Blackhawks '18-'19

#51      

Joel Goodson

Joel Goodson
respect my decision™
Joel Goodson
Obviously, really good comeback (twice) win last night. On the road, against a good team, no less. Everyone's talking about the Captain (deservedly so), but how 'bout Joker? Kid has been really good. Really good. Can see him growing into our new Hammer, with offense to boot. A Joker - Boqvist pairing could be sick.

Beat the Leafs.
 
#53      

uiuc ee 2012

U
uiuc ee 2012
Ramrod2010 said:
Man, a goalie would be nice.
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Agreed; the offense cannot keep scoring at 5 goals a game. Although I will say that of the 14 goals that Ward has let in I can only think of 2 or 3 which were his fault; the rest would fall under the bad defensive coverage/perfect shot category. How many times have we seen an opponent have a shot from 15 feet out with no pressure??
 
#54      

uiuc ee 2012

U
uiuc ee 2012
I will say that starting 2-0-1 with games in St Loser and against Toronto is quite the feat for any team. Gives me hope that they will at least be more competitive than last year.
 
#55      

Illiniaaron

I
Geneseo, IL
Illiniaaron
Definitely a better first three games than I was expecting. All of this scoring has an early to mid eighties nhl feel to it. But if they don't get Crawford back in some semblance of his previous form it's going to be a long season.
 
#56      

Joel Goodson

Joel Goodson
respect my decision™
Joel Goodson
Ramrod2010 said:
Man, a goalie would be nice.
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C'mon, Ward has been far better than his crappy save percentage indicates. His skaters (forwards included) have gifted many grade A chances. Our D is substandard. Things will get better there when 3rd pairing guys, at best, are displaced by Forsling and Murphy.

Entertaining game. Very glad Kaner secured the loser point.

Oh, yeah, Joker has surpassed my wildest expectations. A Boqvist-Joker pairing has me salivating.
 
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#57      

KBLEE

KBLEE
Montgomery, IL
KBLEE
Rutta looked like an absolute pylon last night. :doh:
 
#59      

Ramrod2010

R
Ramrod2010
Joel Goodson said:
C'mon, Ward has been far better than his crappy save percentage indicates. His skaters (forwards included) have gifted many grade A chances. Our D is substandard. Things will get better there when 3rd pairing guys, at best, are displaced by Forsling and Murphy.

Entertaining game. Very glad Kaner secured the loser point.

Oh, yeah, Joker has surpassed my wildest expectations. A Boqvist-Joker pairing has me salivating.
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Yeah, that was a lazy comment/thought on my part.

I have been very impressed and surprised with most of the team though.
 
#60      

Joel Goodson

Joel Goodson
respect my decision™
Joel Goodson
KBLEE said:
Rutta looked like an absolute pylon last night. :doh:
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Rutta will be moved once Forsling and Murphy are back. ManDog has had some moments. Unfortunately, most of them are bad. Q probably loves him, but that signing looks like a reach (and a waste).
 
#61      

ChiefIllini

C
ChiefIllini
Offense + Jokiharju have been very pleasant surprises. Toews will cool eventually (or I guess have a Gretzky-esque year), Kahun is the blazer this team needs, Keith looks to have turned back the clock a few years, Seabs isn't as awful as last year, Manning looked about as sharp as you could expect (not much), but the rest of the defense looks trash. Cam Ward's body language looks like he thinks every shot is going in--totally clueless. Honestly, some of the worst 3 game goaltending I've seen in a long while and the defense isn't helping.

It's a long season, but the record indicates we are capable of winning games. Get Crawford and find another couple serviceable dmen, and this could be a year we surprise. Honestly, just happy hockeys back.
 
#62      

Joel Goodson

Joel Goodson
respect my decision™
Joel Goodson
ChiefIllini said:
Cam Ward's body language looks like he thinks every shot is going in--totally clueless. Honestly, some of the worst 3 game goaltending I've seen in a long while and the defense isn't helping.
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The goalie always takes the lion's share of the blame. The ghost of Carey Price would have a sub .900 save percentage for the Hawks. Crow is (was?) great, but JC can't save the Hawks if they don't tighten things up considerably.
 
#63      

bdutts

bdutts
Houston, Texas
bdutts
Illiniaaron said:
Definitely a better first three games than I was expecting. All of this scoring has an early to mid eighties nhl feel to it. But if they don't get Crawford back in some semblance of his previous form it's going to be a long season.
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Definitely not a sustainable way to get points.
 
#64      

bdutts

bdutts
Houston, Texas
bdutts
Joel Goodson said:
C'mon, Ward has been far better than his crappy save percentage indicates. His skaters (forwards included) have gifted many grade A chances. Our D is substandard. Things will get better there when 3rd pairing guys, at best, are displaced by Forsling and Murphy.

Entertaining game. Very glad Kaner secured the loser point.

Oh, yeah, Joker has surpassed my wildest expectations. A Boqvist-Joker pairing has me salivating.
Click to expand...

The issue I have with Ward are the easy ones he lets in, like 19 seconds into OT yesterday. Yes, he did make some outstanding saves yesterday but it's the inconsistency that will kill them. And you're right, the D is non-existent.
 
#67      

Joel Goodson

Joel Goodson
respect my decision™
Joel Goodson
Seabs paired with Gus (thank God!). Manning rotating w/Ruuta and Davidson. Get well soon, Gustav.

Martinson out w/a back injury. Maybe Q will play Hayden again (doh!).
 
#70      

bdutts

bdutts
Houston, Texas
bdutts
Joel Goodson said:
Martinsen hurt (back). Fortin called up and will play in Minny (yay!).
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Will be interesting to see how he does. Highmore was the guy who was thought to be the first one recalled. Fortin does have speed and can't have enough of that.
 
#71      

Joel Goodson

Joel Goodson
respect my decision™
Joel Goodson
bdutts said:
Will be interesting to see how he does. Highmore was the guy who was thought to be the first one recalled. Fortin does have speed and can't have enough of that.
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Highmore and Ejdsell are much more known quantities, but for a 1-2 game call up, Fortin makes a lot of sense. Give the kid a cup of coffee, and hopefully he'll flourish back in the A.
 
#73      

bdutts

bdutts
Houston, Texas
bdutts
mattcoldagelli said:
Tough OT loss last night, although defensively, they were fortunate to have a chance at all - this just isn't sustainable in any way.
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No, it's not sustainable. Ward was overall really good IMO. Of the four he gave up, I'd say only one shot is one he could have (or should have) saved. Otherwise, the other three, not much of a chance. Could have easily been 8-3 if not for Ward.
 
#74      

Joel Goodson

Joel Goodson
respect my decision™
Joel Goodson
mattcoldagelli said:
Tough OT loss last night, although defensively, they were fortunate to have a chance at all - this just isn't sustainable in any way.
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bdutts said:
No, it's not sustainable. Ward was overall really good IMO. Of the four he gave up, I'd say only one shot is one he could have (or should have) saved. Otherwise, the other three, not much of a chance. Could have easily been 8-3 if not for Ward.
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Ugh. Gifted the offensive juggernaut Mild 2 points, squandered 1. Short-handed, no less. Total debacle. Ward was VG.

Forsling practiced on Wednesday. Should be back in 2-3 weeks. Crow back next Thursday?
 
#75      

bdutts

bdutts
Houston, Texas
bdutts
Joel Goodson said:
Ugh. Gifted the offensive juggernaut Mild 2 points, squandered 1. Short-handed, no less. Total debacle. Ward was VG.

Forsling practiced on Wednesday. Should be back in 2-3 weeks. Crow back next Thursday?
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Not sure about next Thursday. I’d say by end of the month for sure. Really need Forsling and Murphy.