The Shots are on Vancouver

 

Paul M. Banks a.k.a. The Sports Bank, NBC Chicago Street Team In the Chicago Blackhawks-Vancouver Canucks Western Conference Semifinal series, most of the statistics are remarkably even. The one exception: shots on goal. The Hawks hold a decisive edge, accumulating a 31 shot advantage. Even though they’ve taken more shots than a college fraternity pledge during hazing week, the numbers of total goals scored in this series is a dead heat. Many of the Chicago slap shots are coming from beyond optimal range and often after a pass or two too many. It’s a true testament to the Vancouver defensemen, who have done a great job limiting Chicago’s prime scoring opportunities.

It also reaffirms the hype surrounding Canucks’ goaltender Roberto Luongo, one of the best in the business. By stopping 107/115 shots he’s faced (.930 save percentage), he’s clearly outplaying his Blackhawks counterpart Nikolai Khabibulin. The “Bulin Wall” has saved 72 of the 82 shots (.878 save percentage) coming his way. The Hawks scored very late in regulation and then again in overtime of Game 4 to win 2-1 and even the series at two games a piece.

After the road loss, Luongo spoke about the defense in front of him. “It was a pretty close game and we took the lead and we were doing what we needed to do in protecting that lead as far paying the price of blocking shots and stuff like that,” Luongo said.

In order to take control of this series, Chicago must do a better job converting more of their scoring opportunities. The optimal plan might be following Coach Joel Quenneville’s mantra of keep getting pucks on the net and eventually good things will happen.

“I think against him, shots at the net, traffic, second and third opportunities, tip screens, deflections, that’s how you have to beat him. The more we do that, the better chance we’ll have to put the puck behind him,” Quenneville stated. And like the greatest hockey player of all, Wayne Gretzky famously said: “You miss 100% of the shots you don’t take.”

See more of Paul M. Banks’ work at the Washington Times, Walter Football.com and The Sports Bank

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Blackhawks: Let’s Get Physical

Paul M. Banks a.k.a. The Sports Bank, NBC Chicago Street Team

There’s one aspect of the game of hockey that makes the athletic achievements of the players all the more impressive. Most of the time, hockey players must perform their tasks aware that a giant Russian or Canadian man is speeding towards them on skates with the intent to kill them.

Well, not literally kill them, but hockey is an extremely physical game and the seek-and-destroy physicality often takes on an added dimension during the emotionally-charged Stanley Cup playoffs.

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Blackhawks Reach One Goal, Still Seeking Another

Paul M. Banks a.k.a. The Sports Bank, NBC Chicago Street Team This week the Blackhawks reached one milestone, but fell short of another. The Hawks established an all-time single-season attendance record Wednesday night before their contest against the Columbus Blue Jackets. It’s amazing what putting home games on television, welcoming back iconic players and broadcasters, hosting the Winter Classic, developing a young winning team etc. can do for a franchise previously in need of rejuvenation!

Laura Fontana-Vena of Elmhurst was the 8,547th fan to pass through the United Center’s turnstile on Wednesday, marking the Blackhawks’ 835,972 this season, surpassing the former record of 835,971 established during the 1995-96 season. Fontanta-Vena was presented with a Blackhawks jersey with “835,972” on the name plate before performing the ceremonial puck drop. The Blackhawks’ new record is through 39 regular-season contests at the United Center, all of which have drawn capacity crowds.

Now for the bad news, the Hawks lost that contest against Columbus, 4-3 in an overtime shootout.

However, they picked up a point in the standings, giving them a C-note for the season: a milestone they haven’t reached in 16 years. They now need just one point to clinch the 4th seed in the Western Conference- and with it home ice advantage for the playoffs’ first round. The Hawks have just two games remaining, a home and home with their hated rival Detroit. Hawks coach Joel Quenneville discussed the Red Wings. “I think both teams want to go into the playoffs on a strong and high note. They’re a dangerous team and we haven’t beaten them yet and I think we’ll be excited to finish strong,” the bench boss stated.

Should that option fail, Chicago can also grab the coveted 4th seed if the two teams chasing them, Vancouver and Calgary, both stumble somewhere in their last two. Calgary has a home and home with mediocre Edmonton. Vancouver faces off against two bottom feeders: the cellar dwelling Colorado Avalanche and the third-from-last Los Angeles Kings.

Wednesday night’s second period intermission was noteworthy as NBC Chicago’s own Paula Faris took part in the popular “Coca-Cola Shoot-the-Puck challenge.” The much ballyhooed on-ice promotion gives contestants three chances to win hundreds of dollars if they can put the puck in the net from the center line. Unfortunately Faris, like the Blackhawks themselves, fell short of her goal on this night and missed all three shots. However, I did hear from Hawks personnel that she made three in a row while practicing before the game.

See more of Paul M. Banks’ work at the Washington Times and The Sports Bank

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Blackhawks Looking Sharp for Home Ice in Playoffs

Paul M. Banks a.k.a. The Sports Bank, NBC Chicago Street Team Last week the Chicago Blackhawks lost and later regained the Western Conference’s fourth seed and with it the final home ice advantage for the first round of the Stanley Cup playoffs. They’re currently two points ahead of the fifth place Vancouver Canucks – who come to town Sunday for a slightly important regular season game- and five points ahead of the 6th place Columbus Blue Jackets.

The Hawks are helped immensely by the return of pure scorer Patrick Sharp. Number ten looked as sharp as his namesake during his first game back Sunday. Sharp had 2 goals and an assist in a 4-1 victory over Los Angeles. It was also nice for the United Center crowd to hear ZZ Top’s “Sharp Dressed Man” played in celebration of goals again. Especially since we’re getting sick of the usual goal-scoring song- that annoying tune – Amstel light commercials. Chicago is 38-22-11 on the season, but went just 6-7-3 without Sharpie. “You add a player like that to our lineup, you have 3 lines that can all produce and are dangerous. So it’s a really nice addition,” Coach Joel Quenneville said.

The Hawks are just three points behind third place Calgary, but do not hold a realistic chance of obtaining third place, because the top three slots are reserved for division champions and the Hawks have no chance at catching the Central leading Detroit Red Wings. Seven of Chicago’s final 11 are at home, where the Hawks are 19-7-7. If Vancouver is to catch them, they’ll have to do it away from Canada with 7 of their final 11 on the road. And don’t forget about that youngster franchise in Columbus. The Blue Jackets have already set a franchise record for points in a season and are getting hot at the right time. During this final stretch, Chicago will try to get the same type of separation from the muddled middle that San Jose and Detroit currently possess.

“Being in the middle of this pack again, it certainly gets your attention. I think everyone has some stretches; during the course of the year we had some bumps. I think March was extended and I think we can learn something from it. Maybe we let off the gas pedal a little bit, and we know now: that can’t happen,” Quenneville stated on Sunday. Maintaining a position with home ice is crucial, because as star defenseman Duncan Keith recently told me, “We feed off that. When there’s 22, 21 thousand people cheering for you, it helps.”

See more of Paul M. Banks’ work at the Washington Times and The Sports Bank

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Blackhawks set to face League’s Best Team

Paul M. Banks a.k.a. The Sports Bank, NBC Chicago Street Team
The Winter Classic may have received all the hype, but few regular season games will have more importance than Wednesday night when the Blackhawks welcome the NHL points leading San Jose Sharks to the United Center.

“It’ll be a good test, a huge game we gotta be up and ready for,” Hawks defenseman Brent Seabrook said.

On Sunday the Hawks (38-22-11, 87 pts) broke their five game winless streak.

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Hawks star players flying under the radar

Paul M. Banks a.k.a. The Sports Bank, NBC Chicago Street Team Now that being a Chicago Blackhawks fan is as trendy now as it was in the 60s during the franchise’s glory days, the team’s marquee players: Patrick Kane, Jonathan Toews, and (to a lesser extent) Brian Campbell are all essentially local celebrities. But this team has some other All-Star level talent that you’ve never heard of. They’re currently fourth in the Western Conference despite having no one among the top 40 in the league in scoring- a testament to their depth. Beyond “Kaner,” “Taser,” and “Soupy,” (are you picking up the unofficial hockey player nickname generating formula yet?) these are the names you should know.

Patrick Sharp- “Sharpie,” the team’s leader in goals scored may be the most underrated player on the squad.

Duncan Keith- not to be confused with 90s one-hit wonder Duncan Sheik, he’s the Hawks other blue-liner with an All-Star appearance on his resume.

Kris Versteeg- Hawks bench boss Joel Quenneville described the NHL’s rookie scoring leader thusly: “He’s a competitive guy that doesn’t get distracted by any of the stuff that goes on during a game: got good quickness, good imagination without the puck.”

Martin Havlat- started slow, but came on in January, when the team badly needed an offensive lift and is now second on the team (behind Kane) in scoring.

Goalie tandem of Cristobal Huet and Nikolai Khabibulin- Although they tried to shop Khabibulin earlier in the season, the fact that he’s playing solid hockey here now is a warm, fuzzy feeling. When the playoffs come, having both the Bulin Wall and Huet, another goalie the Hawks acquired via a big money free-agent contract, sharing the net will be advantageous over other teams that lack fresh goaltending.

In addition to hosting the NHL’s marquee regular season game (Winter Classic), the Hawks have the premier position in three key off-the-ice criteria. The Indian head was voted the most recognized logo in NHL and the Hawks currently lead the league in attendance and merchandise sales. This shows how much they’ve built the brand. If they go far in the ’09 Stanley Cup playoffs, and later make an annual habit of doing so, the names I mentioned above will be instantly recognizable in this city.

See more of Paul M. Banks’ work at the Washington Times and The Sports Bank

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The Quenneville Effect

Paul M. Banks a.k.a. The Sports Bank, NBC Chicago Street Team

When Denis Savard was fired from his position as head coach of the Chicago Blackhawks just four games into this season, many people criticized the decision.
Most were uber-critical about the timing. Savard was a sentimental fan favorite, despite a 1-2-1 record on the young season.

Today however, the decision to insert Joel Quenneville in place of “Savvy” looks quite astute. With Coach Q. in place the team has seen its on-ice record (28-12-7 since the Indian committed to Quenneville) improve as much as the team’s Q Rating.

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Blackhawks Look B+ at Midterm

Paul M. Banks a.k.a. The Sports Bank

It’s the midpoint of the second year of the Rocky Wirtz regime, and overall the Chicago Blackhawks are sitting pretty. They’re tied for the third most points in the Western Conference, and this team of promising young stars heads to the NHL all-star break with three players (two of which are not yet legal drinking age) on the Western Conference starting line. And just last month, they achieved a franchise record winning streak.

In the called song “Roxanne,” Sting instructed her to “put on the red light,” which the Hawks have done this season — although not lately — thanks to a much-improved special teams unit. Although they’ve converted a miniscule 4 of their last 42 power play opportunities, they’re still tremendously improved on penalty kill and power play conversion percentage from 2007-08.

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Season’s Power Play Improvement Keying Hawks Offense

Paul M. Banks a.k.a. The Sports Bank 
The Chicago Blackhawks currently possess the second best scoring offense in the NHL, and their 8th overall rank (4th on the road) in power play percentage is a big reason why.

Last year, when the Hawks missed the playoffs, they ranked just 24th in the league in power play conversion percentage. Currently, Chicago has the third best record in the Western Conference on the heels of their four game winning streak.

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Toews, Huet Leads Hawks to Emotional Victory

Paul M. Banks a.k.a. The Sports Bank After their annual circus road trip started well and ended poorly, the Chicago Blackhawks returned home from their long 3-2-1 road trip to find themselves down by a goal late in the third period to the Anaheim Ducks, one of the top four teams in the Western conference. Since fellow goaltender Nikolai Khabibulin went down with an injury, big money free agent signee Cristobal Huet was winless and brandishing a mediocre goals against average. After shutting out the Ducks in the first period and making two breathtaking stops that aroused the United Center crowd in the second, Huet found himself the recipient of harsh booing in the final period as most of the 21,574 at the UC verbally expressed their disgust. This time however, Huet showed why he commanded the big bucks and raised his game up while his teammates came together on offense.

Jonathan Toews, with a game leading two points, scored the game winner assisted by (just added to the first line) Dustin Byfuglien and prominent rookie Kris Versteeg with about a minute and a half left restoring the roar of the UC crowd. This point was accentuated later when fans erupted for Dave Bollland’s empty netter making the final result 4-2. “In the first we came out strong and then in the second we struggled a little bit, but we battled hard and in the end it paid off,” Huet said.

It was more than just your garden variety comeback for the Blackhawks; this victory was especially emotional. At this first home game following a long road trip, the team had two pre-game ceremonies; each offered a polarity of feeling to the die-hard Hawks fan. The team honored two-time All Star and 1983 Rookie of the Year Steve Larmer, who is also the third leading goal scorer in franchise history. This joyous tribute was followed immediately by a sorrowful homage to Pit Martin, the former Hawks forward who passed away this week. Martin played 11 years with the team and is 7th on the franchise list in career points.

Hawks head coach Joel Quenneville talked about the magnitude of defeating Anaheim for both his goaltender Cristobal Huet and the team at large. “They’re a good team, 7-1-1 their record in the last nine road games is pretty impressive, so we should move forward from this one and be excited about next game. A big team win, a big win for Huet and I’m sure it will help his confidence as well. Huet deserves a W and I’m sure he’ll feel better going forward too,” Quenneville said.

For more Chicago Sports Analysis and discussion.

For my Washington Times.com blog “Chicago Blue State.”

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Blackhawks Front Office Analysis

Paul M. Banks a.k.a. The Sports Bank

In the midst of last season, former Blackhawks Head Coach Dennis Savard made an infamous rant where he called on his players to specifically be “committed to the Indian.” ”They’ve got to commit to the Indian,” Savard fumed. ”If they don’t want to commit to the Indian, let’s go upstairs and we’ll get ‘em out of here.” Of course, a little over two weeks ago we learned that the Indian was not committed to Savard. On October 16th, Savard with a record of 1-2-1, was dismissed. In 147 games as Hawks coach Savard posted a 65-66-16 record. He was replaced by Joel Quenneville, former coach of the Colorado Avalanche, and scout for the organization. Under Quenneville the Hawks are 2-1-2 heading into tonight’s matchup with the Dallas Stars.

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