John Jaeckel: OT Loss in Toronto

Good Morning Everyone..............
Thanks for all you do JJ, and..........

FIRST !!!!!!!!!!!

Good Morning Everyone..............
Thanks for all you do JJ, and..........

FIRST !!!!!!!!!!!

Can you be first twice?

Sorry, technical glitch

Second !!!!

Can you be first twice?

Sorry, technical glitch

Second !!!!
- Gary0301

And third apparently. LOL, thx Gary

yep...looked like the they were on fumes in OT...maybe from the 2nd period on; they got scortched 44-7 shot attempts 5 on 5...

these face off violations are getting ridiculous...

might have been 6-3 in regulation if not for forsberg...

the leafs can fly but if they are going to win they are going to have score ALOT and so far its worked...

yep...looked like the they were on fumes in OT...maybe from the 2nd period on; they got scortched 44-7 shot attempts 5 on 5...

these face off violations are getting ridiculous...

might have been 6-3 in regulation if not for forsberg...

the leafs can fly but if they are going to win they are going to have score ALOT and so far its worked...
- bogiedoc

The refereeing last night was embarrassing. So many bs calls against both teams. Let the teams play ffs.

That shot by Matthews

yep...looked like the they were on fumes in OT...maybe from the 2nd period on; they got scortched 44-7 shot attempts 5 on 5...

these face off violations are getting ridiculous...

might have been 6-3 in regulation if not for forsberg...

the leafs can fly but if they are going to win they are going to have score ALOT and so far its worked...
- bogiedoc

Could have also been 3-0 Hawks had Sharp scored on the breakaway off the nifty little pass from #12.

But point taken - the Leafs tremendous forecheck combined with the penalties eventually wore the Hawks down.

Faceoff violations - learn to set up correctly

The refereeing last night was embarrassing. So many bs calls against both teams. Let the teams play ffs.
- Matthews_Auston

Sorry, disagree. This league wants more goals scored per game and the rules that are in place for slashing, holding/obstruction are being called. 7 of the 12 penalties were called against defenceman - they are going to have to adjust. The neglect for the rules that allowed Chris Pronger (and others) to do what he did with the stick are now being called - hope it continues.

Hardly think, "probably should have won". Got out chanced, out played from the second period and on.

Thanks JJ
Game showed we have a good back up goalie.
The Leafs are good and fast
Kane missed Nick S
and we are still a work in progress but we have more overall speed this year!
Wish there was room for Vinnie H but who sits?He has speed but size??

The game has changed since last year. If I'm one of the best coaches in the league, I'm telling my guys that the first guy to draw a slash/hook penalty is riding the bench next game.

One of the best qualities of the great Hawks teams of years past has been their discipline and decision making. If you go two penalties to another team's seven, you'll likely win.

Other teams will catch up by game 40, now is our change to put distance between ourselves and the undisciplined teams. No useless penalties.

Hardly think, "probably should have won". Got out chanced, out played from the second period and on.
- devias69

The point he was making is that they were up two goals with just over 7 mins left in the game. A good team "probably should" win that game.

Hartman-AA-Kane did not look great. That line needs Schmaltz back badly. If he's not back, I'd rather have Kero centering or move Sharp up in place of Hartman until Nick is back.

Hardly think, "probably should have won". Got out chanced, out played from the second period and on.
- devias69

This.

good write up JJ. Face off woes doomed this game. Forsberg kept them in it as long as he could. Hawks right now are better 5 on 5. TOR won't get the 3 on 3 advantage in the playoffs, and that makes their record inflated. That said they are fast and push the game.
The last year's Hawks showed up for the OT. Did they get a shot on goal? All the fire and determinism that we saw in the first 2 games fizzled by the half way point with the exception of the 3rd goal.
Nice play with Seabs booming the puck to Panik off the rear boards. That play won't work as the season moves on.
I would have liked to see more of Hayden-Wingles as the game wore on.
We can all breathe easier knowing the Forsberg passed his baptism with flying colors

You cannot get too high or too low over the results of the games so far, John says as the blog starts out.

I will start out by saying that the fans and maybe management could realize by Thanksgiving that this team is sort of mercurial and it boils down to just how good and how often just how good is their blue line crew.

Our defensemen have to be good enough to generate puck movement and. conversely, to smoother or sidetrack the opponents offense.

I question and I await proof that Keith and Seabrook will be as effective as they were a few years ago. For as good as they can be and have been, they sure do not always play well

Yeah, I know Keith is one summer past the one year recovery from the knee issue. Yeah, maybe Seabrook lets some fast quick players get behind him. I do not buy that either Keith or Seabrook has lost ability. Maybe Seabrook is a tad slower in coverage due to his skating. Maybe

But I am not saying maybe over the wear and tear and the grind of all the years they have put in. Perhaps it is expecting too much of them to be consistently good.

Now I will also point out that I am aware some readers know the workout regimen, or the dedication these two defensemen are probably quite faithful to partake.

Yet there has often been an issue when teams travel on the back end of back to back games. The road team often looses, although to be fair the NHL has a condensed bunched together schedule the past few years.

So I am just keeing an eye on the two senior defensemen. Because Ruuta is the only for sure good defenseman we may have this season. I would not be surprised if both Keith and Seabrook have some ups and downs.

It is the ups and downs of the young Kempny, Murphy, Forsling I am willing to live with if only I knew Keith and Seabrook were going to always be rock solid.

I just want to stress that I am not in panic mode. I am just waiting, observing, hopeful that the players will together as a blue line crew drive this team's success wherein they sneak into the playoffs.

If you can cite proof that the defensemen will be ok, go for it. I do believe Samuelson will help teach and influence defensemen into altering their style a bit. But as John said, proof is in the pudding so let us reassess later on and figure out just where our defensemen and team lies.

I think this team is good but its also pretty clear that with the players we have on the team we cannot afford and injuries in there top 9. I also still do not think Bouma should be starting over Wingels. I would like to see a game with Wingels-Kero-hayden and see how the 4th line looks. I think the d could struggle with really fast teams. Keith and Seabs have lost a step and all the other guys are still a little slow reacting. I think they will call get better. I think some other guys have earned the right to play in OT other then keith seabs Teows, kane.

Face Offs:

A major problem for the Hawks, I think, was the number of players ejected from the dot for violations.

The four Hawks who would normally have taken "all" of the face offs - Anisimov, Toes, Wingels, Kero - were 21 for 46 on face offs = 45.6% - certainly not great, but not a disaster.

The secondary face-off takers (because the primary four were kicked out) went 4 for 18 = 22.2% (Seabrook 0-1, Sharp 1-3, Bouma 0-1, Saad - 0-8 [and Saad would have taken many when Toews would have been kicked out], Hartman 2-3, Forsling 0-1, Kane 1-1).

Somehow, Chicago centers have to figure out why they were ejected, and fix it (as Chicago skaters need to figure out how to stop slashing) - play the game the way it's being called.

At the end of the day, it was a couple bad periods on the road early in the season. It is more of a problem if it becomes a trend. Schmaltz being out sucks, but injuries are apart of the game. I've been advocating for months that AA and Kane should play separately now that Panarin is gone. It is much better to have Kane on the offensive side of the puck and not having to defend. AA is a 3C (unless you put world class first line talent on his wings to make him a passable 2C).

Face Offs:

A major problem for the Hawks, I think, was the number of players ejected from the dot for violations.

The four Hawks who would normally have taken "all" of the face offs - Anisimov, Toes, Wingels, Kero - were 21 for 46 on face offs = 45.6% - certainly not great, but not a disaster.

The secondary face-off takers (because the primary four were kicked out) went 4 for 18 = 22.2% (Seabrook 0-1, Sharp 1-3, Bouma 0-1, Saad - 0-8
- StLBravesFan[and Saad would have taken many when Toews would have been kicked out], Hartman 2-3, Forsling 0-1, Kane 1-1).

Somehow, Chicago centers have to figure out why they were ejected, and fix it (as Chicago skaters need to figure out how to stop slashing) - play the game the way it's being called.

It is not just the Centers. Toews was tossed out more than once because Saad wasn't set on the wing. Last night was a joke and more of a statement than enforcement of the rules.

IMO we were beaten badly enough last night(ignore the score, just focus on the gameplay...it was embarrassing how much better the Leafs were) that it completely takes away from the mojo we built after those first 2 wins, and now everything goes back to scratch where we started. Basically i have no idea what to expect with this team going forward...

JJ. Was thinking the same during OT. This team looks gassed and personnel not suited for 3 on 3 OT. 2016 we stack up points in OT and look where it got us at the dance. This team appears to be much more suited for playoff hockey...just need to work thru the kinks all year and get everyone on the same page. Saad is an absolute beast and we can see all the different dimensions he brings to the table. 72 is a talent but we need more 20, not 1-timers from the circle and great OT play. Last night was a great learning for the younger players while still getting a point. Plus they still have $$ in their back pocket from Hossa LTIR to use when THEY WANT, giving Stanbo some leverage

I thought it was a fun hockey game to watch but I also felt early on that:

Forsberg was gonna be put in the unenviable position of having to shoulder all the late attack by the Leaf's big line.

He was up to the task pretty much, but you could almost see late how most of the Leaf lines were mundane/ equally matched with the hawks lines, UNTIL that line stepped on the ice...they were engergizers and got their team up in the 3rd and later...it was kinda visually evident how they got in the saddle and that dead Leaf crowd finally woke up.

How many faceoffs does Tazer usually take a game (I am cluelss to the average.)
He got thrown out more times than I ever remember before they implemented the stronger F-O rules.


Yeah, and Hartman / Kane (who I have been told countless times can play and create with anybody) missed Nick Shmaltz.

I loved how well that checking line played, and have always had reservations on Panik and he disappointed me again with his puck and decision making skills.

I love that Q is playing 44 and Forsling in REAL tough situations...because they are gonna have to play in them soon enough.

Remember way back when I said the first ten games or even dozen were REALLY important conerstones for the entire year?
Well 5 out of 6 points is better than I imagined in the first three games.

Lots to like and as already mentioned, Sharp could heaped onto the lead .