Oct 18, 2016; Chicago, IL, USA; Chicago Blackhawks right wing Marian Hossa (81) poses for a photo with the puck he scored his 500th goal with against Philadelphia Flyers at the United Center. The Hawks won 7-4. Mandatory Credit: David Banks-USA TODAY Sports
The Chicago Blackhawks have three wins and three losses at the end of the second week of the season
It’s only the second week of a long and grueling 82-game season. This past week, the Chicago Blackhawks played in three games, and they could not have been more different.
They went on a scoring binge to beat the Philadelphia Flyers 7-4 on Tuesday. They had a disappointing outing where they lost 3-2 in Columbus on Friday. And then they thrilled the United Center faithful with a late comeback, overtime, and a shootout on Saturday, to manage a 5-4 victory.
Yes, it’s been a crazy week of ups and downs for the ’Hawks and their fans. And I know many of you are a tad bit distracted, as the Cubs are going to the World Series!!!
Well don’t worry, we’ve got you covered. Carry on with the Cubs, and we’ll keep you updated about what you may be missing with the ’Hawks.
Here’s what’s been going on in the second week of this young season for the Chicago Blackhawks.
Let’s hear it for Hossa!
We all wanted this to happen at the end of last season, and let’s face it, Marian Hossa doesn’t produce offensively like he used to. But we all love him, and he’s still a player you want to have on your team. His defensive contributions are highly valued, he’s a great teammate, and a class act.
Well, it took four games into this season, but Big Hoss finally hit 500 career goals on Tuesday night. He scored a power play goal in the second period, to give the ’Hawks a 4-0 lead. The Flyers cleared the ice and gave Hossa his moment in the spot light. It was a beautiful hockey moment.
Hossa actually left the game in the third period after blocking a shot with his foot, and missed the next game against the Blue Jackets. But it was just a precautionary measure, as he was back in the lineup Saturday night, and played the entire game.
No need to Panik
Oh, it’s such a cliché, and everyone is probably sick of it by now, but Richard Panik keeps forcing our hand. As long as he keeps scoring, we’re going to have to deal with this play on words. It’s a small price to pay if the Chicago Blackhawks keep winning.
Panik scored on Friday against the Blue Jackets, and then again on Saturday to tie the game and force overtime against the Maple Leafs. He currently leads the team (and the NHL!) in goal scoring, with six goals. Not only that, but he’s tied with Artem Anisimov as the leading point scorer for the team. Along with his six goals, he has two assists, for eight points in six games.
That’s not too shabby. Panik has found his niche on the top line alongside Jonathan Toews. He’s playing the right way and taking advantage of his opportunities. Now if he could just pass some of his mojo on to that slacker captain of his, we’d be all set.
The new guys are chipping in
Nick Schmaltz and Ryan Hartman have already scored their first NHL goals during the first week of the season. This week, the other newbie joined the club. Tyler Motte scored his first NHL goal against Columbus on Friday. Then he showed up his fellow rookies by tallying another goal on Saturday against Toronto.
Now I know he was on the team last year, but I still consider Dennis Rasmussen to be a new player. He is definitely in a support role, playing among the bottom six forwards. He, too, scored his first goal of the season against the Flyers on Tuesday. And the rookie defenseman Gustav Forsling was credited with as assist and his first NHL point off a Panik goal on Friday.
If the youngsters and support players can continue to contribute as the season moves along, this will spell good things for the Chicago Blackhawks.
Oct 21, 2016; Columbus, OH, USA; Columbus Blue Jackets left wing Brandon Saad (20) has the puck poke checked away by Chicago Blackhawks defenseman Brian Campbell (51) in the second period at Nationwide Arena. Mandatory Credit: Aaron Doster-USA TODAY Sports
Campbell coming along
On Friday, it looked like Brian Campbell was going to be a healthy scratch, as he had skated outside the top three defensive pairings for the last couple of practices. But Coach Q pulled one over on all of us by dressing seven defensemen and listing Campbell as a forward on the third line. That didn’t happen.
Instead, Campbell was substituted in along with the other six defensemen on a rotating basis all night. Everybody was playing shifts with everybody. Apparently Q is trying to figure something out, and he thought it would be best to do his experimentation against the lowly Blue Jackets. How did that work out for you, Coach Q?
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It seemed as if Campbell was tasked with defending Brandon Saad, and he did a great job of keeping up with him and thwarting a few great opportunities by the ex-Chicago Blackhawk. This won him a spot on the first pairing alongside Duncan Keith on Saturday. He had a great game. He earned primary assists on an Anisimov goal as well as a tally by Motte. He also was credited with the secondary assist on Panik’s game tying goal. That’s three assists in one game, people.
Campbell must be a bit frustrated, as he is being forced to play on his off-side. He, Michal Kempny, and Forsling are all left-handed shots, so it makes sense to have the veteran play his off-side instead of the newbies. But he has to find a way to fit into the lineup and make contributions. He has done that in the last few games.
Unfortunately, Trevor van Riemsdyk hit the goalpost trying to defend a play on Friday, and will be out for 5-6 weeks. With one less defenseman available, this will give Campbell even more of a chance to find his way.
Penalty kill is putrid
This was a complaint in the first week of the season, and it continues to be a struggle this week. The Chicago Blackhawks gave up two power play goals on Tuesday, two on Friday, and one on Saturday. I guess we could say that just one is improvement. And they are staying out of the box more. Against Philadelphia, they committed four penalties, but on Friday and Saturday they only committed two penalties in each game.
Nevertheless, the Chicago Blackhawks have allowed 12 shorthanded goals on 21 chances in six games. That’s unacceptable. Duncan Keith had this to say about the penalty kill, “It’s a few different things. We as players, we need to take ownership of it and figure out a way to get the job done.”
Coach Q added this, “We got a lot of time to repair it. Let’s look at the baby steps of getting through one tonight and go from there”.
Yes, baby steps. And a small sample size. We’re only six games in, after all. I’m sure the Chicago Blackhawks will go through a stretch where we rave about the penalty kill at some point in the season. Who knows, maybe the very next game the Hawks will be perfect on the PK.
Speaking of which, the Chicago Blackhawks take to the ice again Monday night against the Calgary Flames. That’s right, there’s no Cubs conflict for this one. So I expect you all to be watching and cheering on your Chicago Blackhawks!
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