Now, don't you worry, I'll assume that all of you will suffer the same fate as Jason Bourne this weekend and will likely be back to complaining about Harden's injured ovaries, the fact that the team is less likely to get a runner in from third with under two outs than Soriano is to finish the season with a league leading on-base percentage and reminding everyone that if they want playoff tickets this October they are going to need to visit http://www.princeryanandformercubcaseymcgehee.caseymcgehee/? or http://www.albertpujolsandabunchofnobodys.com/ depending on who ends up winning the Peavy sweepstakes this July. There is simply nothing like enjoying a brat and an Old Milwaukee while sitting next to Lenny and Squiggy at Miller Park or munching on some St. Louis spareribs and chugging a Budweiser while trying to spot Whitey Herzog and Tommy Herr in the Busch Stadium crowd. Just be sure to stop at the Mars Cheese Castle for a pound of cheddar and some rock candy. Don't worry about chipping a couple of teeth. You'll fit right in. And, for gosh sakes if the Cardinals win the NL Central, keep the windows down when you drive through East St. Louis and, whatever you do, do not stop to ask for directions. You know what happened to the Griswold family.
So let's talk pucks...
* The Hawks are in decent shape at the blueline with Seabrook and Keith, two mobile, puck-moving defensemen, anchoring the unit. Frankly, Seabrook and Keith have the potential to be an all-time great Chicago duo in the mold of Ernie and Billy, Wilbur and Otis, Ribbie and Rhubarb and Jake and Elwood. Seabrook and Keith are such an effective pairing that there is already talk that the two are likely to represent Team Canada at the 2010 Olympics. Them two sure can skate and shoot the puck, eh Gordie? Look, the bottom line is that I am not saying that the two of them are going to be as memorable a duo as when Courtney Cox Arquette spent an evening visiting Jennifer Aniston when she was in town filming "The Break-Up," but I also doubt they will go down as the next Wood and Prior or, god forbid, the next Curry and Chandler.
* Even the best pairings are most effective when they there is a third musketeer. I mean, can you imagine TLC without Left-Eye? They would just offer tender care, but no lovin'? And do you really think that Kelly and Jessie would have been able to literally participate in every single activity and sport at Bayside High without the support and assistance of Lisa Turtle? Even Scottie and Michael had Horace and later the Croatian Sensation. It is hard to say who will be the third dependable member of the Hawks' D next season, but the most promising candidate is Niklas Hjalmarsson. The Swedish defenseman is only 22 years old and showed excellent poise throughout the postseason, especially in game five versus Detroit.
* Brian Campbell is certainly never going to be a shutdown defensemen, but that is okay as long as he contributes offensively and finds himself in the right matchup. I know Chicago has not seen a defender make so many horrible mistakes in the playoffs since Peanut Tillman tried to cover Steve Smith in the 2005 Playoffs, but I still think Campbell has value. Like Marge when she wanted to spend Mr. Burns' fine to fix up Main Street while the rest of Springfield was enthralled by the idea of shiny, new monorail, I realize I am in the minority here, but I, for one, am not ready to write him off as bad signing quite yet. All offense and no defense? Just think Ben Gordon on skates.
* Up front, the Hawks are in great shape with Toews, Kane, Bolland, and Sharp leading the charge. Further, guys like Eager, Burish and Brouwer are excellent checking line options, who, although more likely to play the role of the "Killer" Carlson by knocking the living crap out of you, are also capable of playing the role of Ned Braden by putting the puck in the back of the net. I am also very confident that they will keep their clothes on.
I have already discussed my feelings on Havlat and Pahlsson, which leaves us with the team's three biggest 'X' factors up front - Ladd, Byfuglien and Versteeg. All three clearly have tremendous talent, but have specific things that they need to work on this summer. Ladd's offensive production simply does not match his talent level meaning he is the Blackhawks answer to Devin Hester. Versteeg needs to learn that not every play needs to involve a spin-o-rama, quick stop, triple lutz, drag move, and backhand shot to the top shelf and needs to learn to make the simple play. He gives up the puck too much at the offensive blue line and needs to play smarter. Byfuglien simply needs to remember that he is closer to the size of Michael Clarke Duncan than he is to the size of Emmanuel Lewis and needs to have his mail delivered to the front of the net. That is where he belongs.
* I have already covered my thoughts about the team's goaltending and I certainly do not want to go through the entire Huet or not to Huet argument again, so I will just remind you that Darren Pang is usually in the building working for the media and Baaaannneeerrrrmmmmaaannnn now lives in Naperville. Given the NHL rule that you can replace your goalie with anyone in the building (which I admit I did not know about until Khabibulin was injured in the playoffs and Corey Crawford was told to put down his nachos and put on his pads), I say they give Murray a complimentary season ticket.
* I have already covered my thoughts about the team's goaltending and I certainly do not want to go through the entire Huet or not to Huet argument again, so I will just remind you that Darren Pang is usually in the building working for the media and Baaaannneeerrrrmmmmaaannnn now lives in Naperville. Given the NHL rule that you can replace your goalie with anyone in the building (which I admit I did not know about until Khabibulin was injured in the playoffs and Corey Crawford was told to put down his nachos and put on his pads), I say they give Murray a complimentary season ticket.
* The bottom line is that this is a team that is prepared to do great things in the future. I wrote an entire post a couple of weeks back on how young the team is, but what I did not stress enough is how talented they are, which is what matters most. After all, some of us can certainly remember Dollar Bill and Bob Pulford promoting young "superstars" Dimitri Nabokov and Jean-Yves Leroux and Nabokov is now the night-shift supervisor at a Stoli plant in Volgograd and J.Y. serves croissants at the Chez Thibault when he is not doing maintenance work at the mansion home of Eric Daze's dress designer.
Now I am not suggesting that the Hawks steal a former marketing slogan from the White So
x (And, no, I am not talking about "Grinder Rule #666: Home Plate at Wrigley is the Gateway to Hell" or even "Gratuitous Pictures of Scotty Pods' Wife To the First 10,000 Through the Turnstiles.") Nope, I am talking about "The Kids Can Play," although I suggest changing it to "The kids Can Win a Stanley Cup."
x (And, no, I am not talking about "Grinder Rule #666: Home Plate at Wrigley is the Gateway to Hell" or even "Gratuitous Pictures of Scotty Pods' Wife To the First 10,000 Through the Turnstiles.") Nope, I am talking about "The Kids Can Play," although I suggest changing it to "The kids Can Win a Stanley Cup."* One final note: Home court, field, or ice advantage is undoubtedly a major advantage in any sport. After all, it is hard to argue that the Cubs occasionally raise their level of play when they take the field in front of 42,000 drunk twentysomethings that would not know Dallas Green from Dallas Texas or Rick Reuschel from Kurt Russell, 1,000 blue-haired ladies who took a Greyhound over from the Quad Cities and 50 or so who would actually be there even if the team was 25 games under .500. And most would agree that the Bears may play better in front of 45,000 screaming maniacs in Brian Urlacher jerseys (and one poor dude who wasted $75 on a Chris Williams) or that the Bulls lift their game when they know that Benny the Bull, Da Bull and the fat guys who dance around in-between timeouts have their back, and the White Sox are likely to perform more effectively when they take the field in front of Mad Chemist, the aforementioned Lisa Dergan, the guy who was with Jose Contreras when they heard that Lincoln had been shot, Bobby Jenks' personal donut maker, and 300 other people who still worship at the altar of Harold Baines.
That said, there is no sport where home advantage is more important than hockey (although it is tough to argue with Big 10 basketball given that you can predict calls long before they are made depending on where the game is played -- I swear the Wisconsin Badgers have not committed a foul at the Kohl Center in eight years). This is due to what is known as the "last change rule," which allows the home coach to dictate the precise matchups he wants, and it is the reason Detroit will win the Cup tonight. Simply stated, Red Wings coach Mike Babcock is able to have defensive stalwarts Nik Lidstrom and Henrik Zetterberg on the ice every time Sidney Crosby takes a shift. And, although Sid the Kid has not been his usual self, even at home, the effect is clear as he is a -3 with zero points in three games at The Joe and "even" with three points in three games in the Steel City. It is the same rule that allowed Coach Q to ensure that Seabrook and Keith were on the ice for every Jerome Iginla and Henrik Sedin shift at the UC, which certainly worked to the Hawks' advantage. And it is the same rule that will help the Wings take Game Seven by a score of 4-1 and the reason that a mid-winter game in Edmonton or Phoenix can make all the difference in the world when it comes to a team's postseason prospects. Keep that in mind next year when Toews and Kane combine for 175 points.
Have a great weekend!!
That said, there is no sport where home advantage is more important than hockey (although it is tough to argue with Big 10 basketball given that you can predict calls long before they are made depending on where the game is played -- I swear the Wisconsin Badgers have not committed a foul at the Kohl Center in eight years). This is due to what is known as the "last change rule," which allows the home coach to dictate the precise matchups he wants, and it is the reason Detroit will win the Cup tonight. Simply stated, Red Wings coach Mike Babcock is able to have defensive stalwarts Nik Lidstrom and Henrik Zetterberg on the ice every time Sidney Crosby takes a shift. And, although Sid the Kid has not been his usual self, even at home, the effect is clear as he is a -3 with zero points in three games at The Joe and "even" with three points in three games in the Steel City. It is the same rule that allowed Coach Q to ensure that Seabrook and Keith were on the ice for every Jerome Iginla and Henrik Sedin shift at the UC, which certainly worked to the Hawks' advantage. And it is the same rule that will help the Wings take Game Seven by a score of 4-1 and the reason that a mid-winter game in Edmonton or Phoenix can make all the difference in the world when it comes to a team's postseason prospects. Keep that in mind next year when Toews and Kane combine for 175 points.
Have a great weekend!!
3 comments:
wow.... that was a mouthfull. Stay out of the emergency rooms this weekend!!
The Medicalstalker
Suddenly I am humming Chelsea Dagger again!
The problem with home ice advantage is that the Wings are in the Hawks Division, so the best we can be is the 4 seed unless pass the Wings next year.
Did it seem like Sid's teammates are not overly fond of him and favor Malkin? When Evgeni won the Conn Smythe he was mobbed by his mates, but when Sid took the Cup it was as if he had swine flue. Weird. I guess that's what you get for sleeping at the owner's house.
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