Check out the new digs

Due to personal reasons I suspended writing the Hawkey Blog, but now I am back at a new location. I am still in the process of setting up the site. Posts are being written.

New site: http://www.redrisingblog.com/

Game #22: @ Los Angeles (3:00PM Central)

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Yesterday in Anaheim the Blackhawks were engaged in a game that saw only one goal find the net. Unfortunately it was the Ducks that scored it. Both teams played well in their own zone, and scoring chances were at a minimum. The Blackhawks missed on the few opportunities they had. One being a one-timer that lacked enough mustard from Dave Bolland, and it gave Jonas Hiller enough time to make the save.

The ‘Hawks will have to make better chances for themselves in today’s game. They might come out a little sluggish playing their second game in as many days. It seems to be a trend with this Blackhawks team. Start out slow, and hope that they aren’t down by too much at the end of the first period. Then after the first intermission they keep getting stronger and faster till the game is over. Pat Foley even brought this up during yesterday’s broadcast.

Los Angeles is a team that never seems to be able to graduate from the rebuilding process. Their greatest offensive threat is the only Slovenian playing in the NHL, Anze Kopitar. The Kings won’t be able to offer up enough trouble for the Blackhawks this afternoon, and it would be great to end the circus road trip on a winning note.

Starting in net: Early reports state that Cristobal Huet will get the start again. He played a good game yesterday, but didn’t face too many challenging shots from the Ducks.

Game #21: @ Anaheim (3:00PM Central)

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The Blackhawks escaped San Jose with one point, but possibly without Aaron Johnson and Nikolai Khabibulin. Reports state that Johnson will be placed on the IR at some point. Brent Sopel and Matt Walker will both be in the lineup tonight. As for Khabibulin, he is listed day-to-day and will travel with the team. His injury is undisclosed, but Corey Crawford has been called up from Rockford.

Going into Anaheim tonight with some injuries will make things harder for the Blackhawks. Sopel and Walker will log more ice-time than they should, and Khabibulin’s great work between the pipes as of late will be missed by the team. The Ducks have some big bodies that aren’t afraid to throw their weight around. Ryan Getzlaf and Corey Perry come to mind, and they will be an offensive threat as well. This game will not be an easy one for the ‘Hawks.

Tim Sassone of the Daily Herald is reporting that Dustin Byfuglien will be returning from an upper-body injury. He will have to step up and play a physical game tonight.

Starting in net: Cristobal Huet will start tonight. Huet needs to play a solid game, and will want to prove himself to the coaching staff if he wants to spend more time in net.

Game #20: @ San Jose (9:30PM Central)

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The Blackhawks will face the San Jose Sharks for the second time this season, but this time it will be on their turf. The Sharks are 11-0-1 at home, so it’s going to be a tough game for the ‘Hawks. The first game the two teams played, the Blackhawks lost a close one where a total of eleven goals were scored. That’s not going to happen tonight. The ‘Hawks will have a hard time getting pucks in the net with the return of Evgeni Nabokov.

We are right in the middle of the six-game circus road trip, and the Blackhawks have won the first three games. Everyone would have been happy if the ‘Hawks would return home with a five-hundred record during this stint, but that won’t cut it now. The next three games will take place in the state of California where the team will face San Jose, Anaheim, and Los Angeles.

The Blackhawks would be very lucky to come away with four points over the course of those games. Anything less than two would be mean that we couldn’t even beat the Kings, and that would be sad.

Starting in net: It appears that Nikolai Khabibulin will get the nod once again. This would be his fourth game in a row. Khabibulin is 3-0 on the road trip.

The follicle feats of Kyle Beach (SOTM)

This writer is inspired. Maybe it was the Maple Leafs honoring Wendel Clark, Joel Quenneville, or that we are currently in the month of Movember that led to this idea. From this day forward this site will have a new (first) monthly tradition. The greatest hockey mustaches known to man will be displayed here for all to see every month.

I didn’t have to travel far to find a great candidate for the first entry into ‘Stache of the Month Club. The phrase “great hockey mustaches” was typed into the browser, and with a couple calculated clicks led me to a story on 2008 first-round draft pick of the Chicago Blackhawks, Kyle Beach and his mustache [pictured bellow].

Kyle Beach lickin' the 'stach

Of course there is a tale behind the mustache. Beach and his Everett Silvertip teammates utilized the power of the ‘stache as an adhesive to bond the team together. This story was so poignant that Nick Patterson of the Everett, Washington Herald knew that the world must know of it.

Patterson wrote:

“The concept originated with a moment of forgetfulness. When Beach left for training camp with the NHL’s Chicago Blackhawks in September, he forgot to pack his razor. By the time he got around to finding a replacement, his facial hair had grown enough that he decided to see how he looked with just a mustache. The look went over so well with his Chicago teammates that he decided to bring it back to Everett.

”Beach’s mustache proved an inspiration to some of Everett’s other veterans, who started growing their own. When assistant coach Mark LeRose made an off-the-cuff remark that everyone should grow one for the road trip, the suggestion made in jest soon became a reality. The players even broke out the Just For Men coloring dye to make sure the mustaches stood out that much more.”

For an eighteen-year-old, that mustache is coming in rather well.

Game #19: @ Toronto (6:00PM Central)

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It was a rough morning for me, so this is going to be short.

Another Original Six match-up in Toronto tonight and the Blackhawks will look to increase their winning streak on the road. They should have a pretty good go at it against the rebuilding Maple Leafs.

Starting in net: All signs point to Nikolai Khabibulin starting once again tonight.

Rumor Mill: Nylander to Chicago imminent?

If you follow the copious amount of Rumor Mill entries I have been writing lately, the idea of Michael Nylander coming to Chicago shouldn’t be news. I’m starting to forget what existence was like before rumors of Nylander to Chicago were being reported.

A couple days ago, it was being reported that a deal was in place for the services of Nylander. This morning Len Ziehm of the Sun-Times is reporting that a deal is on the brink.

Ziehm wrote:

“Byfuglien and veteran defenseman Brent Sopel were surprise scratches for the game. Both have been mentioned in trade speculation, most prominently in the last few days, when Byfuglien reportedly was headed to the Capitals for Nylander. The Hawks nixed that deal, apparently because they couldn’t stay under the salary cap if they acquired Nylander.

“Adding Sopel to the deal would allow them to do that, and Sopel would become expendable with James Wisniewski expected to be fully recovered from knee surgery in early December.”

The word in Washington is that Michael Nylander is starting to play his way out of favor in the nation’s capital. Head-coach, Bruce Boudreau, has even scratched him from the lineup more than once this season. Nylander is also thirty-six, and is under contract until the end of 2011.

So why would the ‘Hawks be interested in Nylander? Dale Tallon would like to acquire Nylander because he would provide the team with a veteran presence, and he would fill the role of a skilled top-six forward.

The Dustin Byfuglien experiment has been an interesting one at times. He has shown some signs that can be a capable forward, but he lacks a consistent ability to show anyone that he deserves anything close to his $3M contract. I wouldn’t mind freeing up the cap space, and letting Buff be some other team’s project.

When it comes to trading Brent Sopel, Dale Tallon should do whatever it takes.

I would prefer for the Blackhawks to make a trade for a younger/cheaper option than Nylander. In two years when the organization will look to re-sign Patrick Kane and Jonathan Toews, Nylander’s contract shouldn’t interfere with the front office’s ability to do so. He is set to make $3M in the 2010-11 campaign.

If this will lead to the end of the Brent Sopel era in Chicago, I think I can convince myself that this is a good deal for the Blackhawks organization.

Game #18: @ Dallas (7:30PM Central)

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Game two of the circus road trip takes place tonight in Dallas where the Blackhawks hope to start a streak of the winning variety. The two teams played once already this season, and the ‘Hawks won that game 5 – 2.

Starting in net: It is being reported that Nikolai Khabibulin is going to be starting in net for the Blackhawks. He played a great game against the Coyotes on Tuesday, and Quenneville is going to ride the hot hand tonight. The practice of rotating between Khabibulin and Cristobal Huet may be over for now.

Trade rumors have been surrounding Khabibulin for a while now, but with the way he has been playing for the Blackhawks, Dale Tallon won’t move him. I don’t know what has gotten into him this season – maybe Khabibulin put down the bottle of vodka or that this is a contract year – but he is finally playing like the guy we expected when Tallon signed him out of Tampa Bay.

Rumor Mill: Nylander continued, and more

I’m a little behind on addressing some of the rumors flying around the intranet this week, so I’ll try to cover them quickly.

The pursuit of Michael Nylander by our Dale Tallon is still on, and there has been some information trickling in on the subject from various news outlets recently. Jim Matheson of the Edmonton Journal reported that the Blackhawks “balked” on a deal for Nylander because the Capitals were interested in Dustin Byfuglien. There had to be more to this because the salaries would not have matched up to keep the ‘Hawks under the salary-cap.

Yesterday, Bob Mckenzie of TSN.ca reported that Washington and Chicago have a deal in place, but nothing can be done until the Blackhawks free themselves of enough cap room. He suggests that only was to free up enough cap-space is by moving Nikolai Khabibulin.

Tim Sassone briefly mentioned on his blog that Cam Barker is rumored to be a piece of a deal that would bring Nylander to Chicago. This would have had to be a separate deal than the one that included Byfuglien. It is no secret that the Blackhawks’ organization thinks that Byfuglien will be a dominant power forward in the NHL, so I don’t believe that Tallon would send that much talent for a guy who is in the twilight of his career.

The New Jersey Devils still have not made a move for a replacement for Martin Brodeur while he is on the IR. Some reports still suggest that Khabibulin is being looked at by the Devils, but if they do make a trade, it will be for someone with a cheaper price tag.

That being said, Larry Brooks of the New York Post suggests that the Blackhawks may have some interest in Patrik Elias. He does have a no-movement clause, but Brooks suggests that he may wave it to play with fellow Czech, Martin Havlat. Khabibulin and Elias do have similar enough salaries that a deal could be possible, but I don’t think that Lou Lamoriello would trade Elias, who is locked up till 2013, for an expensive short-term solution in net.

Sassone brought up Barker more that once in his post, writing nothing more than “Barker to Ottawa”. His name is going to be brought up a few more times before the trade deadline. It appears as though there are a lot of teams that covet the young defenseman.

According to Brendan Shanahan’s agent, he was going to sign with a team last week, but Shanny is still on the market. This is the player that I think the Blackhawks should go after. He can put up points, and provide a physical style of play that the ‘Hawks need.

Quenneville is mad as hell, and…

…he’s not going to take it anymore!

It looks like everybody’s favorite defenseman, Brent Sopel, has played himself in to Joel Quenneville’s dog house. Sopel has only played in one and a half games out of a possible five. He was scratched from the lineup for games against the Flames (Nov. 9), Bruins (Nov. 12), and the Coyotes (Nov.18). Sopel played the whole game at home versus the Blues (Nov. 14), and was pulled halfway through the game against the Sharks (Nov. 16) for a costly turnover in the defensive zone.

I for one applaud Coach Q for this move. Sopel has been horrible all season, and currently boasts a team worst -7 plus/minus rating. Quenneville also sat Patrick Sharp for a portion of the second period after he was called for high sticking last night. He is trying to eliminate the amount of stupid penalties that the ‘Hawks have been prone to this season. Quenneville is sending a message to the team that he’s not afraid to bench top or highly paid players (Sopel – $2.3M, Sharp – $3.9M).

Tim Sassone, of the Daily Herald, briefly mentioned in his blog Monday that the Blackhawks are trying to move Sopel out of town. I don’t know why any team would want him, but the ‘Hawks may be able to package him in a deal sometime later in the season. Sopel is under contract till the spring of 2011, thanks to GM Dale Tallon.

Matt Walker has done an adequate job replacing Sopel on the blue-line, for now.

The brief benching of Sharp will resonate with the young team more so than keeping Sopel out of the lineup, considering that Sharp is one of the Blackhawks’ top performers.