Post Game - Blackhawks vs Blues

[Ton]

Crawford looked excellent today, certainly outplayed his counterpart.



Hawks look good overall, they have come out flying early in 3 straight games so far -- that's a whole 3 more games than they did last year. I'm glad this team is showing they can dictate the pace rather than trying to come back in the 3rd period every game.

 

[Chief Walking Stick]

Hahah Tarasenko sucks!!!!

 

[the canadian dream]

You know who was good tonight but no one will talk about because he doesn't get a whole lot of ice time? Bollig.



Saad was the best of the three on his line tonight also. Hossa went MIA and Toews was being shadowed bad all night. I like that Saad carried a lot of the play.



Leddy was great despite misplaying on the Blues 1st goal but that was also just a shitty line change that caught the Hawks so it wasn't all on Leddy. So far Leddy has shown me improvement on both ends of the ice. Never understood why some thought he shouldn't have made the starting roster. Of course it is only 3 games in but so far improvement in Leddys defensive game the most. He always had the skating and offensive eye.



Hawks came out flying indeed but that 3rd period was horrible. It was my only concern.



Crawford def earned the win tonight and looked great...just don't let him play the puck.



I still really like these lines. I think they will get better and better as they see more ice time. I know there are concerns with Stalberg/Shaw/Bickell but I really am enjoying that line right now. Stalberg was a little soft in the 1st period but he woke up after he gave the puck away a couple times. sound. Sure he got a talking too. A few too many turn overs by the team overall tonight. Craw saved a few guys hides. Shaw is still getting to the net and getting his chances..his finish will come and Bickell has been pretty sound. Im happy with the line thus far.

 

[CLWolf81]

The way I saw that third period, I always expect this team to fall flat in....



That expectation needs to stop.... and soon ... or else we won't get to 48 wins playing only 40 minutes of hockey.

 

[BlackHawkPaul]

I don't know if I'd say Craw's performance was excellent. Good enough to win-- so really not many complaints. There were a few times when he was puck handling behind the net and his passes were very errant. He was stopping screened shots, so +1 there. The Hawks got sloppy in their own zone a few times and it could've cost them.



Extremely sloppy game by the Blues. I remember a 2 on 0 that the Hawks scored on Detroit a few years ago, but I have never seen a 3 on 0. Even bad line changes happen, but the Blues looked awful in the neutral zone. Much different looking team than the one that beat Detroit 6-0 the other night. I thought the Hawks lost a few steps in the 3rd, but did just enough to hold on.



I thought Bickell had a solid night (+1, 1A), and it seemed like Shaw was on the ice more than he was. Hossa looked amazing on the ice even though he was held off the score sheet.



3 games, 3 regulation wins. Best start for the Hawks in about 4 decades.

 

[EspoForever]

3 games, 3 regulation wins. Best start for the Hawks in about 4 decades.

Correct...I heard last night that the last 3-0 Hawks start was 1972-1973 and could not hardly believe it.



And remember, 3-0 is the new 5-0 with the condensed season.

 

[bookjones]

You know who was good tonight but no one will talk about because he doesn't get a whole lot of ice time? Bollig.



Saad was the best of the three on his line tonight also. Hossa went MIA and Toews was being shadowed bad all night. I like that Saad carried a lot of the play.



Leddy was great despite misplaying on the Blues 1st goal but that was also just a shitty line change that caught the Hawks so it wasn't all on Leddy. So far Leddy has shown me improvement on both ends of the ice. Never understood why some thought he shouldn't have made the starting roster. Of course it is only 3 games in but so far improvement in Leddys defensive game the most. He always had the skating and offensive eye.



Hawks came out flying indeed but that 3rd period was horrible. It was my only concern.



Crawford def earned the win tonight and looked great...just don't let him play the puck.



I still really like these lines. I think they will get better and better as they see more ice time. I know there are concerns with Stalberg/Shaw/Bickell but I really am enjoying that line right now. Stalberg was a little soft in the 1st period but he woke up after he gave the puck away a couple times. sound. Sure he got a talking too. A few too many turn overs by the team overall tonight. Craw saved a few guys hides. Shaw is still getting to the net and getting his chances..his finish will come and Bickell has been pretty sound. Im happy with the line thus far.

There's concerns because Shaw is fucking brutal at Center.

 

[bookjones]

Correct...I heard last night that the last 3-0 Hawks start was 1972-1973 and could not hardly believe it.



And remember, 3-0 is the new 5-0 with the condensed season.

Ooh. . .I like your spin stylings!

 

[PatrickShart]

Crawford looked excellent today, certainly outplayed his counterpart.



Hawks look good overall, they have come out flying early in 3 straight games so far -- that's a whole 3 more games than they did last year. I'm glad this team is showing they can dictate the pace rather than trying to come back in the 3rd period every game.

Craw had a good game for sure...but Elliot kept his team in the game/gave them a chance to win. Did you watch the first period? Outplaying his counterpart? Not sure about that

 

[thanson1990]

Craw had a good game for sure...but Elliot kept his team in the game/gave them a chance to win. Did you watch the first period? Outplaying his counterpart? Not sure about that

Crow stopped 32 of 34, and his rebound control was a lot better. I know he gave up a rebound on the PP goal, but seabs let Perron walk in and fire one from the circle. I thought he outplayed Elliot for sure.

 

[MassHavoc]

There's concerns because Shaw is fucking brutal at Center.

I've been saying this constantly for 2 games now, what the **** is SHAW DOING As 3RD LINE CENTER! Where is Mayers? And even if he is hurt, at least put shaw on the 4th.... Toews Bolland Kruger Mayers... that's the run down the middle. Maybe he's worried about the fast turnaround games of the short season but that's no reason to not play Mayers any of the three games. Anyone hear anything about his health? I haven't heard anything as to why he isn't playing. I thought he was a bright spot for the contract last year.



I am going to start the rumor that he said some things in the lockout negotiations that left a sour taste in the upper managements mouths and they've given the directive that he not play for a few games... sounds just plausible enough.... haha

 

[BlackHawkPaul]

Crow stopped 32 of 34, and his rebound control was a lot better. I know he gave up a rebound on the PP goal, but seabs let Perron walk in and fire one from the circle. I thought he outplayed Elliot for sure.

Agree.

Elliot was fortunate that the Blackhawks were not in position for those juicy rebounds (a few of those happened on many of the stretch passes that were creating odd-mans). The Hawks were testing the Blues' legs for sure.









[font=Helvetica Neue', Arial, Verdana, sans-serif][background=rgb(255, 255, 255)]

There's concerns because Shaw is fucking brutal at Center.

I haven't been too impressed with him-- again, it's been only 3 games. [/background][/font]

[font=Helvetica Neue', Arial, Verdana, sans-serif][background=rgb(255, 255, 255)]Toews Bolland Kruger Mayers... that's the run down the middle.

I agree. Give Mayers a shot at 4th line C. [/background][/font]

[font='Helvetica Neue', Arial, Verdana, sans-serif][background=rgb(255, 255, 255)]



Craw had a good game for sure...but Elliot kept his team in the game/gave them a chance to win. Did you watch the first period? Outplaying his counterpart? Not sure about that

The Stalberg goal is probably one Elliot would probably like to have back.

Elliot did outplay Craw. The Blues did nothing to help Elliot out all night by turning over the puck consistently before entering the offensive zone. By the 3rd it was a trench war in the neutral zone.

The Hawks could've put up 6 if not for the good glove of Elliot.



Credit Keith for 1 save last night + the puck got caught up in his jersey (for a stoppage)-- otherwise that was an easy goal for the Blues. [/background][/font]

 

[winos5]

I've been on vacation, watched all 3 games yesterday. Nice start to the season. Anybody still think Hossa may be ready to retire or a good buyout candidate at the end of the season? Man is on fire. I like what I saw in those games. Seemed to be firing on all cylinders. I like the chemistry on all the lines. Enjoyed watching them score 5 and then 6 goals on last seasons hot goalies. Smith's melt down at the end of the Yotes games was nice to watch.

 

[LordKOTL]

Verry little to complain about, but I think there is one statement that blankets all of the "bad" things that happened this past game:



Keep it simple.



Be it Leddy trying to doubleteam with Saad (Eerily similar to Sharp's flub in Game 4 last year), an ill-advised change, try too hard for a stetch pass or outlet pass, or Crawford questing rather than staying at home, I think the only trouble the team really got themselves into was when they tried to do too much or tried to be too cute.



All-in-all the team poise was much better than last year in that I would have expected us to lose and completely choke in the 3rd, but the team hung on after an outright dominating 1st. Going into Dallas, Q, Waite, and co. should reel the boys in a bit and focus more on the fundamentals rather than the pretty plays.

 

[PatrickShart]

I think it's funny that this team is 3-0 (for the first time in 40yrs) and so many ***** and moan that Q juggles his lines too much



Yet...move Shaw..insert Mayers, sit Bollig...put Stalberg with Toews/Hossa...all these "changes" want to be made.



Fact is...when things are going well, Q rolls the lines. When they are struggling is when Q juggles - and people complain then.

 

[Ashor-redtribe]

What shocked me the most is the non-physical Blues team that showed up to play...Im wondering if that was their game plan match for match to see who was the better team or are they figuring out that gooning up will not take them far. For the most part of the game we made the Blues look like an AHL team....the score could have easily been 5-2. Kane was making some crazy passes and making plays happen...you all might disagree with me about the comment Im going to make but, I still feel like Sharp is not so Sharp, I feel like he has not gotten his speed to match the team or something, I feel like he is a step behind. late on that one timer from Kane. Kane man Kane has that Eye of the TIGER! baby,! Eye of the Tiger!

 

[BlackHawkPaul]

I think it's funny that this team is 3-0 (for the first time in 40yrs) and so many ***** and moan that Q juggles his lines too much



Yet...move Shaw..insert Mayers, sit Bollig...put Stalberg with Toews/Hossa...all these "changes" want to be made.



Fact is...when things are going well, Q rolls the lines. When they are struggling is when Q juggles - and people complain then.

Suggesting Mayers over Shaw is bitching?

 

[PatrickShart]

Bitching? No...because it's changes that people think Q should make



But if he were to change something people don't want made - then god forbid, what is he doing, he's an idiot, etc

 

[MassHavoc]

I don't think it's bitching at all to suggest that a guy who was a really solid 4th line guy last year, and a good leader in the locker room and on the ice, not to mention would probably still throw gloves if he had to, get a shot of being the fourth line center instead of being in a suit. Maybe he' snot in shape after spending so much time in New York representing the players but I can't imagine the case... either way shaw has not be good so why not make the change. 3-0 or not we've always bitched about center play, probably since the day after the cup, so you finally have a lineup you can run with in Kruger looking good and Mayers being good enough on the 4th that there is no reason for Shaw to be a 3rd line center. Has he ever even played center? Maybe a 4th line with Bollig, Mayers, and frolik is just too vulnerable. I don't know but at least he's got the top lines right.

 

[PatrickShart]

So the team is 3-0



Shaw is a +1, 7 hits (leading the forwards)..while his linemates are both +1, Stalberg 2g/4hits..Bickell 2a/6hits



He's not taking many def zone faceoffs (Q puts others out there for that)



The line is the most physical.



Shaw is at least a threat to score...plays on the top PP line.



Mayers is a good 13th/14th forward. I'd rather have skill in the lineup than a "good locker room guy" that's 38yrs old.