Kukla's Korner Hockey
Category: Chicago-Blackhawks
Road Trip From Hell Continues For Chicago
by Paul on 02/11/12 at 09:02 AM ET
Comments (1)
from Chris Kuc of the Chicago Tribune,
Try as they might, the Blackhawks searched for some positives following their seventh consecutive defeat.
“Right now, minutes after another loss, it’s tough to look at the bright side of things,” captain Jonathan Toews said in the morgue-like atmosphere of the Hawks’ dressing room after their 5-3 loss to the Sharks on Friday night at HP Pavilion.
“We played hard out there. We saw some fights, we saw some scratching and clawing, some battling in front of the net and a couple of ugly goals. We played the way we had to. We gave them too many opportunities on the power play and that’s how they separated themselves from us in this game. It always seems to be one thing or another but (Friday night) we’re getting closer to playing that more complete game.”
They aren’t nearly close enough as their skid is reaching epic proportions with their ninth loss in a row away from home that dropped their record on the current road trip to 0-4-1.
continue for more on the loss to San Jose…
Filed in: NHL Teams, Chicago Blackhawks | KK Hockey | Permalink
Afternoon Line
by Paul on 02/10/12 at 05:40 PM ET
Comments (5)
There is enough concern about the state of Chicago’s team that Quenneville’s job security could be in some danger.
Think it can’t happen? This is the NHL. Peter Laviolette won the Stanley Cup with Carolina in 2006 and was fired in 2008. John Tortorella won the Cup with Tampa Bay in 2004 and was axed three seasons later. Bob Hartley won it with Colorado in 2001, went to Game 7 of the Western finals in 2002, and was canned 31 games into the ‘02-03 season. Randy Carlyle won the Cup with Anaheim in 2007, and now he’s looking for work.
Quenneville has a contract that runs through the 2013-14 season, but money is about the only thing it guarantees. The pressure is always high on coaches in a league where financial profit usually only comes with a playoff berth. Quenneville is not immune to such reality. If his team’s current six-game losing streak (0-5-1) continues, and the postseason starts to look at all like the dicey proposition it was last year, sources close to the situation tell SI.com that a change behind the bench is possible.
-Adrian Dater of Sports Illustrated where you can read more on the Blackhawks.
Filed in: NHL Teams, Chicago Blackhawks | KK Hockey | Permalink
Tags: Joel+Quenneville,
Morning Line
by Paul on 02/08/12 at 09:42 AM ET
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“We’re past the point where we have to start getting a win. It seems like any little mistake is costing us right now.
‘‘That’s kind of the way it goes when you’re on a losing streak. You’re not getting the bounces. You look at [Kyle Quincey’s] empty-net goal. They throw it off the boards, it ricochets off the penalty box and then it goes in the net.”
Duncan Keith, of the Chicago Blackhawks after losing their 6th straight last night. More from Adam L. Jahns of the Chicago Sun-Times.
added 9:51am,
There are some issues going on in Chicago. Some chemistry issues. Stay tuned.
-Adrian Dater of All Things Avs.
Filed in: NHL Teams, Chicago Blackhawks | KK Hockey | Permalink
Tags: Duncan+Keith,
Chicago Finding It Difficult To Make A Trade
by Paul on 02/04/12 at 10:42 AM ET
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from Chris Kuc of the Chicago Tribune,
Before dropping their season-high fifth consecutive game, a 3-1 defeat at the hands of the Flames on Friday night at the Scotiabank Saddledome, general manager Stan Bowman said he was not close to any trades that could help the Hawks turn their fortunes around.
Specifically, he has nothing going to shore up a defense that has been consistent only in its inconsistency.
“I think (any GM) who says they’re close to a trade is kind of full of it at this point,” Bowman said before the Hawks fell to 0-2-1 on their nine-game trip. “There’s just nothing happening. I talked to some GMs (on Friday) and (one) said, ‘What are you hearing?’ And I said, ‘Nothing.’ He said, ‘I know, there’s nothing going on other than teams looking to get players.’
“There’s nobody giving them up. It’s a big log jam. Until teams fall more out of the race, we’re not going to see anything happen.”
Filed in: NHL Teams, Chicago Blackhawks | KK Hockey | Permalink
What A Night For Sam Gagner, 4 Goals & 4 Assists!
by Paul on 02/03/12 at 12:28 AM ET
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from NHL.com,
Sam Gagner had a night worthy of Wayne Gretzky—or any of the other legends whose numbers hang from the rafters at Rexall Place.
Gagner scored four of Edmonton’s goals and assisted on the other four for the first eight-point game in the NHL in more than 23 years as the Oilers routed the Chicago Blackhawks 8-4 on Thursday night.
Gagner is the 11th player in NHL history to record eight points in a game—a list that includes Gretzky (twice) and Paul Coffey—but the first since Pittsburgh’s Mario Lemieux did it on Dec. 31, 1988. Gagner joins Lemieux, who also had two eight-point performances, as the only players to get eight points with one on each of his team’s goals.
continued
added 12:38am, Watch the Gagner highlights…
added 1:00am, Watch Sam Gagner below as he discusses his fabulous night…
Filed in: NHL Teams, Chicago Blackhawks, Edmonton Oilers | KK Hockey | Permalink
Tags: Sam+Gagner,
Video- Patrick Kane Becomes Superman In The Breakaway Challenge
by Paul on 01/28/12 at 08:18 PM ET
Comments (2)
Filed in: NHL Teams, Chicago Blackhawks | KK Hockey | Permalink
Tags: 2012+ASG, Patrick+Kane,
Patrick Kane Maturing
by Paul on 01/27/12 at 09:30 PM ET
Comments (3)
from Scott Burnside of ESPN,
After developing a reputation as a party boy—especially after scoring the Stanley Cup-winning goal in Game 6 of the 2010 Stanley Cup finals—Kane appears to have embraced a more pastoral lifestyle.
It’s a small thing, but with his parents and a friend in town for the All-Star proceedings, Kane insisted that team staff working over the weekend join them for dinner.
“He’s not the kid in that way that he used to be,” Bowman said.
For a period of time, photos of Kane out on the town would regularly pop up in various places on the Internet, but those occasions seem to have waned. There are few reports of excessive socializing in Chicago or on the road.
“I don’t know. I think as time goes on you start to grow up a little bit,” Kane said Friday. “I probably learned that ever since I was 18 ‘til 23, now every year, I think I get a little bit more mature and start focusing on the things that really matter in life.
“For me, I think I’m still a kid. I mean everyone likes to have their fun and do some different things away from the rink. I’ve always kind of prided myself on being myself and trying to stick true to who I am and how I was raised.”
Filed in: NHL Teams, Chicago Blackhawks | KK Hockey | Permalink
Tags: Patrick+Kane,
Flames Trade Brendan Morrison To Chicago
by Paul on 01/27/12 at 09:17 PM ET
Comments (8)
Calgary, AB – The Calgary Flames announced today the acquisition of defenseman Brian Connelly from the Chicago Blackhawks organization in exchange for Brendan Morrison.
“As we projected our line-up going forward we felt it was going to be difficult for us to find a spot for Brendan or get him significant ice-time,” said Flames General Manager Jay Feaster. “Given his pending UFA status and the fact that we were not going to re-sign him, we felt it important to try to move him for another asset. In Brian Connelly we obtain a 25 year old highly skilled AHL All-Star defenseman who is still a legitimate prospect. We are excited to have Brian in the organization.”
Filed in: NHL Teams, Calgary Flames, Chicago Blackhawks | KK Hockey | Permalink
Tags: Brendan+Morrison,
Chicago Needs Answers To The Questions
by Paul on 01/27/12 at 10:37 AM ET
Comments (1)
from Dan McNeil of the Chicago Tribune,
If we know anything about the NHL, it’s that January is far too early to fear the falling sky. That said, it’s undeniable the Hawks have been only as good as their current sixth position in the Western Conference indicates. There are more questions than answers.
The Hawks are only three points behind the conference-leading Red Wings, but at no point this season have the Hawks put together a 10-game stretch that made anybody think Stan Bowman’s roster is championship quality.
Here’s what I know:
• It’s over if Jonathan Toews is injured worse than the team is saying. The Hawks without Toews are every bit as tough to watch as the Bulls without Derrick Rose or the Bears without Jay Cutler.
If Toews’ bad wrist doesn’t respond or he reinjures it, the Hawks might as well not even qualify for the postseason.
• You can’t win a Stanley Cup with only 3 1/2 defensemen. That’s all Joel Quenneville has right now….
Filed in: NHL Teams, Chicago Blackhawks | KK Hockey | Permalink
Chicago’s Defensive Game Must Improve
by Paul on 01/25/12 at 08:50 PM ET
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from Tim Sassone of the Chicago Daily-Herald,
Defenseman Duncan Keith didn’t want to hear any talk of how the Hawks had to play without the injured Jonathan Toews and Patrick Sharp in Tuesday’s loss.
“Those are two of our best players and guys you can’t replace in the lineup, but having said that, other teams lose guys, have some of their best players out, and still find ways to win,” Keith said. “We’ve done some good things, but the last two games against Nashville, we weren’t happy with how things went.”
Everyone agrees, from general manager Stan Bowman and coach Joel Quenneville down to the players that the Hawks’ team game defensively must improve over the last two-plus months of the season or it could be a short spring again.
“As far as winning the Stanley Cup, it takes a lot of hard work, a lot of effort and full team game,” Keith said. “We have the ability to play a team game in here, but we need to do it consistently.”
The Hawks will have only 32 games left on the schedule when they return from the all-star break Tuesday at Vancouver. Of those 32 games, 20 are on the road.
Filed in: NHL Teams, Chicago Blackhawks | KK Hockey | Permalink
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