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Observations From Section 321 : Thorn In My Side, Pain In My Ass

Blackhawks drop their third game of the year to the Ducks with a 2-1 defeat at the United Center

The Ducks have the Blackhawks number this season, as they completed the season sweep Friday night. I am still not completely sold on the Ducks. They have two really tough lines but I don't think they have the depth to make a deep run into the playoffs. I would like to get a crack at these guys in the Western Conference Finals and have to the chance to beat them when it really counts.

Corey Perry broke the scoreless tie early in the 2nd period. Brandon Saad failed to get the puck deep at his own blue line and Perry was left with plenty of room to snap a wrist shot past Ray Emery. Getting a body on Perry seemed to be a problem the entire game.

The Hawks were able to tie the game with a Patrick Kane power play goal at 2:26 of the 3rd period. That's right, I said a power play goal. Kaner was given room at the right faceoff dot and was able to snipe the puck past Jonas Hiller for his 18th goal of the season. 88 is absolutely deadly from that spot of the ice and am shocked that he is allowed as much space as he gets some nights. Duncan Keith and Marcus Kruger picked up assists on the play. I was very happy to see Frogger get an apple on the power play.

The Blackhawks were victimized by another late 3rd period goal, this time from the corpse of Shedlon Souray. While the Hawks were having problems getting the puck out of their zone Souray fired a heavy slot shot from the point. The puck deflected off of the stick of Niklas Hjalmarsson and Emery had no shot at the puck.

* Not thrilled with Patrick Kane's ice time last night. Running your best player into the ground, before the playoffs start, is not the best idea. Hopefully the call up of Jeremy Morin and the the return of Marian Hossa and Patrick Sharp will put an end to this.


*The Hawks power play reminds of vomiting in my own hat. Yes, they scored last night but they also should have given up 2 or 3 shorthanded goals too. Too many goddamn passes last night. They have to find a way to get more pucks to the net. And what was with Kane on the point? I wouldn't exactly say he has an Al Iafrate type slap shot.


*Nick Leddy was awesome last night. He was determined to score a goal and came very close on more than one occasion. Watching him skate in person is a real treat. Hopefully Bowman can get an extension done quickly because he his an offer sheet waiting to happen.


* Our second defensive pair of Niklas Hjalmarsson and Johnny Oduya have been getting victimized quite a bit lately. They were on the ice for both Anaheim goals last night. Over the last five games the Swedish duo is a combined -13.


*Brent Seabrook has been improving over the last few games. He was a physical force last night dishing out a team high five hits. Has been getting more involved offensively too. He still seems a step slower than usual but that is picking up. If we can get the Biscuit we are used to seeing back fully for the playoffs, I like our chances.


* The refs were pretty lousy on Friday. They did not effect the outcome of the game but they missed some pretty easy calls. In the 2nd period, Jonathan Toews took a stick to the mouth and Jimmy Hayes had his stick broken due to a vicious slash. Both plays were made right in front of the Anaheim net and both were missed by the on ice officials.


Blackhawks Corsi Numbers


Player Pos ES TOI Total Shots For Total Shots Against Corsi Net Zone Starts Adjusted Corsi
Duncan Keith D 19:25 13 8 +5 +1 +5
Niklas Hjalmarsson D 18:10 9 17 -8 -3 -7
Brent Seabrook D 19:34 17 9 +8 +1 +8
Nick Leddy D 13:46 15 7 +8 +1 +8
Daniel Carcillo L 6:56 8 3 +5 +1 +5
Marcus Kruger C 9:25 10 7 +3 +1 +3
Sheldon Brookbank D 13:44 12 7 +5 +1 +5
Jonathan Toews C 17:18 10 12 -2 -6 +0
Brandon Saad L 16:36 12 11 +1 -6 +3
Jamal Mayers R 7:45 6 4 +2 +1 +2
Viktor Stalberg L 11:03 8 8 0 +1 -0
Johnny Oduya D 20:06 12 19 -7 -3 -6
Bryan Bickell L 12:41 10 8 +2 +3 +1
Dave Bolland C 14:33 11 9 +2 +1 +2
Jimmy Hayes R 13:51 8 7 +1 +2 +0
Andrew Shaw C 13:00 12 7 +5 +3 +4
Michael Frolik R 15:41 12 14 -2 -5 0
Patrick Kane R 20:23 12 14 -2 +1 -2


Ducks Corsi numbers


Player Pos ES TOI Total Shots For Total Shots Against Corsi Net Zone Starts Adjusted Corsi
Cam Fowler D 16:03 3 11 -8 -4 -6
Luca Sbisa D 17:23 16 14 +2 +2 +1
Ben Lovejoy D 17:11 17 15 +2 +2 +1
Andrew Cogliano C 15:01 5 13 -8 -3 -7
Teemu Selanne R 12:29 4 12 -8 -2 -7
Bobby Ryan R 18:07 17 12 +5 +3 +4
Corey Perry R 19:00 18 12 +6 +3 +5
Saku Koivu C 13:48 11 6 +5 +2 +4
Ryan Getzlaf C 20:00 19 13 +6 +2 +5
David Steckel C 9:06 4 8 -4 -4 -2
Francois Beauchemin D 19:49 15 14 +1 +3 -0
Brad Staubitz R 4:28 2 5 -3 0 -3
Daniel Winnik C 16:37 11 10 +1 +1 +1
Sheldon Souray D 18:38 12 14 -2 +3 -3
Kyle Palmieri C 9:46 9 5 +4 +2 +3
Bryan Allen D 16:00 5 10 -5 -4 -3
Emerson Etem R 9:14 1 9 -8 -1 -8
Peter Holland C 9:55 1 12 -11 0 -11


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