1-0 Dallas.  Where is Hawks D?  And why is Monty the #7 DMan?  I thought this guy was a stud... a $2 million/yr stud?

ut oh?!?!?! crawford faces 4 shots in the second before giving it up.  2-0 Stars

nice glass-shattering hit from benn on hjalmarsson. that'll make the highlight reel.


EDIT: Yep.  http://video.nhl.com/videocenter/console?catid=35&id=126892

Hawks ("easily a top 5 WC team") lose to Dallas (andru's pick for #14 in the WC standings)... must be a two year stanley cup hangover for the hawks.

Olesz and Brunette looked like the worst 2 players on the ice tonight.  Frolik couldn't hit the broadside of a barn if he was aiming for it.  Crawford played well.   

This was actually a really fun game to watch...tons of shots, hits and scoring chances.

Jamie Benn is going to be a stud for the Stars. What a player. Kari Lehtonen had a monster 2nd period when the Hawks put the pedal to the metal as well. I was also impressed by Souray's game for the Stars. He looks fresher and healthier than the last time he was in the NHL.

As for the Hawks game, Kane looked good at center and created alot with his speed and vision. I also liked Ross Olesz's game. I thought he was very strong along the boards and one of the only bottom 6 Hawk forwards who won board battles consistently. I thought Saad looked way overmatched and at times, tried too many "junior" level moves and passes. Brandon Pirri looked a little overwhelmed as well. It was their first game so it's excusable for now, but they clearly do not belong in the NHL just yet.

As for the other Hawks, Toews was Toews as usual, and Sharp got better as the game went on. Seabrook I thought was kind of invisible, as was Montador. For 2 guys supposed to bring a physical element to the rink, they both need to be better. Hossa was a puck hound all night with lots of takeaways, but looked just ok offensively which is not good enough for a player of his calibre.

All in all, I think they looked better than in any game they lost last season which is encouraging. The home opener tomorrow in Chitown will be telling. Hopefully Bolland is ready to play.

Oh noes!  The Hawks lost the first game of the season - it's all over. 
So glad hockey season is upon us and retard nation is in full bloom with their Blackhawks jealousy.

Posted by jiml60 on 10/8/2011 1:50:00 AM (view original):
Oh noes!  The Hawks lost the first game of the season - it's all over. 
So glad hockey season is upon us and retard nation is in full bloom with their Blackhawks jealousy.

This wont be the first time we hear something along these lines.... next it will be ... oh noes! Its only 10 games they will turn it around.

Believe the Chicago PR hype!!! "Although the team is not as talented they are better than last year cause they added grit and character"

Posted by moy23 on 10/8/2011 4:34:00 AM (view original):

Posted by jiml60 on 10/8/2011 1:50:00 AM (view original):
Oh noes!  The Hawks lost the first game of the season - it's all over. 
So glad hockey season is upon us and retard nation is in full bloom with their Blackhawks jealousy.

This wont be the first time we hear something along these lines.... next it will be ... oh noes! Its only 10 games they will turn it around.

Believe the Chicago PR hype!!! "Although the team is not as talented they are better than last year cause they added grit and character"

Actually, it is the first time this season moy...:-P

I don't think anyone is saying they are more "talented"...talented teams aren't always better teams. Just ask the Predators and Bruins...and the Canucks.

I'm repeating the hawks PR Manta..... and anytime a team loses talent without replacing it it is not a good thing. The flyers lost talent (Richie, carts, leino) but they at least replaced it with talent - Bryz, Schenn, Couturier, Simmonds, Jagr, Voracek. The hawks lost talent (Versteeg, Buff, Ladd, Brouwer, Campbell, Neimi) and replaced them with Brunette, Monty, Frolik, Stalberg, SOD, Carcillo, Scott, etc. The only talent they got to replace the loss in talent was Crawford. Spin it any way you want but that's what you got.

Posted by moy23 on 10/7/2011 9:40:00 PM (view original):
1-0 Dallas.  Where is Hawks D?  And why is Monty the #7 DMan?  I thought this guy was a stud... a $2 million/yr stud?

Not a stud, just a depth d-man.

Posted by moy23 on 10/7/2011 11:23:00 PM (view original):
nice glass-shattering hit from benn on hjalmarsson. that'll make the highlight reel.


EDIT: Yep.  http://video.nhl.com/videocenter/console?catid=35&id=126892

Great hit and he put Ham right into the middle of the glass where it could shatter easily.  Best part was seeing the Dallas ice chicks in the shot.

Some good, some bad last night.  Crawford picked up where he left off last year and was excellent.  38 shots were nice to see, especially the 22 we had in the 2nd.  Kane looked really good in the pivot and Hossa was all over the ice and looked about as healthy as I've ever seen.  Good sign.

Why the hell did Q dress 7 d-men and use Montador on the wing?  We have tons of depth at Rockford.  I was baffled by that one.

The newcomers were mediocre, but I thought Mayers looked pretty solid.  I'm looking forward to getting Bolland and Ben Smith back and letting the lineup gel a bit.  Hopefully tonight they get it together a bit better.

Moy, let's do this for a bet.....Hawks finish in the top 5, I get $200, 6-8, I get $100, they miss the playoffs, you get $200.  Equal upside for both of us, and a hedge right in the middle.  What say ye?

Is that replacing the existing bet?

Yeah.  The original bet was so un-Kahuna like I couldn't live with myself.

And just to clarify, I mean top 5 in points, NOT playoff seeding.  That avoids a potential issue due to division champs getting top 3 seeds automatically, though I doubt it would come into play.

Posted by moy23 on 10/8/2011 9:40:00 AM (view original):
I'm repeating the hawks PR Manta..... and anytime a team loses talent without replacing it it is not a good thing. The flyers lost talent (Richie, carts, leino) but they at least replaced it with talent - Bryz, Schenn, Couturier, Simmonds, Jagr, Voracek. The hawks lost talent (Versteeg, Buff, Ladd, Brouwer, Campbell, Neimi) and replaced them with Brunette, Monty, Frolik, Stalberg, SOD, Carcillo, Scott, etc. The only talent they got to replace the loss in talent was Crawford. Spin it any way you want but that's what you got.

Well moy, there's a difference between the Flyers and Hawks. The Hawks had the best roster in Franchise history. I don't care who you bring in, they simply had no chance in matching that.

Crawford was obviously a nice addition and I believe an upgrade over Niemi because he is more consistent.
Versteeg was a casualty of the RFA snafu, otherwise I believe they'd still be Hawks.
The Byfuglien trade brought in Jeremy Morin and the draft picks that became Kevin Hayes and Justin Holl. Until we see all 3 prospects get a shot at full-time duty in the NHL, it's simply impossible to gauge that deal.
Troy Brouwer brought in a first rounder that became Phil Danault. Same argument as the Buff deal here...won't know until Danault plays.
Ladd again, brought in a decent prospect in Adam Clendening (2nd rounder from ATL) and Ivan Vishnevskiy. Same thing here.
Campbell brought in Olesz and sever cap relief to a team that needed it, in order to keep it's core players together while the deep prospect pool acquired previously matured.

So there you have it moy. The reason the Hawks don't necessarily have replacements in the lineup today for all that they lost is simply because, with such a young, talented core group, they can afford to wait for the bevy of prospects they have to mature and make several more runs at the Cup, hopefully keeping some of the role players this time and not having any RFA ridiculousness happen again. Even if 6-7 of the 20+ legitimate NHL prospects they have make it, that would be a job well done by Mr. Bowman and co. imho, while signing short-term, stop-gap veteran players to keep the team competitive. It's ultimately good cap management to build the bottom half of your lineup this way than to sign veterans as replacements imo because the younger guys have more upside at a cheaper price. Of course this is only possible because of the young age of Toews and co. Not every team has the luxury of having such a young core in place.

Look, I'm a big believer that the team that usually wins a trade is the team that gets the best player in the deal, and we simply won't know if the Hawks did that until/if those players play in the NHL.