We've had a nice little Blackhawks break there, which all of us could use to recharge. Considering they had played the most games in the NHL to date, Saturday, it was a much needed one for the Hawks, as well. There are a few dribs and drabs of news worth sharing, before this latest set of five games in seven days. Looks like I'm going to be spending considerable time relegated to the couch, fast forwarding through "Binny's Beverage Depot" commercials.
-Evan "Nick" Brophey was sent back Rockford without so much as a "thank you". While this doesn't come as a surprise, because TomoKop is back, you'd think they could have maybe sat a Jake "The Snake" Dowell for a game to see what else this guy has in his bag of tricks. He DID win 4 out of 5 faceoffs the other night, but what do I know? Right?
-The latest Hawks buzz is the set of new lines that were unveiled at practice yesterday. Get a load of this:
Sharp - Toews - Skille
Brouwer - Kopecky - Hossa
Stalberg -Bolland - Kane
Pisani - Dowell - Bickell
I'm not really sure what to think of this, just yet. Skille can certainly get a boost from more serious playing time, especially with some of the greatest playmakers in the NHL. Brouwer hasn't done anything to make me believe that he needs to be playing that high, and Kopecky's faceoff percentage is a paltry 36%. Maybe consistent time in the middle will improve said faceoffs, and open up the ice for Hossa and Brouwer. Brouwer skating around with the puck in open ice; just what nightmares are made of. The third line is the biggest "WTF" of the whole lineup. My best guess is that the speed of Stalberg, and the playmaking of Kane is going to be called upon to jumpstart The Invisible man in the middle. Has to be a bit of an ego knock on Kane, because that's a considerable drop in talented line mates. As far as the forth line goes, this is where Pisani and Bickell belong, unless Moustachio wantedto allocate them to watch from the comfortable confines of the press box. Anyhow, this should make for an interesting game tonight.
-The Hawks face the talented Kings tonight at the UC. Even though they won't see Drew Doughty, tonight, the Kings have PLENTY of talent, and two very strong young goalies. Doughty's name has pretty much been engraved on the Norris Trophy since Keith won it, in June. The league has done nothing but toss off to the name Drew Doughty ever since.
That is all, go forth and be merry...
