I was really looking forward to the Bulls' home opener last night against the Detroit Pistons. I thought the team played pretty well for the most part in their season opener against a very good Oklahoma City Thunder team, who by the way has everybody's pre-season pick for MVP in Kevin Durant. I figured the Bulls would play much better against a piss-poor Detroit team. Unfortunately for me, the game was blacked out in my area (thank you very much Consolidated Communications). However, I did find a website that allowed me to watch the game with a live streaming feed. So instead of watching the game in HD on my 37 inch screen, I watched in a very low resolution on a laptop.
I actually had to turn the game off on my laptop, not because the Bulls were sucking (they were), but because the feed to the game kept going in and out, so at the end of the first half, when the Bulls were trailing 63-44, I turned the game off, and followed the game with the "In Game Tracker" on the Chicago Bulls website.
I wish I could have seen that fourth quarter. Derrick Rose absolutely took that game over. He finished the game with 39 points (tied a career high), 7 assists, and 5 rebounds. After two games, Rose is leading the league in scoring at 33.5 points per game. With Boozer out for the next month or so, the Bulls need Rose to score at this elite level in order to win games. Through two games, they have gotten virtually nothing from Luol Deng, and only a decent contribution from Taj Gibson (13.5 points per game from Taj is pretty good). Joakim Noah is averaging 16.5 points per game, but his value is in his rebounding and defense. If he can find a way to average 15 points per game for the whole season, that would be amazing.
Luol Deng, Kyle Korver, CJ Watson and Keith Bogans need to pick it up. I would expect Korver to be out on the floor alot more in the next few games. They need his shooting out there to spread the floor, especially without Boozer in the lineup. Rose is the best drive and kick guy in the league, but he has nobody to kick to. Korver needs to be that guy, and so does Deng. Deng looked so good in that role in the preseason. He was even nailing wide open three pointers in the half-court offense. So far this season he has looked rusty. The Bulls need him to score efficiently if they are going to be as successful as they can be.
The story here though is Derrick Rose. Bulls fans haven't really had anybody to be this excited about since Michael and Scottie left. Sure we had a couple of good years from Ben Gordon, but he isn't a superstar. Derrick Rose is a superstar right now, and he is only going to get better. Watching him play the first two games of the season makes me happy that LeBron chose Miami. The Bulls don't need anybody taking the ball away from Rose. If he keeps playing like this, and all signs are pointing to the fact that Rose can, he will be in the MVP conversation, provided the Bulls are winning games.
Joakim Noah seems to have picked up where he left off as well. Averaging a monster double-double through two games is impressive, and he will most likely continue to average these types of numbers the remainder of the season. The Bulls will be a very good team when Boozer comes back. A low-post scorer who can hit the 16 footer with consistency and averages 18-20 points per game would look so good alongside Rose and Noah right now. Oh, and Boozer averages double digit rebounds for his career as well, which will be a tremendous boost, seeing as how Taj Gibson didn't grab a single rebound last night against Detroit.
The Bulls have an important stretch of games coming up. Portland tomorrow night will be an extremely tough game, and the Knicks are an improved team as well (Bulls/Knicks on Thursday night). Then the Bulls play in Boston on Friday night in the second game of a back-to-back. The Celtics always play the Bulls tough, and with their unbelievable front court depth, I'd have to give them a big edge in that game. Anyways, the Bulls need to pile up some wins at home. They go on the seven game "Circus" trip midway through November, and they haven't done well on that trip since the Jordan/Pippen days. If they can stay around .500 until Boozer gets back, they would be in good position to take the division this year. Go Bulls!
Sunday, October 31, 2010
Friday, October 29, 2010
Opening week NBA reactions
I don't know about anybody else, but I've learned quite a bit about a few teams in watching the first 3 nights of the NBA regular season.
The Miami Heat are not as great as everybody thinks, and I don't think they'll be as great as most think they have the potential to be. LeBron James is a fantastic player, but the Heat are asking him to do some things that he has never been accustomed to doing. He is not a point guard, and he is also not a post player. He is a slashing player, he is fantastic in transition, perhaps the best in the league at half-court isolation plays, but he isn't a point guard. That is evidenced in his 17 turnovers in the first two games of the season. Chris Bosh looks lost on this team as well. He is at his best when he plays as a big man on the perimeter. The problem is that all of the other players on the floor with him are also going to be on the perimeter, so they need him to play inside, something he isn't comfortable doing. Don't get me wrong, the Heat will win alot of games this season, and they'll figure out their chemistry issues. They aren't getting anywhere near 72 wins though. Of course, after writing this post, the Miami Heat destroyed the Orlando Magic in their home opener, 96-70.
As for our Chicago Bulls, I thought they did some good things in their opening night loss on the road against Oklahoma City. Derrick Rose is a beast, plain and simple. He absolutely dominated the first half of the ball game (20 pts and 5 assists). He gets to the basket so easily, it's unreal. One part of his game I didn't like was his willingness to shoot quick perimeter jumpers. That isn't his game. I know he's been saying his outside shot has improved, but he needs to show us that in the natural flow of the game. The only player I have ever seen that could do something on the court just to prove his point was Michael Jordan. Rose isn't Michael Jordan.
Joakim Noah was a beast in the second half. He finished the game with 18 points, 19 rebounds, and 5 or 6 assists. I don't know that he'll score 18 points night in and night out, but if he plays with that high level of energy, he will be in the running for the all-star team. I also thought that CJ Watson played a strong game off the bench. Rose got in early foul trouble, and Watson gave the Bulls some needed minutes, scoring a few baskets when the team was struggling on offense.
The Bulls need to work on their team defense. The Thunder did anything they wanted, especially in the fourth quarter, with very little resistance. The Bulls aren't going to outscore many teams in run and gun type of games. They need to keep teams under 100 points. Hopefully that will improve as the season goes along. The Bulls also need to get more production from their bench. Korver was kind of quiet, and Ronnie Brewer was flat out awful on the offensive end. I was surpised not to see Omer Asik in the game. I thought he looked good in the preseason, and deserved some minutes in the opener.
Another area the Bulls need to work on is running their half court offense when Rose is not on the floor. They looked lost at times when Rose was on the bench, and that has to improve. Hopefully all goes well in tonight's home opener against the Detroit Pistons. The Pistons are 0-2 coming into the game this evening, and the Bulls should look to take advantage of a bad team on their home floor. I would look for a huge game from Rose, and more contributions from Luol Deng as well.
It has been fun watching the games on TNT and ESPN at the start of the season. Blake Griffin looks like he's going to be a superstar very quickly, while John Wall looked like a deer in headlights most of his NBA debut. The Portland Trailblazers and the Oklahoma City Thunder are going to be fun teams to watch. Both are improved from a year ago, and they both have dynamic shooting guards/small forwards in Brandon Roy and Kevin Durant. It's great for the NBA to have so many superstars going right now. It should be fun to see how the season plays out.
The Miami Heat are not as great as everybody thinks, and I don't think they'll be as great as most think they have the potential to be. LeBron James is a fantastic player, but the Heat are asking him to do some things that he has never been accustomed to doing. He is not a point guard, and he is also not a post player. He is a slashing player, he is fantastic in transition, perhaps the best in the league at half-court isolation plays, but he isn't a point guard. That is evidenced in his 17 turnovers in the first two games of the season. Chris Bosh looks lost on this team as well. He is at his best when he plays as a big man on the perimeter. The problem is that all of the other players on the floor with him are also going to be on the perimeter, so they need him to play inside, something he isn't comfortable doing. Don't get me wrong, the Heat will win alot of games this season, and they'll figure out their chemistry issues. They aren't getting anywhere near 72 wins though. Of course, after writing this post, the Miami Heat destroyed the Orlando Magic in their home opener, 96-70.
As for our Chicago Bulls, I thought they did some good things in their opening night loss on the road against Oklahoma City. Derrick Rose is a beast, plain and simple. He absolutely dominated the first half of the ball game (20 pts and 5 assists). He gets to the basket so easily, it's unreal. One part of his game I didn't like was his willingness to shoot quick perimeter jumpers. That isn't his game. I know he's been saying his outside shot has improved, but he needs to show us that in the natural flow of the game. The only player I have ever seen that could do something on the court just to prove his point was Michael Jordan. Rose isn't Michael Jordan.
Joakim Noah was a beast in the second half. He finished the game with 18 points, 19 rebounds, and 5 or 6 assists. I don't know that he'll score 18 points night in and night out, but if he plays with that high level of energy, he will be in the running for the all-star team. I also thought that CJ Watson played a strong game off the bench. Rose got in early foul trouble, and Watson gave the Bulls some needed minutes, scoring a few baskets when the team was struggling on offense.
The Bulls need to work on their team defense. The Thunder did anything they wanted, especially in the fourth quarter, with very little resistance. The Bulls aren't going to outscore many teams in run and gun type of games. They need to keep teams under 100 points. Hopefully that will improve as the season goes along. The Bulls also need to get more production from their bench. Korver was kind of quiet, and Ronnie Brewer was flat out awful on the offensive end. I was surpised not to see Omer Asik in the game. I thought he looked good in the preseason, and deserved some minutes in the opener.
Another area the Bulls need to work on is running their half court offense when Rose is not on the floor. They looked lost at times when Rose was on the bench, and that has to improve. Hopefully all goes well in tonight's home opener against the Detroit Pistons. The Pistons are 0-2 coming into the game this evening, and the Bulls should look to take advantage of a bad team on their home floor. I would look for a huge game from Rose, and more contributions from Luol Deng as well.
It has been fun watching the games on TNT and ESPN at the start of the season. Blake Griffin looks like he's going to be a superstar very quickly, while John Wall looked like a deer in headlights most of his NBA debut. The Portland Trailblazers and the Oklahoma City Thunder are going to be fun teams to watch. Both are improved from a year ago, and they both have dynamic shooting guards/small forwards in Brandon Roy and Kevin Durant. It's great for the NBA to have so many superstars going right now. It should be fun to see how the season plays out.
Tuesday, October 26, 2010
Basketball Season Predictions
The NBA season has just tipped off, and alot of people (myself included) are pretty excited about seeing what happens in the Eastern Conference this season. Here are my predictions, and keep in mind, that I wrote this a while back (before the injury to Carlos Boozer). The win totals for the Bulls are probably not likely to be as high as I have predicted based on that injury. Enjoy!
2010-2011 NBA Eastern Conference Regular Season and Playoff Predictions
Atlantic Division
Team | Wins | Losses |
Boston Celtics | 52 | 30 |
New York Knicks | 41 | 41 |
Philadelphia 76ers | 38 | 44 |
Toronto Raptors | 32 | 50 |
New Jersey Nets | 30 | 52 |
Central Division
Team | Wins | Losses |
Chicago Bulls | 54 | 28 |
Milwaukee Bucks | 46 | 36 |
Indiana Pacers | 39 | 43 |
Cleveland Cavaliers | 36 | 46 |
Detroit Pistons | 31 | 51 |
Southeast Division
Team | Wins | Losses |
Miami Heat | 68 | 14 |
Orlando Magic | 58 | 24 |
Atlanta Hawks | 47 | 35 |
Charlotte Bobcats | 36 | 46 |
Washington Wizards | 34 | 48 |
Playoff Seeding
1. Miami Heat (68-14)
2. Orlando Magic (58-24)
3. Chicago Bulls (54-28)
4. Boston Celtics (52-30)
5. Atlanta Hawks (47-35)
6. Milwaukee Bucks (46-36)
7. New York Knicks (41-41)
8. Indiana Pacers (39-43)
Analysis of Regular Season and Playoff Seeding Predictions
The whole balance of power in the NBA has shifted from the Western Conference to the Eastern Conference with the events of the “Summer of 2010 Free Agency”. I decided to take a shot at predicting how I think the Eastern Conference will play out this season. Once the NBA regular season starts, I will re-vamp my picks at the end of each month, and see exactly how close my original predictions were.
1. The Miami Heat (68-14). They are easily the best team (on paper) with the signing of LeBron, Wade and Bosh. They have a shot at the all-time record for wins in a season (72), as long as the team develops good chemistry, and each player has a clearly defined role. I don’t think they get to 70 wins this year. The Celtics will beat them once (maybe twice), the Lakers will win both games, the Magic will beat them twice, the Bulls will beat them once, the Thunder will beat them once. That’s seven losses right there. There will also be a smattering of defeats by teams they should beat, such as the Atlanta Hawks, Milwaukee Bucks, San Antonio Spurs, Dallas Mavericks, Houston Rockets, Denver Nuggets, and Portland Trail Blazers. I could see each of those teams winning a game against Miami. Still, 68-14 is a damn good record, and easily gives the Heat the top overall seed in the NBA.
2. The Orlando Magic (58-24): The Magic are still a very talented team, and their size up front with Dwight Howard will give Miami a tough time when they play. Their backcourt is a strength, as they are one of the best 3-point shooting teams in the league. They aren’t as athletic as Miami, and won’t be able to keep up with their pace all season, even though I see Orlando beating Miami twice in head-to-head matchups this season. The Magic cruise into the playoffs with the second seed in the East, and possibly the second best overall record in the NBA.
3. Chicago Bulls (54-28): The Bulls will make the jump to the top half of the Eastern Conference this season. Derrick Rose will elevate his game to among the elite, Noah is poised for an even better season than the great one he had last year, and the addition of Carlos Boozer gives the Bulls two 20 point per game scorers in their starting lineup. They should be very balanced, and play great team defense. They will have trouble with Miami, although they will beat them once in Chicago in a close game. The Lakers, Thunder, Magic, and Celtics will all be good tests for this Bulls team, and other teams will challenge them as well at times (Bucks, Knicks, Pacers). Still, the Bulls will finish with the third seed in the East, and home court advantage in round one.
4. Boston Celtics (52-30): The Celtics added to their frontcourt depth this offseason by signing the two O’Neals (Jermaine and Shaq). Rondo is rapidly becoming one of the best pure point guards in the game (reminds me a lot of John Stockton in the sense that he is a passer first, shooter second.). Pierce, Allen, and Garnett are all getting older, Shaq will probably be a role player, similar to last year in Cleveland. I still think they will be tough to beat. Their bench depth is fantastic with Nate Robinson, Glen Davis, Jermaine O’Neal, Shaq, Avery Bradley, and Luke Harangody. I think they fall in behind the Bulls because of their age. Once they clinch their division and seal up home court in the first round, I could see Doc sitting his starters to keep them fresh for the playoff run.
5. Atlanta Hawks (47-35): The Hawks re-signed Joe Johnson to a stupid contract. They return the same team that got them the third seed in the playoffs last year, but with the top four teams in the East (Miami, Orlando, Chicago, Boston) all making improvements to their playoff rosters from last season, the Hawks drop to fifth in the East.
6. Milwaukee Bucks (46-36): The Bucks made some significant pick ups this off season as well. Re-signing John Salmons was a nice move, but he will have to continue playing like he did with the Bucks last year to prove his worth. Drew Gooden provides some size and valuable contributions in the front court, and a healthy Andrew Bogut should make this team tough to play against. Miami, Orlando, Chicago, and Boston should beat them consistently in the East, and teams out west like the Lakers, Thunder, Spurs, Nuggets, Rockets and Mavericks should beat them twice as well. The Bucks finish the season as the sixth seed in the East.
7. New York Knicks (41-41): I can’t believe I am actually predicting this. In spite of the fact that I hate the Knicks, they are an improved team (at least on paper). Stoudemire doesn’t play defense even a little bit, but he does rebound and score at will when he wants to. Gallinari is a great outside shooting threat, and I really like the signing of Raymond Felton from Charlotte. He will be a solid starting point guard for the Knicks this season. They will not compete with the top teams in the East or West this season, but there are enough bottom-feeders in the league that the Knicks should see enough victories to get them into the playoffs this season. That would go a long way toward wooing Carmello Anthony and Chris Paul over the next two years.
8. Indiana Pacers (39-43): This is my stretch pick. I thought about this seeding the most of any of the top eight in the East. The reason I went with the Pacers is because I really like the trade for Darren Collison. Collison will be a great scoring and passing point guard in this league, and he should be glad he doesn’t have to sit behind Chris Paul anymore. Collison/Granger/Rush is a great combination of perimeter players who can shoot, slash, drive the lane, kick out, and score in a variety of ways. They will miss Troy Murphy, and probably have huge problems in the front court with Hibbert and Hansbrough having to play big minutes. I still like that trio in the backcourt to score in bunches, and get the Pacers into the playoffs as the eight seed in the East.
9-15: A lot of these teams have improved, but not enough to challenge in the Eastern Conference. The 76ers have a new coach (Doug Collins), a high draft pick (Evan Turner), and Elton Brand coming back from injury. They still will have problems defensively, and won’t be able to score enough to offset those problems. The Raptors won’t be a threat with Chris Bosh out of the picture. They weren’t even a playoff team with him, and he was their best player. I wouldn’t count on them being much of a factor. The Nets will improve dramatically, and probably compete with teams a lot better than last season. They still have a lot of work to do as they didn’t attract very many free agents during the off season. The Cavaliers will struggle to find an identity with LeBron gone, although they will play hard and compete for new coach Byron Scott. Detroit might be the worst team in the East, although I gave them 2 more wins than New Jersey. They have ball-hogging shooters in their backcourt, and adding Tracy McGrady will only hurt in that respect. Their core players are getting older, and the Pistons will be on the outside looking in for the second straight season. Charlotte should regress this season with Raymond Felton and Tyson Chandler gone. They’ll have to depend on more production from Tyrus Thomas, which is a dangerous proposition. I like the moves the Wizards made. John Wall is a superstar in the making, and they have all kinds of talent waiting in the wings. The Hinrich trade was a good one. I think it will take them a year to gel before they make the playoffs, but I wouldn’t be surprised if they ended up making a run at the eighth seed.
Well, there are my picks. The Bulls probably won't win 54 (somewhere between 50-52 is likely still). I will go back at the end of each month (starting in November) and see how I am doing on my predictions. Let me know what you think, and feel free to jump in with your own predictions.
Monday, October 18, 2010
Marian Hossa, Patrick Sharp carry the Blackhawks!
It's a little late, but I am still wound up after an unbelievable Blackhawks game tonight against the St. Louis Blues. The Blues are very much improved after adding Jaroslav Halak to be their number one goaltender. They also have a number of highly skilled offensive players, and their defense is very stingy, especially in the neutral zone. The Hawks' forwards had very little room to skate with the puck coming out of their own zone. The Blues also had extremely active sticks in tonight's game, making it extremely difficult for the Hawks to complete long pass plays, which are important for their transition offensive style of play.
The Blues got the scoring started in the second period. David Perron scored a weak goal on a fake wrap around shot. He faked going around the net, got Hawks goalie Marty Turco to begin sliding across the crease, then chipped the puck off his pad, off the inside of the post and in the back of the net. Perron scored again midway through the third period on a 3 on 1 breakaway. A nice pass by T.J. Oshie set him up for a one-timer, and Marty Turco had no chance to stop it. The Blues went up 2-0, and it looked like the Hawks were going to drop their third home game of the season.
Enter Marian Hossa. Hossa had an unbelievable week last week, where he collected 4 goals, and earned second star of the week from the NHL. The Hawks earned a well deserved powerplay with about 8 minutes to go in the game. After struggling to get anything at the net for the first 90 seconds of the powerplay, the Hawks shot the puck at the net, then kicked around a rebound which found its way to Hossa at the side of the net. He backhanded the puck past Halak to cut the Blues lead to 2-1. It was the seventh straight game for the Hawks in which they've scored a powerplay goal. That is a very impressive streak to start the season.
Two minutes later, Hossa scored again on a very similar play. The Hawks through the puck to the net, crashed with all three forwards (Toews did a great job of sucking in 2 Blues defenders). Hossa then fought off a weak attempt by Oshie to get him away from the puck, stole it from Halak, and shot the puck between his legs and into the goal. It was a hi-light reel goal to tie the game 2-2.
The game went to overtime, where the St. Louis Blues had a number of great chances for the first 3 minutes. Marty Turco came up with several gigantic saves to keep the game tied. Finally, the Hawks got the puck into the Blues' zone with room to skate and time to make a play. Jason Cullimore got the puck to Patrick Kane with a Blues' defender down and out of position. Kane looked like he was going to shoot, but instead made a terrific pass over to Patrick Sharp, who tapped the puck into a wide open net for the game winning goal. It was Sharp's third straight game with the winning goal.
Overall, the Hawks have played much better in the past week. Turco has won three consecutive games, and is playing fantastic hockey behind a defense that has been giving up far too many shots. Hossa and Sharp have gotten off to blazing starts (Hossa leads the league in goals and points, with 7 goals and 11 points overall). Sharp is also in the top 5 in the league in points and goals. Hopefully the Hawks don't make a habit of falling behind early, but you have to like their ability to bounce back. They are never out of the game. Twice this season they have overcome two goal deficits to win games, and once they forced overtime after falling behind by two goals. As long as they figure out how to avoid the slow starts, they should be fine.
The Hawks improved their record to 4-2-1 to begin the season. If they would have beaten Nashville like they should have, they'd be staring at 5-1-1, which would be a terrific start. Let's hope they can beat Vancouver (I hate them!), before heading to St. Louis for a rematch with the Blues on Friday. I will be at that game, so I am definitely looking forward to it. Go Hawks!
The Blues got the scoring started in the second period. David Perron scored a weak goal on a fake wrap around shot. He faked going around the net, got Hawks goalie Marty Turco to begin sliding across the crease, then chipped the puck off his pad, off the inside of the post and in the back of the net. Perron scored again midway through the third period on a 3 on 1 breakaway. A nice pass by T.J. Oshie set him up for a one-timer, and Marty Turco had no chance to stop it. The Blues went up 2-0, and it looked like the Hawks were going to drop their third home game of the season.
Enter Marian Hossa. Hossa had an unbelievable week last week, where he collected 4 goals, and earned second star of the week from the NHL. The Hawks earned a well deserved powerplay with about 8 minutes to go in the game. After struggling to get anything at the net for the first 90 seconds of the powerplay, the Hawks shot the puck at the net, then kicked around a rebound which found its way to Hossa at the side of the net. He backhanded the puck past Halak to cut the Blues lead to 2-1. It was the seventh straight game for the Hawks in which they've scored a powerplay goal. That is a very impressive streak to start the season.
Two minutes later, Hossa scored again on a very similar play. The Hawks through the puck to the net, crashed with all three forwards (Toews did a great job of sucking in 2 Blues defenders). Hossa then fought off a weak attempt by Oshie to get him away from the puck, stole it from Halak, and shot the puck between his legs and into the goal. It was a hi-light reel goal to tie the game 2-2.
The game went to overtime, where the St. Louis Blues had a number of great chances for the first 3 minutes. Marty Turco came up with several gigantic saves to keep the game tied. Finally, the Hawks got the puck into the Blues' zone with room to skate and time to make a play. Jason Cullimore got the puck to Patrick Kane with a Blues' defender down and out of position. Kane looked like he was going to shoot, but instead made a terrific pass over to Patrick Sharp, who tapped the puck into a wide open net for the game winning goal. It was Sharp's third straight game with the winning goal.
Overall, the Hawks have played much better in the past week. Turco has won three consecutive games, and is playing fantastic hockey behind a defense that has been giving up far too many shots. Hossa and Sharp have gotten off to blazing starts (Hossa leads the league in goals and points, with 7 goals and 11 points overall). Sharp is also in the top 5 in the league in points and goals. Hopefully the Hawks don't make a habit of falling behind early, but you have to like their ability to bounce back. They are never out of the game. Twice this season they have overcome two goal deficits to win games, and once they forced overtime after falling behind by two goals. As long as they figure out how to avoid the slow starts, they should be fine.
The Hawks improved their record to 4-2-1 to begin the season. If they would have beaten Nashville like they should have, they'd be staring at 5-1-1, which would be a terrific start. Let's hope they can beat Vancouver (I hate them!), before heading to St. Louis for a rematch with the Blues on Friday. I will be at that game, so I am definitely looking forward to it. Go Hawks!
Tuesday, October 12, 2010
Slow start for the Blackhawks
The NHL season is underway, and the Stanley Cup Champion Blackhawks have gotten off to a sluggish start. The currently stand 1-1-1 after three games, which isn't awful, considering how poorly some of their best players have played in those games.
Easily the worst of the three games was the opener, on the road against the Colorado Avalanche. Bryan Bickell scored the first goal of the game on the powerplay, and after that, it was all Avs in the first two periods. Colorado put up 41 shots against the Hawks, which is way more than they allowed in any game last season. The Hawks did manage to tie the game on goals from Marian Hossa and Patrick Sharp, and had chances to win the game in overtime before Marty Turco let in a soft goal to give the Avs a 4-3 victory. The worst part of this game was the play of the Hawks' two best defensemen, Duncan Keith and Brent Seabrook. They turned the puck over all night, usually in their own end. The were slow to loose pucks, got outskated and outmuscled, and looked unmotivated to step up their play even when giving up three straight goals. Equally disappointing was the play of Jonathan Toews and Patrick Kane in game 1. Each went scoreless and had minus ratings.
Game 2 was the home opener against a rejuvenated, dangerous Detroit Red Wings team. The Wings are loaded with scoring talent (they have possibly the best depth of scoring on their top three lines of any team in the league). With Franzen, Holmstrom, Cleary, Datsyuk, Hudler, Modano, and several other skilled forwards, they can put the puck in the net with the best teams. The Hawks played alot better defensively in this game, but were lazy when getting the puck out of their end. They also were just brutal on the powerplay in the third period. Add to that the fact that Marty Turco again let in 2 soft goals in a one goal loss, and the Hawks could again be looking at goaltending issues to begin this season.
Last night's game against the Buffalo Sabres (in Buffalo) got off to a horrendous start. The Sabres put a goal on the board just 14 seconds into the game, and then scored a second goal just 2:35 seconds later. Corey Crawford got the start in goal for the Hawks, who allowed 2 goals on the first three shots of the game. To the Hawks credit, they rebounded strongly. Patrick Kane scored a goal on the powerplay late in the first period to bring the Hawks within one goal. Nick Leddy scored his first career NHL goal on a wrist shot from the blue-line that missed by a wide margin, bounced off a Sabre skate, and ended up in the net. Marian Hossa scored 2 goals on breakaways (hi-light reel type goals, too...fun to watch!) to give the Hawks a 4-2 lead midway through the third. The Sabres did score once more to make it 4-3, but Crawford and the Hawks' penalty kill were strong down the stretch, and delivered the Hawks their first win on the new season.
There have been some bright spots in the first three games. Marian Hossa has been a beast. He has 3 goals and 2 assists (5 points) in the first three games, which is great production. Corey Crawford stepped up in a big way after the Hawks were down 2-0 in yesterday's game. He ended up making 32 saves on 35 shots, which is pretty good for a goalie only making his 10th career NHL start. Bryan Bickell and Patrick Sharp have each started well (3 points apiece in the first three games). Patrick Kane has a goal and an assist in his last two games, and seems to be putting the puck on net with more consistency at the start of the season. The fourth line (Stalberg, Skille, Dowell) have been fantastic. They haven't scored any goals yet, but they are fast, play with the puck, aren't afraid to be physical, generate scoring chances, and have posted the Hawks' only scrap of the year (Jake Dowell fought yesterday against some jobber from Buffalo. Dowell got the better of him, eventually). I really like what the fourth line has done, and I see them breaking out offensively very soon.
Through the first three games there are lots of things the Hawks need to work on. The biggest concern to me has been their defense. Last year they gave up a league low 25 shots per game. Alot of that was because they played puck possession, and kept the puck out of their end for the majority of the game. The first two games of the season they were dominated in the puck possession category, and it showed up on the scoreboard. The Hawks need to be better at gaining possession of the puck in their own end, and getting it out quickly. They also need to sacrifice, and block more shots, although they were much better in front of Crawford in the game last night. Hopefully that continues.
The powerplay also needs some work. They have scored a powerplay goal in every game, which is a good start, but they need to generate more quality chances than they've been getting on their powerplay. Several times against Detroit they couldn't even get set up. Not only that, but they've been shorthanded way too many times. The penatly killing unit has been strong, so they haven't been hurt too bad playing shorthanded, but you are asking for trouble when you take penalties.
Several players need to step it up, mainly veteran players who they are counting on for production. Jonathan Toews hasn't posted a point in three games. He's playing with Marian Hossa, who is strong with the puck, and is a terrific passer, as well as a great two-way player (defense into offense). Toews should benefit from that, and put up points in bunches. So far it hasn't happened. I don't worry too much about Toews though, he'll get his. Keith and Seabrook have gotten off to slow starts. Seabrook looks like he forgot the fundamentals at times (losing the puck in front of his own net, not putting his stick on the ice in high traffic areas, etc.). Keith has been better the last two games, and very nearly scored last night (he did post an assist on the Kane goal). John Scott, a newly acquired defenseman in the off-season, has not looked good. He falls down way too much, and is not confident with the puck. Several times in each game he has had the puck in his own end, with time to clear, and has held the puck for so long that he forces himself into in-zone turnovers. That can't happen. Couple that with Brian Campbell's injury and Niklas Hjalmarsson's two game suspension for a violent hit from behind in the Buffalo game last night, and clearly the Hawks have issues on the blue-line.
Marty Turco needs to be better than he's been as well. He's let in three soft goals that have cost the Hawks 2 games, and 3 points in the standings (I know it's early, but still...). He'll get better though. The Hawks have gotten off to slow starts the last two years before figuring it out. They can't afford to start slowly in games though. Teams are going to jump out on them early, and bring intensity every night to try to topple the defending champs. Hopefully the Hawks realized last night just how hard they will have to work to win games this year. I wouldn't count on as many easy victories as last year.
The Hawks have a tough slate of games coming up. They play an upstart Nashville Predators team at home tomorrow night, and have games against Columbus, Buffalo, St. Louis, and Vancouver over the next week and a half. All of those teams are improved, and will be gunning for the Hawks. Let's hope the Hawks get rolling early tomorrow night, and start building up a win streak here in the early going this season.
Easily the worst of the three games was the opener, on the road against the Colorado Avalanche. Bryan Bickell scored the first goal of the game on the powerplay, and after that, it was all Avs in the first two periods. Colorado put up 41 shots against the Hawks, which is way more than they allowed in any game last season. The Hawks did manage to tie the game on goals from Marian Hossa and Patrick Sharp, and had chances to win the game in overtime before Marty Turco let in a soft goal to give the Avs a 4-3 victory. The worst part of this game was the play of the Hawks' two best defensemen, Duncan Keith and Brent Seabrook. They turned the puck over all night, usually in their own end. The were slow to loose pucks, got outskated and outmuscled, and looked unmotivated to step up their play even when giving up three straight goals. Equally disappointing was the play of Jonathan Toews and Patrick Kane in game 1. Each went scoreless and had minus ratings.
Game 2 was the home opener against a rejuvenated, dangerous Detroit Red Wings team. The Wings are loaded with scoring talent (they have possibly the best depth of scoring on their top three lines of any team in the league). With Franzen, Holmstrom, Cleary, Datsyuk, Hudler, Modano, and several other skilled forwards, they can put the puck in the net with the best teams. The Hawks played alot better defensively in this game, but were lazy when getting the puck out of their end. They also were just brutal on the powerplay in the third period. Add to that the fact that Marty Turco again let in 2 soft goals in a one goal loss, and the Hawks could again be looking at goaltending issues to begin this season.
Last night's game against the Buffalo Sabres (in Buffalo) got off to a horrendous start. The Sabres put a goal on the board just 14 seconds into the game, and then scored a second goal just 2:35 seconds later. Corey Crawford got the start in goal for the Hawks, who allowed 2 goals on the first three shots of the game. To the Hawks credit, they rebounded strongly. Patrick Kane scored a goal on the powerplay late in the first period to bring the Hawks within one goal. Nick Leddy scored his first career NHL goal on a wrist shot from the blue-line that missed by a wide margin, bounced off a Sabre skate, and ended up in the net. Marian Hossa scored 2 goals on breakaways (hi-light reel type goals, too...fun to watch!) to give the Hawks a 4-2 lead midway through the third. The Sabres did score once more to make it 4-3, but Crawford and the Hawks' penalty kill were strong down the stretch, and delivered the Hawks their first win on the new season.
There have been some bright spots in the first three games. Marian Hossa has been a beast. He has 3 goals and 2 assists (5 points) in the first three games, which is great production. Corey Crawford stepped up in a big way after the Hawks were down 2-0 in yesterday's game. He ended up making 32 saves on 35 shots, which is pretty good for a goalie only making his 10th career NHL start. Bryan Bickell and Patrick Sharp have each started well (3 points apiece in the first three games). Patrick Kane has a goal and an assist in his last two games, and seems to be putting the puck on net with more consistency at the start of the season. The fourth line (Stalberg, Skille, Dowell) have been fantastic. They haven't scored any goals yet, but they are fast, play with the puck, aren't afraid to be physical, generate scoring chances, and have posted the Hawks' only scrap of the year (Jake Dowell fought yesterday against some jobber from Buffalo. Dowell got the better of him, eventually). I really like what the fourth line has done, and I see them breaking out offensively very soon.
Through the first three games there are lots of things the Hawks need to work on. The biggest concern to me has been their defense. Last year they gave up a league low 25 shots per game. Alot of that was because they played puck possession, and kept the puck out of their end for the majority of the game. The first two games of the season they were dominated in the puck possession category, and it showed up on the scoreboard. The Hawks need to be better at gaining possession of the puck in their own end, and getting it out quickly. They also need to sacrifice, and block more shots, although they were much better in front of Crawford in the game last night. Hopefully that continues.
The powerplay also needs some work. They have scored a powerplay goal in every game, which is a good start, but they need to generate more quality chances than they've been getting on their powerplay. Several times against Detroit they couldn't even get set up. Not only that, but they've been shorthanded way too many times. The penatly killing unit has been strong, so they haven't been hurt too bad playing shorthanded, but you are asking for trouble when you take penalties.
Several players need to step it up, mainly veteran players who they are counting on for production. Jonathan Toews hasn't posted a point in three games. He's playing with Marian Hossa, who is strong with the puck, and is a terrific passer, as well as a great two-way player (defense into offense). Toews should benefit from that, and put up points in bunches. So far it hasn't happened. I don't worry too much about Toews though, he'll get his. Keith and Seabrook have gotten off to slow starts. Seabrook looks like he forgot the fundamentals at times (losing the puck in front of his own net, not putting his stick on the ice in high traffic areas, etc.). Keith has been better the last two games, and very nearly scored last night (he did post an assist on the Kane goal). John Scott, a newly acquired defenseman in the off-season, has not looked good. He falls down way too much, and is not confident with the puck. Several times in each game he has had the puck in his own end, with time to clear, and has held the puck for so long that he forces himself into in-zone turnovers. That can't happen. Couple that with Brian Campbell's injury and Niklas Hjalmarsson's two game suspension for a violent hit from behind in the Buffalo game last night, and clearly the Hawks have issues on the blue-line.
Marty Turco needs to be better than he's been as well. He's let in three soft goals that have cost the Hawks 2 games, and 3 points in the standings (I know it's early, but still...). He'll get better though. The Hawks have gotten off to slow starts the last two years before figuring it out. They can't afford to start slowly in games though. Teams are going to jump out on them early, and bring intensity every night to try to topple the defending champs. Hopefully the Hawks realized last night just how hard they will have to work to win games this year. I wouldn't count on as many easy victories as last year.
The Hawks have a tough slate of games coming up. They play an upstart Nashville Predators team at home tomorrow night, and have games against Columbus, Buffalo, St. Louis, and Vancouver over the next week and a half. All of those teams are improved, and will be gunning for the Hawks. Let's hope the Hawks get rolling early tomorrow night, and start building up a win streak here in the early going this season.
Sunday, October 10, 2010
Bears/Panthers Recap and other NFL Happenings
Week 5 brought the Bears their fourth victory of the season, as they manhandled the Carolina Panthers on the defensive side of the ball. I decided not to do a preview of this week's game after I was so far off in last week's game against the Giants (I predicted a 31-14 victory for the Bears over the Giants. We all know what happened). So I figured I'd take a week off from making a game prediction.
I was extremely pleased with the Bears running game today. They scored 2 rushing touchdowns in the first quarter (including a 68 yard beauty by Matt Forte). Overall, the Bears running game clicked to the tune of 218 yards on around 40 carries. Matt Forte rushed for a career high 166 yards on 22 carries. He was dynamic early on, and remained consistent throughout the game. The Bears very nearly had a third rushing touchdown later in the first quarter when Chester Taylor ran 9 yards down to the goal line. After initially signaling for a touchdown, the refs overruled the call, and the Bears proceeded to throw a red-zone interception. It was great to see the Bears get back to the downhill running game that they used so well when they were a winning football team. Hopefully they continue to make more of a commitment to the running game the rest of the season.
Part of the reason the Bears made a strong commitment to the run this week was because backup QB Todd Collins took the start in place of Jay Cutler, who was ruled out with a concussion. Todd Collins showed exactly why he's been a career backup. He was 6-16, for 32 yards and 4 interceptions. If Jay Cutler played today the Bears would have easily put up 40 points. Collins had time to throw, and had receivers running wide open, and just could not hit his own guys. He overthrew Greg Olsen on two plays where Olsen was wide open and could have run for extra yards. He also overthrew Johnny Knox on a deep out that was intercepted. His interceptions were all his fault. It was good for the Bears that they were playing a totally inept Carolina Panthers offense. I didn't think I would see a worse offensive performance than the Bears put up last week, but the Panthers came close.
The Bears defense finally had a great pressure game. A week after releasing Mark Anderson due to lack of production, the Bears plugged Israel Idonije in at Defensive End. He had three sacks in his first start of the season. I would say that is outstanding production opposite Julius Peppers. Peppers is going to see double teams every week. The Bears need to have somebody step up and win one on one match ups to get to the quarterback. Maybe Idonije can be that guy. He definitely was today. Urlacher had an interception, Briggs had a sack, and was unbelievable in the running game again, and Peppers had an extremely athletic interception in the opening quarter. The defense looks extremely strong, and they have to continue to play that way. Hopefully the late game injury to Lance Briggs isn't anything too serious. They can't afford to lose him for any length of time.
On top of the Bears' victory over the Panthers, the Packers lost their second game of the season, 16-13 in OT to the Washington Redskins. With the loss, the Packers fell to 3-2, making the Bears the sole owners of first place in the division through week 5. I know that two of the Bears wins have come with less than stellar performances, but a win is a win. The Bears have 3 straight winnable games coming up (vs. Seattle, vs. Washington, bye, at Buffalo). The game against Washington will be tough, but the other two games are must win games for the Bears if they want to be a playoff team. The last 4 games for the Bears are against the Patriots at home, the Vikings on the road, the Jets at home, and the Packers on the road. That is a brutal stretch to end the season. If it is going to take 10 wins to make the playoffs, the Bears might want to have a 10-2 record going into their last 4 games.
There are several surprises so far this NFL season. The Cowboys, who many picked to go to the Super Bowl this season, are now 1-3 after falling to the Titans this afternoon. The NFL had billed next week's Cowboys/Vikings game to be a critical match up in the NFC playoff race, but if the Vikings lose on the road to the Jets this week, both teams will be 1-3 heading into that match up. The Chiefs have been a pleasant surprise, starting their season at 3-1. The 49ers have been a huge disappointment. Almost everybody was picking the 49ers to win the NFC West, and make the playoffs this season. They haven't handled the expectations well at all, starting the season 0-4 (it could be 0-5; they are currently losing 17-10 to the Eagles).
It is still way to early to be talking about the playoffs, but clearly there are teams separating themselves in both conferences as contenders. The Baltimore Ravens might be the best team in the league with their power running game and stout defense. The Jets have gotten outstanding play from Mark Sanchez at QB, and a rejuvenated Ladanian Tomlinson at RB makes them a dangerous team offensively. Their defense is great, as a Rex Ryan defense should be. I also think the Patriots will be in the discussion, and possibly the Steelers as well. In the NFC there are a bunch of teams packed together. The best records belong to the Bears and the Falcons for the moment, but I have a feeling some teams who aren't playing well at the moment will pick it up. The Giants seem to have recovered from a poor start (3-2). The Redskins, Saints, and Packers are all 3-2. The Buccaneers are 3-1, which is a surprise, but they haven't beaten anybody good (wins against the Panthers, Browns and Bengals). I wouldn't expect the Bucs to continue their winning ways, although they might still play well.
Clearly the Bears have positioned themselves well to make a run at the playoffs. Jay Cutler needs to be a leader now. Winning quarterbacks lead their teams into the playoffs by making plays, not letting their defense do all of the work. Hopefully Cutler begins to reign his team in this week against Seattle.
I was extremely pleased with the Bears running game today. They scored 2 rushing touchdowns in the first quarter (including a 68 yard beauty by Matt Forte). Overall, the Bears running game clicked to the tune of 218 yards on around 40 carries. Matt Forte rushed for a career high 166 yards on 22 carries. He was dynamic early on, and remained consistent throughout the game. The Bears very nearly had a third rushing touchdown later in the first quarter when Chester Taylor ran 9 yards down to the goal line. After initially signaling for a touchdown, the refs overruled the call, and the Bears proceeded to throw a red-zone interception. It was great to see the Bears get back to the downhill running game that they used so well when they were a winning football team. Hopefully they continue to make more of a commitment to the running game the rest of the season.
Part of the reason the Bears made a strong commitment to the run this week was because backup QB Todd Collins took the start in place of Jay Cutler, who was ruled out with a concussion. Todd Collins showed exactly why he's been a career backup. He was 6-16, for 32 yards and 4 interceptions. If Jay Cutler played today the Bears would have easily put up 40 points. Collins had time to throw, and had receivers running wide open, and just could not hit his own guys. He overthrew Greg Olsen on two plays where Olsen was wide open and could have run for extra yards. He also overthrew Johnny Knox on a deep out that was intercepted. His interceptions were all his fault. It was good for the Bears that they were playing a totally inept Carolina Panthers offense. I didn't think I would see a worse offensive performance than the Bears put up last week, but the Panthers came close.
The Bears defense finally had a great pressure game. A week after releasing Mark Anderson due to lack of production, the Bears plugged Israel Idonije in at Defensive End. He had three sacks in his first start of the season. I would say that is outstanding production opposite Julius Peppers. Peppers is going to see double teams every week. The Bears need to have somebody step up and win one on one match ups to get to the quarterback. Maybe Idonije can be that guy. He definitely was today. Urlacher had an interception, Briggs had a sack, and was unbelievable in the running game again, and Peppers had an extremely athletic interception in the opening quarter. The defense looks extremely strong, and they have to continue to play that way. Hopefully the late game injury to Lance Briggs isn't anything too serious. They can't afford to lose him for any length of time.
On top of the Bears' victory over the Panthers, the Packers lost their second game of the season, 16-13 in OT to the Washington Redskins. With the loss, the Packers fell to 3-2, making the Bears the sole owners of first place in the division through week 5. I know that two of the Bears wins have come with less than stellar performances, but a win is a win. The Bears have 3 straight winnable games coming up (vs. Seattle, vs. Washington, bye, at Buffalo). The game against Washington will be tough, but the other two games are must win games for the Bears if they want to be a playoff team. The last 4 games for the Bears are against the Patriots at home, the Vikings on the road, the Jets at home, and the Packers on the road. That is a brutal stretch to end the season. If it is going to take 10 wins to make the playoffs, the Bears might want to have a 10-2 record going into their last 4 games.
There are several surprises so far this NFL season. The Cowboys, who many picked to go to the Super Bowl this season, are now 1-3 after falling to the Titans this afternoon. The NFL had billed next week's Cowboys/Vikings game to be a critical match up in the NFC playoff race, but if the Vikings lose on the road to the Jets this week, both teams will be 1-3 heading into that match up. The Chiefs have been a pleasant surprise, starting their season at 3-1. The 49ers have been a huge disappointment. Almost everybody was picking the 49ers to win the NFC West, and make the playoffs this season. They haven't handled the expectations well at all, starting the season 0-4 (it could be 0-5; they are currently losing 17-10 to the Eagles).
It is still way to early to be talking about the playoffs, but clearly there are teams separating themselves in both conferences as contenders. The Baltimore Ravens might be the best team in the league with their power running game and stout defense. The Jets have gotten outstanding play from Mark Sanchez at QB, and a rejuvenated Ladanian Tomlinson at RB makes them a dangerous team offensively. Their defense is great, as a Rex Ryan defense should be. I also think the Patriots will be in the discussion, and possibly the Steelers as well. In the NFC there are a bunch of teams packed together. The best records belong to the Bears and the Falcons for the moment, but I have a feeling some teams who aren't playing well at the moment will pick it up. The Giants seem to have recovered from a poor start (3-2). The Redskins, Saints, and Packers are all 3-2. The Buccaneers are 3-1, which is a surprise, but they haven't beaten anybody good (wins against the Panthers, Browns and Bengals). I wouldn't expect the Bucs to continue their winning ways, although they might still play well.
Clearly the Bears have positioned themselves well to make a run at the playoffs. Jay Cutler needs to be a leader now. Winning quarterbacks lead their teams into the playoffs by making plays, not letting their defense do all of the work. Hopefully Cutler begins to reign his team in this week against Seattle.
Tuesday, October 5, 2010
Blackhawks Season Preview
It's been a rough couple of days for Chicago sports. The Cubs and White Sox season both ended (thank God) with neither team making the playoffs for the second straight year. We all saw this coming, especially for the Cubs, as they were never close. Then the Bears were absolutely humiliated on Sunday night against the Giants (I actually predicted they would win in a blow out. I don't think I'll be doing that again.). Not only did the Bears lose, but they lost their starting quarterback Jay Cutler due to concussion, and their back up quarterback Todd Collins due to a stinger. They both should be able to play this week, but it is still scary to think about a Bears' offense without Cutler. To top it all off, the Bulls' big free agent acquisition in the off season, Carlos Boozer, will now be out for 6-8 weeks after breaking his hand in an off-court injury.
So, to offset all of these crappy recent events in Chicago sports, I am going to write about hockey!
The Blackhawks had their best season in team history last year. Not only did they win their first Stanley Cup since 1961, they set franchise records for road wins and standings points, and also tied the franchise record for total wins in a season. They rolled right through the playoffs, going 16-6, and never having to play a game 7 en route to the Cup.
Things will look vastly different this year than they did last year. Gone are several key players from the magical playoff run. Dustin Byfuglien, Kris Versteeg, Antti Niemi, Cristobal Huet, Andrew Ladd, Ben Eager, Brent Sopel, Colin Fraser and John Madden have all moved on to other NHL teams. The Blackhawks will have to depend on a much younger and inexperienced group of role players in order to make a deep playoff run. They'll also have a new set of goalies to get used to as well.
Their forward lines going into the season look solid, especially their top two lines. The first forward line, according to Comcast Sportsnet, is most likely going to be Jonathan Toews centering for Tomas Kopecky and Marian Hossa on the wings. This line was together for the last 2 games of the Stanley Cup Finals, and they made one of the better defensive pairings in Chris Pronger and Kimmo Timmonen very tired and average. Toews is a star already, but he hasn't reached his peak, which is scary. He won the Conn Smythe trophy as the playoff MVP, and is poised to increase his goal and point totals. He'll have to score more and take on an even greater leadership role now that the Hawks have so many new faces. I am psyched to see Hossa play for a full season with Toews. Toews is such a great passer, and is always in the right position on the ice that Hossa is sure to benefit from it. It wouldn't shock me to see Hossa up around 35-40 goals again this season.
The Hawks' second forward line will be Patrick Sharp centering for Fernando Pisani and Patrick Kane on the wings. Kane and Sharp on the same line will be disgusting for other teams to handle. Teams are going to have to choose which of the Hawks' top two lines to defend with their top defensive pairing. Kane had an amazing year last year. He got stronger with the puck, and developed a killer instinct that led him to finish with 30 goals, and a career high 88 points. Expect those numbers to increase this season playing with Sharp and Pisani, who should improve his scoring numbers now that he is out of Edmonton. Both of those players can fill the net as well. I really like the Hawks' top two lines. I'd put them up there with any top six forwards in the league.
The third and fourth lines will have alot of question marks going into the season. The third line is listed as Dave Bolland centering for Bryan Bickell and Troy Brouwer on the wings. Bolland was injured for most of last year, but proved to be one of the most important players on the Hawks in the playoffs. He totally dominated the Sedin twins in the Vancouver series, and then Joe Thornton in the San Jose series in last year's playoffs. As long as Bolland stays healthy, he should post great scoring numbers for a third line center. He also plays alot on the penalty kill, so he should have a few short handed goals, which are always fun to watch. The biggest question on this line will be Bryan Bickell, who played a few games in the Nashville series for the Hawks while Brian Campbell was out due to injury. Bickell will have to replace Byfuglien's presence in front of the net. Nobody did that better for the Hawks than Big Buff last year, and Bickell has some huge shoes to fill in that respect.
The fourth line is made up of all newcomers. As of right now, the fourth forward line is listed as Jack Skille centering for Viktor Stalberg and Jake Dowell on the wings. Skille was the 7th overall pick in 2005, the year before the Hawks drafted Toews number 3 overall, and two years before taking Kane number 1 overall. Skille has great speed and lots of offensive skill that should translate well against other teams' fourth forward lines. He really needs to catch on with the NHL roster this time around. This is his best opportunity to remain in the NHL, and he needs to play well to stick around. Stalberg is the same way. He has alot of skill in the offensive zone (great puck-handling, great passing, a heavy shot from the point and the slot), but it didn't translate well in Toronto over the past couple of seasons. Hopefully a change of scenery, and the chance to play with a good team, allow Stalberg to post good scoring numbers.
The defensive pairings are going to be very similar to the pairings that gave up the fewest shots on goal in the NHL last season. The first pairing is Duncan Keith (Norris Trophy winner from last year) and Brent Seabrook. These are two all-star calibur defenseman who play well off eachother. Keith is offensive minded, and that showed in his numbers last year (almost 70 points from the blue line is great production). Seabrook is a heavy hitter, and does a great job playing the puck in his own zone.
The second pairing to start the season will be Niklas Hjalmarsson and Nick Leddy. Leddy is a 19 year old player that the Hawks got from the Minnesota Wild last season for Cam Barker. While I think Barker is a solid player, Leddy is a star in the making. He has the potential to be another Duncan Keith for the Hawks, as he is also an offensive minded defenseman. He'll get a shot to stay with the NHL club since Brian Campbell will be out the first 4-5 weeks of the season with a leg injury.
The third pairing is likely to be Nick Boynton and Jordan Hendry to start the season. This pairing is solid, but won't jump out at you. They are pretty good options to play against other teams' fourth forward lines.
The biggest acquisition for the Hawks this off-season was that of their new goalie, Marty Turco. Turco has a great NHL track record, having never posted a losing season in his 10 plus NHL seasons, and that includes the awful Dallas team he was on last year. He looked ok in the preseason, but I really wish he would play the puck less. The Hawks defensemen are so good with the puck, just get the puck to your playmakers and let them skate it up the ice. His save percentage and win-loss record is better than any goalie they've had in either of the past two years, and hopefully his numbers get even stronger this year playing behind one of the better defenses in the league. The backup goalie is Corey Crawford, who looked pretty good in limited time this preseason. He'll probably play 15-20 games for the Hawks this season.
I like the team this year. They aren't as stacked as they were last year, and other teams (the Red Wings, Sharks, Canucks, Blues) made significant upgrades to their teams this season. It will be extremely difficult to get back to the Cup Finals this season, but not impossible. The stars need to play like stars all season long, but they are poised to do just that. I am very much looking forward to the first puck drop this Thursday night, when the Hawks battle the Avalanche in Colorado. Go Hawks! Get the Chelsea Dagger ready!
So, to offset all of these crappy recent events in Chicago sports, I am going to write about hockey!
The Blackhawks had their best season in team history last year. Not only did they win their first Stanley Cup since 1961, they set franchise records for road wins and standings points, and also tied the franchise record for total wins in a season. They rolled right through the playoffs, going 16-6, and never having to play a game 7 en route to the Cup.
Things will look vastly different this year than they did last year. Gone are several key players from the magical playoff run. Dustin Byfuglien, Kris Versteeg, Antti Niemi, Cristobal Huet, Andrew Ladd, Ben Eager, Brent Sopel, Colin Fraser and John Madden have all moved on to other NHL teams. The Blackhawks will have to depend on a much younger and inexperienced group of role players in order to make a deep playoff run. They'll also have a new set of goalies to get used to as well.
Their forward lines going into the season look solid, especially their top two lines. The first forward line, according to Comcast Sportsnet, is most likely going to be Jonathan Toews centering for Tomas Kopecky and Marian Hossa on the wings. This line was together for the last 2 games of the Stanley Cup Finals, and they made one of the better defensive pairings in Chris Pronger and Kimmo Timmonen very tired and average. Toews is a star already, but he hasn't reached his peak, which is scary. He won the Conn Smythe trophy as the playoff MVP, and is poised to increase his goal and point totals. He'll have to score more and take on an even greater leadership role now that the Hawks have so many new faces. I am psyched to see Hossa play for a full season with Toews. Toews is such a great passer, and is always in the right position on the ice that Hossa is sure to benefit from it. It wouldn't shock me to see Hossa up around 35-40 goals again this season.
The Hawks' second forward line will be Patrick Sharp centering for Fernando Pisani and Patrick Kane on the wings. Kane and Sharp on the same line will be disgusting for other teams to handle. Teams are going to have to choose which of the Hawks' top two lines to defend with their top defensive pairing. Kane had an amazing year last year. He got stronger with the puck, and developed a killer instinct that led him to finish with 30 goals, and a career high 88 points. Expect those numbers to increase this season playing with Sharp and Pisani, who should improve his scoring numbers now that he is out of Edmonton. Both of those players can fill the net as well. I really like the Hawks' top two lines. I'd put them up there with any top six forwards in the league.
The third and fourth lines will have alot of question marks going into the season. The third line is listed as Dave Bolland centering for Bryan Bickell and Troy Brouwer on the wings. Bolland was injured for most of last year, but proved to be one of the most important players on the Hawks in the playoffs. He totally dominated the Sedin twins in the Vancouver series, and then Joe Thornton in the San Jose series in last year's playoffs. As long as Bolland stays healthy, he should post great scoring numbers for a third line center. He also plays alot on the penalty kill, so he should have a few short handed goals, which are always fun to watch. The biggest question on this line will be Bryan Bickell, who played a few games in the Nashville series for the Hawks while Brian Campbell was out due to injury. Bickell will have to replace Byfuglien's presence in front of the net. Nobody did that better for the Hawks than Big Buff last year, and Bickell has some huge shoes to fill in that respect.
The fourth line is made up of all newcomers. As of right now, the fourth forward line is listed as Jack Skille centering for Viktor Stalberg and Jake Dowell on the wings. Skille was the 7th overall pick in 2005, the year before the Hawks drafted Toews number 3 overall, and two years before taking Kane number 1 overall. Skille has great speed and lots of offensive skill that should translate well against other teams' fourth forward lines. He really needs to catch on with the NHL roster this time around. This is his best opportunity to remain in the NHL, and he needs to play well to stick around. Stalberg is the same way. He has alot of skill in the offensive zone (great puck-handling, great passing, a heavy shot from the point and the slot), but it didn't translate well in Toronto over the past couple of seasons. Hopefully a change of scenery, and the chance to play with a good team, allow Stalberg to post good scoring numbers.
The defensive pairings are going to be very similar to the pairings that gave up the fewest shots on goal in the NHL last season. The first pairing is Duncan Keith (Norris Trophy winner from last year) and Brent Seabrook. These are two all-star calibur defenseman who play well off eachother. Keith is offensive minded, and that showed in his numbers last year (almost 70 points from the blue line is great production). Seabrook is a heavy hitter, and does a great job playing the puck in his own zone.
The second pairing to start the season will be Niklas Hjalmarsson and Nick Leddy. Leddy is a 19 year old player that the Hawks got from the Minnesota Wild last season for Cam Barker. While I think Barker is a solid player, Leddy is a star in the making. He has the potential to be another Duncan Keith for the Hawks, as he is also an offensive minded defenseman. He'll get a shot to stay with the NHL club since Brian Campbell will be out the first 4-5 weeks of the season with a leg injury.
The third pairing is likely to be Nick Boynton and Jordan Hendry to start the season. This pairing is solid, but won't jump out at you. They are pretty good options to play against other teams' fourth forward lines.
The biggest acquisition for the Hawks this off-season was that of their new goalie, Marty Turco. Turco has a great NHL track record, having never posted a losing season in his 10 plus NHL seasons, and that includes the awful Dallas team he was on last year. He looked ok in the preseason, but I really wish he would play the puck less. The Hawks defensemen are so good with the puck, just get the puck to your playmakers and let them skate it up the ice. His save percentage and win-loss record is better than any goalie they've had in either of the past two years, and hopefully his numbers get even stronger this year playing behind one of the better defenses in the league. The backup goalie is Corey Crawford, who looked pretty good in limited time this preseason. He'll probably play 15-20 games for the Hawks this season.
I like the team this year. They aren't as stacked as they were last year, and other teams (the Red Wings, Sharks, Canucks, Blues) made significant upgrades to their teams this season. It will be extremely difficult to get back to the Cup Finals this season, but not impossible. The stars need to play like stars all season long, but they are poised to do just that. I am very much looking forward to the first puck drop this Thursday night, when the Hawks battle the Avalanche in Colorado. Go Hawks! Get the Chelsea Dagger ready!
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