[A] Growing Pains: CHI 2, NSH 5

Ton

New member
Joined:
May 14, 2010
Posts:
3,991
Liked Posts:
124
Location:
Park Ridge, IL
Marian Hossa scored twice, each on a breakaway, but it wasn't enough to spark the Blackhawks to victory over the Predators.



The Hawks were worn out by Nashville after enduring a rough night of travel (did not arrive until 2:30 AM) and it had shown as the game rolled on. The Predators played very physical and the Hawks matched the intensity but tired legs wilted away their chances over the course of the game.



The turning point clearly was an awkward dump-in that bounced over Crawfords right shoulder and into the net. This put Nashville ahead 2-1 and they took advantage of the flustered Hawks from that point on. Corey let in 2 more goals which forced Quenneville to yank him in favor of Ray Emery.



Offense was scarce for both sides despite the Predators netting 5 goals, a typical staple of their game-plan. Only 45 shots were fired throughout the entire game between both teams, perhaps 10 or so of them proving to be scoring opportunities.



The Blackhawks were not only hurt on the score sheet but the line-up took a big hit as well. Jonathan Toews exited the game early to what Joel Quenneville calls a "day-to-day" injury. Despite Toews starting the game, it is believed that he may have suffered the injury against Florida the night prior to this game. If he misses any significant time it will certainly hurt the Blackhawks chances of solidifying the division, especially with Patrick Sharp out for about 3 more weeks.



If his injury is more serious than originally thought it may force Bowman to make a trade earlier than he expected.



Nick Leddy regressed after putting together 5 solid performances that gave the impression that he may be turning a corner in his development. As of late, it seems as if the Blackhawks go as the Leddy/Hjalmarsson pairing go. Although I don't think the loss is entirely pinned on those two considering the team lacked fresh legs, it's worth noting that it is absolutely mandatory that they play well if the Blackhawks want to see extended success this season.



BLACKHAWKS THREE STARS OF THE GAME



1. Marian Hossa

2. Brent Seabrook

3. Andrew Shaw



Click here to view the article
 

the canadian dream

New member
Joined:
May 15, 2010
Posts:
6,402
Liked Posts:
14
Well it wasn't enjoyable watching an already tired team get worn down worse by the Preds physical play. Would have been nice to have at least one set of fresh legs out there for a shift even if those legs were Scotts. I know how silly that sounds. Hell this may even sound sillier...Bickell maybe could have helped. What's the point in having guys in the press box if you aren't going to use them on the 2nd game of backs to backs when you don't even arrive at your hotel at 3 am the morning of a game?



Wasn't great thinking on Q's part. Scott or Bickell probably wouldn't have made a difference but it would have been worth the gamble. We will never know so it's a moot point. But we all saw the same thing tonight..an exhausted team and not great goalkeeping (Emery should have been put in after the 3rd against also..if not because Craw wasn't looking good then to try and infuse a spark which the team needed).
 

roshinaya

fnord
Donator
Joined:
May 15, 2010
Posts:
3,533
Liked Posts:
440
So Toews is injured now? The Hawks are in deep trouble if he's out for a longer period of time. They just don't seem to manage to get that same spark if their captain is out. Hopefully he'll come back soon. Skip the silly ASG.
 

PuckPowWow

New member
Joined:
Sep 24, 2011
Posts:
41
Liked Posts:
0
Location:
Chicago
The Hawks are terrible on the road and face a 9-game trip after the break. If Toews is out, it could be a disaster, especially with Tuesday night's game as a possible play for 3rd in the division.



So, the Hawks could be standing in 4th by the Allstar break, starring down at a 9-game road trip without their captain. And, to make matters worse, Seabrook looked a bit injured last night too.



Im reading a lot of people say that last night wasn't that bad of a beating, maybe looking at shots as the sole reason. I beg to differ. The Hawks were obviously hurting by the drop of the puck, and were beat in just about every area of play. Besides the Hossa line anyway. Should we knock it off to the game less than 9 hours earlier?



Nice nod Canadian Dream, but I would have gone with Lepisto over Scott.
 

PuckPowWow

New member
Joined:
Sep 24, 2011
Posts:
41
Liked Posts:
0
Location:
Chicago
Hey Ton, what do you think about going to Crawford in the first place. Emery looked pretty darn solid the night before, and Q has given Crow back-to-back starts before.



From a goaltender's perspective, is playing the night after a great game a bad thing?
 

puckjim

CCS Donator
Donator
Joined:
May 14, 2010
Posts:
1,460
Liked Posts:
40
Location:
Section 325 - Row 12
My favorite teams
  1. Chicago White Sox
  1. Chicago Fire
  1. Chicago Bears
  1. Chicago Blackhawks
The Hawks are terrible on the road and face a 9-game trip after the break. If Toews is out, it could be a disaster, especially with Tuesday night's game as a possible play for 3rd in the division.



So, the Hawks could be standing in 4th by the Allstar break, starring down at a 9-game road trip without their captain. And, to make matters worse, Seabrook looked a bit injured last night too.



Im reading a lot of people say that last night wasn't that bad of a beating, maybe looking at shots as the sole reason. I beg to differ. The Hawks were obviously hurting by the drop of the puck, and were beat in just about every area of play. Besides the Hossa line anyway. Should we knock it off to the game less than 9 hours earlier?



Nice nod Canadian Dream, but I would have gone with Lepisto over Scott.



The Hawks are not terrible on the road.
 

Ashor-redtribe

New member
Joined:
May 14, 2010
Posts:
1,654
Liked Posts:
0
Location:
Schaumburg
Hawks are not terrible on the road I agree, But they do need to start winning on the road again, at one point this season they seemed to play better on the road. Also I may be the only one standing on this case of Crawford since you all seem to love him but, the guy in my books is not the answer to winning the Cup, sorry to disappoint anyone about that but, If we want to win a Cup you can't have a goalie going through his second year slump as much as everyone is saying our D is faultering, Emery came in and only allowed one goal...I'm all about giving Emery the Starting Nod he deserves it. If anyone else see's it other wise then your delusional. You can't tell me about this short nap crap...every team goes through it.. and Crawford did not start the last game. there is no excuse..as I have mentioned many many times Emery will win the starting Job.
 

JOVE23

New member
Joined:
Jun 15, 2010
Posts:
2,458
Liked Posts:
0
That game was awful as shit but at least I got to do this:



406522_522328958456_203500161_30412011_1756670340_n.jpg
 

puckjim

CCS Donator
Donator
Joined:
May 14, 2010
Posts:
1,460
Liked Posts:
40
Location:
Section 325 - Row 12
My favorite teams
  1. Chicago White Sox
  1. Chicago Fire
  1. Chicago Bears
  1. Chicago Blackhawks
Well, maybe if they work harder, they can get their road record over 500.



Oh.



Perhaps when they complete the trade for Ryan Miller that's been "rumored", they'll be better.
 

Top