Post-Game Talk: Hawks 6, Coyotes 4

[DisgruntledHawkFan]

Bollig has a NHL wrister. He can play a bit.

 

[BobbyJet]

Agreed. While Bollig will never be much more than a fighter, he is also not a liability out there and knows his job. I am fine with him dressing as long as its for minimal ice time.

Exept a roster spot is taken. That's my beef.

 

[EbonyRaptor]

Kruger made a nice pass to Frolik to set him up for his goal against LA. Then against Phoenix, Kruger slid a pass across the crease to a wide open Frolik but Frolik reverted back to the 2011/12 version and couldn't get his stick turned to the forehand in time to poke it in ... whereas a simple backhand would have resulted in a gimme goal.

I understand not changing things when you're winning and I also know Q will be doing more line changing than is necessary as soon as they hit a bump in the road - but so far it looks like Shaw is a better winger than center and Kruger would be a better 3rd line center than Shaw. Plus I'd like to see Kruger with better linemates than Bollig and Frolik. Make the 3rd line Bickell-Kruger-Stalberg and put Shaw and Frolik together with Mayers/Bollig depending who they're playing - Frolik-Mayers-Shaw against some teams and Frolik-Shaw-Bollig against the more meatball teams.

 

[Any Colour You Like]

Unfortunately this team has too many fourth-line plugs for Bollig to have a fair shot, which is unfortunate because he knows what his role has to be, plus he brings a tad bit of offense to the fourth line.

 

[HockeySauce]

If Kruger can be around the 48% mark on faceoffs, and not get kicked out during defensive zone draws, he can be a solid third line centre for sure. Kruger just looks alot more comfortable with the pace and he looks alot more confident carrying the puck. Hope he keeps it up.

 

[Hawkaholic]

Staged fights are ridiculous but whatever. My problem is with all the shifts that he took that weren't staged fights. How many shifts did you see Biznasty take other than the fight?

They aren't that bad, they also seem to get the crowd into the game. There is zero problem with Bollig playing 5-6mins a game, as long as it's not every game. He didn't really serve a purpose against LA.

 

[Chelios]

Exept a roster spot is taken. That's my beef.

There is only so many minutes to go around. Fact is that it is 5-10 minutes a game. If he can not be a liability and drop the gloves when need be I don't see a problem.

 

[ColdSteel2]

Yeah, after St. Louis, phase Bollig out for awhile.

 

[Madhouse Mafia]

Keep in mind, when Car Bomb comes back, Bollig is probably the odd man out. Stay optimistic, guys. We're on fire and looking good

 

[MadhouseOnMadison]

Keep in mind, when Car Bomb comes back, Bollig is probably the odd man out. Stay optimistic, guys. We're on fire and looking good

Agreed. So far so good. And it seems like the media and even the team themselves are drawing some parallels from the 2010 team. They're nowhere near as deep as that team but there are some similarities in the way they're playing. That "never say die" attitude that keeps them coming back from goal deficits, the focus on puck possession and fast breakouts, the creative passing plays, bringing the d-men into the rush, etc. It's all stuff we've been missing the past two years because we've either been playing under a different system or the players just weren't talented enough to get it done. I'm leaning towards the latter but regardless this team is moving in the right direction.

There's a good chance we'll lose tonight, the Blues are a great team and we know how the Hawks seem to get too amped up for their home openers and try to do too much which usually leads to turnovers galore. I'm sure everybody will start pointing fingers and focus on everything that went wrong, which is natural. But this roster is slowly building back to what we had in 2010 and I'm starting to warm up to what Bowman has been doing with it since we were gutted.