What was that?
The worst thing about Tuesday's 3-1 loss by the Hawks in Game 3 to the Canucks is they didn't even give themselves a chance to win and seize the series by the throat.
It wasn't a good effort at such a critical time in a playoff series.
The Canucks were much better defensively, but the Hawks made no adjustments to fight through the muck. The forecheck was lacking when they did get the puck behind the Vancouver defense, the power play was too picky and looking for pretty plays and there were more bad penalties.
The worst was Patrick Kane's lazy hooking penalty in the offensive zone with 40 seconds left in the first period and the Hawks behind 1-0. The Canucks scored on the power play early in the second period.
Kane played only 14 minutes so maybe Quenneville was sending a message that those penalties can't happen.
The Hawks now need to win Game 4 on Thursday or they're done.
The Canucks have all the momentum again and they might get injured defenseman Sami Salo back.
So much for the energy of another great crowd pumping up the Hawks.
"We just have to come out and be better, and we will next game," Kris Versteeg said. "We didn't play our game in the first. Maybe it was nerves, not wanting to disappoint the crowd, but we have to be better from the drop of the puck."
Canucks goalie Roberto Luongo had a relatively easy night thanks to the work of his defense who kept the Hawks on the outside all night.
can't win the big games. not a clutch team. most inconsistant team the hawks have iced in 30 years.
this was a big dame. HUGE.
and the same problems occur; pretty passing, slowing the game down, thinking not reacting. At 36 years I EXPECT habbibulin to know how to clear a puck.
seen it all before. all the hawks coaches and all of rocky's man can't seem to get this team to play as good as they can.
dismissed.
tunitz you are a born loser and us Hawk fans would like you to move on or keep your opinions to yourself as you obvioulsly are an extremely negative person or else a band wagon hockey fan. You know the kind on with a win and off with a loss. Get real.
What huge "big dame"? Did I miss her during the shoot the puck contest?
I not sure how much you have seen, but you obviously have a short memory. 104 points and the hawks are in the 2nd round of the playoffs. That doesn't equate to the most inconsistent team in 30 years. Apparently you have forgotten all the years where they never even made the playoffs, you dunce.
I remember when people use to piss and moan about Belfour years ago, and if it wasn't for Eddie the hawks wouldn't have made it as far as they did. Yet every year somewhow it ended up being his fault the hawks didn't go all the way. Same goes for the present. Hawks made it thus far for one reason and one reason only...the bulin wall. It all starts with goaltending and the hawks have gotten it all year round. The hawks lost the game last night for many reasons..habby wasn't one of them. You wanna bitch about something how about the sleeping fans in the stands??...where the hell were they? the fans could have made things real tough on Vancouver.....instead they made it real easy for them...no noise at all. I remember years ago when Boston was leading the hawks by two goals, during the second intermission the crowd was on it's feet going crazy.....when the hawks came back out for the thrid period Boston didn't know what hit them . I didn't hear that at all last night, the anthem was loud and that was it.
It's a no brainer the hawks have to play better in game 4 or it's going to be a real short series. I think they have the tenacity to pull off a win in game 4. Winning another game in Vancouver is also well within this teams capabilities. Who the hell ever said a best of seven playoff series was going to be easy. Anyone who thought Vancouver was just going to lay down and let the hawks skate all over them was in a friggen dream state. Things don't go according to plan. It's how you react to diversity, thats what counts. Lets see what the hawks can do. Vancouver has looked vulnerable and their D certianly showed signs of buckling under pressure.
The hawks are not going to be able to sign everyone. Not with the salary cap. The Wings are in the same position. They have signed some of their top players to big contracts and will not have enough cash keep everyone. Whats important is.... who do you have in your farm system to replace stars you can't resign. You bring up young players and hope they can blossom and fill in the void, thats all you can do now days. Every team in the league is in the same spot the hawks are in.....you cant resign everyone.
This team needs everyones support, bitching about what might have been is not going to get us to the next round.
I'm out.
The bottom line here is that this team doesn't quit. Yes ,they played a clunker last night but they are only down 2-1 at this point not 3-0. Win on Thursday and the series is a toss up. Even if the worst case scenario happens and they lose game 4 I still believe this team has enough heart to rally. Some of the reactions I've been heaing sound like the Cub fans (ok I am one too) the minute they fell behind in game 1 vs the Dodgers. I think this team is different and will come back to win. Just keep the faith and remember Hawks SHOOT THE PUCK.....
Jay, Hockey is different than baseball. It is a sport where superstitions are very big and in most cases very sound. You made a big mistake when you let someone talk you into switching from red to white with the rally towels Tuesday night. You don't change what worked in the Superstitions of Hockey, especially during the playoffs.
Why would you want us to wave Vancouver's favorite rallying colored towel. You have to change that quickly and don't try it again.
I know you didn't know better coming from the baseball world of it's rah-rah moments. It don't go like that in hockey.
Stick to the red PLEASE
Because I don't see anyone on the farm that can score except perhaps Skille move number one in the offseason has to be dealing with the Havlat situation. If he's not resigned the next move has got to be finding someone that can create some offense. Those guys are not easy to find and are rarely cheap. I expect the point totals for Toews, Versteeg and Kane to rise next year and Sharp should be good for 30+ goals if he is healthy but losing Havlat creates a goal crater that still needs to be filled on my 2009-2010 roster.
After that the goaltending and defense stuff can be worked on. Barker has far more upside than Wiz in my opinion and finding a physical defenseman never seems to be that hard or expensive, but Barker may command more in salary than what the Hawks would prefer due to his offensive ability. We'll see. It would be tough letting him go as he has the looks of a guy about to break out.
Barring something unforeseen Huet is The Guy next year and more than likely Crawford or Niemi backing him up. It seems like the current regime doesn't like Crawford as much as Savard did but time will tell. Either way they won't be clogging up 10-12 million in payroll on two goaltenders next year.
Never heard of this kid until another poster mentioned him but i youtube'd him and came up with this.....he likes to eat shots...but he usually has the last word. Reminds me a lot of Cam Janssen. Enjoy
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CIMUgoATTv4
Does anyone other than me feel that the Pahlsson - Wisniewski trade was awful for the Hawks?
I have yet to see any significant faceoff advantage with Paulson on the ice, have not seen Paulsson win ANY critical faceoff, and I sorely miss Wisniewski's grit and toughness on the blueline. Additionally, Wiz is a very good offensive defenseman, especially on the 4-man rush that the hawks are employing in this series to come back in these games. Oh yeah, Jimmy isn't afraid to drop them either. Having said that, I still want to say, win or lose, the Hawks have given us a great season to enjoy, and more importantly, a great promise for the future.
Look I miss WIZ too..but SP is winning over 53% of his faceoff's in the
post season, and slowing down the Iginla's ( a non-factor in rd 1) and the
Sedin's who havent played as well against the Hawks as they did the Blues.
BTW where was WIZ last night, and most of today..but injured AGAIN and back
in the hospital, (cheap shot by holmstrom who will be nailed for this) hopefully
he plays again in the post season, but might not. Meanwhile tomorrow night
SP will be back grinding away again.
He had to be traded one way or another and really he is very average defensively. Sure he can play tough but he also made some really bad defensive plays at times and can take some purely stupid penalties. Hawks have plenty of Offensive D and don't need his contributions in those regards. Don't get me wrong. I like the guy and he had a great attitude but they didn't really need him. The best thing for him was a fresh start with a new team where he can play the minutes and get a nice new contract.
Unless down the line we need Wisniewski on our third pair...depending upon what moves Tallon does or does not make this summer....you comment is correct, he won't be missed. He may be able to return and perform better than he did in his last year here (emphasis last year here). But why gamble on a player with a history of medical and injury issues? Hjalmarsson is a cheap contract for next year, and with MONEY THAT MAY GO TO hAVLAT, why pay a Wisniewski even 1-2 mill to return?
The real headache is, will we be able to re-sign Havlat with a guaranteed contract for 3-4 yr.? Any longer length contract is idiotic and potentially cumbersome, even strangles Tallon's ability to improve the roster due to Havlat's shoulder and overall he is prone to injury, anyway. He would do best if he had a talented banger on his line and a certified other star producing on another line. Toews is one answer; Kane could be another answer if he would compete better and gain more strength. KaNE IS A BABY THAT NEEDS qUENNEVILLE TO TEACH HIM A LESSON BY RIDING THE PINE INSOFAR AS THEN kANE DOESN'T GET ALL THE GOALS HE WANTS. iT'S A TEAM GAME, CAN't be too selfish. Must backcheck. Must battle better for the puck. Timid so sometimes he makes weak offensive attempts/easily stopped. Intrigue department: Greenop a welcome addition as a tough and a checker in one year? He's been in that role in junior. See him in rookies camp in Bensenville this summer.
the hawks win the cup this year (not going to happen) or they re-sign pahlsson (not a sure thing).
on a related note, barker is also an RFA who makes 3 times what wiz does and i doubt he (or his agent) are going to be willing to forego a raise just to stay in chicago, especially if some enterprising GM (like the guys in edmonton) correctly figures Tallon has little cap maneuverability with 15 RFAs to decide on this year (& the big 3 next year) along with havlat, pahlsson & khabi, and decide to sign Barker to an offer sheet that the hawks simply can't afford to match...this may be especially the case for teams that miss out on bouwmeester.
and frankly, while barker has a good shot from the point & put up some points on the pp, he is way too casual in his own zone for my liking. i think wiz, despite being smaller, was more intense & played the tougher of the two, and paired with the right Dman, where he can simply focus on his game and not worry about covering for his partner, which is happening in Anaheim, he is more effective at both ends.
also wiz is a right handed shot, an important attribute especially for play along the right corner & boards & they are tougher to find since most guys are left handed shooters.
I'll agree with your comments about what Wisniewski can bring when he is playing well. But he was not playing too well, he was deserving of the 3rd pairing while in Chicago this season. To be fair, he was never the old Wisniewski this season after returning from injury. With Anaheim he has played better progressively, especially in the playoffs on a third pair. Playing on that team it wouldn't be hard for an experienced defenseman to play well. He can be valuable with what he can bring to a team, making the offense and defense strong as a third pair guy. He still exhibited weakness in defending, with players skating around him on a break down ice against him in many games leading up to the playoffs. Now, he may have suffered a serious injury last night.
In retrospect, let's make a notation that both are f/a this summer. Let's also recall that the Chicago medical staff is supposed to know if his knee will be ok after a year, or if the knee is one big hit away from career ending injury. Let's also acknowledge that Pahlsson had some big games for us in late April/early May. Has he been better than someone else as face offs and his defensive role? Has he created the mindset for this team to believe even more in itself due to the establishment of roles and line combinations? Had the trade not been made, would Hjalmarsson have been recalled? Hjalmarsson has been a great addition and makes planning for next year different due to his performance. I would say he has been better as far as consistently being solid and not making mistakes, than Wisniewski would have been.
I am not against Wisniewski's return if it can be done financially. Whose spot does he take? Do you keep Walker as a regular? Do you trade Barker before he has developed into the defenseman he can become? Eventually we need a more mobile, less turnover prone version of Walker to replace Walker himself? I don't know that I have enough trusted information regarding Wiz's health to re-sign him. I certainly was a fan of his, up until the knee injury caused me to question his long term value. One last thought: If Chicago doesn't draft a center in the first round of the Entry Draft, do they select a defenseman? There is a bevy of defensemen Tallon drafted whom continue to develop. Carlsson is over here next season, but Lalonde is a small D Keith version who needs at least a couple of years after junior to develop. I seriously question if Connelly, Denis-Pepin or others at Rockford can be projected as more than third pair at best. So maybe Wisniewski would sign a short term contract; does he take the bigger money elsewhere or go with home town diiscount? But after the latest (not a knee) injury, whom would offer him much $$$?
The organization must determine where they see prospects maybe fit in next season. Then decide if they have enough room for resigning a Wisniewski. I would think someone noticed Zajac may be a keeper...how good projected, how soon? We know about the goalies, Markov, Aliu and Beech. Dowell and Brophey are fill in 4th line guys who may one day replace Fraser. THEREALWiz points out to me, that Fraser's reaction time is superior and he could be counted on to be reliable, which trumped his shortcoming in skating and size. Fraser could be around for another year as should Burrish. Eager is a lock: good skater, enough ability, playing smart in playoffs, can be inserted occasionally on top lines. With Buff and Brouwer's improved play lately, I don't see anyone loosing a job immediately come fall '09. But with maybe one year AHL Greenop could be our new enforcer. As for the red flags with Aliu and Beech, hey, talent is there and they will survive the red flags. Skille: could be valuable as a skill guy for a third line checker role? But when does he make Chicago? I suspect Sweat much like Skille?
Wiz was never great defensively and well worth the Pahlsson addition.
We had this discussion yesterday and the day before. The consensus seemed to be that the trade was a good one. Go back and read the commentary to Tim's previous blog to find out why.
I was never a big Khabibulin fan but I was the 1st to say he was playing very well at the end. We still need him to come up big, but last night he couldn't. It was the type of game we needed him to steal for us and he was as awful as most of the team.
Next year we need to move on without his 6 million, and hope one of the Kids like Crawford or Niemi comes on like a Mason or the Nashville goalie.
Havlat is a puzzle also. I think he is great at times and then disappears at times. Rumors abound about the flu taking his toll. I just don't think Tallon can tie him up for 7 or 8 years like I have heard recently.
I wouldn't mind signing him for a couple of more years but no more. And if we can't sign him, I am sure with the appx 12 million we will have from him and Khabibulin, Tallon can sign 1 elite player or even 2 great players.
So another interesting summer coming up, but I still think we can pull this series out, obviously tomorrow is a must win
I think Niemi is the future, if any of them are.
The hawks played a bad game. Khabi stood on his head for some quality saves again. Thursdays game is a must win. Must come out strong and stop taking stupid penalties. People stop jumping off bridges because of a loss. The hawks have come so much farther then many expected this season. Stand behind your team no matter what, or go the hell away. It gets stressful and frustrating. They are a young team, still working out the penalty kinks and need their fans to stand behind them and help push them to the next round. Not cry and complain every loss. Its a learning experience still, every round has different pressures and stress levels. They are still adjusting to the very fast paced playoff life style. Some people will sit there and say "Its game 3 of the 2nd round, they should be used to it already." My question to those of you who jump and act like they know everything, have you ever played in an NHL playoff game? Have you ever been captain to an NHL team, your 2nd NHL season, and have fans expect you to be superman? You wonder why they choke sometimes.. Sometimes is has to do with reading about fans that dont think they deserve to be where they are because they lost a game, rather then standing behind their team while you couldnt even IMAGINE the amount of stress this young team is dealing with everyday.
I stand behind my hawks and am damn proud of what they have accomplished this year. No matter the outcome.
Excellent post as I agree with you one hundred percent. Enough of this player bashing after one off game. Stand by your team! It is a real shame when a player gets the big bucks like Khabby and Campbell that they are not allowed to make a mistake?? They are only human and can you imagine the pressure of trying to justify the salary and sometimes that only makes things worse. Support these guys and it will make it easier for all of us.
Some? Maybe. A couple, for sure. But he also let by one very soft, back breaking, goal. He, along with everyone else needs to be better if they are going to advance.
EVERY goalie lets soft ones in. Every goalie makes mistakes. You have to remember the great saves hes made and that when the team is playing fantastic.. khabi tends to be fantastic. Boo hoo, off game. I still have faith in khabi, he's earned it. Just like the entire team has. Every player has stepped up one way or another in the playoffs, they let the game go. Ok. Time to move on and focus on game 4.
is the penalties he's taking are being called to protect PLAYERS LIKE HIM. The league cracked down on obstruction, and this is how Kane responds? It's not like he isn't fast. No one expects him to body people off the puck, but if he skates hard enough to catch up to them he can try to skate in any passing lane. It's easier to block a pass WHEN YOUR STICK IS ON THE ICE.
You Hawk fans that are constantly bashing Khabibulin have just lost me as a Hawk supporter. Khabby stands on his head and knocks off Calgary in game 7, has been perhaps the best player all year long and you bash him like this. You are no better than those fool Montreal fans! Did Canuck fans put Luongo under the bus after the first two games, NO WAY! You guys just jump on and off the wagon after every game. I can't wait for my two favourite Hawks #39 and #24 to get the hell out and go somewhere they will be appreciated. It won't be long and Toews and Kane will want out too! All you bashers should be ashamed of what you write. Did you ever think that the Canucks may have had something to do with the outcome?? The fact is the Hawks probably would not have held on to make the playoffs if they had to rely on Huet in net, the Bulin wall was solid pretty much all year. Wake up Hawk fans before it is too late and start being true fans and support your star players right to the end.
Canuck fans didn't throw Luongo under the bus. Luongo threw his team under the bus by basicaly saying 'I'm not holding myself responsible" for the loss in game two. Nice comment from the team captain. I'm sure the rest of the team felt good about that one.
The Hawks would not be where they are today without Habby. I think most fans realize that. Some may have a bad opinion of him because of his first couple of years here. Did he have his best game maybe not. I will say this we need him at the top of his game now. This is why he got the big contract. Huet is not the answer so we need to dance with the one that brought us......
sole responsibility for their poor play at home - in other words, he was holding the rest of the team to account also, as well he should have.
anyone who tries to pin last night's loss solely on khabi is out of touch with reality. sorry.
I don't think anyone's doing that. You can and should blame kane, Havlat, barker, Hjalmarsson, Keith. Lots of guys.
But I think a lot of people (me included) feel he has to play better. He was great in game 2 vs. Calgary. Other than that he's been lucky, mediocre or bad.
He has NEVER been able to handle the puck, he gave up a bonehead turnover last night, that missed assignments or no, was the first domino leading to a goal. And he gave up a softie later.
The criticisms of Huet for going lame at times during the season were fair. I just find it ironic that the same people who were all over him defend Khabibulin when he's not playing very well. Like last night.
you mentioned game 2 against Cal-Gary, but what about game 6? That game WAS Khabibulin! Granted he needs to better than last night, and every time he comes out of the net to play the puck I get very nervous, he just looks awkward when he tries to play the puck. Let's go get 'em tomorrow.
Thanks chicohawk couldn't remember the exact quote. It was something that I couldn't picture Toews saying after a game. Luongo was right but when I heard it I wondered if it rubbed some players on his team the wrong way.
No Hawks fan would walk away from a team because some comments on a blog or some criticism of a favorite player.
True fans have immense pride in the National Anthem, the Indian Head, the tradition and the team. Perhaps when their pride is wounded they get vocal. But they never run out on the team.
If you are that willing to walk then you never were a true fan in the first place.
Would you walk out on your marriage if your wife told you that you snore and your feet smell?
What you say is true, I love all the things you mentioned. I live in BC Canada, home of the Canucks and I still hope the Hawks go all the way. I have been a huge Hawks fan since 1980 when D. Savard came on the scene. However, I get very choked when I read some of these negative posts about Khabibulin, Havlat, Kane and Campbell in particular. Havvy and Khabi can be the best players on the ice at home and will not even be recognized as a star by whoever picks the stars. Is is because they are UFA's and not likely to return??? I will follow those two wherever they go and from what I can see happening Kane will want out one day as well. He is just a kid and one bad play and out comes the negative ink. As for walking out on my wife for the above reasons, probably not a bad idea! Have a good one.
Nik has been good almost all year, 24 and 39 dont like to chat much
with the press, or be interviewed on ice after the game, which
is what happens to the #1 star..so as a courtesy to them, they
dont get picked as the number 1 star...
What game 7 was that? I suppose you meant game 6? Jeez dude, lighten up on the blogger's anger. You tellin me they don't have the right to rag on the miscues from last night? They don't have the right to complain about the players and what happened?
And we do appreciate Khabby's efforts THIS year. If you've read any of the posts all year, it's been hugely pro Khabby & Havlat. Sorry you took offense to the obvious disappointment the fans have after last night. They will support this team until they're done. Just don't hold it against the fans if they're upset when their team loses. So in the immortal words of Sgt Hulka, "Lighten up Francis!"
Thank you Reg, it was game 7 and I will lighten up. I just have to realize that some bloggers are just frustrated and need someone to blame. I tend to look at the big picture and our Hawks would not be here if not for Khabibulin's stellar goaltending down the stretch as well as Havlat's scoring spree down the stretch. Khabi made one mistake last night but overall the Canucks deserve some credit for how poorly the Hawks played. It is not an easy game to play and I think Havlat is pretty bruised up right now as he has been taking a licking.
I haven't really noticed anyone picking specifically on Khabibulin lately, like you suggest, but since you brought him up...
...First it was game 6 against Calgary that he stood on his head, not game 7. Second, I don't think anyone is putting the blame squarely on Khabibulin's performance last night, but the fact is Khabi let in a bit of a softie last night. He also made some great saves and all in all it was a team loss, not a Khabi loss. So just cool your jets, it's obvious from your moniker that you're in love with the guy, but let's just try to relax just a tad.
Give the Canucks credit. Who is the team the Hawks had the most difficulty with all season? Minnesota. Who's style did the Canucks DUPLICATE to a T last night? Minnesota.
Quenneville has to make that adjustment on the fly. Why weren't guys dumping the pucks in, instead of stick handling through 4 guys?
Canucks relied on special team goals, turnovers, and kept everything to the outside. Perfectly executed game plan. Only way it's successful is when they get a lead. Need to start scoring first and start dictating the action instead of having to respond.
This is a nice mini wake up call. Back to basics.
In my blog this AM I put the blame on Q. They should have been playing station to station, dump, chase and bang starting at the puck drop in the second period and no later. If he told them and they didn't listen, that's another problem.
Don't know how many of you fellas watch the CBC feed of the game but if you did....you were forced to listen to former Penguin/Oiler now turned mouthpiece Craig Simpson lead the cheers for the Nucks. This guy had his pom poms out all night. When Tazer was drilled from behind, Simpson said Pyatt "couldn't stop in time." The guy was fellating everything Vancouver did....and i do mean everything. From the Nucks successfully taking the crowd out of the game early, to their faceoff prowess to the injustices of almost every call made against them and there weren't that many. I know he is paid by the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation and all...but even most of their broadcasters know enough to remain professionally neutral. Now he was nowhere near as annoying as the walking pen*s Pi-air McGuire but his favoritism was obvious thoughout. Hopefully, the Hawks can shut his a** up Thursday night and beyond.
I agree with you that CBC and especially Simpson are pro Canucks in this series but the fact is try watching a broadcast from a home team in Detroit or Columbus for example. I usually turn the volume off and watch the game. Detroit announcers take a coffee break every time there team does not have the puck and resume broadcasting when the wings get the puck back. The Jackets guys says things like here comes Umberger, he's just flying tonight and everything is Jackets this and Jackets that. The fact is it is human nature for home team broadcasters to be homies. The fairest of all time was Jim Robson of the Canucks and there are a few good ones around the league, Pat Foley being one of them.
Ken Daniels used to the local sportscast up here in Toronto and then understandably jumped at the Wings job when it was offered. He's rock solid as far as a play by play man goes....but he is downright annoying in the way his voice goes up an octave or three when the Wings score.
Regarding the Wings Broadcast team:
You're dead on about Ken Daniels, quite possibly the worst homer play-by-play guy in the league; however, Mickey Redmon, who does the color commentary, is insightful and pretty fair.
is terrible, sounds like he took one check to the boards too many....
Great stuff, Wiz
...Is gone.
Or at least it was last night. How are the Hawks not ready for this game? Bad. Kane, bad...Havlat, bad...Khabibulin, bad...Refs, bad. Probably the only good player was the much maligned Brian "Soupy" Campbell, he was the only O-fense the team could muster all night, and I'm not just talking about the goal. He was the O-fense, the only one making plays, and that's why we lost.
Goaltender interference? How was that goaltender interference? Byfuglien was crosschecked into Luongo. Did he embelish a little by extending his arms after contact? Probably. Worst case, it should have been coincidental minors for roughing, one for the crosscheck, and one for the push on the goalie. Kane's hook though was brutal. To do that 200 ft from your own net is inexcusable and I don't think his benching lasted nearly long enough.
And so, for 1 night at least, the Pride is Gone. Now let's re-commit to the Indian and go get 'em tomorrow night.
It's only over if we continue to play like we did last night. Seabrook leaving a man alone for a dunk rebound, bad decision by Khabby on the puck clear, poor D-zone coverage and too many predictable breakouts along the boards, poor penalties, non-called penalties for obstruction or roughing after the whistle, LOSING TOO MANY FACEOFFS, not chipping it in and skating after the puck, trying to beat 3 guys at their blueline, AND FOR CRYING OUT LOUD can we get the puck on goal???
How many times did you hear Pat say, "another block by Vancouver"??
Give them credit, they played a smart game. They clogged up the neutral zone, forced us into turnovers along our boards, kept us from free wheeling. and never let us get in close for a rebound.
This ain't over!
Agree with DMAAD that Toews and Havlat have to make an appearance in this round very soon.....as in tomorrow. It is possible that both guys are more injured than has been let on but I'm starting to lean towards the Canucks being a bad matchup for each of them and Q just hasn't found the right Canuck for each guy to be matched up with. In any case it is pretty tough to win when your two top goal scorers combine for zero goals in a series so hopefully they'll both be more involved tomorrow.
Kane is Kane. He will never win any defensive awards no matter how long he is in the league. Overall he has been better defensively over the last month but the team really needs him to score right now and if he completely focused on defense he probably will disappear offensively. In regards to how well he'll ever get defensively....going to need another couple of years to figure that out but I suspect he'll at least be average by the time he turns 25 and with his scoring ability every team in the league would take that.
I also agree with Jacukel regarding Khabibulin. That's why it is extremely important for the Hawks to keep the shots on goal to a minimum. For the most part they've done that for the last month or so and that is why they have been successful. The third goal last night was the killer as it allowed the Canuck defense to go into Minnesota Wild mode and bore everyone to death until time ran out.
But the series isn't over yet. A win tomorrow rights the ship and really sets up a battle the rest of the way. One thing I liked last night was that they were crushing Canucks right until the game ended. That is bound to pay off if the series goes seven.
It appears as though everyone is looking to blame Patrick Kane for last night's defeat which I find hilarioius. The penalty was definitely stupid but nobody is blaming Keith for that horrible pass? I wouldn't look at playing on the 4th line as a demotion as that's been the only line making noise this series. Didn't Havlat play extensively with Burish in Game 2?
The Hawks have had two of their supposed stars step up in this series in Sharp and Kane. Toews and Havlat have been nowhere. I've never seen Toews get as physically destroyed as he did last night. Everytime you saw him he was slowly picking himself up from the ice after having been knocked down yet again. Horrible series for him and don't give me the flu excuse, that was a over a week ago. The streaky Martin Havlat has disapeared when it matters most. You hardly even recognize the fact that he's on the ice. Lets not overblow his little altercation behind the net Rain. Bulin instigated the play by slashing Bieksa (may have been a different player) and Havlat decided to get involved. You want to find blame for game 3? The Hawks scored one goal and our two leading goal scorers have yet to score in the entire series. Place your blame right there alongside this team trying to be too fancy with passes and moves. Just shoot the puck!!!!!
Kane scored a great goal in traffic in game 1 followed by a tap in rebound for the second. The goal in game 2 was a softy let in by Luongo. Let's put things in perspective here...plus-minus truly shows a players contribution on the ice. Toews and Havlat are the teams leading goal scorers & need to lead by example. That being said, let's take off the Kane jersey and realize this kid has been a liability more than a contributing factor throughout the playoffs .