We are doing are very best to be the last ones to hit the panic button. After all, you should feel better after reading this. So we’re not hitting it yet. But we’re definitely taking stock of where it is, calculating how long it will take, figuring out the best route to it, and stretching to make sure we don’t pull a triceps or an oblique when we decide that it’s time. What was so disheartening about Friday is, there’s so few things to complain about. The Hawks outworked the Oilers by a wide margin. They showed incredible heart by tying the game 4 times! Havlat reverted to mutant-form. Seabrook was a wrecking ball. Hjalmarsson was better than he was on Wednesday, and Barker was in fine form as well. Even Brian Campbell, wading through boos everytime he touched the puck, had a good game. But this month, every mistake, every bounce, every break has ended up in the Hawks’ net. What’s one mistake they’re mak- ing? HAVING MATT WALKER IN THE FUCKING BUILDING! A couple months ago, we lauded Walker’s play. But we did that in the context that this was a #6 defenseman who was play- ing above his head, and the Hawks were on the House’s money with him. Well, the thing about #6 d-men is that they occasionally will play like a #7, or a #8, or a #43 d-man. When that happens, they have to be removed. Ed- monton’s second goal on Friday wouldn’t have happened if Walker hadn’t stupidly pinched down with Keith already deep in the offensive zone leaving Kris Versteeg stranded, with- out even a volleyball to keep him company. Edmonton’s fourth goal wouldn’t have hap- pened if Walker wasn’t loitering-with-intent- of-idiocy by the faceoff dot while Gagner was streaking up the middle. Hopefully, Walker’s benching in the 3rd period on Friday is a por- tent of things to come. All In All, We Need More Bricks In The Wall With all that being said, the fact that these mistakes and bounces end up in goals- against means the callous eye of blame can only gaze at the visages of Mssrs. Huet and Khabibulin (my, wasn’t that fucking poetic?). The Hawks simply have not gotten any big saves this month when they needed them. To boot, both goalies have let in soft goals. Sure, both of them have made big saves, but not when the Hawks had tied the game, or were leading. Thus, these saves weren’t preserv- ing momentum, merely putting the Hawks on more pins and needles. When the Hawks have taken leads or battled back and are rolling, the opponents are denting twine soon after, and the Hawks have to build from scratch. At one point Friday, the Oilers has 4 goals on 16 shots. That’s simply unacceptable. The Hawks have been defensively curious lately, but not significantly more than they were early in the year. But no one noticed then, because both Huet and Khabby were bailing them out. This team was definitely built with strong goaltending as the foundation; both Huet and Khabby were Top-10 in SV% and GAA until recently. But now that rug has been pulled out from under the Hawks, and they won’t turn it around until Khabby, or Huet, once again provide the top-tier goaltending that the Hawks obviously require. Still, if the Hawks show as much determination and spirit as they have the past two games, they will get out of this, and soon. Weren’t You Just Here? We thought Edmonton was the perfect opponent to break the slide (and we were partially right. The Hawks were superior in a lot of areas, except the one that counts). Unfortunately, today’s opponent -- the Kings -- are ones we’d least like to see. Not only have the Hawks struggled with them for two seasons now, but here’s a team that is going to do all the things the Hawks hate. Clog the neutral zone, work their asses off, keep the game on the boards, finish their checks, and quick forwards to harass our increasingly- jittery d-men. This will be the third game in four days for L.A. On Thursday, they came from two down with 10 minutes left to win in OT in Boston. Friday night, they got pecker-slapped by the resurgent Penguins. For a brief period in February, the Kings were, shockingly, putting themselve right in the middle of the playoff-chase-gangbang. However, taking only three of the last 10 points, and 7 of the last 24, has left them seven points adrift of the 8th seed, and there won’t be any post- season hockey in Southern California this year. Unfortunately, having not much to play for doesn’t mean the Kings are going to just make up the numbers today. Coach Terry Murray always gets a max effort from his troops. The Kings also boast perhaps the most promising blueline anywhere, with Drew Doughty, Kyle Quincy, and Jack Johnson all appearing to have very bright futures ahead of them. Anze Kopitar, Dustin Brown, and especially Alex Frolov have been about as pleasant for the Hawks to deal with as herpes. It’s our forecast that next season, people will talk about L.A. they way people talked about the Hawks earlier in the year. We’re all twitchy. It has not been a pretty three weeks. It could get very ugly next week. The Hawks need a win today more than they’ve needed a win all season. They’re going to have to play one of their best games to get it. The Kings are more than capable of exploiting a mistake or a shaky goalie. If the Hawks do not come up with two points today, like most men, we’re going to go searching for that red button (naughty boys...).-Ozzy Where’s That Confounded Bridge? [email protected]March 22nd, 2009 The Committed Indian The REal Fan’s Program GEORGE IS GETTING VERY NERVOUS $3 secondcityhockey.com $3 Barry Rozner picks the subject for that day’s column
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Where’s That Confounded Bridge? The Committed Indian
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Transcript
We are doing are very best to be the last ones to hit the panic button. After all, you should feel better after reading this. So we’re not hitting it yet. But we’re definitely taking stock of where it is, calculating how long it will take, figuring out the best route to it, and stretching to make sure we don’t pull a triceps or an oblique when we decide that it’s time. What was so disheartening about Friday is, there’s so few things to complain about. The Hawks outworked the Oilers by a wide margin. They showed incredible heart by tying the game 4 times! Havlat reverted to mutant-form. Seabrook was a wrecking ball. Hjalmarsson was better than he was on Wednesday, and Barker was in fine form as well. Even Brian Campbell, wading through boos everytime he touched the puck, had a good game. But this month, every mistake, every bounce, every break has ended up in the Hawks’ net. What’s one mistake they’re mak-ing? HAVING MATT WALKER IN THE FUCKING BUILDING! A couple months ago, we lauded Walker’s play. But we did that in the context that this was a #6 defenseman who was play-ing above his head, and the Hawks were on the House’s money with him. Well, the thing about #6 d-men is that they occasionally will play like a #7, or a #8, or a #43 d-man. When that happens, they have to be removed. Ed-monton’s second goal on Friday wouldn’t have happened if Walker hadn’t stupidly pinched down with Keith already deep in the offensive zone leaving Kris Versteeg stranded, with-out even a volleyball to keep him company. Edmonton’s fourth goal wouldn’t have hap-pened if Walker wasn’t loitering-with-intent-of-idiocy by the faceoff dot while Gagner was streaking up the middle. Hopefully, Walker’s benching in the 3rd period on Friday is a por-tent of things to come.All In All, We Need More Bricks In The Wall With all that being said, the fact that these mistakes and bounces end up in goals-against means the callous eye of blame can only gaze at the visages of Mssrs. Huet and Khabibulin (my, wasn’t that fucking poetic?). The Hawks simply have not gotten any big saves this month when they needed them. To boot, both goalies have let in soft goals. Sure, both of them have made big saves, but not when the Hawks had tied the game, or were leading. Thus, these saves weren’t preserv-ing momentum, merely putting the Hawks on more pins and needles. When the Hawks have taken leads or battled back and are rolling,
the opponents are denting twine soon after, and the Hawks have to build from scratch. At one point Friday, the Oilers has 4 goals on 16 shots. That’s simply unacceptable. The Hawks have been defensively curious lately, but not significantly more than they were early in the year. But no one noticed then, because both Huet and Khabby were bailing them out. This team was definitely built with strong goaltending as the foundation; both Huet and Khabby were Top-10 in SV% and GAA until recently. But now that rug has been pulled out from under the Hawks, and they won’t turn it around until Khabby, or Huet, once again provide the top-tier goaltending that the Hawks obviously require. Still, if the Hawks show as much determination and spirit as they have the past two games, they will get out of this, and soon.Weren’t You Just Here? We thought Edmonton was the perfect opponent to break the slide (and we were partially right. The Hawks were superior in a lot of areas, except the one that counts). Unfortunately, today’s opponent -- the Kings -- are ones we’d least like to see. Not only have the Hawks struggled with them for two seasons now, but here’s a team that is going to do all the things the Hawks hate. Clog the neutral zone, work their asses off, keep the game on the boards, finish their checks, and quick forwards to harass our increasingly-jittery d-men. This will be the third game in four
days for L.A. On Thursday, they came from two down with 10 minutes left to win in OT in Boston. Friday night, they got pecker-slapped by the resurgent Penguins. For a brief period in February, the Kings were, shockingly, putting themselve right in the middle of the playoff-chase-gangbang. However, taking only three of the last 10 points, and 7 of the last 24, has left them seven points adrift of the 8th seed, and there won’t be any post-season hockey in Southern California this year. Unfortunately, having not much to play for doesn’t mean the Kings are going to just make up the numbers today. Coach Terry Murray always gets a max effort from his troops. The Kings also boast perhaps the most promising blueline anywhere, with Drew Doughty, Kyle Quincy, and Jack Johnson all appearing to have very bright futures ahead of them. Anze Kopitar, Dustin Brown, and especially Alex Frolov have been about as pleasant for the Hawks to deal with as herpes. It’s our forecast that next season, people will talk about L.A. they way people talked about the Hawks earlier in the year. We’re all twitchy. It has not been a pretty three weeks. It could get very ugly next week. The Hawks need a win today more than they’ve needed a win all season. They’re going to have to play one of their best games to get it. The Kings are more than capable of exploiting a mistake or a shaky goalie. If the Hawks do not come up with two points today, like most men, we’re going to go searching for that red button (naughty boys...).-Ozzy
Barry Rozner picks the subject for that day’s column
As you all probably know by now, I’m not very grown-up. That would have to be the case for me to start a publication like this. There have been very few moments when I’ve looked like anything resembling an adult. As I come to to the business-end of my first season in this post, I find myself regressing. Sports have always been far too big a priority in my life (the Cubs are certainly the reason I’m terrified of committment). Going to watch a soccer game at a bar cost me a transfer of colleges once. I skipped a test in high school, causing me to flunk that class, because Kerry Wood was pitching against Tom Glavine in ‘98. I didn’t leave the house for three days when Jer-emy Roenick was traded (though that might have something to do with having nowhere to go). These days, as I have more than an emotional investment in the Hawks, I’ve become even more petulant. I nearly picked a fight with a middle-aged Penguin fan after Malkin had bur-ied the overtime winner. I honestly thought about climbing over a couple of rows to get after a particularly obnoxious Scum fan during the Winter Classic (imagine how obnoxious that must be!). Friday may have taken the cake, though. I found Friday’s loss truly draining. The Hawks truly left it all on the ice. Every skater, aside from Matt Walker, was above
criticism. Here was a bunch let down by some bad goaltending, one clueless defender, and some ridiculously bad bounces. Yet, they kept plugging away. I just felt awful for them. Heading out, I saw a group of Oilers fans celebrating in the concourse. There cannot be a more inoffensive bunch than Oilers fans. They seem a pleasant, happy, polite, well-informed bunch
who are probably just cold ALL THE TIME. And yet the thought of physical violence still crossed my mind. I’m regressing, people. Mind you, I’ve never carried out any of these violent thoughts. Maybe that’s what seper-ates me from the true mouth-breathers. I guess I should be appreciative of the face that I am un-able to grow up. It’s way more fun this way, and I don’t have to move to some ridiculous place like Cleveland to satisfy a bitchy wife. And you lot win out too, because I do this thing, and you seem to like it. So if you ever see my attempting to mature, hand me a beer, hit me on the head, whatever you think it takes. But still, keep me
from taking these losses too hard. There’s a balance to be found.
-WGN has been running an ad for today’s game that reads as fol-lows: “Sunday: the Hawks try and keep the Kings from getting on the throne.” That seems awfully rude. In the words of Tommy Chong, it’s not cool to supress bodily functions, man.
Top 10 Signs It’s Spring10. We’re down to only wearing four layers9. Barry Rozner doesn’t come to the UC in a snappy turtleneck, instead of not coming in an overcoat.8. Dustin Byfuglien passes on being physical with more of a bounce in his step7. Young man Jonathan Toews’ fancy turns to...killing6. John McDonough walks around UC concourses screaming, “Play ball!”5. The Hawks are disappearing4. Havlat’s beard turns an even more vibrant shade3. More smokers outside between periods2. Committed Indian Editors pass out in alleys instead of bathrooms1. Sean Avery Spring Collection hits department stores
*late game not included
Kyle Calder-LW, LA Kings: Kyle Calder was perhaps the last player to receive the Bill Wirtz Free Agent Treatment. Calder was an honest, if not particularly gifted, player in Chicago. However, he worked and grinded his way to back-to-back 20-goal seasons. After the second of those, Calder came up for arbitra-tion. Kyle made the unholy misstep of actually winning his case, which meant Wirtz promptly demanded he be shown the door. Calder has
been traded twice from Chicago for useful centers. The first time was for Michal Handzus, who only managed eight games before blowing out a knee. Then a year later, he was involved in a three-way deal that landed the Hawks Jason Williams. However, things haven’t gotten any better for Kyle since his stay here. He’s never topped 20 goals again, and the past two years in L.A. hasn’t even managed 10. Strangely, though, he lights up his former team. In 12 career games against the Hawks, Calder has 14 points (5 goals, 9 assists). Hasn’t anyone told him Old Man Wirtz is dead, and he should leave us alone?
Panic Attack 37-22-11
# Pos Player Ht WT AGE GP G A P +/- PIM PP SH GW S S% Salary (Cap Hit)
88 R Patrick Kane 5' 10" 187 20 68 24 40 64 -5 40 13 0 3 225 10.7 $3,725,000
Chris Kuc reported yesterday that Sharp will be back this afternoon. He was practicing with Toews and Brouwer, which we think means Kane is with Havlat and Bolland. Kane and Havlat have always made an odd line combo, as both would seem to need the puck. But we’ll wait and see.
It’s only been two games, but we love the way Pahlse never seems to panic on the PK. A few could learn from that.
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# Pos Player Ht WT AGE GP G A P +/- PIM PP SH GW S S% Salary (Cap Hit)
Frolov has 8 goals and 19 points in 21 career games against the Hawks.
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T.
From The Secret FilesIt’s Obvious to everyone that Matt Walker must have pictures of Coach Q doing something improper. That’s the only way to explain his continued ice-time. We present these pictures from our secret files hoping to reverse the trap Q finds himself in.
Say Q, isn’t that Matt flirting with your wife? Look at her big smile!
Look Coach, that’s Mr. Walker dealing crack to that baby!
Q, that’s Matt who just crashed his car through your living room!
Mr. Quenneville, Walker is hanging out with terrorists. And he’s happy to do
so!
What To Watch For: These two have only gotten through one game in the past two years without a kerfluffle, so those of you waiting for a passionate discussion are very likely to get one. The Kings play a physical brand of hockey, and always finish their checks, which tends to piss the Hawks off. European mongaloid Ivanans is your most likely, though with Eager suspended and Walker likely tied to a
radiator, the Hawks don’t have a dance partner for him. Matt Greene is also a prickly fellow, with nine bouts this year.
March 1st, 2009: Kings 2, Hawks 4Toews, Keith, and Buff all score in the 1st, and Hawks pretty much hold on from there. Niemi
get his first career win. This was about as good as March has been so far.
Jan. 29th, 2009: Hawks 2, Kings 5This will be a continuing theme: Hawks don’t both-er with an effort against a team they feel is beneath them, and it’s too late when they get it going. We
hear Randy Newman too many times.
Nov. 29th, 2008: Hawks 2, Kings 5See Jan. 29th.
Feb. 23rd, 2008: Hawks 6, Kings 5 (OT)Same pattern in reverse. Hawks jump out to 5-1
lead after two, go into pathetic shell and cough it up in last minute. Sharp saves some blushes by win-ning it in OT, but this was still a stupid occasion.
Unfortunately, we couldn’t locate Matt from from Life In Hockeywood (www.lifeinhockeywood.com) to fill us in on the Southland Hockey Club. Luckily, the Kings were just here, and not that much has changed, so we’ll just run the Q&A we did with him last time.
Q: You guys made a pretty decent run at the playoffs, when you were picked to be bringing up the rear. How has this happened?A: After last season, the Kings could really go nowhere but up. The Kings have been stockpiling talent in the minors, and continue to do so. It’s Dean Lom-bardi’s belief that you must rebuild a franchise from the inside out, and he’s doing this. That kind of tinkering takes time. Some fan estimates give Dean a 5-year window that the Kings will seriously contend for the Cup. Depending on who you talk to, this is either Year Two or Three. Seeing that he came in 2006 and it’s 2009... you do the math. The fact of the matter is: they are ahead of the curve. These players are hungry now, and want to win now. You get enough young, hungry talent together and sooner or later, you’re gonna get a team that wants to compete, odds be damned. That is what the Kings are this season. It’s quite refreshing to see.Getting Drew Doughty has made a huge difference. Potential can only get you so far in the NHL. If you have what it takes, you’ll produce on the ice. It happened with Kopitar a few seasons back out of camp, and it’s happened again. You listen to some fans, and they’ll say Doughty is the second coming of Christ. But realis-tically, he has got the skills to become an All-Star defenseman for years to come. And I firmly believe he should win the Calder Trophy this season. I believe in it so much that I wrote a blog about it... (blatant blog pimping!!!) http://lifeinhock-eywood.com/2009/01/04/calder2.aspx Getting Quincey has been a godsend as well. Thanks Detroit.Obviously, Marc Crawford didn’t have Quincey and Doughty to play with, but what has Terry Murray done differently this season?Coach Murray really has focused of the defensive aspect of the Kings. This team is built around young talent, many of which haven’t been taught in intricancies of playing defense at the NHL level. They have always been able to score, last season they were ranked middle of the league in goals. This season, their scoring is down, but their two-way game has picked up. Case in point: Anze Kopitar. The Slovenian player’s points have dropped considerably, but he’s chipping in other ways that you don’t see on the stat sheet, which, unfortunately too many fans worry about. He’s become pretty good defensively, and as soon as his on-ice conditioning improves, he’ll return to form. It’s a hard thing to teach these young players better habits. It’s slow, but they are responding.We saw enough of Jonathan Quick in L.A. Is he the longtime answer in goal? Is Ersberg? Or is there another possibility?God, this is a toughie. How many teams can you say would be better with a bet-ter goaltender? The Kings have had crap, honestly, the last few years. Then this year, the herd was still being culled when Johnny Quick was brought up. And he’s played remarkable. As far as I’m concerned, the job is Quick’s until some-
one else makes a case. I like Iceberg as well, but Quick is that much better.Next season, we should see a more determined Jonathan Bernier out of train-ing camp, and challenge Quick for that starter’s spot. This which will make the team that much better. Believe me, as a Kings fan, we’ve been waiting a long time to have this kind of problem. There’s nothing wrong with having too many goaltenders, right?Jack Johnson has had his struggles this season, along with injuries. What’s the forecast for his career?The hype is he’s going to be the next Ray Bourque. The reality is, and I’m just spitballing here, is that JMFJ will not sign a long-term deal with the Kings. He played at Michigan, he bleeds red and white and his heart is in Detroit. I’m sure he’d love to play for them some day. So, while he’ll be a gamer in L.A. and give his all, his stint in L.A. may already be predetermined. Personally, I’m hoping he and Doughty hit it off and become the wickedest blueline ever. But I think he’ll give Detroit a hometown discount and sign there. I really do.We have loved Dustin Brown for years, though good lord has he been a pain in our ass at times. Only now is he just getting the pub he deserves. You guys watch him every night, is he that ace?Dustin Brown is the real deal. But, he was given a lot of responsibility this season, handed the reins as the youngest captain in franchise history. He’s now going to need to bring the same intensity in the locker room as he does on the ice. That could prove to be exhausting. Dustin, as is the case with many players, is far different off the ice than on. He’s quite reserved in person, very polite. But you get him on the ice, and he hits everything in the different jersey. It’s going to take a season or two for him to really grab this team and make it his own. But he might not even get that. Kopitar has shown signs of becom-ing a solid captain as well, in this his first season as an alternate. He often is the last to leave the ice and really fills that cheerleader role a great captain can do. If Kopitar winds up taking the C from Brown, the last thing you’ll see is Dustin get pissed. In a way, he can now focus on what he does best: play vicious hockey on the ice. And I think that might suit him more. The editor of this worthless rag spent last season in Los Angeles, and was surprised as how knowledgeable and passionate Kings fans are, while being equally sickened by the idiocy found in Anaheim. What’s it like living in the same town (sort of) with those tools?When those dreaded Ducks hoisted the Cup, the pain was excruiating. All those years of making fun of them was known shot back by those hardcore fans. Good thing there wasn’t too many of them. Anaheim has a huge bandwagon fanbase, so it still was fun making fun of these fans in their crispy-ironed jerseys. Plus, the new jerseys look like a giant Spork! They just can’t look cool either way.I wrote a blog about those kind of Ducks fans (more blatant blog pimping!!!) http://lifeinhockeywood.com/2007/06/06/how-to-deal-with-those-kind-of-ducks-fans.aspx. It sums up just how stupid these fans really are. There are some real knowledgable Ducks fans, but they are few and far between . It does kill me to see that Stanley Cup banner up there in their rafters. It should kill every hockey fan. But they got one before the Kings, and that’s what matters.
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 11.37
Troy Brouwer 9.22
Patrick Kane 8.66
Patrick Sharp 8.61
Jonathan Toews 8.27
Brian Campbell 7.64
Dustin Byfuglien 6.44
Duncan Keith 6.06
Martin Havlat 6.02
Brent Seabrook 6.01
Kris Versteeg 5.44
Player GA/60
Troy Brouwer 3.94
Aaron Johnson 5.4
Adam Burish 5.48
Duncan Keith 5.81
Brent Seabrook 5.99
Andrew Ladd 6.44
Colin Fraser 6.54
Kris Versteeg 6.71
Matt Walker 7.08
Samuel Pahlsson 7.11
Cam Barker 7.67
Dave Bolland 8.03
N. Hjalmarsson 20.53
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 16.6
Martin Havlat 16.1
Troy Brouwer 14.3
Andrew Ladd 13.9
Brian Campbell 13.8
Patrick Kane 13.4
Brent Seabrook 12.2
Patrick Sharp 11.9
Duncan Keith 11.7
Kris Versteeg 11.7
Dustin Byfuglien 11.4
Cam Barker 11.2
Dave Bolland 10.5
Adam Burish 10
Matt Walker 8.7
Aaron Johnson 8.1
Ben Eager 8.1
Colin Fraser 4.4
N. Hjalmarsson -5.1
Jordan Hendry -9.8
Penalties Drawn vs. Taken
NAME PDRAW/60 PTAKE/60
Adam Burish 1.8 1
Colin Fraser 1.6 0.6
Patrick Kane 1.6 1
Dave Bolland 1.4 0.8
Kris Versteeg 1.4 0.7
Patrick Sharp 1.4 0.9
Ben Eager 1.2 2.5
Jonathan Toews 1.2 0.9
Dustin Byfuglien 1.2 1.2
Andrew Ladd 1.1 0.7
Martin Havlat 1 0.6
Troy Brouwer 1 0.9
Jordan Hendry 0.9 0.9
Brian Campbell 0.5 0.4
Samuel Pahlsson 0.5 1.2
Aaron Johnson 0.4 1.9
Brent Seabrook 0.3 0.9
Matt Walker 0.3 0.6
Duncan Keith 0.1 0.7
Cam Barker 0.1 0.6
Face-offsPlayer Face-Offs Taken FO%
Jonathan Toews 1115 55.2
Samuel Pahlsson 1087 53.5
Colin Fraser 710 48.0
Dave Bolland 1035 44.5
Total Rank: 25th 48.0
Hockey Sabermetrics
Player GAON/60
David Drewiske 0
Jarret Stoll 2.27
Dustin Brown 4.61
Drew Doughty 4.89
Sean O'Donnell 5.27
Matt Greene 5.33
Jack Johnson 5.46
Denis Gauthier 5.85
Anze Kopitar 6.13
Kyle Quincey 6.53
Michal Handzus 6.6
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
Jack Johnson -0.19 -0.44 38.78 0.41 1.65 -1.24 2.35 2.42 -0.07 -1.17
LOS ANGELESEvery 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.
1 Evgeni Malkin PIT 1042 A. Ovechkin WAS 943 S. Crosby PIT 944 Pavel Datsyuk DET 885 Zach Parise NJ 8736 PatrickKane CHI 64
Goals
Player Team G
1 A. Ovechkin WAS 502 Zach Parise NJ 413 Jeff Carter PHI 394 I. Kovalchuk ATL 375 P. Marleau SJ 3724 J.Toews CHI 29
GAA
Player Team GAA
1 Tim Thomas BOS 2.132 Steve Mason CBJ 2.233 Pekka Rinne NSH 2.264 Jonas Hiller ANA 2.315 Roberto Luongo VAN 2.3713 N.Khabibulin CHI 2.49
SV%
Player Team SV%
1 Tim Thomas BOS .9302 T. Vokoun FLA .9263 Craig Anderson FLA .9234 Pekka Rinne NSH .9225 Yann Danis NYI .9219 N.Khabibulin CHI .919
When the Blackhawks signed Brian Campbell to an eight-year, $56 million contract on July 1st, fans from all over rejoiced. For arguably the first time in franchise history, the Hawks signed a free agent in the prime of his career rather than someone entering his twilight (see Gilmour, Doug; Clark, Wendel; Orr, Bobby; Nicholls, Bernie; Coffey, Paul; Housley, Phil; seriously, if you want us to keep going, we’ll be here all day). Following last season’s breakout cam-paign, the Hawks had their sights set on making a public relations splash in the free agent pool. After perhaps a year of scouting, the Hawks identified Campbell as the best available player in the lot and paid him like it. The Hawks even made sure no team outbid them for his services instead of putting up a sympathy bid that had no chance of being accepted (see Roenick, Jeremy; Tkachuk, Keith; Amonte, Tony; ok, that’s enough, we’re breaking out into hives again!). With Campbell came the promise of someone who could quarterback the power play, lead the defense in scoring, and rush the puck up with his explosive speed. While past seasons saw the Blackhawks’ power play run the halfback triple option just to gain entry into the offensive zone, Campbell’s arrival instantly meant the young Hawk stars could shine, as Campbell could single-handedly do the job for the Hawks power play. But, what no one should have expected was a shut-down defensive player. If you did, you obviously didn’t see much of the NHL playoffs last year. So now, just five months into an eight-year deal, Blackhawk fans are suddenly OUTRAGED that Brian Campbell is a shaky defensive player. What part of his career +2 +/- rating made you believe he was Niklas Lidstrom? To paraphrase the NFL’s Denny Green, “He is who we thought he was.” If Campbell had only two goals and five assists this year, then by all means, the signing could be viewed as a disaster. But, so far, he has seven goals with 39 assists, good for fifth on the team in scoring and eighth among all NHL defensemen; the Hawks power play unit has been in the top-ten the entire year; and his speed routinely forces teams to give up their blue line. And, if you really want to get into specific stats, check out his CORSI rating, as his is only one of the best on the team. If Brian Campbell were a movie character, he would be Rain Man. He does some things that make him look like an absolute genius. The first 93 times he did a spin-o-rama, there was a buzz in the crowd, and his speed, at times, can be breathtaking. Then, other times, he can look like a 51 year-old autistic man – specifically anytime he’s in the defensive zone. Again, this shouldn’t come as a surprise to anyone. He was acquired with the warning label: Do not leave alone unsupervised. So, where does all the hatred stem from?
No doubt, the majority comes from the enormous contract he was handed. Is that really his fault, though? Did he hold a gun to the collective head of Hawk management and demand the ob-scene contract? No, the Hawks paid handsomely for him and when they did, the fan base celebrated. Bells rang, doves flew, the stars
aligned, and for once, everything seemed right in the universe. Now, they’re either vomiting or contemplating suicide with message board acquaintances. But, why? On the whole, he’s scoring for the Hawks and quarterback-ing a power play unit ranked in the NHL’s top-ten nearly all season. After 69 games, the Hawk power play ranked sixth in the NHL; last year, it finished sixth from the bottom. Yes, his defensive play, at times, can be downright offensive, but that is as advertised. It cer-tainly doesn’t help that his defensive partner, Matt Walker, is, at best, a fringe-NHL player. We’re reminded of it on a nightly basis when Pat Foley says, “Amazing, this is Matt Walker’s 43rd straight game – a guy who was on the scrap heap in the off-season.” Memo to Pat: we realize you’ve been calling AHL games the last few years, but there’s a reason Walker’s agent was handing his resume around the league over the summer and why Walker started the year in Rock-ford: *whispers* He’s not very good at hockey. Though, admittedly, Matt Walker has surpassed even the wildest of preseason expectations with his play this season, he is not the ideal defensive partner for Campbell. Yes, he’s a stay-at-home defenseman, but that’s out of necessity; he can’t go anywhere else. Walker is not nearly talented enough to help Campbell after a mistake or, alternatively, Campbell is trying to compensate for the fact that his partner isn’t very good and, thus, makes his own mental
mistakes. Alas, we still have seven years left on Brian Campbell’s contract. Due to the size of the deal and the current economic difficulties, there’s approximately a 99.2% chance he’ll be here for at least the next four or five,
so you might as well accept him for what he is and hope Coach Joel Quenneville uses “Soupy” appropriately. If you can’t stand the way he plays now, you’re going to drown in a puddle of misery come 2013 – and that’s if you didn’t jump off your parents’ roof with Sav-vysMyDaddy18 after Campbell’s performance against the Islanders last weekend. But, before you take the plunge, realize it could be worse: you could be wading in the six-year, $39 million cesspool that is the New York Rangers-Wade Redden pact inked this past summer. Worse yet, imagine the public outcry had the ‘Hawks let the summer go by without adding a key free agent signing to the mix. Your nau-sea, heartburn, upset stomach and diarrhea would have been hastened by nine months. Ultimately, it may best for your health and the health of your families if you just enjoy the fact that the Blackhawks finally have an offensive presence on the blue line and a solid power play quarterback. Those are two things you haven’t been able to say since Doug Wilson’s beautiful Saget-like perm graced the cigarette smog that was the Chicago Stadium air space.
Happy now? Yeah, didn’t think so.
The Fifth Feather is an excellent Hawks blog, run by Bob and John, who use logic and sense to analyze the Hawks. So really, where do they get off?
The Soupy Effect
Matt’s Musings
The Fifth Feather
The Making of The Chicago Blackhawks
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 Drew Doughty (1st round) Justin Williams (PHI 1st round 2000) from CAR for
Patrick O’Sullivan (MIN 2nd round 2003) and 2009 2nd round pickBrad Richardson (COL 5th round 2003) from COL for 2008 2nd round pickJarrett Stoll (EDM 2nd round 2002) and Matt Greene (EDM 2nd round 2002) from EDM for Lubomir Vis-novsky (LA 4th round 2000)Denis Gauthier (CAL 1st round 1995) and 2010 2nd round choice from PHI for Patrik Hersley (LA 5th round 2005) and Ned Lukacevic (LA 4th round 2004)Sean O’Donnell (BUF 6th round 1991) from ANA for conditional 2009 pick
Kyle Quincey (DET 4th round 2003) off waivers from DET
2007-2008 Oscar Moller (2nd round)Wayne Simmonds (2nd round)
2006-2007 Jack Johnson (CAR 1st round 2005) and Oleg Tverdo-vsky (ANA 1st round 1994) from CAR for Eric Belanger (LA 4th round 1996) and Tim Gleason (OTT 1st round 2001)
2003-2004 Dustin Brown (1st round)2002-2003 Derek Armstrong (NYI 6th round 1992) from NYR for
2003 6th round pick2000-2001 Alexander Frolov (1st
round)
GM HISTORY2007-Present: Dean Lombardi1998-2007: Dave Taylor
COACHESHead Coach-Terry MurrayAssistant Coach- Mark HardyAssistant Coach- Jamie KomponGoaltending Coach- Bill Ranford
info in part provided by hockeyreference.com
Playing at home............ 18-8-7Playing on road........... 19-14-4Scoring first.......... 25-5-4Opponent scores first........ 12-17-7Shoot the puck bimbo scores...... 5-1-1Shoot the puck bimbo doesn’t score...... 13-6-6Shoot the puck bimbo blows editors of Commited Indian..... 0-0-0ANYONE blows editors of Committed Indian ................. 0-1-0Playing on a Monday.............. 2-2-1 Playing on a Tuesday................ 6-3-0Playing on a Wednesday........... 8-1-3Playing on a Thursday.............. 2-3-0Playing on a Friday................ 4-4-4Playing on a Saturday............. 7-5-3Playing on a Sunday................ 8-4-0Savard changes lines during game... 1-2-1Coach Q keeps lines as they are..... 36-20-10Are out-muscled by opponent.... 10-17-4Outshoot opponent....... 26-13-6Are outshot by opponent.... 11-9-5Havlat shies from contact......... 16-6-6Patrick Kane scores............... 11-7-3Jonathan Toews scores.......... 12-3-6Martin Havlat scores............. 13-4-1Patrick Sharp scores............ 15-3-2Dustin Byfuglien scores......... 7-2-1Dustin Byfuglien turns down a hit...... 30-18-9Andrew Ladd scores............. 10-0-1Dave 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...... 4-1-1VerStud scores.... 11-7-1Troy Brouwer scores.... 8-0-0Scoring a Power Play goal....... 27-10-9Not scoring a Power Play goal... 10-11-2Allowing a Power Play goal...... 15-16-10Not Allowing a Power Play goal....... 22-6-1Scoring a short-handed goal........... 6-2-0
Allowing a short-handed goal......... 2-4-1Taking 30 or more shots......... 28-16-8Taking less than 30 shots..... 9-6-3Allowing 30 shots or more...... 17-8-6Allowing 30 shots or less......... 20-14-5100 Level doesn’t cheer for anthem. 18-7-71st of a back-to-back...... 4-5-32nd of a back-to-back..... 7-5-1Opponent played night before.... 8-5-2Taking more than 5 penalties..... 16-15-5Taking 5 or less penalties.... 21-7-6Seabrook gets a flat-footed penalty.... 8-5-6Burish takes a penalty....... 7-5-2Keith takes a penalty......... 11-3-2Sharp takes a penalty....... 10-2-2Toews takes a penalty..... 9-5-3Havlat takes a penalty.... 6-3-1Sopel takes a penalty...... 3-2-1Sopel looks 6 steps slow...... 7-5-551 Phantom blows a coverage...... 26-18-9Toews is trying too hard...... 3-7-3At least 1 fight in 300 Level... 3-3-4No fights in 300 Level..... 15-5-3Playing Eastern Conference..... 8-6-3Playing Western Conference..... 29-17-8Playing Central Division...... 4-7-6Playing Northwest Division.... 12-6-1Playing Pacific Division 13-4-1Playing Atlantic Division 1-3-2Playing NASCAR Division 4-1-0Playing Northeast Division 3-1-1Playing 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...... 3-5-2Playing in April...... 0-0-0UC plays really stupid goal song..... 18-5-7Huet’s five-hole open like Lindsay Lohan’s..... 3-11-4
Getting obliterated on face-offs....... 13-10-4Are even close on face-offs..... 24-12-7Eddie O tells crew to “stop it right here!”.... 32-18-11Eddie O tells us D have the forwards and forwards have the D during 4-on-4........ 32-17-11Pat Foley screws up a name...... 35-18-11Ice Crew wear skirts....... 7-1-3Ice Crew wear pants....... 3-1-0Ice Crew wear shorts.... 8-6-4Member of Ice Crew hilariously falls on her shapely ass.... 0-1-0Leading after 2 periods...... 29-2-3Losing after 2 periods...... 2-15-4Tied after 2 periods......... 6-5-4In overtime.......... 4-5In shootout....... 3-6Cam Barker plays....... 30-18-8Cam Barker is in Rockford due to GM incompetence..... 6-2-3Lacking a #2 center........ 37-22-9In 1-goal games..... 9-7-11In 2-goal games...... 12-7-0In 3-goal games....... 7-5-0In 4+ goal games...... 8-3-0Scoring 3+ goals..... 34-6-7Scoring less than 3 goals...... 3-14-4PA plays Ministry....... 0-0-0PA plays Modern Cock-Rock..... 18-8-7PA plays Stranglehold....... 5-2-4PA plays P.J. Harvey........ 0-0-0Fraser fights...... 7-3-1Burish fights....... 5-2-0Seabrook fights..... 0-0-0Barker fights......... 0-0-2Buff fights......... 1-1-2Sharp fights........ 1-0-0Eager fights.......... 10-3-1On Comcast...... 28-12-8On WGN....... 9-7-3On Vs........ 0-2-0On NBC.... 0-1-0Judd Sirott hates Adam Creighton 37-22-11
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