Hawk Thoughts: A Letter from Slowboat
Bedard's point streak comes to an end, Blackhawks fail to find consistency, Martinez in, Murphy out.
It’s been a week. I watched the Chicago Wolves come to town and play the Coachella Valley Firebirds. I didn’t know what to do at the game. I’m not going to cheer the Wolves because I’m a Blackhawks fan, but it felt wrong to cheer for a team playing against a Chicago team. I’m never going to root against my city. So I did neither.
That about sums it up. Nothing else to see here.
Still here? Alright, here’s what happened last week.
Last Week
Game Recaps
The Blackhawks went 1-3 this past week. There’s a trend here. The Hawks follow up blowouts with a win or a close game with a vastly superior team. The Red Wings aren’t “vastly superior” but they are on a nice coaching bump, 7 wins in a row since Todd McLellan lost his first game as their head coach. The New York Rangers game was one they definitely “should” have won but didn’t.
Connor Bedard ended his point streak at 8 games after going pointless against the Oilers. Bedard ties Eddie Olcyzk for the number 2 spot with Jonathan Toews holding down no. 1. Bedard also went 18 points in 16 games. Considering this roster, I would say that’s not bad at all.
Not too shabby, kid.
Stories
Roster Moves
On Jan. 11, Alec Martinez was activated from IR, playing his first game back against the Oilers. Martinez was placed on IR on Dec. 13 due to a neck injury.
Connor Murphy was placed on IR on Jan. 11 for a groin injury. No exact timeline for his return as Anders Sorensen said he would be out for “a bit.”
Blackhawks On Tap
Friday, Jan. 10, I put out a weekly news recap for On Tap Sports. You can read about it here. In the article, I talk about:
Potential head coach option in David Carle
Trade talk
Patrick Kane’s comments on Jonathan Toews
Alec Martinez’s injury
The Chief Speaks
Barstool Chief made some noise on Wednesday by suggesting the Blackhawks may have won the lottery too soon in their rebuild. He made further noise by posting a video explaining what he meant and Blackhawks Twitter blew up.
I get what Chief is trying to say, but man, it’s not a great take. I love the discussion it’s created, which I guess is a win. But I feel like it’s more about getting clicks and views, similar to JR’s comments about Bedard.
The Pig Pen - Rockford Updates
After losing to the Chicago Wolves last Saturday, the IceHogs got a 5-3 win on Sunday, Jan. 5. Recently demoted Joey Anderson scored 4 goals, highlighting the difference in skill between the AHL and the NHL. Cole Guttman scored 1 goal and got 2 assists. Kevin Korchinski finished with 1 assist.
The IceHogs traded defenseman Austin Strand to the Utica Comets on Monday, Jan. 6. In return they receive future considerations.
Frank Nazar was named to the AHL All-Star team on Jan. 8. Nazar scored 21 points in 24 games in his time with Rockford and it doesn’t seem like he’ll get sent back down anytime soon. The AHL All-Star weekend is Feb. 2-3 and is in my neighborhood in the Coachella Valley.
The IceHogs lost to the Texas Stars on Jan. 8, losing 4-1. Guttman scored his 15th of the season.
Things didn’t get better on Saturday, Jan. 11. The snow pigs fell 6-1 to the Stars. Landon Slaggert was the lone Hog goal scorer.
Also, there’s this:
Reads
“What I’m hearing about the Blackhawks as the NHL trade deadline inches close,” Scott Powers
“Checking in with Chicago: 41 thoughts on the Blackhawks after 41 games,” Scott Powers
Week Ahead
Three games this week!
Monday has the Flames coming to the UC. The Flames are currently on a 2-game win streak and they are 5-3-2 in their last 10 games. Currently, they are 1 point behind the second wild card spot in the West.
The Hawks go down to Nashville on Thursday to take on their bottom-feeder brothers. The Predators are in 30th place, a 2-game losing streak, and they are 4-5-1 in their last 10 games.
Saturday ends the week with the Golden Knights coming over to Chicago. The Knights are the opposite of who the Preds are. They sit in first place and they are 7-3-0 in their last 10 games.
My pick? The Hawks get a win against the Flames, lose in Nashville, and somehow pull a win over Vegas. I was also very wrong about last week.