Anyone seen Jeremy?

Joakim Nordstrom has started the last 5 games for the Blackhawks. Jeremy Morin has watched from the stands since the first game of the road trip in Calgary. The 22 year old Nordstrom joined the Icehogs late in the 2012/13 season. He had 16 games with the Hawks last year and 5 so far here. He stands at 6'1" and a mere 160#s. Morin has been around since mid-way through the 2010/11 season when he split his time between Rockford and the Hawks. He played 3 games in each of the next two years, 24 games last year and 15 so far this year with the Hawks. He is 23 years old, also stands at 6'1" but bulks up at 192 pounds. Now I personally thought Morin was playing pretty well and I am a bit surprised that Q had him sit these last five games. But Jeremy, while he has moments of grandeur, is also prone to mistakes. Morin hits our cap at $800k this year and next. There are plenty of teams that can absorb that salary and use a player like Morin. That could be some well needed cap space for the Hawks. I keep thinking, look for that trade.

How about that goal by Danny tonight. Follows up on his own rebound slapping one out of mid-air. Nicely done.

Give Richards credit for being in the right place for his goal getting up toward the net. His line is on fire. That goal never would have happened without the neat little drop off from Kane to Versteeg. But Kane misses out on an assist on a play he made happen.

The second half of the second period seems to be a problem for the Hawks. During the first 30 of this game the Hawks led both SOGs and FOs. But by the end of the second they were only up one SOG and down one FO. While they did not give up a goal during that time they seem to struggle with the long change during the last half of the period. Great game overall but that second period always scares me.

And the Hawks return home with 10 out of 12 points defeating some of the hottest teams in the league. They get three days off and then play the Blues, who also have 3 days off, at the UC.

#Blackhawks

333 North

We took a trip downtown today to visit 333 (that's pronounced "tree turty tree") North Michigan Avenue, home of the new Blackhawks store. The store is very bright, flashy and spacious unlike the old store that was dark, dingy and crowded. While I didn't check numbers, I believe they had a Jersey on the wall for each of the active players. There was plenty of staff walking around to help answer any question you might have and even someone at the front of the store greeting you and wishing you well when you left.

So herein lies the rub. I was actually looking for a backpack that I saw online. I asked one of the wandering clerks who informed us that they, indeed, had none. We were informed that they were tying to be more of a boutique store. Wha, huh! I thought this was "THE" Blackhawks store. A boutique store? Boutique, scmootique. Bring back the old dingy store loaded with all the chotchkies, random shirts, hat and gloves an the occasional autographed item. I used to love scanning around the room and finding little treasures tucked away in the corners of the displays.

Keep the new larger store, but pack it to the gills with product and memorabilia rather than try to sell a small assortment of high end products.

My advice to you: Don't bother making a special trip to 333. Just stop by if you are in the neighborhood.

As an aside, we also went to the store in Oak Brook mall a couple of weeks ago. That store had much more to choose from. Maybe they did not have every jersey in stock, although they could have in the back, but they had a much larger selection. Oak Brook is worth the visit.

Shooting the Duck(s)

It could be that Richards is turning the corner. After whiffing on a shot in first he then seemed to settle in and looked a bit more comfortable. He finally found the net and later made a diving one handed pass to Versteeg who then set up Kane. I think is he stays comfortable and stops trying too hard we might see more out of him.

Much of the second period looked like the Hawks were on the power play when they were 5 on 5. They probably looked better at equal strength than they did on their actual power plays. That trend pretty much continued into the third.

Let's talk Corey Perry...#10...hit him early and often. The next game I think we will see some action taken against his after he hit Crawford and later cross-checked Hossa. I was surprised that Q did not send Bickell or Carcillo out for the face off after the Hossa hit but I think Q was more concerned with winning the game. Perry can wait for another day.

Overall, great game. Hawks well in control.

#Blackhawks

Scouting the Icehogs...

I made a scouting visit to watch the Icehogs play the Wolves. #1 on must list to watch was Teuvo Teravainen. I believe he still has some developmental issues which is why he has not been called up to the NHL. Let's start with face offs. I am not sure how many he took, but I don't recall him winning a singe face off. He was actually pulled out of the face off circle in the second period and also pulled from a key PP face off. But I think that is a fixable problem.The bigger problem was his tentative play. He is not large at 5' 10" and a mere 169#s but he needs to be a bit more aggressive. He spent most of his time "floating" high in the zone beyond the dots. He has a lot of skill but his size is going to be a bid problem. More bacon cheese burgers.

Garret Ross had a great game scoring two goals. Mashinter with a assist and an empty net goal.

Y'all remember 6' 9" Viktor Svedberg? He cross checks a guy in the corner and they both go down, Svedberg on top cross checks him again. Its the AHL, so no call yet. So Viktor brings his stick over the guys head, down to his upper chest and starts choking him! Finally the arm went up. Unbelievably stupid.

I didn't realize that Terry Broadhurst moved to the Wolves. Not sure how that happened. Alex is still with the hogs but I never saw the brothers on the ice at the same time.

Mac Caruth made some fantastic saves and got the shutout in the 3-0 victory. Darling sat on the bench. Mashinter looked really good. I think he would be the next forward to get pulled up if needed. Klas Dahlbeck and Kyle Cumiskey played great defensive games.

As for the Wolves, they have Colin Fraser playing for them. You old timers might remember him. Brent Sopel now playing with the Wolves. He looks like he gained a few pounds over his listed weight of 201#. Looks more like 220 or 230.

Ty Rattie had a great game. He going to be someone to look for on the Blues once he develops.

And lastly Jake Chelios, son of Chris Chelios, is now with the wolves. Tripped over his own two feet in the first as he attempted to cross over to go after a puck, never saw that from daddy, but played just OK. Didn't see NHL talent there. We'll see if he develops.

Hawks now 12 goals to 1 against Edmonton this year

I checked the Brovada odds today. Penguins to win the cup 13/2, Hawks remain at 7/1. Still early in the season and the Hawks have hopefully completed their "slump."

I remember when the Oilers were feared. Not so much these days. Lots of #1 draft picks and an $18M first line. But 200/1 for the Stanley cup. And tonight they showed us why. One of if, if not the, worst defenses in the league.How many #1 draft picks really make it big anyway?

Bad break for Rannta tonight. Maybe he could have gotten the shutout. Actually I am not sure there is a goalie in the league that could have stopped that Edmonton goal. As Corey prepared to  catch that one in his glove it deflected in on his stick side.  Let's hope that Rannta hasn't spread that flu around the team. We certainly don't need anyone else out of the line-up.

I still think Richards needs more time working with this team. He's just not connecting with Kane or Versteeg. Versteeg's goal came while playing with Toews and Hossa. Kane's goal came from Versteeg and Hjlrmarsson.

So it's one to see the Sendin twins and the rest of the Cnuckleheads who lost 4-1 to the Ducks on Friday night.

And by the way, all 8 goals scored by Kane this year have been in the third period.

#Blackhawks

Hawks dig deep and win.

I've talked about the depth of this team, in particular the defense. We saw that tonight as Q brings in the new kids, each 22 years old. One of them, Clendening, scores on his second shift and then the other one, Nordstrom, was key to setting up the second goal. On the good side, we won't need to test that depth any further as Hammer returned to the ice in the second after taking that puck to the face late in the first.

The best PK in the league did not look that way tonight giving up 2 goals on the first two PKs. Before the first penalty by Kruger the Hawks were up 10-3 on the SOGs. Finished the first period up 12-11 and then fell to 13-12 by the end of the Toews penalty. UGH This is why we try to stay out of the box. But noooo, they go on to draw 6 penalties for the night, giving up momentum, if not goals, each time.

After a lull in the action early in the second, geez that was boring, the Hawks finally turned on the speed and paid off with a goal from Seabs. But Calgary has good speed as well and answered with a goal from Monahan less than two minutes later.

Great stick movement by Kane to poke in the 4th Hawk goal. While Kane has a great game and played  17:50 minutes, Toews still led the forwards with 20:03 minutes.

For the Hawks, only 4 SOGs in that third. That will be a topic of conversation in the locker room.

But we go on to win the first game of the circus trip against a pretty hot Flames team.

So on to play the lowly Oilers on Saturday and then the Cnuckleheads on Sunday. Buckle up your seat belts, this road trip is not going to be any easier as we move forward.

#Blackhawks

Go West Young Hawks

The circus is hitting the United Center. I remember the times when it was hard to tell the difference between the Blackhawks and the circus. How things have changed. Thank you Rocky.

TVR - We now know he suffered a broken patella (aka kneecap). He will have surgery on Thursday and be out 3 or 4 months. That is a really tough break for a guy who jumped up from college to one if, if not THE, top teams in the league.The good news is that this is an injury from which he can fully recover and be back in time for the playoffs. Keep your fingers crossed.

Two young Hawks, Nordstrom and Clendening, join the team to head west to Calgary to open a 6 game road trip to complete November. Clendening is excited to be with the team but feels terrible for the TVR situation.

I attended the Hawks send-off practice today over at Johnnies Ice House West. Based on that practice it appears that Roszival might actually sit and Nordstrom will be in. Clendening pretty obviously the odd forward out. He even played some defense at practice taking a wrist shot from Hossa in a place where no man wants to get hit. No cup is perfect.

All rostered Hawks, sans Sharp and TVR, were present. There was some quick PP practice but mostly drills for timing and shooting. Richards, playing between Versteeg and Kane, still struggling with finding Kane on the passing plays. If they stay together long enough this will work itself out.

Q indicated Crow will be in the net tomorrow night. Raanta said he wasn't worried about his quick trip to Rockford. He would told that the team "had a plan."

So to start in Calgary I believe the lines to be:
20-19-81
23-91-88
29-65-13
42-16-28 (42 = Nordstrom)
and on D:
2-7
4-27
6-5 (6 = Clendening)

#Blackhawks #TrevorvanRiemsdyk