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Wednesday, January 30, 2008
Blackhawks at Colorado Avalanche - The Third Man In ~ Game Preview
Wed, January 30, 2008 | link
Tuesday, January 29, 2008
Tuesday notes: Martin Havlat offers a suggestion to his coachMartin Havlat criticizes his coach for tirade Tim Sassone, Daily Herald Havlat claims Savard didn’t air his frustrations with the team before speaking
to the media: "He wasn't talking
to us after the game, so if he had something to say he should talk to us first," Havlat said after practice Monday,
the first following the three-day all-star break. Havlat doesn’t read newspapers or the internet: "I just heard some stuff, but I don't really know everything. I know he wasn't
happy, that's all I know. I don't think anybody was happy. We all want to win." Havlat tells the media to go talk to Savard: "He never mentioned names, and he
never talked to us after the game," Havlat said. "If he had something to tell us, or what he told you guys,
he should tell us after the game. "If you guys want the answer, you have to ask him who are the names. Like I said, he should talk to us.
I think it would be better." Savard, who was clearly refrencing Havlat, Lang and Ruutu, backs off of Havlat a bit, at least to the media, at practice
Monday: "Havvy
has played good, I'll give him that. He has played good five of the last six games, but it's still not good enough,"
Savard said. "For us as a group we need to be better, everybody needs to be better from goaltender on out. It's
as simple as that." * I completely agree with Havlat. However, he better be practicing what he preaches.
Hopefully he went to Savard with these statements before commenting to the media. If not, nothing
is accomplished and this balloons into a disconcerting matter in the Blackhawks’ locker room going forward.
Someone in that room, and it will probably wind up being Martin Lapointe, will have to resolve this before the locker
room splits into pro/anti-Savard factions. Savard went about this the wrong way and now someone will need
to order a close-door meeting so everyone can get back on the same page. I’m sure Havlat’s
not the only one in that room who feels as though his coach has just shown them up. The younger guys will
respond in fear of their jobs or ice time. Veterans have likely been through this before elsewhere and
would prefer to be treated like men. To
me, I didn’t see the Hawks performing any differently last Thursday than they did in San Jose or Phoenix on Saturday.
Why wasn’t Savard frustrated with his team after those games? His post-game tirade Thursday
on the eve of the All-Star break seemed contrived and will go down as a ‘rookie mistake’ by the second-year head
coach. ** C-49-Jacob Dowell,
D-42-Jordan Hendry and RW-11-Jack Skille were all sent back to Rockford last Friday for
the purpose of playing in the IceHogs’ home games against Chicago on Friday and Iowa on Saturday. ** Jordan Hendry and Jack Skille
were recalled from Rockford yesterday. Dowell remains with the IceHogs. ** David Koci has been placed on waivers. Finally.
He’ll be sent to Rockford if no other NHL team picks him up. ** Word from yesterday’s practice has Nikolai Khabibulin getting the start
tomorrow night in Denver, Colorado. **
Following Wednesday, the Hawks travel to San Jose for a Saturday matinee (3pm Chicago time) but don’t play again until
next Wednesday in Edmonton. They’ll be in Calgary Thursday the 7th and Vancouver on Sunday
Feb 10. The road trip finishes with back-to-back dates in Columbus Wed Feb 13 and Nashville Feb 14. Savard restates goal; commit to making playoffs Chris Kuc, Chicago Tribune Lashing out at his team in the media; Savard has no regrets Tim Sassone, Daily Herald GM Tallon agrees change is needed, will listen to Savard's 'gripes' Chris Kuc, Tribune Ben Eager believes he was injured before trade Tribune Steve Rosenbloom Commit to the Indian Chicago Tribune Duncan Keith proving he's a star Tim Sassone, Daily Herald Patrick Kane and Sam Gagner (Oilers) maintain friendship in NHL Nhl.com **Poll Result** Which player would you Most-like to see moved by the Feb 26th trade
deadline? 23%
- Cam Barker 18% -
Dustin Byfuglien 05%
- Martin Havlat 32% - Nikolai Khabibulin 05% - Tuomo Ruutu 18% - Other (you can choose Zyuzin, Perreault, or Lapointe – but we’re looking to get something
in return) No one selecting other left a response
in the comment section which is disappointing because I’d be interested in knowing just whom on this team they’d
consider to have decent trade value other than those listed above. ChrisBlock@TheThirdManIn.com
Tue, January 29, 2008 | link
Monday, January 28, 2008
Ex-Blackhawks Stats updated up to All-Star BreakI’ve updated the current NHL stats for all former Blackhawks’ players
still active around the NHL. Below are the four NHL-active goaltenders with ties to Chicago’s NHL
franchise.
Years w/Chi | Player
Name | Team | GP | W | L | OTL | GAA | Save% | SHO | GA | SA | MIN | ENG | 90-92 | Hasek, Dominik | Detroit | 27 | 17 | 7 | 2 | 2.12 | 0.902 | 3 | 56 | 572 | 1586:13 | 3 | 02-06 | Anderson, Craig | Florida | 9 | 2 | 4 | 1 | 2.54 | 0.918 | 0 | 20 | 244 | 473:04 | 0 | 98-04 | Thibault, Jocelyn | Buffalo | 7 | 2 | 4 | 1 | 3.70 | 0.859 | 1 | 22 | 156 | 356:23 | 0 | 03-04 | Leighton, Michael | Carolina | 3 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 2.66 | 0.897 | 0 | 7 | 68 | 158:09 | 0 |
Click here for a look at the current statistics through games ending Thursday January 24, 2008 for all former - currently active Blackhawks forwards and defenseman.
Mon, January 28, 2008 | link
Friday, January 25, 2008
Chris Chelios is 46, Blackhawks/UC 13th anniversary** Chris Chelios is celebrating his 46th birthday today. Smash
them plates~! ** 13 years ago today, the Blackhawks played their first game at the United Center.
Chicago trounced the Edmonton Oilers 5-1 on January 25, 1995. The Hawks opened up the 48-game season
with losses in Detroit and Winnipeg before opening the UC on Wednesday the 25th. Joe Murphy
scored the first goal in the United Center. Chicago would go on to finish third in the Central (24-19-5).
Bernie Nicholls and Joe Murphy finished 1-2 in team scoring with 51 and 41 points respectively. Jeremy
Roenick would have his shortened by Derian Hatcher’s knee on April 2, 1995, but would return against Vancouver in the
second round of the playoffs. Ironically, Denis Savard would be acquired from Tampa Bay to help fill the
void left in Roenick's absence. Savard was originally sent to Montreal in part because Roenick was
ready to claim the number one center spot. The Hawks were eliminated by Detroit in the Western Conference
Finals four games to one. The 1994-95 season was shortened as stalled NHL/NHLPA labor negotiations precipitated
a lockout on behalf of the league. An agreement was reached on January 11, 1995 and the season opened up
on January 20th. The ’94-95 campaign ended on June 24th when the New Jersey
Devils completed a four game sweep of the Detroit Red Wings. 175 million dollars was needed to build the new home of the Bulls
and Blackhawks. Construction was completed in just about 28 months. The building
officially opened on August 18, 1994 but the UC didn’t host its first event until eleven days later, when the World
Wrestling Federation put on its annual summer super card, SummerSlam. For our professional wrestling historians,
the main event on that card saw the Undertaker take on the ‘Imposter’ Undertaker. The ‘real’
Undertaker (Mark Calloway) won the match, ending the run of the imposter’s (Brian Lee) run in the WWF. In
the co-main event, Bret “Hitman” Hart faced his brother, the late Owen Hart, in a steel cage match.
Pro football Hall of Famer and Chicago Bears running back Walter Payton made an appearance cornering Razor Ramon (Scott
Hall) in his Intercontinental Title match with Diesel (Kevin Nash). The storyline of this match had Ramon
acquire the ‘services’ of Payton to help prevent Diesel’s cornerman, Shawn Michaels, from interfering in
the match. The announced attendance for the event was 23,000. If that’s wasn’t
the real number, it was very close and would be the single-most attended event in the building’s history. **Poll
Result** How do you rate the Hawk’s defense as a group? (Keith, Seabrook,
Sopel, Byfuglien, Wisniewski, Barker, Hendry) 26% - They’re the future.
Go with it. 13% - Two will emerge as top-2 d-men. 09% - Oh boy We’re in trouble. 22% - Good
enough to be average. 30% - We’re in need of an upgrade There could've been multiple
answers here. I don't see anything from Keith suggesting he can be a consistent offensive force on the blue line.
He's a wonderful skater, but if he didn't have that attribute, I don't know if he'd even be in the league.
Seabrook could wind up being a number two guy. I don't think we have to wait any longer to refer to Cam Barker as
a first round bust. The Hawks should move him and avoid making the same mistake as they did in holding on to Mark Bell
hoping one day he'd eventually become something he wasn't cut out to be. On Dustin Byfuglien; what Denis Savard
and Dale Tallon are trying to say when they insinuate he may be better suited to play forward and not the position he's
been at his entire life, is they believe Byfuglien's too stupid to play defense in the National Hockey League.
Mental mistakes can hurt a team no matter where they occur on the ice. Byfuglien can hurt the team
just as much at wing as he can on the point. If he’s susceptible to mental errors or they don’t
have faith in Byfuglien being able to adjust to speed of the NHL game, he should be traded while he still has value.
The Hawks are in need of a player who’s not currently in their organization, an elite defenseman who can shut
down the other team’s top line and quarterback their own power play.
ChrisBlock@TheThirdManIn.com
Fri, January 25, 2008 | link
Thursday, January 24, 2008
Unofficial 1st half-finale: Blackhawks host Blue Jackets - 7:30 tonight 
Tonight – Game 50 of 82
Home Game #27 – Thursday January 24, 2008 – 7:30 –
United Center Columbus Blue Jackets
24-20-6, Overall 54pts, 10th
WEST, 3rd Central (8-14-2, on Road) at Chicago Blackhawks 23-22-4, Overall,
50pts, 13th WEST, 5th Central (13-12-1, at Home) Columbus is wrapping up a five-game road trip
tonight (2-2-0) as both teams head into the All-Star break. Denis Savard has decided to go with Nikolai Khabibulin
in goal. Patrick Lalime had started six of the last eight, going 4-1-1. Savard had been
quoted last week that he intended to go with Lalime until he lost. Well, Lalime and the Hawks lost Tuesday
in San Jose, though blame should hardly be placed solely upon Lalime. Khabibulin last played Friday January
11, a 5-2 loss to Minnesota before a crowd of 21,139 fans at the United Center. Only three teams in the league
(Ottawa-92, LA-88, Detroit-84) have scored more goals at home than the Blackhawks. Denis Savard’s
team has tallied 82 goals in 26 games on its’ home ice. It’s the goal differential that counts,
however. Ottawa is a plus-15 at home. Detroit is a whopping +30 in 25 home dates to
the Blackhawks’ plus-9. On the other hand, only LA and St. Louis have scored fewer goals
than Chicago on the road. (LA-49 in 22gp, STL-53 in 21gp, CHI-53 in 23gp). More so, the problem is, the
Hawks have allowed five more power play goals than they’ve scored at the United Center. Ben
Eager returns tonight after being sidelined for the past 14 games with concussion
symptoms. He’s appeared in just three games and a little more than 17 minutes of ice time since being
acquired from the Flyers for Jim Vandermeer on December 18. With tonight’s crowd, the Blackhawks will surpass the 8.5
million mark in United Center-Hawks’ attendance (regular/post season). Blackhawks expected line-up
as listed at blackhawks.nhl.com LW | C | RW | 88-Patrick Kane | 20-Robert Lang | 24-Martin
Havlat | 12-Rene Bourque | 10-Patrick Sharp
| 11-Jack Skille | 15-Tuomo
Ruutu | 49-Jacob Dowell | 28-Craig Adams | 55-Ben Eager | 37-Adam Burish (A) | 52-Dustin
Byfuglien-f/d | LD | RD | | 2-Duncan Keith (A) | 7-Brent
Seabrook | | 42-Jordan
Hendry | 5-Brent Sopel | | 25-Cam Barker | 43-James Wisniewski | | Goaltenders | | | 39-Nikolai Khabibulin | 40-Patrick
Lalime | |
Scratches are
expected to be: C-94-Yanic Perreault (42gp, 4g, 4a, -5)…. D-27-Andrei Zyuzin (27gp,
1g, 2a, -10)…. LW-48-David Koci (worthless)…. RW-22-Martin Lapointe (bruised
kidney) has been placed on injured reserve to make room for the returning Ben Eager. What will it take
to get rid of David Koci? Other on Injured Reserve: C-17-Kevyn Adams (knee
surgery, out for season)… RW-29-Jason Williams (sports hernia)…. C-36-David Bolland….
C-19-Jonathan Toews (knee sprain)…. LW-32-Kris Versteeg (shoulder)… Columbus Blue
Jackets anticipated line-up LW | C | RW | 61-Rick Nash | 16-Derick
Brassard | 33-Fredrik Modin (A) | 25-Jason Chimera | 19-Michael Peca | 13-Nikolai
Zherdev | 9-David Vyborny (A) | 12-Jiri
Novotny | 40-Jared Boll | 45-Jody
Shelley | 27-Manny Malhotra | 49-Dan Fritsche | LD | RD | | 8-Jan Hejda | 52-Adam Foote (C) | | 6-Ron Hainsey | 97-Rostislav
Klesla | | 2-Kris
Russell | 55-Ole-Kristian Tollefsen | | Goaltenders | | | 31-Pascal Leclaire | 30-Fredrik Norrena | |
GM: Scott Howson Coach: Ken
Hitchcock Assistants: Gary Agnew, Gord Murphy, Claude Noel Goaltending coach: Clint Malarchuk 16-Brassard will play some with Nash and Modin, but if Tuesday’s game was any indication, Ken Hitchcock
will shuffle his lines quite a bit….. C-91-Sergei Fedorov is out with a concussion. He’s
on injured reserve and will miss his 4th straight game tonight…... W/C-51-Andrew Murray
dressed Tuesday in Dallas but it’s expected he’ll sit vs. the Hawks…. W-11-Curtis Glencross
may get the nod over Shelley…. LW-45-Jody Shelley does not have a point in 33 games this season…..
Last
meeting – Wed November 14 in Columbus: -- Blue Jackets win 4-2 -- First game
of Hawks’ six-game November road trip (2-2-2) -- Hawks goals: Keith (3), Byfuglien (2) -- Jacket goals: Nash (12),
Fedorov (4), Fritsche (2), Chimera (5) -- Patrick Lalime: 17 saves, 21 shots against -- Pascal Leclaire: 16 saves,
18 shots against -- Stars of game: 1-Sergei Fedorov, 2-Rick Nash, 3-Jason Chimera -- Fight~! Dustin
Byfuglien vs. Jared Boll (14:50-1st) --Jim Vandermeer vs. Rick Nash (20:00-3rd) ’07-08
- 2nd match – Wed November 7 at United Center: -- Blackhawks
win 5-2 -- Hawks goals: Wisniewski (4), Toews (6), Seabrook (2), Keith (2), Sharp (6) -- Jacket goals: Rusty Klesla
(2), Zherdev (4) -- Patrick Lalime: 24 saves, 26 shots against -- Fredrik Norrena: 30 saves, 35 shots against -- PP: Hawks
0-2 … CBJ 0-6 -- Ole-Kristian Tollefsen hit on Kevyn Adams in 1st – ends Adams’ season
(acl/mcl) -- Fight~! Adam Burish vs. Curtis Glencross (2:40-1st) ’07-08
- 1st match, October 23 at United Center: -- Blue Jackets win 7-4 -- Hawks goals:
Kane (2, 3), Toews (3), Wisniewski (2) -- Jacket goals: Nash (6, 7), Novotny (2, 3), Fedorov (2), Tollefsen (1-SH-en) -- Hawks 0-6
on power-play. ‘Jackets 1-4 (Fedorov) -- Fredrik Norrena started for Columbus and stopped 24 of 28 Hawks’
shots -- Khabibulin had one of his worst games of the season, allowing 6 goals on 25 shots -- Ruutu 3 assists, line with
Toews and Kane (3 goals, 5 assists, +7) -- Hawks out shot Columbus 28-26 -- Fight~! None Blue
Jackets notes: (with help from Columbus’s media notes) -- Slick-skating
D- Kris Russell (46gp) scored the first 2 goals of his career Tues in Dallas -- CBJ (8-14-2) rank 27th out
of 30 teams on the road in NHL -- Rick Nash career: 331gp – 142g, 108a, 250pts, 350pim, 53ppg, 3shg, 22gwg -- Nash has
only 2 career hat tricks -- 1 for 11 on PP vs. Chicago this season … Killed all 11 Chicago PP’s
against -- Rick Nash is the lone ‘Jacket headed to the All-Star game -- Of tonight’s roster,
10 players were drafted by CBJ, 5 via trade -- Acquired thru free agency: David Vyborny (‘00), Jody Shelley (’00-01),
Adam Foote (‘05), Jan Hejda (‘07), Mike Peca (‘07), Jiri Novotny (‘07) -- Shelley
(380gp, 11g, 18a) and Vyborny (517gp, 109g, 198a) have played their entire NHL careers with Columbus and along with Rusty
Klesla, are the only players remaining from the Blue Jackets’ inaugural 2000-01 season -- Ron Hainsey (‘05)
and Manny Malhotra (‘03) have both been acquired through waivers. -- Pascal Leclaire was won 8 of his last 10 decisions -- Jared Boll
was born in Charlotte, NC, but grew up in Crystal Lake, IL Blue Jackets’ goal scoring droughts: Jan Hejda (74), Adam Foote (48), Jody Shelley (46), Ole-Kristian Tollefsen (26 -Chicago 10/23 empty
netter), Jared Boll (14), Manny Malhotra (13), Jiri Novotny (11), David Vyborny (10), Curtis Glencross (10), Mike Peca (9),
Dan Fritsche (6), Jason Chimera (4), Rusty Klesla (3), Hawks notes: -- In case
you missed it, Adam Burish scored his 1st NHL goal Tues in San Jose -- Hawks (13-12-1) have 16th
best home record in NHL -- Will have 5 top-ten 1st round picks in lineup tonight, CBJ- 4 -- Only 8 other
teams have given up more goals than the Hawks (142 in 49gp), just two of those (Carolina, Calgary) would qualify for the playoffs
as of today. -- Ottawa (1st East, 2nd NHL) has surrendered one less goal (141 in 49gp), yet scored
27 more goals than the Hawks (166-139) -- Kevyn Adams, Toews, Bolland, Lapointe, Jason Williams and Jim Vandermeer were
all in the lineup the last time Columbus visited the UC Blackhawks’ goal scoring droughts: Ben Eager (30), Andrei Zyuzin (22), Kevyn Adams (20), Tuomo Ruutu (19),
Duncan Keith (19), James Wisniewski (17), Jake Dowell (12), Cam Barker (10), Craig Adams (10), Martin Lapointe (7), Martin
Havlat (5), Brent Sopel (5), Kris Versteeg (4), Dave Bolland (3), Patrick Sharp (4), Robert Lang (4), and
Adam Burish (0) Blackhawks +/- losers Player | GP | Points | +/- | ATOI | PP pts | SH
pts | Zyuzin, Andrei | 27 | 3 | -10 | 15:54 | 2 | 0 | Byfuglien,
Dustin | 37 | 23 | -9 | 18:21 | 11 | 0 | Burish,
Adam | 49 | 4 | -6 | 12:03 | 0 | 0 | Kane,
Patrick | 49 | 45 | -6 | 18:45 | 18 | 0 | Richmond,
Danny | 7 | 0 | -5 | 9:24 | 0 | 0 | Adams,
Kevyn | 15 | 1 | -5 | 12:13 | 0 | 1 | Perreault,
Yanic | 42 | 8 | -5 | 11:30 | 0 | 1 |
Blackhawks
+/- leaders Player | GP | Points | +/- | ATOI | PP pts | SH
pts | Keith, Duncan | 49 | 17 | +16 | 24:54 | 2 | 2 | Sopel,
Brent | 39 | 13 | +14 | 20:34 | 1 | 3 | Sharp,
Patrick | 47 | 36 | +12 | 18:45 | 8 | 9 | Lang,
Robert | 49 | 36 | +10 | 19:30 | 13 | 0 | Toews,
Jonathan | 36 | 32 | +5 | 18:43 | 16 | 2 | Kontiola,
Petri | 9 | 3 | +4 | 15:05 | 0 | 0 | Seabrook,
Brent | 49 | 16 | +4 | 20:46 | 5 | 1 |
Head to Head: Power Play CBJ: T-21st
NHL – 38 goals, 229 chances – 24th on road (15.3%) CHI: T-21st NHL – 36 goals,
217 chances – 18th at home (16.8%) * CBJ has allowed 3 short-handed goals against … CHI = 6 Penalty
Kill CBJ: 2nd NHL (86.5%) – 2nd on road (88.0%) * San Jose tops in home/away PK CHI: T-19th
w/Calgary (81.0%) – 26th at home (79.2%) In the Shoot-Out CBJ: 2W – 5L (2-3 at home, 0-2
on road); 0 of 6 chances converted on road CHI: 4W – 1L (3 of last 4 wins in s-out) 1-0 at home (10/6 vs Det) Columbus vs. Detroit 1-1, vs. Nashville 1-1, vs. Dallas 0-2, vs. Anaheim 0-1) * Pascal Leclaire is 2-2 in
the shootout, allowing 7 scores on 15 chances **Tonight’s Officials** Referees: Tim Peel
#20 -- Brad Watson #23 Linesman: Mark Wheeler #56
-- Mark Shewchyk #92 Jim Cornelison will sing the anthem. Remainder
of 8-game 2007-08 season series vs. Columbus (Jackets lead 2-1) Game 4 – Tonight – 01/24 – at United Center –
7:30 Game 5 – Wed February 13 – in Columbus – 6pm central Game 6 – Fri March 14
– in Columbus – 6pm central Game 7 – Wed March 26 – in Columbus – 6pm central Game
8 – Sun March 30 – at United Center – 6:00 ChrisBlock@TheThirdManIn.com
Thu, January 24, 2008 | link
Tuesday, January 22, 2008
Hawks look to solve San Jose, Shark Tank; go for 5th straight win  Tonight – Game 49 of 82
Road Game #23 – Tuesday January 22, 2008 – 9:30 central
– HP Pavilion Chicago Blackhawks 23-21-4 Overall
50 pts, T-12th WEST, T-4th Central
(10-9-3, on Road) at San Jose Sharks 25-15-7 Overall 57 pts,
5th WEST, 3rd Pacific (9-11-4, at Home) Things have
certainly been looking ‘up’ for the Hawks in the past ten days. However, trouble could be awaiting
in San Jose tonight. The ‘Shark Tank’ has been anything but accommodating to the Blackhawks
in the past seven years. March 17, 2003 marked the last time Chicago won at HP Pavilion in San Jose.
Blackhawks won 3-2 in overtime. Chicago is 0-5-1-0 in their last six trips to the Shark Tank and
they’ve only won once since 1999 on the Sharks’ home ice (1-7-3-1). San Jose comes into tonight’s game having lost four games in a row and the last three games in regulation: the only span
they’ve done such so far in the ’07-08 season. On the other side, the Blackhawks are trying to set a new season-high
for consecutive victories; five. Three of the last four games have been decided in a shoot-out, thus giving
the Hawks’ opponents (Nashville, Colorado and Phoenix) each one point as a result. Chicago is battling
those three teams for positioning in the Western Conference playoff push. Sharks left winger Milan Michalek
scored both goals in these two teams only other meeting this season. Each goal came while the Hawks were
short-handed. Michalek must enjoy seeing the Blackhawks. In his career, Michalek has
7 goals and 3 assists in nine career games vs. Chicago. Jeremy Roenick is tied with five other players for the league lead
in game-winning goals with six. Last week San Jose netminder Evgeni Nabokov missed out on an opportunity to tie Martin
Brodeur for most consecutive starts in a single season. Nabokov had started every game this season before
sitting January 13 at Anaheim. He had started 43 straight games. Brodeur set the record
of forty-four in 1996. Blackhawks goaltender Nikolai Khabibulin ranks third on the list for his 42 consecutive
starts while with Phoenix in 1997. Blackhawks expected line-up ……. LW | C | RW | 88-Patrick Kane | 20-Robert
Lang | 24-Martin Havlat | 12-Rene
Bourque | 10-Patrick Sharp | 11-Jack Skille | 94-Yanic Perreault | 28-Craig Adams | 15-Tuomo
Ruutu | 37-Adam Burish (A) | 49-Jacob
Dowell | 43-James Wisniewski | LD | RD | | 2-Duncan Keith (A) | 7-Brent Seabrook | | 42-Jordan Hendry | 5-Brent
Sopel | | 25-Cam
Barker | 52-Dustin Byfuglien | | Goaltenders | | | 40-Patrick Lalime | 39-Nikolai Khabibulin | |
Probable scratches: D-27-Andrei Zyuzin…
LW-48-David Koci (s/b in ECHL)… RW-22-Martin Lapointe (bruised kidney)….. Injured Reserve:
C-19-Jonathan Toews (knee sprain), W-29-Jason Williams (sports hernia), C-36-David
Bolland (broken finger), W-32-Kris Versteeg (shoulder), C-17-Kevyn Adams (acl/mcl
surgery) San Jose Sharks anticipated line-up….. LW | C | RW | 9-Milan
Michalek | 19-Joe Thornton (A) | 14-Jonathan
Cheechoo | 39-Tomas Plihal | 12-Patrick Marleau (C) | 26-Steve Bernier | 25-Mike Grier (A) | 17-Torrey Mitchell | 16-Devin
Setoguchi | 27-Jeremy Roenick | 8-Joe Pavelski | 34-Patrick
Rissmiller | LD | RD | | 10-Christian Ehrhoff | 44-Marc-Edouard Vlasic | | 18-Matthew Carle | 52-Craig Rivet (A) | | 3-Douglas Murray | 24-Sandis Ozolinsh | | Goaltenders | | | 20-Evgeni Nabokov | 1-Thomas
Greiss | |
President & CEO: Greg Jamison General
Manager: Doug Wilson Head Coach: Ron Wilson Asst Coaches: Tim Hunter~!, Rob Zettler Advisor to Hockey Operations:
Mike Ricci~! Scout(Ontario)/Player Develop: Bryan Marchment~! D-5-Rob Davison (15gp, 0pts, 21pim, -3) has worked both at forward
and defense of late. The San Jose Mercury News reported today that he practiced with the defense
on Monday…. C-39-Tomas Plihal was recalled from Worcester (AHL) to fill Curtis Brown’s spot
on the roster. Plihal, 24, has appeared in 3 NHL games in his career but none of those three have come this season….
C-11-Marcel Goc, 24, has just two goals and five points in 29 games played this season. Goc has been a
healthy scratch two out of the past three games….. Sharks on IR:
D-4-Kyle McLaren (minor knee surgery)…. D-6-Brad Norton (back)….. LW-29-Ryan
Clowe (knee)…. C/W-37-Curtis Brown (hand)….. Last Meeting –
Wednesday October 10 at United Center -- San Jose wins 2-1 -- Hawks goal: Jonathan Toews
(1st of season, career) 13:43 1st per (Seabrook, Kane) -- Sharks goals: Milan Michalek
(1st & 2nd) -- Evgeni Nabokov: 16 saves, 17 shots against -- Nikolai Khabibulin: 30 saves, 32 shots against -- Michalek
GWG with 3:31 left in the 3rd -- Power Play: Sharks 2 for 6 … Hawks 0 for 2 -- Fight~! Rob Davison vs.
Martin Lapointe – 11:53 1st -- Jonathan Toews’ NHL debut -- United Center attend: 10,122 Sharks Leading
Scorers: # | Player | GP | G | A | Pts | +/- | 19 | Joe Thornton | 47 | 15 | 41 | 56 | +11 | 9 | Milan Michalek | 44 | 16 | 13 | 29 | +7 | 12 | Patrick Marleau | 47 | 8 | 15 | 23 | -20 | 52 | Craig Rivet | 45 | 5 | 16 | 21 | -4 | 26 | Steve Bernier | 45 | 12 | 8 | 20 | +1 | 8 | Joe Pavelski | 47 | 9 | 9 | 18 | -1 | 27 | Jeremy Roenick | 40 | 9 | 9 | 18 | -4 | 17 | Torrey Mitchell | 47 | 9 | 7 | 16 | +3 | 10 | Christian Ehrhoff | 44 | 0 | 15 | 15 | +0 | 14 | Jonathan Cheechoo | 40 | 7 | 7 | 14 | 0 | 25 | Mike Grier | 45 | 5 | 7 | 12 | -4 | 16 | Devin Setoguchi | 25 | 9 | 2 | 11 | +7 |
Sharks’ notes: -- Last game:
Saturday- Lost to Detroit 6-3 at HP Pavilion -- Jeremy Roenick’s career vs. Blackhawks: 36gp, 9g, 17a, 26pts, +2, 57pim,
3ppg, 3gwg -- One of the conditions GM Doug Wilson had in signing Jeremy Roenick prior to this past training camp was
that J.R. give up drinking during the season. -- Patrick Marleau career vs. Blackhawks: 37gp, 12g, 15a, 27pts, even, 27pim, 6ppg,
3gwg -- Marleau leads the Sharks all-time in scoring- 764gp, 227g, 287a, 514pts, -16 -- With one point tonight,
Joe Thornton would tie Mike Ricci for 6th all-time in Sharks’ scoring -- Jonathan Cheechoo on the
power play: 2 goals, 2 assists -- PP leaders: Thornton (6-15-21), Rivet (2-11-13), Marleau (2-9-11) -- Vs. Central Div: 5-4-0 -- 1999-00
Season opener 10/4/99 in SJ, Sharks notched 26 shots on goal in the 3rd (SJ,W 7-1) -- Christian Ehrhoff scored
his 1st NHL goal vs. Hawks, 11/26/03 in San Jose -- Have scored just one empty-net goal this season (Hawks have
7) Sharks’
goal scoring droughts: Rob Davison (79), Marc-Edouard Vlasic (65), Brad Norton (65),
Christian Ehrhoff (48), Mike Grier (18), Alexei Semenov (13), Sandis Ozolinsh (12), Matt Carle (9), Marcel Goc (7), Patrick
Rissmiller (6), Patrick Marleau (4), Joe Pavelski (4), Craig Rivet (4), Kyle McLaren (4), Torrey Mitchell (3), Jeremy Roenick
(3) -- Roenick needs 3 goals to tie Jean Beliveau (507) for 36th in all-time NHL goals
scored -- 17 of the 23 players on the current Sharks roster were originally drafted by San Jose -- Roenick
recorded 7 hits Saturday vs. Detroit Hawks’ notes: -- 57 NHL games….
ZERO goals for Adam Burish -- Patrick Kane has a 4-game point streak (3g, 3a) -- Denis Savard’s head coaching
record: 47-51-0-11 [47W – 62L] -- Record when scoring 4 goals or more: 14-1-1 [3
goals or less: 9-20-3] -- Dustin Byfuglien leads Hawks’ d-men and ranks 24th among NHL d-men in scoring -- Dustin Byfuglien
on the power play: (2 goals, 9 assists) -- PP leaders: Kane (4-14-18), Toews (4-12-16), Lang (5-8-13) -- Vs. Pacific
Div: 5-6-1 Blackhawks’ goal scoring droughts: Ben Eager (30),
Andrei Zyuzin (22), Kevyn Adams (20), Tuomo Ruutu (18), Duncan Keith (18),
James Wisniewski (16), Jake Dowell (11), Cam Barker (9), Craig Adams (9), Martin Lapointe (7), Martin Havlat (4), Brent Sopel
(4), Kris Versteeg (4), Dave Bolland (3), Patrick Sharp (3), Robert Lang (3), -- Having missed the past
three games and not expected back in the line up until next week, Martin Lapointe will no longer be able to reach 1,000 NHL
games played in the 2007-08 season. Had he dressed in every game this season, Lapointe would have reached
1,000 on March 30th vs. Columbus at the UC. Head-to-head: -- In January: San Jose 3-3-2 … Hawks
4-6-1 -- Leading after 1: San Jose 13-5-3 … Hawks 8-3-0 -- Leading after 2: San Jose
18-0-2 … Hawks 12-0-2 -- Trailing after 2: San Jose 2-13-2 … Hawks 5-16-0 -- Tied after
two: San Jose 5-2-3 … Hawks 6-5-2 -- In OT, ’07-08: San
Jose 2-7-0 … Hawks 6-4-0 -- 5 on 5: San Jose +2 (77gp-75ga) …
Hawks- Even (77gf-77ga) Power Play: San Jose: overall 16th
in NHL (17.6%) – at home 18.1% (14th) BHawks: overall T-20th in NHL (17.0%)
– on road 17.2% (15th) Penalty Kill: San Jose: overall 2nd
in NHL (86.4%) – at home 82.0% (19th) BHawks: overall T-17th in NHL (81.3%)
– on road 83.8% (T-6th) Short-handed point leaders: San Jose: Torrey Mitchell
(2g, 1a) Mike Grier (1g, 1a) BHawks: Patrick Sharp (7g, 2a), Rene Bourque (3g, 2a) In the shootout: San Jose: 2W–5L; (for) 8 scores, 23 chances …. (against) 11 goals, 22 chances BHawks: 4W–1L;
(for) 7 scores, 13 chances …. (against) 4 goals, 15 chances **Tonight’s
Officials** Referees: Don Koharski #12 -- Gord
Dwyer #39 Linesman: Tim Nowak #77 -- Thor Nelson #80 ChrisBlock@TheThirdManIn.com
Tue, January 22, 2008 | link
Saturday, January 19, 2008
Hawks look to tie season high - 4 straight wins - visit Phoenix - 8pm tonight 
Tonight – Game 48 of 82
Road Game #22 – Saturday January 19, 2008 – 8:00 central
– Jobing.com Arena Chicago Blackhawks 22-21-4 Overall 48 pts, 13th WEST, 5th Central (9-9-3, on Road) at Phoenix Coyotes 24-21-1 Overall 49 pts, 12th
WEST, 4th Pacific (9-11-1, at Home)
I don’t
have a lot of time today, so here are the basics.
** Today
is the 17th anniversary of the 1991 NHL All-Star game at Chicago Stadium.
Blackhawks’ lineup as it was last night.
I wouldn’t expect much change…….
LW | C | RW | 88-Patrick Kane | 20-Robert Lang | 24-Martin
Havlat | 12-Rene Bourque | 10-Patrick Sharp | 11-Jack
Skille | 94-Yanic Perreault | 28-Craig
Adams | 15-Tuomo Ruutu | 37-Adam
Burish (A) | 49-Jacob Dowell | 43-James
Wisniewski | LD | RD |
| 2-Duncan Keith (A) | 7-Brent Seabrook |
| 42-Jordan Hendry | 5-Brent
Sopel |
| 25-Cam
Barker | 52-Dustin Byfuglien |
| Goaltenders |
|
| 40-Patrick
Lalime | 39-Nikolai Khabibulin |
|
Martin Lapointe should be healthy enough for a return tonight, so that will
push either Jordan Hendry or Cam Barker out of the lineup. I suppose Savard could also sit Yanic Perreault,
but he’d be doing his team a service to get Cam Barker off the ice and James Wisniewski off the wing.
Probable
scratches: D-27-Andrei Zyuzin…
LW-48-David Koci … RW-22-Martin Lapointe (flu)…..
Injured Reserve:
C-19-Jonathan Toews (knee sprain),
W-29-Jason Williams (sports hernia),
C-36-David Bolland (broken finger),
W-32-Kris Versteeg (shoulder),
C-17-Kevyn Adams (acl/mcl surgery)
Phoenix
Coyotes anticipated line-up…..
LW | C | RW | 88-Peter Mueller | 11-Martin
Hanzal | 19-Shane Doan (C) | 28-Steven Reinprecht | 26-Joel Perreault | 20-Fredrik
Sjostrom | 16-Mike York | 39-Niko
Kapanen | 34-Doug Winnik | 22-Mathias
Tjarnqvist | 15-Mike Zigomanis | 12-Craig Weller | LD | RD |
| 4-Zbynek Michalek | 55-Ed Jovanovski (A) |
| 2-Keith Ballard | 53-Derek Morris (A) |
| 3-Keith Yandle | 44-Nick Boynton |
| Goaltenders |
|
| 30-Ilja Bryzgalov | 32-Mikael Tellqvist |
|
Managing Partner:
Wayne Gretzky GM: Don Maloney Head Coach: Wayne Gretzky Associate coach: Ulf Samuelsson~! Asst Coach: (Rick Tocchet
when he’s reinstated next month) Goaltending Coach: Grant Fuhr Probable Phoenix scratches: W-17-Radim Vrbata
(groin)…
Hawks’ notes:
-- 56 NHL games…. ZERO goals for Adam Burish -- Tuomo Ruutu
still needs 2 goals for 50 career (213gp)
Blackhawks’ goal scoring droughts: Ben Eager (30), Andrei Zyuzin (22), Kevyn Adams (20), Tuomo Ruutu (17), Dunan Keith (17), James Wisniewski (15), Brent
Seabrook (12), Jake Dowell (10), Martin Lapointe (7), Cam Barker (8), Craig Adams (8), Kris Versteeg (4), Dave Bolland (3)
**Tonight’s Officials**
Referees: Greg
Kimmerly #18 -- Marc Joannette #25 Linesman: Lonnie Cameron
#74 – Thor Nelson #80 (same as last night)
ChrisBlock@TheThirdManIn.com
Sat, January 19, 2008 | link
Friday, January 18, 2008
Blackhawks visit Colorado - 8pm tonight - Game preview  Tonight – Game 47 of 82
Road Game #21 – Friday January 18, 2008 – 8:00 central
– Pepsi Center Chicago Blackhawks 21-21-4 Overall
46 pts, 14th WEST, 5th Central
(8-9-3, on Road) at Colorado Avalanche 25-18-3 Overall 53 pts,
8th WEST, 4th Northwest (16-6-0, at Home) The Blackhawks
kick off a three game road trip tonight in Denver. Tomorrow, the Hawks head to Phoenix for a Saturday night
matchup with the Coyotes and on to San Jose where they’ll meet Jeremy Roenick and the Sharks on Tuesday.
The Hawks next occupy the United Center on Thursday Jan. 24, when Rick Nash and the Columbus Blue Jackets come calling. Patrick Lalime
will get his third consecutive start in goal. Denis Savard has said he will ride Lalime until he loses,
so it’ll be interesting to see if Khabibulin is between the pipes tomorrow when Chicago faces his former team, the Coyotes. Ten out of
the Blackhawks next eleven games will take place on the road. ** Jason Williams had sports hernia surgery today to correct the
groin problems which have kept him out of the line up since November 28. He won’t return for another
six weeks. Blackhawks expected line-up as per blackhawks.nhl.com……. LW | C | RW | 88-Patrick Kane | 20-Robert
Lang | 24-Martin Havlat | 12-Rene
Bourque | 10-Patrick Sharp | 11-Jack Skille | 94-Yanic Perreault | 28-Craig Adams | 15-Tuomo
Ruutu | 37-Adam Burish (A) | 49-Jacob
Dowell | 43-James Wisniewski | LD | RD | | 2-Duncan Keith (A) | 7-Brent Seabrook | | 42-Jordan Hendry | 5-Brent
Sopel | | 25-Cam
Barker | 52-Dustin Byfuglien | | Goaltenders | | | 40-Patrick Lalime | 39-Nikolai Khabibulin | |
Don’t ask me why Adams, a right wing, will line up as a center
tonight for Denis Savard when Yanic Perreault (a career center) is on the same line. Perhaps someone told
him “Adams” was meeting the team in Denver and just assumed Kevyn Adams had miraculously recovered from knee surgery
three months early….. I guess the “Badger Line” experiment is over… Ruutu is a much player better
at home than on the road, nonetheless, he really needs to get his game going on this trip. Ruutu hasn’t
scored since the Hawks blew out LA at the UC on December 12….. Probable scratches: D-27-Andrei Zyuzin…
LW-48-David Koci (horrible at everything)… RW-22-Martin Lapointe (flu)….. RD-43-James
Wisniewski (knee sprain) is due back in the lineup on this 3-game road trip…. Martin Lapointe (bad flu) missed
his first game since coming to the Blackhawks prior to the ’05-06 season. Reportedly, Lapointe wanted
to play but was talked out of it by team doctors. Injured Reserve: C-19-Jonathan Toews (knee sprain),
W-29-Jason Williams (sports hernia), C-36-David Bolland (broken finger), W-32-Kris
Versteeg (shoulder), C-17-Kevyn Adams (acl/mcl surgery) Colorado Avalanche anticipated
line-up….. LW | C | RW | 15-Andrew Brunette (A) | 37-T.J. Hensick | 23-Milan Hejduk (A) | 8-Wojtek
Wolski | 39-Tyler Arnason | 40-Marek Svatos | 14-Ian Laperriere (A) | 28-Ben Guite | 11-Cody
McCormick | 55-Cody McLeod | 17-Jaroslav
Hlinka | 27-Scott Parker | LD | RD | | 44-Jordan Leopold | 22-Scott
Hannan | | 5-Brett
Clark | 3-Karlis Skrastins | | 4-John-Michael Liles | 6-Jeff Finger | | Goaltenders | | | 60-Jose Theodore | 31-Peter
Budaj | |
President: Pierre Lacroix GM: Francois Giguere Asst to GM:
Michel Goulet Head Coach: Joel Quenneville Asst Coaches: Tony Granato & Jacques Cloutier Goaltending
Coach: Jeff Hackett Don’t talk to the Avalanche about injuries - ON
I.R. – C-19-Joe Sakic (hernia surgery)… LW-94-Ryan
Smyth (broken ankle)…. C-26-Paul Stastny (appendectomy)… D-34-Kurt Sauer
(concussion symptoms, neck)…. Sakic is due back, at the earliest, the first week of February…. Smyth around
the last week of February…. Stastny had his appendix removed yesterday and will miss the first game of his young career
(128gp) tonight. He’s expected to miss 2-3 weeks….. Sauer’s return is uncertain.
He suffered the injury when he was hit by San Jose’s Patrick Marleau on Nov. 30…. Probable Colorado
scratches: D-48-Kyle Cumiskey…. D-7-Johnny Boychuk….. Last
Meeting – Friday October 19 at United Center -- Hawks win 5-3 (final goal a Robert Lang empty-netter) -- Chi goals:
Jonathan Toews (2), Patrick Sharp (2), Patrick Kane (1), Tuomo Ruutu (2),
Lang (4) -- Col goals: Wojtek Wolski (2), Marek Svatos (3), Ryan Smyth (3) -- Khabibulin: 3 goals against,
40 shots -- Jose Theodore: 4 goals against, 26 shots -- Power play: Hawks 0-5 … Avs 1-5 -- Stars of
the game: 1-Patrick Kane (3pts), 2-Joe Sakic (2a), 3-Patrick Sharp (3pts) -- ‘The Toews Goal’ 6:59-1st -- Attend:
13,519 Colorado Leading Scorers: # | Player | GP | G | A | Pts | +/- | 26 | Paul Stastny | 46 | 17 | 32 | 49 | 11 | 23 | Milan Hejduk | 41 | 17 | 16 | 33 | 0 | 15 | Andrew Burnette | 46 | 8 | 24 | 32 | 1 | 8 | Wojtek Wolski | 46 | 13 | 15 | 28 | 5 | 94 | Ryan Smyth | 36 | 11 | 17 | 28 | -5 | 40 | Marek Svatos | 43 | 20 | 2 | 22 | 7 | 19 | Joe Sakic | 24 | 7 | 15 | 22 | -6 | 4 | J-Michael Liles | 45 | 2 | 16 | 18 | 0 | 17 | Jaroslav Hlinka | 42 | 5 | 12 | 17 | 4 | 5 | Brett Clark | 46 | 4 | 12 | 16 | 1 | 39 | Tyler Arnason | 34 | 3 | 10 | 13 | 1 | 22 | Scott Hannan | 46 | 1 | 12 | 13 | -8 |
Avs’ notes: -- Horrible early: Avs have been outscored 40-28 is the 1st
period. They get better though and are a plus-13 in the second twenty. -- Vs. Central Division: 4-7-0 -- Joel Quenneville
(419 wins) is 7th amongst active NHL coaches in wins and 18th All-time. -- Have allowed just 1 short-handed
goal this season -- When Wolski scores- Avs 9-2-1 … When Hejduk scores- Avs 9-3-0 -- Andrew Brunette will appear
in his 418th consecutive game tonight. He’s second in the NHL in that category.
Calgary’s Cory Sarich is the NHL’s current-active Iron Man (436 consecutive). -- Tyler Arnason led the Avs
in scoring vs. Chi last season. In four games, Arnason had two goals and 3 assists vs. his original team. Avalanche’
goal scoring droughts: Kyle Cumiskey (37), John-Michael Liles (29), Karlis Skrastins
(22), Tyler Arnason (19), Scott Hannan (19), Kurt Sauer (18), Scott Parker
(15), Ian Laperriere (15), Jaroslav Hlinka (13), Ben Guite (13), T.J. Hensick (13), Cody McCormick (8), Brett Clark (7), Wojtek
Wolski (7), Jordan Leopold (5), Ryan Smyth (3) Hawks’ notes: -- 55 NHL games…. ZERO goals
for Adam Burish -- #48 in the lineup = 1:19 of ice time for David Koci -- Vs. Northwest Division: 3-5-1 -- All-time vs. Colorado/Quebec:
38-39-9-3 [14-23-6-0 in Col/Que] -- Tuomo Ruutu still needs 2 goals for 50 career (212gp) -- Craig Adams’
NHL career (all with Carolina) 427gp – 33g, 44a, 77pts, 337pim -- Adams is a 3rd or 4th line checking winger.
He’s not an enforcer but he is capable of defending himself and his teammates. Blackhawks’
goal scoring droughts: Ben Eager (30), Andrei Zyuzin (22), Kevyn Adams (20), Tuomo Ruutu (16), Dunan Keith (16), James Wisniewski (14), Brent Seabrook (11), Jake Dowell
(9), Martin Lapointe (7), Cam Barker (7), Craig Adams (7), Kris Versteeg (4), Dave Bolland (3) Head-to-head: -- In January:
Avs 4-3-0 … Hawks 2-6-1 -- Leading after 1: Avs 7-1-1 … Hawks
8-3-0 -- Leading after 2: Avs 15-2-1 … Hawks 12-0-2 -- Trailing after 2: Avs 4-12-2
… Hawks 5-16-0 -- Tied after two: Avs 6-4-0 …. Hawks 4-5-2 -- In OT, ’07-08: Avs
6-3 … Hawks 4-4 -- 5 on 5: Avs- 93 gf, 84 ga (+9) … Hawks- 76 gf, 76ga
(E) Power Play: Colorado: overall 29th in NHL
(13.9%) – at home 17.5% (14th) BHawks: overall 16th in NHL (17.3%) – on road
18.2% (11th) Penalty Kill: Colorado: overall 16th
in NHL (81.5%) – at home 80.0% (22nd) BHawks: overall T-18th in NHL (81.2%)
– on road 83.7% (T-8th) * Hawks are tops in the NHL in dressing players 8 who’ve made their NHL debuts
in 2007-08 (Patrick Kane, Jonathan Toews, Jacob Dowell, Kris Versteeg, Petri Kontiola, Jack Skille, Jordan Hendry and Magnus
Johansson). Colorado is second with six (T.J. Hensick, Jaroslav Hlinka, Johnny Boychuk, Cody McLeod, Tyler
Weiman and David Jones). Atlanta also has dressed six natural rookies. **Tonight’s
Officials** Referees: Don Koharski #12 – Justin St. Pierre #45 Linesman: Lonnie
Cameron #74 – Thor Nelson #80 Tonight’s game is being shown on the “CSN +” channel check here for the channel in your area ChrisBlock@TheThirdManIn.com
Fri, January 18, 2008 | link
Thursday, January 17, 2008
$3.9 Million a Year - 4 years - Patrick Sharp gets new paper Patrick Sharp “Dressed Man” is gonna have a lot of nice suits
Photo credit: Jonathan Daniel, Getty Images/Yahoo Sports For Patrick Sharp, today was a good day. As note here on our site yesterday, Patrick Sharp has agreed to a new contract extension which will award him a $3M raise and keep him in Chicago for another four seasons. On Thursday, Sharp and the Blackhawks officially came to terms on a new 4-year,
$15.6 million dollar deal. Sharp would’ve become a restricted free
agent on July 1. His new contract will pay him an average of $3.9M a season. Sharp’s
2007-08 contract will pay him $825,000. Excelling on the Hawks
special teams units, Sharp has six power play goals and an NHL-leading seven short-handed tallies. Sharp, 26, is chasing Mario Lemieux’s NHL record – 13 short-handed goals, a record Mario
set in the 1988-89 season, the same year he scored 85 goals and 199 points in 76 games. In 174 games with the Blackhawks, Sharp has scored 51 goals while adding 43 assists for 94 points.
He emerged as a solid player a season ago, reaching the 20 goal mark for the first time in his career. Prior to the season, the thought was, with the signings of centers Yanic Perreault
and Robert Lang, the acquisition of Kevyn Adams along with the arrivals of Jonathan Toews and Patrick Kane, that Sharp’s
role on the Hawks would be reduced. Sharp has continued stand out as a premier forward on this Hawks roster
while also becoming a leader in the dressing room. Sharp was a 3rd
round draft pick of Philadelphia in 2001 and acquired from the Flyers on December 5, 2005 in a deal that sent Matt Ellison
to Philly. The deal also sent a 3rd round pick to the Flyers and the Hawks also got Eric Meloche,
who is no longer with the organization. Ellison is now playing for the Milwaukee Admirals and property
of the Nashville Predators. Patrick Sharp is currently second on the team
in scoring (22 goals, 14 assists) an on a pace to score 39 goals and 25 assists. Dale Tallon still has a lot of negotiating ahead of him. Brent Seabrook, Tuomo Rutuu, Rene Bourque,
James Wisniewski, Dustin Byfuglien and Adam Burish all become restricted free agents at season’s end. Official Press Release blackhawks.nhl.com
Thu, January 17, 2008 | link
Blackhawks acquire RW- Craig Adams from Hurricanes for 'future considerations'
 Craig Adams loads up on Blues’ Dan Hinote January 5 in St. Louis
Photo credit: Jeff Roberson, AP/Yahoo Sports Official Press Release blackhawks.nhl.com Craig Adams will
earn $600,000 this season and next. He’ll be an unrestricted free agent following the 2008-09 season.
Adams is a fourth line right wing who can also kill penalties. Both he and injured Blackhawk Kevyn
Adams were teammates on the 2006 Stanley Cup Champion Carolina Hurricanes. This deal makes very little
sense unless you consider Craig Adams will fill Martin Lapointe’s role should Lapointe be dealt prior to the trade deadline
or not be resigned before next season, as is expected. I suspect this is a courtesy transaction between the two teams
after Carolina took beleaguered winger Sergei Samsonov off Tallon’s hands earlier this month.
Samsonov has fit in quite well the the ‘Canes so far, and with Carolina getting some injured players back in
the next few weeks, Craig Adams was going to be in a position where he would’ve been a healthy scratch in Carolina.
Now, Tallon gets a little compensation for a player who is helping Carolina (for the time being). Adams was born
in Seria, Brunei and will turn 31 on April 26. In 427 career games, Adams has scored 33 goals and 44 assists while compiling 337
penalty minutes. As a player, he’s similar to Hawks’ center Kevyn Adams, only a right wing.
The two are not related. Adams attended and played hockey four years at Harvard University. He
and his wife Anne had their first child this past July. He’s played his entire career in Carolina
and was Hartford’s 9th round draft pick in 1996. Adams appeared in 29 NHL playoff games with the ‘Canes
and did not record a single point. ChrisBlock@TheThirdManIn.com
Thu, January 17, 2008 | link
The Ex-Blackhawks ~ Current NHL StatisticsI’ve
updated the current NHL stats for all former Blackhawks’ players still active around the NHL. Below
are the four NHL-active goaltenders with ties to Chicago’s NHL franchise. Years w/Chi | Player Name | Team | GP | W | L | OTL | GAA | Save% | SHO | GA | SA | MIN | ENG | 90-92 | Hasek, Dominik | Detroit | 24 | 14 | 7 | 2 | 2.14 | 0.900 | 3 | 50 | 501 | 1401:26 | 3 | 02-06 | Anderson, Craig | Florida | 8 | 1 | 4 | 1 | 2.76 | 0.910 | 0 | 19 | 212 | 413:05 | 0 | 98-04 | Thibault, Jocelyn | Buffalo | 6 | 2 | 3 | 1 | 3.24 | 0.870 | 1 | 16 | 123 | 296:23 | 0 | 03-04 | Leighton, Michael | Carolina | 3 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 2.66 | 0.897 | 0 | 7 | 68 | 158:09 | 0 |
Click here for a look at the current statistics through games ending Wednesday January 16, 2008 for all former - currently active Blackhawks forwards and defenseman. Jeremy
Roenick, who turns 38 today, is tied with Jarome Iginla and Patrick Elias for
the league lead in game winning goals (6)….. Tyler Arnason is completely worthless. I’d
suspect he’ll sign on with a team in Europe next season but get sent home for being too out of shape. What
a waste this guy has been….. While Travis Moen is still a reliable third line-checking left wing for
Anaheim, he’s been unable to build off the offensive success he attained during the Ducks’ Stanley Cup run….
Jean Pierre Dumont’s 37 points ranks him 54th in the league in scoring….. Tampa Bay’s
Brad Richards owns the distinction of having the worst plus/minus rating in the league at minus-25. The
next worst plus/minus rating belongs to Michael Nylander (-19, in 40gp), then Steve McCarthy
(-18, in 28gp)….. Brandon Bochenski picked up his first goal of the season in his third game with
Anaheim, Jan. 9 vs. Toronto at Honda Center. He’s currently riding a three game point streak (1g,2a).
Randy Carlyle has used Bochenski in the shootout as well…. Michael Handzus is goalless in his
last thirteen games (2a, -6). Kings’ GM Dean Lombardi signed Handzus to a four year, 16 million dollar
contract based on his performance in eight games with the Hawks last season. Using Handzus’s stats
playing in those eight games with Martin Havlat on his right wing, ‘Zus was on pace to score 31 goals and 82 points
should he have stayed healthy the entire ’06-07 season. This year in LA, Handzus is on pace to score
9 goals and 21 points. To be fair, Marc Crawford has Handzus centering his third line, with Kyle Calder
and Brian Willsie as his regular line mates.…. Dan Cleary is an unrestricted free agent at season’s
end. Detroit will do everything they can to lock him up before then….. Dominik Hasek
has improved his numbers greatly over the past month. He’s surrendered just 11 even-strength goals
(19 total GA) in his past 13 appearances dating back to December 4….. ChrisBlock@TheThirdManIn.com
Thu, January 17, 2008 | link
Wednesday, January 16, 2008
Dale Tallon says Patrick Sharp extension could be done by tomorrowBlackhawks’
GM Dale Tallon was a guest this afternoon on Sirius Satellite Radio’s ‘Hockey Night in Canada Radio.’
Tallon joined hosts Jeff Marek and Kelly Hrudey at approximately 4:35 central time.
Tallon let out the news,
perhaps prematurely yet again, that he’d just gotten off the phone with Patrick Sharp’s agent and he expected
a contract extension would be in place by as soon as Thursday.
Sharp is scheduled to become a restricted free agent on July
1. When news of Brent Sopel’s three-year, seven million dollar contract extension broke last week,
the Canadian Press reported Tallon was in negotiations to retain the versatile forward's services.
Brent
Seabrook, Tuomo Ruutu, Rene Bourque, James Wisniewski, Adam Burish and Dustin Byfuglien will all see their contracts come
due at season’s end. The Hawks’ organization does retain those players’ rights as restricted
free agents just as in the case of Sharp.
Tallon also discussed Dustin Byfuglien, who he noted is currently 253 pounds,
down from the 277 he was when he first debuted with the Blackhawks. Tallon believes a lot of Byfuglien’s
current struggles center around both his need to get into better physical condition, as well as a desire to “do too
much” because knows “he’s so gifted.” Tallon explained most of Byfuglien’s
errors come at the end of shifts when he’s tired and susceptible to mental errors. He also defended
'Big Buff' by noting “he’s starting to get it” and that Byfuglien is frustrated with himself because
he’s not scoring as much as he knows he’s capable of doing.
When asked about Adam Burish, Tallon said ideally Burish
is a 4th line energy guy who can also put in some minutes in on the third trio. Tallon commended
Burish for his fearlessness and the energy he brings to the team.
Tallon noted that his team currently has five or six rookies
who ideally should still be in Rockford. He did not mention Jake Dowell, Kris Versteeg or Cam Barker
specifically.
Additionally, Tallon did say he’d be interested in talking to Peter Forsberg
should the Blackhawks get back into the playoff race.
ChrisBlock@TheThirdManIn.com
Wed, January 16, 2008 | link
St. Louis Blues visit Chicago Blackhawks - It's Mike North Night at the UC 
Tonight – Game 46 of 82
Home Game #26 – Wednesday January 16, 2008 – 7:30 –
United Center St. Louis Blues 22-15-6 Overall 50 pts, 9th WEST, 2nd Central (8-8-2, on road), 14th NHL at Chicago Blackhawks 20-21-4
Overall 44 pts, 14th WEST, 5th
Central (12-12-1, at Home), 25th NHL
A lot
has been said about the Hawks’ success versus the NHL’s best – Detroit Red Wings this season, but the Blues
have done quite well for themselves as well. Detroit owns an average 7-7-2 record against the Central Division
so far in 2007-08. Four of those losses have come against the Hawks, the other three versus the Blues.
St. Louis is 3-2 vs. the Wings this season, with the last win being a 2-0 shut out at Joe Louis Arena on New Years
Eve. Detroit has lost just ten games thus far in ’07-08.
*Patrick Kane
has 2 goals in his last 28 games (one an empty netter 12/26). Maybe Savvy should threaten Kane with the
tapes? If he doesn’t score tonight against the Blues, he has to sit down and watch Savvy’s
highlights with his coach once more. That’s a tremendous visual.
Blackhawks expected
line-up per blackhawks.nhl.com …….
LW | C | RW | 88-Patrick Kane | 20-Robert Lang | 24-Martin
Havlat | 32-Kris Versteeg | 10-Patrick Sharp | 15-Tuomo
Ruutu | 12-Rene Bourque | 37-Adam
Burish (A) | 11-Jack Skille | 94-Yanic Perreault | 49-Jacob Dowell | 22-Martin Lapointe (A) | LD | RD |
| 2-Duncan Keith (A) | 7-Brent Seabrook |
| |
|