Goal Line Report
Entries with the tag: Chicago+Blackhawks
Deal on the Horizon for Keith?
by Patrick Hoffman on 09/08/09 at 09:53 PM ET
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From Jesse Rogers at ESPNChicago.com:
While no negotiations have taken place, Keith’s agent, Ross Gurney, is expected in town soon which means those talks could heat up. Keith will get a considerable raise from the $1.5 million he is making now.
Too bad for Duncan he wasn’t born a month earlier; if so, he’d be an unrestricted free-agent at the end of this year instead of next. He’ll be 27 on July 16, 2010 which is the age NHL players become unrestricted but he would need to be 27 by July 1.
This gives him a little leverage, I suppose. If he doesn’t like any long term deals the Hawks have to offer (and doesn’t sign a restricted deal with another team) he could play next year under a “qualifying offer” and then become unrestricted.
Click here for more.
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Tags: Chicago+Blackhawks, Duncan+Keith,
Back in the Saddle
by Patrick Hoffman on 05/18/09 at 04:25 PM ET
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Good afternoon folks. I apologize for not having posted this week as I was busy packing up my things and getting ready to move into my new condo next weekend. Don’t worry, I didn’t forget about Kukla’s Korner.
As you’re all aware of, the NHL Conference Finals are officially under way. Yesterday’s Game 1 between the Detroit Red Wings and Chicago Blackhawks showed that the Blackhawks still have a lot to learn about what it means to be a successful playoff team. Sure, they were able to stay in the majority of the game but there are so many things they can learn just from watching the Wings and how they compete with consistency on a nightly basis.
Tonight, the Eastern Conference finals hits the ice as the Pittsburgh Penguins take on the Carolina Hurricanes. Many pundits and fans see this as going six games in favor of the Penguins but let’s not forget that the Hurricanes have not lost a playoff series since 2002 in the Cup finals to the Red Wings. Sure, they’ve only made the postseason twice since 2002 but nevertheless, they’ve been pretty successful so far - wouldn’t you say?
I want to hear your predictions folks:
- Who’s going to win the East? Why?
- Who’s going to win the West, Why?
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Tags: Carolina+Hurricanes, Chicago+Blackhawks, Detroit+Red+Wings, Pittsburg+Penguins, Stanley+Cup+Playoffs,
Thoughts on Canucks’ Game Three Victory
by Patrick Hoffman on 05/05/09 at 11:20 PM ET
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In another short blog I penned for MaxHockey.com, I mentioned how a Versus analyst called the Vancouver Canucks’ play methodic and how the term suited them for tonight’s 3-1 victory, giving the boys from British Columbia a 2-1 series lead heading into Game Four.
Also, click here to check out Stan Fischler’s thoughts on the same game.
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Tags: Chicago+Blackhawks, MaxHockey.com, Stan+Fischler, Stanley+Cup+Playoffs, Vancouver+Canucks,
Thoughts on the Second Round
by Patrick Hoffman on 05/04/09 at 03:57 PM ET
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You can find my thoughts on the second round over at MaxHockey.com. Click below to find out my opinions on each series:
Eastern Conference
- Boston Bruins vs. Carolina Hurricanes
- Washington Capitals vs. Pittsburgh Penguins
Western Conference
- Detroit Red Wings vs. Anaheim Ducks
- Vancouver Canucks vs. Chicago Blackhawks
Also feel free to check out Zach Weinstock’s excellent NHL Playoff page.
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Tags: Boston+Bruins, Carolina+Hurricanes, Chicago+Blackhawks, Pittsburgh+Penguins, Stanley+Cup+Playoffs, Vancouver+Canucks, Washington+Capitals,
Blackhawks Learning As They Go
by Patrick Hoffman on 04/28/09 at 03:55 PM ET
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From the Canadian Press:
Jonathan Toews, the 20-year-old captain of the Chicago Blackhawks, got his first taste of the playoffs and like so many of his young teammates, he found out just how different it is from the regular season. And how difficult.
“You learn that anything is possible and you can come back from big deficits. Also, if you take a shift off, it can go the other way, too,” Toews said after the Blackhawks finished off the Calgary Flames in six games with a 4-1 win at Calgary on Monday night.
Click here for more.
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Tags: Chicago+Blackhawks, Jonathan+Toews,
The Flames are Flawed
by Patrick Hoffman on 04/28/09 at 01:50 PM ET
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From Jim Kelley of Sportsnet.ca:
My job is to inform in the best way I know how and when I mentioned at the start of the season and again at the trade deadline that there were flaws in the Calgary Flames as a team and in the way it was constructed that was true. That they looked very much like yet another edition of the one-and-out Flames was an opinion to be sure, but it was an opinion rooted in observation of fact.
It’s also true that several of the Flames’ flaws were not just exposed but exploited by the Chicago Blackhawks in the now ended season for the Flames. Chicago was the better team, they were a faster team and a better balanced team and, yes, they were healthier and they had the better goaltending but this won’t be a column about the Hawks or about what I’ve seen all season in the Flames.
Click here to read more.
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Tags: Calgary+Flames, Chicago+Blackhawks,
This Week’s Questions
by Patrick Hoffman on 04/03/09 at 12:40 PM ET
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Much like I did last Friday, I am going to list a few questions related to what’s going on in the hockey world.
Please feel free to post your thoughts on the following questions in the comment section of the blog:
- Will the St. Louis Blues make the playoffs? Why or why not?
- What is happening to the New Jersey Devils? Why are they struggling so much?
- Is this the last hurrah in Minnesota for Wild head coach Jacques Lemaire? If so, where do you think he will end up coaching next? Why?
- Have the Montreal Canadiens finally righted the ship after a dismal February and early March? What have they done differently?
- Does anyone really believe that Philadelphia Flyers’ netminder Martin Biron can lead his club to the Stanley Cup?
- Are the Chicago Blackhawks good enough to make a deep run in the playoffs?
- Do the Detroit Red Wings have good enough goaltending to get them back to the Stanley Cup Finals?
Let’s hear your thoughts!
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Tags: Chicago+Blackhawks, Detroit+Red+Wings, Jacques+Lemaire, Martin+Biron, Minnesota+Wild, Montreal+Canadiens, New+Jersey+Devils, Philadelphia+Flyers, St.+Louis+Blues,
Look at the Bright Side
by Patrick Hoffman on 01/19/09 at 02:35 PM ET
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Yes, yesterday afternoon’s 3-0 loss at the hands of the Pittsburgh Penguins certainly stings but look on the bright side: the New York Rangers picked up points in four of their five road games, including wins against the Ottawa Senators, New York Islanders and the talented Chicago Blackhawks.
The trip saw Rangers’ goaltender Henrik Lundqvist return to form, especially his statistics: 23 wins, a 2.54 goals against average, a .913 save percentage and two shutouts. These numbers certainly show why he is attending this year’s NHL All-Star game in Montreal.
The team’s recent road trip also saw Chris Drury come alive as well as the continued strong play of Ryan Callahan and Nigle Dawes. Hopefully, these three will continue to play well because they are the only ones that are performing consistently on an offensive level in the past couple of weeks.
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Tags: Anaheim+Ducks, Buffalo+Sabres, Chicago+Blackhawks, Chris+Drury, Henrik+Lundqvist, Madison+square+Garden, New+York+Islanders, New+York+Rangers, NHL+All-Star+Game, Nigel+Dawes, Ottawa+Senators, Pittsburgh+Penguins, Ryan+Callahan,
The Captain Gets It Done In Chicago
by Patrick Hoffman on 01/16/09 at 11:30 PM ET
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Every New York Ranger fan knew that tonight’s game against the Chicago Blackhawks was going to be a test for their Blueshirts and the team passed it with flying colors thanks to their captain, Chris Drury, who scored to give the Rangers a 3-2 overtime victory at the sold out United Center.
Many Ranger fans, myself included, were wondering what was wrong with Drury not too long ago. He wasn’t scoring, he wasn’t as sharp defensively and he looked lost. However, in the past two weeks or so, Drury has come alive and in his last six games, has five goals and an assist for six points.
Tonight, both of his goals came on the power play and he scored the way the team should be on their power play all season long: by not being afraid to shoot the puck and go to the net.
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Tags: Atlantic+Division, Chicago+Blackhawks, Chris+Drury, Henrik+Lundqvist, New+York+Rangers, Pittsburgh+Penguins, Tom+Renney,
Rangers in Chi-Town
by Patrick Hoffman on 01/16/09 at 10:45 AM ET
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Tonight will be an important test for the New York Rangers as they take on the Chicago Blackhawks at the United Center. The Blackhawks are currently fourth in the Western Conference and sport an impressive home record of 16-4-3.
Back on October 10, the Blueshirts defeated the Blackhawks in their home opener at Madison Square Garden but this is a much different Hawks team than the one that was on the ice three months ago. They have a new coach in Joel Quenneville, are getting scoring across the board from the likes of Patrick Kane, Jonathan Toews, Patrick Sharp and Martin Havlat, playing solid defensively and are getting excellent goaltending from both Nikolai Khabibulin and Cristobal Huet.
“Outside of the skill they were able to exhibit back then, I think they will be pretty different (tonight),” Rangers’ head coach Tom Renney told the team’s web site. “I think there is a level of commitment and discipline to their game now.”
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Tags: Aaron+Voros, Chicago+Blackhawks, Cristobal+Huet, Dan+Fritsche, Joel+Quenneville, Jonathan+Toews, Martin+Havlat, New+York+Islanders, New+York+Rangers, Nikolai+Khabibulin, Patrick+Kane, Patrick+Sharp, Tom+Renney,
We’ll Take It
by Patrick Hoffman on 01/14/09 at 03:45 PM ET
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It certainly wasn’t one of their best games of the season, especially against one of the worst teams in the National Hockey League, but the New York Rangers were able to come away with a 2-1 victory over the New York Islanders thanks to the play of Henrik Lundqvist and a rather successful power play.
Lundqvist appears to be returning to form as he posted his third solid performance in a week by making 33 saves en route to his 22nd victory of the season. He was especially good in the first two periods, stopping 24 of 25 shots and enabling his club to hold onto a 2-1 lead going into the third period, a lead that they would not relinquish.
“We knew we would create some chances against them, and it finally paid off in the second period, and then we locked it down the rest of the way,” Lundqvist told the team’s web site. “It was a great effort, and we are definitely on the right track here.”
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Tags: Chicago+Blackhawks, Chris+Drury, Henrik+Lundqvist, National+Hockey+League, New+York+Islanders, New+York+Rangers, Nigel+Dawes, Tom+Renney,
