Recalled/Assigned: Morin to Rockford/Bickell off IR
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Chris Hansen
THESE LEGS ARE FRESH
- Aug 17, 2007
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Morin played pretty well in the time he got. Happy to know that we won't be seeing Brookbank inexplicably on the wing anymore.
Bickel sucks.
He's stiff, slow and lacks hockey sense.
Yeah, he can bang in the junk but who cant?
He's not worth his pay grade.
I'd rather see a kid with talent and who has something to prove than Bickel.
hisgirlfriday
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salty justice
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UsernameWasTaken
Let's Go Hawks!
this is predicting he plays against the Canucks
http://espn.go.com/blog/chicago/blackhawks/post/_/id/4678952/hawks-activate-bickell-reassign-morin
Kurtosis
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- Jul 13, 2011
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Hawkaholic
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Glad to see he will be back really soon.
Morin was struggling most of the time, but showed some real promise when he was on. When Morin is struggling, there isn't much difference between him and Brookbank, so I don't care who is in the lineup next game.
Having Bickell back will solidify the top 9, for the first time this season.
Morin was struggling most of the time, but showed some real promise when he was on. When Morin is struggling, there isn't much difference between him and Brookbank, so I don't care who is in the lineup next game.
Having Bickell back will solidify the top 9, for the first time this season.
DisgruntledHawkFan
Blackhawk Down
Good news. Some tough games coming up. Hope he is feeling snarly.
Morin wasn't going to stay regardless, but he kind of abandoned the smart play the last couple of games after looking very good prior to that.
Morin wasn't going to stay regardless, but he kind of abandoned the smart play the last couple of games after looking very good prior to that.
Hell yes, that line is going to be amazing.
More over, if Q does decide to put Kane/Toews/Bickell together again, then you could have a Saad/Shaw/Versteeg line which would be just as deadly cause Saad and Versteeg have obvious chemistry together.
Your ire is directed at the wrong player.
Bickell belongs in this lineup.
Morin should be swapped in for Bollig on the 4th line.
Here are the Corsi%’s for Smith, Kruger, Oduya, and Hammer with Bollig, respectively: 47.0, 49.4, 44.0, 44.5.
Here are the same players’ Corsi% when away from Bollig: 55.9, 51.3, 56.1, 56.5.
Bollig is a possession black hole, and Q's hard-on for him is infuriating.
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Chris Hansen
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hisgirlfriday
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Versteeg has chemistry with everyone though. He's making Zus work at 2C sort of.
hisgirlfriday
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OK. So far with everyone on the Blackhawks its seemed good.
Fair enough.
I still think he's best suited to a third-line role. And that's no insult. Sometimes people make it out like 3rd liners are totally expendable and grow on trees. Finding a player that can perform a mix of grinding, shut-down, and potting goals is TOUGH to find, especially those who can do so consistently against the best players.
My ideal lines for this team are still:
Bickell/Toews/Kane
Hossa/Pirri(Zus)/Sharp
Saad/Shaw/Versteeg
Morin/Krueger/Smith
But that relies on Bickell getting back into playoff form. For now, the Hossa/Toews/Sharp line is doing so well that's hard to rationalize changing anything up. I just prefer Toews, Hossa and Saad on different lines because they're our best forecheckers, while Bickell on the top line gives Kane and Toews more room to move, and he's proven he can 'play up' to the people around him.
We shall see what happens.
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Taze em
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- Apr 20, 2012
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This is a beautiful lineup. It won't happen because Q doesn't like Pirri or Morin (which I think is partly justified).
The actual lines don't really matter though. The bottom line is we have scoring up and down the lineup no matter who plays with whom.
True. Which is why I had Zus in there in brackets. I think we will see Pirri again by the end of the season, but it would take an injury to Zus for Pirri to play in the playoffs. Which I understand, especially with a defensive-minded coach like Q.
I'm just irritated they sent him down, cause if you're counting on an older player to play big minutes in the second season, than use the opportunity to rotate him with a prospect to a) keep him rested and healthy, and b) let the prospect learn at the NHL level. Pirri ate the AHL alive last year, he's not going to learn anymore down there.
As far as Morin, he clearly isn't ready for top 9 minutes yet, but I think he's ready for NHL minutes....so I wouldn't mind him getting sheltered minutes on a 4th line. The issue with that is that Q seems to be running a 3-scoring lines, 1-shutdown line system, with the 4th line getting shutdown duty. It's worked so far, but I'm still uneasy about the notion of rookies like Bollig, Smith or Morin taking on shutdown duty.
Another potential lineup would be:
Kane/Toews/Bickell
Hossa/Pirri(Zus)/Sharp
Saad/Krueger/Versteeg
Morin/Shaw/Smith
Shaw would still get time on the PP obviously, but that mix basically turns the 3rd line into our shutdown line (with 2 players that have a history of doing well at it, plus a new kid who seems to be a fast learner), and the 4th line into a traditional 'energy' line, whereby their only real mission statement is to stir **** up, hit everything that moves, and try to keep the puck in the other zone for as long as possible by any means necessary.
But again, all of this rests on Bickell proving he can 'play up' to Kane and Toews' level again, plus the current top line needs to start getting stale or stop dominating for a week or so.
My favorite part about the current roster is how versatile all the pieces are. So many guys that can play a top 6 or bottom 6 role on the team.
Taze em
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- Apr 20, 2012
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Another good post. I really don't see our 4th line as a shutdown line like the Kruger/Frolik line was. Q has obviously been trying to make it one but at some point that will have to be abandoned.
We've basically gone from 2 scoring lines/a grit line/shutdown line last year to: 3 scoring lines (3rd line still pretty gritty) and a dump and cycle 4th line.
This draws more tough defensive matchups for the Toews line but SHOULD let the 3rd line run wild.
I really don't know who can match the goal production we will get.
The Blues maybe but the top 2 Hawks lines SHOULD be way too skilled for them. Same with Boston
The Ducks: SHOULD just get abused by the depth as they really only run two lines. Same with Pittsburgh
We've basically gone from 2 scoring lines/a grit line/shutdown line last year to: 3 scoring lines (3rd line still pretty gritty) and a dump and cycle 4th line.
This draws more tough defensive matchups for the Toews line but SHOULD let the 3rd line run wild.
I really don't know who can match the goal production we will get.
The Blues maybe but the top 2 Hawks lines SHOULD be way too skilled for them. Same with Boston
The Ducks: SHOULD just get abused by the depth as they really only run two lines. Same with Pittsburgh
I'm not too worried about the Blues despite being 0-2 to them. They won one game in a shootout (a game that the Hawks had a clear advantage in possession for), and they won another on a last minute 3-on-1 goal afforded by a Seabrook pinch. They're not going to get the benefit of that for 4 out of 7 games IMO. It would be a tough series, and the Hawks better be prepared to get bruised, but pretty confident they could win it.
The Ducks are.... weird. Logically we should be able to handle them, but the stats don't lie. When we play them our possession numbers go down, and we're 4-28 against them since 2006 or so. I think a lot of their depth talent is undervalued, which gives the false impression that the Hawks are way ahead of them in areas where the two teams are actually pretty close. More than anything, it's just a matter of a team who's style/composition gives another fits. It will take the Hawks at their best to beat them in a series.... so I hope that San Jose or LA beat them first.
The Pens are starting to worry me a bit. Nothing too major, but the fact is we've basically switched places in a few of the key stats that made the difference last year. Notably goals against and PK. Last year were at the top of the league, the Pens wavered back and forth from bad to decent. Now we're the ones with questionable defense, while the Pens are close to the top in both those categories. The hiring of Martin seems to have done them a world of good as far as defensive structure and while their offensive depth and top-end defense doesn't quite match ours, their team defense as a whole has been better all year. We probably have a higher defensive ceiling, but there's not doubt they're playing better defensively than we are.
Kurtosis
GHG
I'm not too worried about the Blues despite being 0-2 to them. They won one game in a shootout (a game that the Hawks had a clear advantage in possession for), and they won another on a last minute 3-on-1 goal afforded by a Seabrook pinch. They're not going to get the benefit of that for 4 out of 7 games IMO. It would be a tough series, and the Hawks better be prepared to get bruised, but pretty confident they could win it.
The Ducks are.... weird. Logically we should be able to handle them, but the stats don't lie. When we play them our possession numbers go down, and we're 4-28 against them since 2006 or so. I think a lot of their depth talent is undervalued, which gives the false impression that the Hawks are way ahead of them in areas where the two teams are actually pretty close. More than anything, it's just a matter of a team who's style/composition gives another fits. It will take the Hawks at their best to beat them in a series.... so I hope that San Jose or LA beat them first.
The Pens are starting to worry me a bit. Nothing too major, but the fact is we've basically switched places in a few of the key stats that made the difference last year. Notably goals against and PK. Last year were at the top of the league, the Pens wavered back and forth from bad to decent. Now we're the ones with questionable defense, while the Pens are close to the top in both those categories. The hiring of Martin seems to have done them a world of good as far as defensive structure and while their offensive depth and top-end defense doesn't quite match ours, their team defense as a whole has been better all year. We probably have a higher defensive ceiling, but there's not doubt they're playing better defensively than we are.
This defense has the potential to play lights out as evidenced by the tilt against the Kings last night. I really do not understand why that cannot replicate that type of performance on a more consistent basis. They certainly have the talent and the pedigree.
Taze em
Registered User
- Apr 20, 2012
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I really think they haven't really turned it up defensively yet this season and I don't blame them. Hopefully they have a switch to turn on down the stretch.
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