Post-Game Talk: Game 5: What's up Columbus, Hey Brandon, You Saad?

[thesaadfather]

I'll say this, that building was at least 50% Hawks fans tonight. They were drowning out the CBJ fans at several points during the game, even when we were hemmed in our own zone. They went dead silent every time we went on the kill.

 

[CallMeShaft]

Interesting stat: The Hawks have given up 18 goals in these 5 games. Only 5 of those goals were at even strength. And 2 of those 5 were ENGs.

The PK is literally the one thing holding this team back right now. We don't need it to be the top PK in the league, but we at least need it to be average.

If we can do that, we'll be one hell of a team.

 

[thesaadfather]

On the bright side, I briefly made eye contact with Kaner tonight so expect him to go on a hot streak

 

[Teemu]

Interesting stat: The Hawks have given up 18 goals in these 5 games. Only 5 of those goals were at even strength. And 2 of those 5 were ENGs.

The PK is literally the one thing holding this team back right now. We don't need it to be the top PK in the league, but we at least need it to be average.

If we can do that, we'll be one hell of a team.

6 on 5 isn't considered even strength

 

[Blackhawks]

Interesting stat: The Hawks have given up 18 goals in these 5 games. Only 5 of those goals were at even strength. And 2 of those 5 were ENGs.

The PK is literally the one thing holding this team back right now. We don't need it to be the top PK in the league, but we at least need it to be average.

If we can do that, we'll be one hell of a team.

Last I checked the PK will always be a part of the game, there is no guarantee it will get significantly better. Also its not like they dominated 5v5 possession anyway, they were trapped in their own zone most of the time and even when in the O zone it was very disorganized and didnt really play the Hawks hockey that we have seen in the recent years.

 

[hawksfan50]

Well we list tge special teams battle...2 more pk goals allowed. ..also we failed on the PP on 3 of our 5x4 chances...tge lone 5x3 we had only lasted 14 seconds so you cannot really blame that in tge fail column..

BUT the stats say we won only 3 of 10 special teams draw situations ...we were 3 for 8 on PP draws and 0-2 on 2 PK draws...Did these loss of possessions hurt our specialty teams tonight?I did not see the game (I was at the Redblacks football game in Ottawa) ...but I suspect the lost draws on special teams contributed to our showing fails in both the PP and PK tonight...now Kruger was a horrible 2 for 11 overall in faceoffs and since he was on for both PK goals against,I assume he was on for both tge PK draws lost...Toews was a balmy 64% on draws for tge game..but since we won only 3 of 8 on the PP draws ,I wonder who was the main culprit on tge 5 PP draws lost ...Toews or others?

SO if draws cost us on specialty situations..was it both our alleged faceoff guys who let us down ?Kruger dies not play PP and as I said it probably had to be him on the 2 pk draws lost ..but not sure if it was Toews or others who let us down on tge PP draws...IF it was Toews then the overall 64% wins in the dot are not as important than the draw fails if thise faiks mainly occurred on the PP. .not sure..Maybe somebody cam clarify.

But whatever..On Kruger ..the 2 for 11 overall was a horrible night in the dot made worse because I suspect 2 of the 9 he list ca.me on the Pk..If I am wrong I these suspicions sone body correct me.

Whatever ...we failed on both our PP and PK situations tonight and we failed in the draws in these specialty situations...So a big thing to fix,right?

 

[CallMeShaft]

6 on 5 isn't considered even strength

Dammit Teemu, don't you know this GDT is supposed to be all doom and gloom? We don't need any of your smiley faces or humor here!

 

[JaegerDice]

Last I checked the PK will always be a part of the game, there is no guarantee it will get significantly better. Also its not like they dominated 5v5 possession anyway, they were trapped in their own zone most of the time and even when in the O zone it was very disorganized and didnt really play the Hawks hockey that we have seen in the recent years.

THey wer 55% CF tonight, 53% SA CF. That's pretty much the opposite of 'trapped in their zone most of the time'.

Really the only line trapped in their own zone most of the night was the Kane line, and that's SOP for any Kane line.

 

[piteus]

The Good: We held the puck far better after going down 2 goals.

The Bad: I think our PK coach is still employed.

We could be undefeated IF our PK units were AVERAGE! Seriously. We're not that bad at even strength.

On the PK opponents have two guys in front of crow, we can't block shots, and the point has 10ft of space. So what system do we run on the PK? The seems like we are in the sieve formation.

 

[Nordic*]

Like Karlsson, some have accused Soupy of being the 4th forward.

Erik Karlsson is the Peter Best of hockey. People don't want to acknowledge Peter Best as the 5th Beatle. In hockey, people don't want to acknowledge Erik Karlsson as the 4th Forward.

That's because He isn't.

 

[piteus]

I was able to hack into Q's computer today. I found an interesting power point slide that explains a lot. Here it is:

"Our new 2016 Penalty Killing Formation" ...

 

[Idionym]

Hawks board logic:

1: PK sucks
______________
2: Therefore, the entire team is terrible, we're going to miss the playoffs, T+K don't care anymore, we have no talent, ect, ect.

Honestly, I'd if I didn't know any better I'd have guessed that this is the website that all the sports fans who happen to be masochists hang out.

It's 5 game. The team is young. The team has some issues. The team has shown in the past that they can overcome issues. There are positives to the start of the season. The sky isn't falling. Let's talking about the issues (PK) without whipping out "THE END IS NIGH" signs.

Hawks board right now:

View attachment 92381

 

[Backyard Hockey]

Hawks board logic:

1: PK sucks
______________
2: Therefore, the entire team is terrible, we're going to miss the playoffs, T+K don't care anymore, we have no talent, ect, ect.

Honestly, I'd if I didn't know any better I'd have guessed that this is the website that all the sports fans who happen to be masochists hang out.

It's 5 game. The team is young. The team has some issues. The team has shown in the past that they can overcome issues. There are positives to the start of the season. The sky isn't falling. Let's talking about the issues (PK) without whipping out "THE END IS NIGH" signs.

Hawks board right now:

View attachment 92381

The sky is falling is the nature of sports fans. Any fans. That's life

On the flip side, there exists a lot of hubris from many fans. The 'its the Hawks and the Hawks always win' thing. Remember the LAK missed the playoffs in 15 after winning the Cup. It happens

I believe the Hawks will win one more Cup in the Toews/Kane era. I also believe there will be a season where there's a strong chance they will miss the playoffs. I could see this being that season

Think about it - last year the Hawks were a first und exit. This with Crow and Kane having a career year and of course Panarin. The scoring came from one line

When I look at this roster, there Ian just simply not enough. Far too many rookies playing key minutes. Unproven. It's early but Crow looks meh. 4-5 goals in from the blue line so far. Regardless of D in front of him, that's bad. Outside of one game, Panarin hasn't shown a ton. Kane looks disinterested and Toews hasn't scored a goal yet. Hossa's age and decline that was saw last season. Centers that can't win face offs

3rd and 4rh lines exposed against good teams.

This might be the weakest roster that we've seen the Hawks ice in the last 5-6 years.

Again I see another Cup with T/K. Just not this season. I said WC and first round exit pre season and I still see that. Perhaps worse if the PK doesn't change. They are historically bad now. What's. confidence should I have that it will get better? The same guy is at the helm that ended them at 23rd last season. Remember how awful it was the last 1/3 of last season? It has already cost them 3 losses. I might be inclined to think this team as constructed is the one that finally disappoints and misses the playoffs in a tough division/conference with special teams being the lynchpin.

I hope I'm wrong.

 

[Marotte Marauder]

It is 100% the system.

The team has the speed to be aggressive but Kitch won't change.

We 100% need to pressure the points and let our D (who can skate worry about the low passing lanes).

Kitch is literally wasting a strength of our team with this passive ****.

I really can't find a reason why Kitch would think this is the best way to run a PK.

 

[BK]

I really can't find a reason why Kitch would think this is the best way to run a PK.

My assumption is that he believes that aggression from the points will lead to more passing lanes open lower in the zone and that will create more goals. This is just plain stupid because the strength of our d is ther skating , positioning, and sticks (location and skill).

Kitch's system is just outdated at this point. Our PP while is slow to change does evolve over time (the slow change is a trust in the players to get it done).

I think people here know I am not quick to pull the trigger on trades, personnel changes, etc. but Kitch needs to go. This could also help our d pairings. Barry Smith and Q respect each other and smith knows the team so it would be an easy change. He'll have Kitch do scouting if needed.

 

[BobbyJet]

What cracks me up is why so many posters let Q off the hook. Last I looked he was the head coach who is supposedly accountable for the team's performance. He is also a defensive specialist. Do you folks really think he has no input to the ST's? Kitchen gets all the heat but it needs to be shared.

As for the performance on the ice: Besides the ridiculous passive system, lost FO's remain an issue, CC needs to do a better job in looking through the screens, and Kruger - what can I say? When are you folks going to wake up to how overrated he has been over the years and remains so? Losing key draws and standing around watching the ops pass the puck around with terrible gaps, hoping the puck will hit him, is hardly what a good PKer does.

 

[piteus]

What cracks me up is why so many posters let Q off the hook. Last I looked he was the head coach who is supposedly accountable for the team's performance. He is also a defensive specialist. Do you folks really think he has no input to the ST's? Kitchen gets all the heat but it needs to be shared.

As for the performance on the ice: Besides the ridiculous passive system, lost FO's remain an issue, CC needs to do a better job in looking through the screens, and Kruger - what can I say? When are you folks going to wake up to how overrated he has been over the years and remains so? Losing key draws and standing around watching the ops pass the puck around with terrible gaps, hoping the puck will hit him, is hardly what a good PKer does.

It's true. I'm a Q fan, but the buck stops with him. With such a bad PK, our guys have to be cognizant about not drawing a penalty. It could hurt our aggressiveness at even strength. WE NEED TO CORRECT THE PK. We have a chance to be decent by the end of the year when our young guys get experience. But this PK will end us before we even get started.

 

[ClydeLee]

My assumption is that he believes that aggression from the points will lead to more passing lanes open lower in the zone and that will create more goals. This is just plain stupid because the strength of our d is ther skating , positioning, and sticks (location and skill).

Kitch's system is just outdated at this point. Our PP while is slow to change does evolve over time (the slow change is a trust in the players to get it done).

I think people here know I am not quick to pull the trigger on trades, personnel changes, etc. but Kitch needs to go. This could also help our d pairings. Barry Smith and Q respect each other and smith knows the team so it would be an easy change. He'll have Kitch do scouting if needed.

The thing is, early in the season the last 3 seasons tons of people would say the exact same thing about the PK.. and it got better without really a big shift. I'd say the rotation is not as quick and fluid to start this year and maybe that'll change but there was even articles in 2014-15 start of the season how their PK and some other teams PKs using similar shells were outdated and failed to compete with all the 1-3-1 PP's in the league.. yet it didn't change and the PK got back to successful in November/december.

 

[DisgruntledHawkFan]

Coaching needs to be better, no doubt. The PK won't stay this bad though.

 

[MadhouseOnMadison]

It's mind numbing thinking of how many millions of dollars we had on the ice during that 6 on 4 at the end and we got maybe one decent chance.

Been really happy with our young guys so far though.

 

[Marotte Marauder]

Pressure, speed, pressure, speed and your goalie needs a big stop= successful PK.

 

[piteus]

It's mind numbing thinking of how many millions of dollars we had on the ice during that 6 on 4 at the end and we got maybe one decent chance.

Been really happy with our young guys so far though.

Lets add that up.
Kane 10.5
Toews 10.5
Panarin 3.3
Keith 5.5
Seabrook 6.8
Panik 0.9

$37.5mn ... possibly the GDP of some poor, tiny, just established African country. I thought our 6-4 was pretty good. Unlike our penalty kill, CBUS covered/blocked the shooting lanes.

 

[BK]

It's mind numbing thinking of how many millions of dollars we had on the ice during that 6 on 4 at the end and we got maybe one decent chance.

Been really happy with our young guys so far though.

We had two solid chances with one hit post.

 

[Teemu]

Lets add that up.
Kane 10.5
Toews 10.5
Panarin 3.3
Keith 5.5
Seabrook 6.8
Panik 0.9

$37.5mn ... possibly the GDP of some poor, tiny, just established African country. I thought our 6-4 was pretty good. Unlike our penalty kill, CBUS covered/blocked the shooting lanes.

Apparently only the Pacific nation of Tuvalu. I like the ring of the Tuvalu Line, though.

 

[CourtneyDagger50]

I think I need to take a break from this place if it is going to be this ridiculous after every ****ing game.

Can y'all take a damn breath or two?