1st round)
info in part provided by hockeyreference.com
GM HISTORY2007-Present: Scott Howson2007: Jim Clark (interim)1998-2007: Doug MacLean
COACHESHead Coach-Ken HitchcockAsst. Coach- Gary AgnewAsst. Coach- Gord MurphyAsst. Coach- Claude NoelGoaltending Coach- Clint Malarchuk
Playing at home............ 23-9-7Playing on road........... 21-15-4Scoring first.......... 31-5-4Opponent scores first........ 13-19-7Shoot the puck bimbo scores...... 5-2-1Shoot the puck bimbo doesn’t score...... 18-6-6Shoot the puck bimbo blows editors of Commited Indian..... 0-0-0Shoot the puck bimbo is a former Fifth Feather Flame .... 1-0-0Playing on a Monday.............. 2-2-1 Playing on a Tuesday................ 7-4-0Playing on a Wednesday........... 10-1-3Playing on a Thursday.............. 2-3-0Playing on a Friday................ 6-4-4Playing on a Saturday............. 7-5-3Playing on a Sunday................ 10-5-0Savard changes lines during game... 1-2-1Coach Q keeps lines as they are..... 43-22-10Are out-muscled by opponent.... 10-18-4Outshoot opponent....... 33-14-6Are outshot by opponent.... 11-10-5Havlat shies from contact......... 16-6-6Patrick Kane scores............... 12-7-3Jonathan Toews scores.......... 16-3-6Martin Havlat scores............. 18-4-1Patrick Sharp scores............ 16-4-2Dustin Byfuglien scores......... 8-2-1Dustin Byfuglien wins a foot-race??!!!!!..... 2-1-0Andrew Ladd scores............. 11-0-1Dave Bolland scores......... 11-1-4Adam Burish scores....... 3-2-1, and totally ruins that joke51 Phantom scores....... 3-2-1Duncan Keith scores........ 5-3-0Brent Seabrook scores...... 5-1-1VerStud scores.... 13-7-1Troy Brouwer scores.... 8-0-0Scoring a Power Play goal....... 29-10-9Not scoring a Power Play goal... 15-13-2Allowing a Power Play goal...... 19-18-10Not Allowing a Power Play goal....... 25-6-1Scoring a short-handed goal........... 6-2-0
Allowing a short-handed goal......... 2-4-1Taking 30 or more shots......... 33-16-8Taking less than 30 shots..... 11-8-3Allowing 30 shots or more...... 17-9-6Allowing 30 shots or less......... 27-15-5100 Level doesn’t cheer for anthem. 22-8-71st of a back-to-back...... 5-6-32nd of a back-to-back..... 8-5-1Opponent played night before.... 10-5-2Taking more than 5 penalties..... 16-16-5Taking 5 or less penalties.... 28-8-6Seabrook gets a flat-footed penalty.... 8-5-6Burish takes a penalty....... 8-6-2Keith takes a penalty......... 14-5-2Sharp takes a penalty....... 10-3-2Toews takes a penalty..... 10-5-3Havlat takes a penalty.... 8-3-1Sopel takes a penalty...... 3-2-1Sopel looks 6 steps slow...... 7-5-551 Phantom blows a coverage...... 28-20-9Toews is trying too hard...... 3-8-3At least 1 fight in 300 Level... 4-3-4No fights in 300 Level..... 19-5-3Playing Eastern Conference..... 9-7-3Playing Western Conference..... 35-18-8Playing Central Division...... 8-7-6Playing Northwest Division.... 12-6-1Playing Pacific Division 15-5-1Playing Atlantic Division 2-3-2Playing NASCAR Division 4-1-0Playing Northeast Division 3-2-1Playing in October.... 4-3-3Playing in November.... 6-3-3Playing in December...... 10-1-1Playing in January..... 7-6-1Playing in February..... 7-4-1Playing in March...... 6-7-2Playing in April...... 4-0-0UC plays really stupid goal song..... 23-5-7Huet’s five-hole open like Lindsay Lohan’s..... 3-11-4
Getting obliterated on face-offs....... 18-11-4Are even close on face-offs..... 26-13-7Eddie O tells crew to “stop it right here!”.... 37-18-11Eddie O tells us D have the forwards and forwards have the D during 4-on-4........ 37-17-11Pat Foley screws up a name...... 42-19-11Ice Crew wear skirts....... 7-1-3Ice Crew wear pants....... 3-1-0Ice Crew wear shorts.... 13-7-4Member of Ice Crew hilariously falls on her shapely ass.... 0-1-0Leading after 2 periods...... 34-2-3Losing after 2 periods...... 2-17-4Tied after 2 periods......... 8-5-4In overtime.......... 6-5In shootout....... 4-6Cam Barker plays....... 36-20-8Cam Barker is in Rockford due to GM incompetence..... 6-2-3Lacking a #2 center........ 38-22-9In 1-goal games..... 12-7-11In 2-goal games...... 15-7-0In 3-goal games....... 8-6-0In 4+ goal games...... 8-3-0Scoring 3+ goals..... 40-7-7Scoring less than 3 goals...... 4-16-4PA plays Ministry....... 0-0-0PA plays Modern Cock-Rock..... 23-9-7PA plays Stranglehold....... 8-3-4PA plays P.J. Harvey........ 0-0-0Fraser fights...... 7-3-1Burish fights....... 5-2-0Seabrook fights..... 1-0-0Barker fights......... 0-0-2Buff fights......... 1-1-2Sharp fights........ 1-0-0Eager fights.......... 10-4-1On Comcast...... 34-13-8On WGN....... 10-7-3On Vs........ 0-3-0On NBC.... 0-1-0Judd Sirott hates Adam Creighton 43-24-11
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