GDT: Capitals @ Hawks

[Hawkaholic]

Bedard with 23pts after 27gp nice

Murphy played his 400th games with the Blackhawks and scored his 27th goal as a Hawk!

Hjalmarsson is 10th all time games played for Blackhawks defencemen
623gp 23g 120a 143pts
Murphy is 19th all time
400gp 27g 61a 88pts

Trade has worked out okay actually, all things considered
1023gp 50g 181a 231pts

Hopefully Murphy gets dealt for another solid dman to carry on the chain

I'd rather have nothing than Murphy.

 

[hawksfan50]

Murphy is projecting to a -46 for 82 GP season..
His on ice goals agaibst/60 is 4.4 which is terrible...worst of his career..His reaction/awareness with loose pucks at our net crease is horrible...Hecfaikscto clear pucksvoutvofvoyrczone way too often..He us stinking out there.

 

[Pez68]

I thought it was 3 on 3, he was trailing 3rd and then slowed up and McMichael then was open for 3 on 2 in the high slot.

Edit:

Just replayed it. Kurashev was deeper and took the trailer and then Phillips just randomly went with a guy and left the high slot open when Zaitsev was already there.

Saw it wrong.

No worries man. The coach in me curses me with analyzing every single play in my head as it's going on. Sometimes I've remembered it wrong, but not often.

 

[TLEH]

The Murphy trade was fine, all things considered. Hjalmarsson was my favorite Hawks defender during those years but he definitely had to find his game again in Arizona. He did though, for 2 seasons. We got about 4 good ones out of Murphy during some dog years.

The Nick Schmaltz for Perlini and Strome is where we got f***ing rinsed.

 

[Pez68]

This team has zero aspirations, there is no reason to bench Bedard for a defensive lapse or a bad turnover so that the two-headed monster that is Tyler & Reese Johnson can plug it up and do jack shit with that ice time. Bedard will improve with time, there are no 18 year olds who step right into the league without their share of struggles and this team has the unique luxury of playing him through them without it costing them anything.

"My 18 year old center got outworked on the backcheck" matters a whole lot less in the big picture than "my 18 year old center delivered an unbelievable backhand sauce pass for an easy backdoor goal", you play Bedard through the mistakes because what matters more than anything for this franchise's future is him figuring out when and how he can make that play he made on the 2nd goal. The details that go into making him a complete player will come with time.

As long as he's being coached. Because those aren't the habits you want to have set in. I have my doubts on how much coaching is being done with Bedard. Shift lengths are a perfect example. It's absurd for an NHL center to be on the ice for 1:00-2:00.

 

[hawksfan50]

In 4GP with the Hawks now Louis Crevier has not been on the ice for any goals against...small sample size butvso far so good.. I'll take it.

As long as they do not put him with Murphy with any shift...because Murohy speaks defensive disaster with 2 or more agoalsxagainst per game ...Will drag everyone down thecway hevisbplaying this season.

 

[BobbyJet]

Every poster here has that one whipping boy it seems. For some odd reason, Joey Anderson is Bobby's whipping boy.

For some reason?

Johnson is a 200 lb winger who plays like he is 150 - he rarely gets involved anywhere on the ice and regularly loses puck battles... he just skates up and down his wing minding his own business. Fortunately for him his shortcomings are somewhat hidden, playing with two of Hawks better hustlers in Dickinson and Foligno.
Reese Johnson is a 4th liner who plays to his role and is physical when it's called for - some nights he's better than others so certainly could be more consistent. He and Entwistle seem to have found some chemistry and have been effective in recent games.

Neither guy is likely to stick with Hawks for long but right now give me Reese over Joey.

 

[BobbyJet]

As long as he's being coached. Because those aren't the habits you want to have set in. I have my doubts on how much coaching is being done with Bedard. Shift lengths are a perfect example. It's absurd for an NHL center to be on the ice for 1:00-2:00.

Exactly. Bedard obviously has an astute hockey mind but coaches can't just sit back and let him figure everything out on his own. Hopefully that isn't the case (but it appears to be).

 

[bwanajamba]

As long as he's being coached. Because those aren't the habits you want to have set in. I have my doubts on how much coaching is being done with Bedard. Shift lengths are a perfect example. It's absurd for an NHL center to be on the ice for 1:00-2:00.

Pretty sure Richardson has mentioned his shift lengths as an issue that needs adjusting, but context also matters. Looking in that image you posted, Beauvillier also had five shifts over a minute in length. Guessing some of those are that line getting hemmed in after 20-30 seconds in the offensive zone to start a shift. And are some of Bedard's from powerplay shifts or was that all even strength TOI? Totally reasonable for him to be logging 1:30+ per powerplay given this team's talent level.

 

[shakes the clown]

Perfect game. We ended that pesky 2 game win streak AND Bedard had 2 assists including a highlight reel backhand sauce through traffic right on the tape for a one timer. Beauty.

 

[Hawkaholic]

The Murphy trade was fine, all things considered. Hjalmarsson was my favorite Hawks defender during those years but he definitely had to find his game again in Arizona. He did though, for 2 seasons. We got about 4 good ones out of Murphy during some dog years.

Not really, They should have traded Hammer for draft picks or a young up and coming Dman instead, if they were going to trade him. In reality, should have just hung on to Hammer and let him retire here. Murphys been garbage most of his time here.

 

[OhCaptainMyCaptain]

... but true. Face it, the way Bedard is playing at the moment he should not be playing 20 minutes a night.
Even an 18-year-old phenom needs to earn his ice time.

You say this like we have a team full of guys who "deserve" it more.

 

[Pez68]

Imagine thinking generational talents have to "earn" their ice time. I'd love an example over the last 20 years.

 

[BobbyJet]

You say this like we have a team full of guys who "deserve" it more.

For the most part, this team works pretty hard most of the time. I never want to see the Bedard who skated with his check until 30 feet from his net then gave up and let him get in a prime scoring spot.

I heard this adage years ago and I think it still holds true:

"If a player on the ice feels he doesn't have enough in the tank to skate at full tilt the length of the ice and back, that player should be looking to get off ASAP."

 

[BobbyJet]

Imagine thinking generational talents have to "earn" their ice time. I'd love an example over the last 20 years.

Make up your mind. Are Bedard's shifts too long or aren't they? Is he showing some bad habits in his young career or isn't he? You're all over the map trying to prove how knowledgeable you are.

 

[ChiHawks10]

For the most part, this team works pretty hard most of the time. I never want to see the Bedard who skated with his check until 30 feet from his net then gave up and let him get in a prime scoring spot.

I heard this adage years ago and I think it still holds true:

"If a player on the ice feels he doesn't have enough in the tank to skate at full tilt the length of the ice and back, that player should be looking to get off ASAP."

There aren't a lot of players in the world(if any) that can/will go FULL TILT the entirety of both lengths of the ice. That would be such a wasteful way to burn yourself up. And that's especially true in game situations. So yeah, they should get off the ice. Obviously. But the expectation that they SHOULD do that is just silly.

 

[Hawkaholic]

Make up your mind. Are Bedard's shifts too long or aren't they? Is he showing some bad habits in his young career or isn't he? You're all over the map trying to prove how knowledgeable you are.

Of course he is. He's 18. Doesn't mean he shouldn't continue to see more ice than every other player on the roster.

 

[BLKHKhockey]

I'm just glad we're getting to the point where criticizing the golden boy isn't off limits.

 

[TLEH]

Not really, They should have traded Hammer for draft picks or a young up and coming Dman instead, if they were going to trade him. In reality, should have just hung on to Hammer and let him retire here. Murphys been garbage most of his time here.

Murphy was fine his first few years.

 

[ChiHawks10]

I'm just glad we're getting to the point where criticizing the golden boy isn't off limits.

It never was. People have been critical of his play since the very first game he played.

 

[Hawkaholic]

Murphy was fine his first few years.

Inconsistent, for sure. Better than the last 3 or so years, but he has done nothing to help our team in anyway.

 

[TLEH]

The Bedard criticism was always valid/allowed. He isn’t some messiah. He can have warts in his game like every junior player. If it’s year 4 and he still won’t move his feet or back check then sure. Currently it’s game 26.

You can make comments about his current play in a game with the caveat that it will improve over time.

 

[vegarover]

Inconsistent, for sure. Better than the last 3 or so years, but he has done nothing to help our team in anyway.

He helped them get Bedard.

 

[BobbyJet]

Of course he is. He's 18. Doesn't mean he shouldn't continue to see more ice than every other player on the roster.

Agreed, but it's a fine line of being so in awe of the kid that coaches will let him get away with shit that they wouldn't tolerate from lesser players.
I think Bedard is too smart to let new bad habits creep into his game but it may be difficult for him to change the style he has played all of his life (because he could). It is up to the coaching staff to speed up his learning curve by making sure he is made well aware that continuous extended shifts, trying to beat 2 or 3 players on the PP, risky drop passes etc. won't work in the NHL.

 

[No Fun Shogun]

The only times I've seen criticism of Bedard get reviled on here is when it's been blatantly ridiculous. People have pointed out rough plays or shifts or games without anyone that I'm aware of getting jumped out back for breaking the party line here.

Is he a polished player and already a consensus top five guy in the league? No, but I don't recall anyone making that grandiose of a statement about him at this moment.

But is he still pretty hands down our most electric and dangerous player and usually our best player on ice for a given shift, period, or game? Easily yes.

We're not the 2013-15 Hawks arguing over bottom line pairings and how best to utilize our glut of talent. We're a really bad team and he's our best offensive weapon. Of course he's getting ice time. Getting adjusted to that is part of his development. He's that level of prospect.