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Observations From Section 321 : Bicks And Stones

Blackhawks avoid a 3rd period let down and shut out the Nashville Predators 1-0.

I wrote earlier today that the previews this weekend would be short and sweet, but it looks like the recaps are going to be short as well. Bryan Bickell scored the game's only goal at 5:31 of the first period made possible by a sweet saucer pass from Michal Handzus. And that was pretty much it. We got treated to 54 and half minutes of the coma inducing neutral zone trap. Add the offensive ineptitude of Nashville and I actually nodded off for the first 8 minutes of the 3rd period. A 3rd period where the Hawks actually looked to add to their lead and not just sit back and hope the clock runs out.

* Ray Emery looked good in picking up his second shutout of the season, stopping all 20 shots he faced today. It seems to me that the defense plays a bit better in front of Emery than they do for Corey Crawford. In Razor's last 5 starts he's faced an average of 20.6 shots per game. Crow has faced an average of 28.8 shots in his last 5 starts. Just some food for thought while we go through this "goalie controversy."


* I know its only been two games, but the acquisition of Michal Handzus has been pretty good so far. He has won 20 of his 29 faceoffs so far. I am a big fan of using him on the power play. Having Handzus park in front of the opposing goalie is only going to lead to good things. I think this is going to turn out to be a solid move when its all said and done.


* Daniel Carcillo had himself a pretty good game. He contributed on offense with 4 shots, second only to the 6 from Jonathan Toews. But he didn't have any hits!! Where's the grit? Where's the toughness he's supposed to bring? Of course I'm not being serious. I would much rather have Carcillo focused on playing hockey than being a meathead. Only Carcillo can rack up a double minor for high sticking while being mugged by Shea Weber. Shortly after the Hawks killed off that penalty there was a post whistle scrum in front of Emery with both Carcillo and Andrew Shaw on the ice. The fact that neither one of them did anything stupid is major progress.


* The power continues to be lack luster but the penalty kill is golden right now. I would much rather have a dominate penalty kill than a dominate power play in the post season.


* I am thinking the Hawks should switch from their red sweaters to the white ones during the second intermission tomorrow night.


* According to the NHL's website the Hawks can be the first team to clinch a playoff spot tonight. They needed a win in addition to an Oilers loss, which happened, and a Coyotes loss to the Avalanche as well. As I type this, the Yotes have a 1-0 lead after the 1st period.


Blackhawks Corsi numbers


Player Pos ES TOI Total Shots For Total Shots Against Corsi Net Zone Starts Adjusted Corsi
Duncan Keith D 22:37 15 22 -7 -2 -6
Niklas Hjalmarsson D 21:45 14 18 -4 -2 -3
Brent Seabrook D 16:11 24 11 +13 -1 +13
Nick Leddy D 15:28 26 11 +15 -1 +15
Daniel Carcillo L 14:12 17 11 +6 +2 +5
Marcus Kruger C 13:58 12 14 -2 -2 -1
Sheldon Brookbank D 14:09 15 13 +2 0 +2
Jonathan Toews C 16:30 22 8 +14 -1 +14
Brandon Saad L 14:33 20 8 +12 -1 +12
Viktor Stalberg L 11:11 10 4 +6 0 +6
Michal Handzus C 12:17 12 8 +4 -4 +6
Johnny Oduya D 13:55 12 9 +3 0 +3
Bryan Bickell L 10:59 11 6 +5 0 +5
Brandon Bollig L 9:33 5 13 -8 0 -8
Andrew Shaw C 12:12 7 17 -10 -1 -10
Michael Frolik R 10:45 9 14 -5 0 -5
Marian Hossa R 14:27 18 7 +11 -1 +11
Patrick Kane R 15:18 16 16 0 -1 +0


Predators Corsi numbers


Player Pos ES TOI Total Shots For Total Shots Against Corsi Net Zone Starts Adjusted Corsi
Shea Weber D 24:16 20 24 -4 0 -4
Jonathon Blum D 12:19 8 11 -3 0 -3
Kevin Klein D 16:07 15 18 -3 +3 -4
David Legwand C 17:53 16 12 +4 +1 +4
Mike Fisher C 13:58 15 16 -1 +3 -2
Nick Spaling C 15:32 17 18 -1 +2 -2
Craig Smith C 11:45 9 12 -3 +1 -3
Rich Clune L 10:09 4 12 -8 0 -8
Chris Mueller C 10:14 4 13 -9 -1 -9
Brandon Yip R 11:32 11 15 -4 +1 -4
Bobby Butler R 8:59 5 11 -6 0 -6
Matt Halischuk R 10:12 5 14 -9 0 -9
Patric Hornqvist R 16:06 13 10 +3 0 +3
Taylor Beck L 16:34 13 11 +2 0 +2
Roman Josi D 24:41 21 25 -4 0 -4
Victor Bartley D 15:49 12 19 -7 +3 -8
Sergei Kostitsyn L 14:28 18 16 +2 +3 +1
Hal Gill D 10:48 8 9 -1 0 -1


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