Game Day: Blackhawks vs. Devils, 6:30 pm CT, March 26
The Blackhawks host the Devils as the Hawks look to build off of a win and the Devils try to snap a skid.
Tonight is going to go one of two ways: the Hawks get absolutely smoked, or hockey does that thing where nothing makes sense and the Hawks win.
Check out my game preview below where I go more in-depth on coaching tactics and line-ups.
If you want to hear me blather on about today’s game, here’s the latest pod. It was recorded yesterday and doesn’t account for any line changes applied today.
Also, if you want to read about the Blackhawks’ top defenseman prospect, Artyom Levshunov, I did a detailed breakdown of his first seven games below.
Thoughts On The Blue Line
Random Blackhawks thoughts
Yesterday, Ben Pope of the Chicago Suntimes wrote about how Nick Foligno wants to weed out players who don’t want to be there. Pope also connected the dots as if this was another dig at Seth Jones.
I don’t know if that was actually directed at Jones, and I don’t really care too much about him anymore because he’s not on this team.
Look, I try not to read too much into “locker room stuff” because I’m not there. I will never know who’s actually a turd or who’s the actual leader in the room. Letter or no letter. All I can do is speculate.
Foligno says all the right stuff. At least, mostly last year. This year, once he officially got the “C,” he’s been a little more quiet. I get it. There’s not much you can say without sounding like repeating the same stuff over and over again.
At times, Foligno’s performance doesn’t match up to his message. I’ve seen him make really lazy plays in the defensive zone. Other times, he’s not having a bad night. His line had a couple of good games recently.
But it’s something that’s caught my eye this season. I like to judge a person by their actions. A large part of Foligno’s leadership actions just aren’t viewable by me. All I have to go by is his performance on the ice.
Thoughts On The Brown Line
Three more random thoughts
Marchand hasn’t made his debut in a Panthers sweater yet. That’ll take a while to get used to.
The NCAA released their frozen four schedule. Not really a random thought, just a fact/statement.
Are we sure the Blackhawks assistant GM should be coaching the IceHogs? You know, since it’s so important to development and all?