Joe Q's Coaching Changes

[bamainatlanta]

HICAGO -- Chicago Blackhawks coach Joel Quenneville has proved time and again he's willing to do whatever he believes gives his team the best chance to win in the playoffs.

Here are some decisions Quenneville has made that have impacted the Blackhawks during the playoffs this season:

[+] EnlargeQuenneville
Jonathan Daniel/Getty Images
Hawks coach Joel Quenneville is proving again he's not afraid to tinker with the team's lineup from moment to moment.
* Elevated Bryan Bickell to the top line. After playing him much of the season on the third line, Quenneville has shown trust in Bickell to be a different player in the playoffs again. Bickell has rewarded that decision with five goals in eight playoff games.

* Gave Ben Smith a larger role. Quenneville moved Smith from fourth-line right wing to second-line center against the St. Louis Blues during Game 4 of the first-round series. Smith has remained there since then.

* Moved Michal Handzus from second-line center to fourth-line center and made his main responsibility the penalty kill. Handzus has played 75:55 of even-strength ice time and 34:51 of short-handed ice time in the playoffs.

* Transformed the Blackhawks into a three-line team at times. He often went away from playing the fourth line consistently during games against the Blues. Its minutes have increased against the Minnesota Wild in the second round.

* Put Jonathan Toews and Patrick Kane back together when he felt the Blackhawks needed more offense and then took them apart when he felt it was time to try something different. He has gone with lines of Bickell-Toews-Marian Hossa and Patrick Sharp-Smith-Kane over the past four games.

* Began the playoffs with forward Kris Versteeg on the top line and has demoted him throughout the playoffs. Versteeg was a healthy scratch in Game 6 against the Blues. He was on the fourth line and played 8:56 against the Wild in Game 2 Sunday.

* Benched defenseman Nick Leddy during the third period Sunday. Leddy played a total of 46 seconds in the third period. He played three shifts in the period and didn't play the final 12:02 of the game.

* Made forward Brandon Bollig a healthy scratch against the Wild on Sunday. Bollig had appeared in all 82 regular-season games and the first seven playoff games.

* Inserted rookies Joakim Nordstrom and Jeremy Morin into the lineup. Nordstrom has played three playoff games and Morin has played in one this season.

* Took apart the fourth line of Bollig-Marcus Kruger-Smith after having it together for most of the season. Quenneville put Kruger as the third-line center and moved Andrew Shaw from center to right wing on the third line.

http://espn.go.com/blog/chicago/blackhawks/post/_/id/4682417/quenneville-shaking-team-up-in-playoffs

 

[Raskolnikov]

wut?

 

[DMelt36]

wut?

Seemed pretty straightforward to me.

 

[nwfisch]

Kompon's still on staff though :smh:

 

[Ares]

Seemed pretty straightforward to me.

Not when you are tripping on shrooms.... let Rasko be cornfused for a while.

It is kinda funny I read it and thought "Yes.... he did all those things.... thx Capt. Obvious (Not to be confused with bitchypants)"

 

[Ares]

Kompon's still on staff though :smh:

fisch why you hate da Kompon so much? Does he suck Leddy off on da bench and u no like?

 

[CRM 114]

What's a Hicago?

 

[Ares]

What's a Hicago?

I believe it is a sexual advance made famous by our very own Cago on these very boards..... hes a dirty mofo.

 

[DMelt36]

I still can't believe Bollig played 82 regular season games and then got scratched in the postseason. I didn't think he'd ever watch a game from the press box again.

 

[Ares]

I still can't believe Bollig played 82 regular season games and then got scratched in the postseason. I didn't think he'd ever watch a game from the press box again.

Eh Idk.... I think Bollig is the kind of presence you need in the regular season... keep other team's goons in check a bit.... but in the post season against the top teams I can see where you value some better offensive skill, but I would not be surprised to see him in again if Minnesota gets cunty.

 

[nwfisch]

Eh Idk.... I think Bollig is the kind of presence you need in the regular season... keep other team's goons in check a bit.... but in the post season against the top teams I can see where you value some better offensive skill, but I would not be surprised to see him in again if Minnesota gets cunty.

But to me, he doesn't even do that. He's a half-assed goon and a terrible skill player. I don't have the dislike for him that most have, but I just don't see where he fits in.

 

[DMelt36]

Eh Idk.... I think Bollig is the kind of presence you need in the regular season... keep other team's goons in check a bit.... but in the post season against the top teams I can see where you value some better offensive skill, but I would not be surprised to see him in again if Minnesota gets cunty.

I do think Bollig got much better as a hockey player ... but I still don't see what he brings to the table that Morin doesn't. And Morin has a far bigger upside.

 

[Ares]

I do think Bollig got much better as a hockey player ... but I still don't see what he brings to the table that Morin doesn't. And Morin has a far bigger upside.

I agree with this... which is why its good Morin is getting the nod over Bollig.

In the end.... if a 4th line winger is what we are most concerned about, I think we are in pretty good shape

 

[DMelt36]

I agree with this... which is why its good Morin is getting the nod over Bollig.

In the end.... if a 4th line winger is what we are most concerned about, I think we are in pretty good shape

Exactly. The Hawks won a Cup with a 4th line of that had Ben Eager and Adam Burish on the wing.

Bollig is at least as useful as those two.

I just hate when Q gives that line 2-3 minutes of ice time. Worried that he'll run the other 3 lines out of gas.

 

[Ares]

Exactly. The Hawks won a Cup with a 4th line of that had Ben Eager and Adam Burish on the wing.

Bollig is at least as useful as those two.

I just hate when Q gives that line 2-3 minutes of ice time. Worried that he'll run the other 3 lines out of gas.

I get it though, since the refs were handing out PPs to the Blues like they were free samples you had to keep Zeus from dying lol.... Q probably expected the same in this series

 

[Diehardfan]

Exactly. The Hawks won a Cup with a 4th line of that had Ben Eager and Adam Burish on the wing.

Bollig is at least as useful as those two.

I just hate when Q gives that line 2-3 minutes of ice time. Worried that he'll run the other 3 lines out of gas.

IDK about that assessment. I'll buy him being a bit like Burish but Burish could at least skate. Eager had speed, size and an good shot but just awful controlling the puck or defending. One thing the three of them have in common is that they are all dumb asses that take bad penalties. Bollig is like a square peg, he just doesn't fit anywhere. He's just mediocre in every facet of his game.

I know that Morin is young, but he's just starting to finally be a player after a zillion call ups....he showed me more in the 3 or 4 minutes he played than Bollig has in a month of games.

 

[nwfisch]

IDK about that assessment. I'll buy him being a bit like Burish but Burish could at least skate. Eager had speed, size and an good shot but just awful controlling the puck or defending. One thing the three of them have in common is that they are all dumb asses that take bad penalties. Bollig is like a square peg, he just doesn't fit anywhere. He's just mediocre in every facet of his game.

I know that Morin is young, but he's just starting to finally be a player after a zillion call ups....he showed me more in the 3 or 4 minutes he played than Bollig has in a month of games.

Hey Morin has 5 goals in my Hawks franchise on NHL 11 :lol:

 

[Diehardfan]

Hey Morin has 5 goals in my Hawks franchise on NHL 11 :lol:

Speaking of the NHL series.... I just heard this morning on The Game 87.7 that NHL 15 has a new announcing team. It's Doc and Eddie. About friggin time!! That means we get a chance to re-create one of these.....

[video=youtube;hMn_VgduU-Y]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hMn_VgduU-Y[/video]....

 

[ClydeLee]

IDK about that assessment. I'll buy him being a bit like Burish but Burish could at least skate. Eager had speed, size and an good shot but just awful controlling the puck or defending. One thing the three of them have in common is that they are all dumb asses that take bad penalties. Bollig is like a square peg, he just doesn't fit anywhere. He's just mediocre in every facet of his game.

I know that Morin is young, but he's just starting to finally be a player after a zillion call ups....he showed me more in the 3 or 4 minutes he played than Bollig has in a month of games.

I thought Morin should nothing, not many opportunities but he provides no extra offense nor used the physicality he does have.

Bolig has a head for how to do the boardz battlez and be around defensively, and he has less skill but takes far huge margin far less penalties than Eager or carcillo. Bolig is mostly useless in the playoffs because most others up physical play and he's not standing out as having the role that matters over the long season.

And my NHL 11 Morins would always wind up 1200 pt scorers and ppg playoff scorers

Sent from my LGL85C using Tapatalk 2

 

[Diehardfan]

I thought Morin should nothing, not many opportunities but he provides no extra offense nor used the physicality he does have.

Bolig has a head for how to do the boardz battlez and be around defensively, and he has less skill but takes far huge margin far less penalties than Eager or carcillo. Bolig is mostly useless in the playoffs because most others up physical play and he's not standing out as having the role that matters over the long season.

And my NHL 11 Morins would always wind up 1200 pt scorers and ppg playoff scorers

Sent from my LGL85C using Tapatalk 2

He wasn't on the ice 15 secs and he took someone for ride into the boards, then he and Versteeg worked the corner for a near score. In maybe a minute he provided more than Bollig has done in weeks.