Blackhawks vs. Predators; 2/24/09

[Boom!]

Blackhawks play the Predators tonight at 7 PM.

We are running into a team that hasn't been scoring much but has been winning because of a hot goalie in Rinne. He is a large goalie so lets get him moving side to side and create some traffic in front.

Should be a good game tonight

[SammyC777]

If we keep tossing 40-45 shots at net, something good is bound to happen!

[cubsbears1225]

2-0 Hawks with 8 min left in the 2nd period.

Campbell (Versteeg and Byfuglien)
Havlat (Bolland and Campbell)

[cubsbears1225]

2-1

Sullivan missed on the breakaway and Arnott scored on the rebound.

[ds637]

3-1

Huet looked like he just froze after the rebound came off him.

[cubsbears1225]

3-1

Kane (Brouwer)

Bolland had 2 breakaways and couldnt come up with a goal. Both short handed.

[duck610]

3-2

i cant really blame huet for either of these goals. that rebound should have been cleared, and the second goal was fluke.
big save by huet to stop another goal

[northsider]

Man this bites

[northsider]

So much for them not scoring much lately.

[duck610]

i can only only imagine the fury that will be pouring out of Coach Q tonight. the wheels just fell off the cart in the third period tonight. they got a couple of days off before the next game lets put this behind game behind us. and take it to the pens, which i guess crosby may not be playing so that is good news. although i did want to see him play

[masseycubs]

Losing like this is almost guaranteed when they only play for 40 minutes.

[gocubs2118]

That 3rd period was by far the worse period they have played all year long.

[DewsSox79]

Losing like this is almost guaranteed when they only play for 40 minutes.

most certainly agreed. bad refs+bad goaltending+plus bad team play=loss.

I do not know the mindset of the team going into the 3rd period since I am not on the team, but some may wander if the hawks got complacent since they know nashville has a hard time scoring lately and huet playing solid lately. I just dont know.

The bad refs is not an excuse by any means, it happens to all teams. i recall the hawks have had their share of breaks. if you get called for a penalty, bad one or not....you have to go out there and play solid on the PK and not let it get in your head that momentum is shifting due to bad calls.

huet- i dont think he is the guy that will win us a cup in the next few years, sure you can get away with mediocre goaltending if you have the depth like the red wings which we dont. in a way i am glad to see huet the everyday guy at an expense that sucks of course but we get to see how huet handles the number 1 spot for a long period. it concerns me greatly that he tends to be out of position ALOT....some of his saves are routine saves that look like they were amazing only due to being out of position. Im currently playing goalie again, and I made a save the other night that my wife and friends who are casual fans of the game thought i was performing magic, i simply got lucky since i was way out of position and made a save that should have been effortless look amazing. it happens to all goalies, but huet does more often.

bulin- well i doubt he will be dealt this year, hell i dont think there will be a taker due to two injuries. one could hope he comes back to form and can play solid puck again. but with that said, this will be his last year in a hawks jersey and with either goalie we just arent good enough to win the cup this year IMO.

I thought we may have been good enough to maybe get a chance but more and more i dont see it this year. a 2nd line center is needed and if we get one it isnt going to be anything that we are going to go crazy about, it will be a deal to make a deal, not an impact guy that may put us over the top., just a guy who will increase our horrible faceoff % we need more than that.

ps----and im still in shock that one of the posters wouldnt trade versteeg for crosby straight up.

[Boom!]

You and Huet should not be mentioned in the same paragraph. Something you said to me in terms of Huet with Luongo/Brodeur (sentence though)

[Boom!]

Blackhawks played a great forty minutes tonight. They forgot to show up in the third.

They took some borderline dumb penalties, but I also thought that the refs made some borderline calls as well. Our penalty kill is not doing so hot and it will be extremely important in the playoffs.

The Blackhawks defense looked lost tonight. I don't even know what Barker was doing on some of those goals. How do three Blackhawks pass up a rebound on the side of the net and let the Preds score?

How does Huet get a penalty while he is in the middle of his crease? Makes no sense to me

Not Huet's best game tonight but not all can be blamed on him. He made some pretty solid saves (#3 on sportscenter) and the second goal went in off a guys shin pad. The first goal the Blackhawks needed to clear the puck and on the fourth, he had it covered but was knocked off of it when a Preds guy ran into him, unfortunate.

I really don't think Huet is out of position all that much. I mean he is definitely a different style goalie than Khabi, and maybe that is where you get your impression from. Was Hasek out of position all the time? I guess only he can answer that. I think Huet plays pretty good position most of the time, the only problem I have is with his rebound control but he has been real solid with it since the all-star break.

I don't know what it is about the Preds, but they always give us a tough game. No matter how good or bad they are or we are, the Preds always play us tough. They have a great coach in Trotz. We have done poorly against the central division this year, those are games and teams we need to take advantage of.

Who said that they wouldn't trade Versteeg for Crosby straight up? I don't remember seeing that...

Friday should be a fun game. Completely sold out and a struggling Pens team comes into town. The Pens are an up and down team, they have tons of talent but can't seem to put it together all the time. I'll be at the game and I'm looking forward to it.