Hawks with a stellar defensive effort today in Nashville. The home-and-home series now shifts to Chicago.
This time it was the Blackhawks making the 3rd-period rally instead of the opponent. Nice sweep of the back-to-back home-and-home. 3-0 against the Predators in 6 days! :grin:
It seems as though most of the team has tuned Sacco out. I'm at the point now with 10 games left and at the bottom of the standings where I care more about the race to the 1st pick than anything else. This years draft two guys who are above all else and will go in the top 2 with the order depending on the team drafting 1st overall. Those two guys are Seth Jones and Nate MacKinnon. For those not familiar with either guy here is a quick breakdown: Seth Jones D Portland Winterhawks (WHL) 6'4'' 206 lbs First and foremost Seth Jones is the son of former NBA PF Popeye Jones. The story goes as Popeye was a journeyman throughout his career, his stops in Dallas and Denver where around the time that Seth started playing sports and as those hockey teams were very good around that time they were popular and drew Seth to that sport. Also, while in Denver, Popeye runs into Sakic (played in the same arena) and after talking to him and telling him his soons intrest in the sport he asks Sakic what's the most important thing for his young son as he learns the sport. Sakic's answer is skating. This is important because Seth takes to it and in addition to having great size for a defensemen, he is also a great skater which helps make him a solid two way defensemen who has shown a scoring touch with 14 goals and nearly a point a game so far this season in Portland. At the next level, Jones translates into an all around defensemen who can be left on the ice in all situations and provide scoring from the blue line. Nate MacKinnon draws many comparisons to Crosby as both are the same size, and from Nova Scotia. The both also played their junior in the Q. Mackinnon has put up strong numbers averaging over a point a game and a solid +/- player, but his numbers fall short of the lofty ones Crosby put up back then when averaging around a goal a game and over 2 points a game. Still Mackinnon shows the skill set of a Crosby where he can be left on the ice at all times. He has good hands and a good shot and because of his individual ability, draws attention which allows him to set up his linemates. At the next level Mackinnon translates into a playmaking 1st line center with goal scoring ability that can be counted on in all aspects of the game. Back to the Avs, if we end up with the top pick, I would rather have Jones over Mackinnon. The Avs are pretty solid up the middle with Duchene, O'Reilly and Stastny as well as having former 2010 first rounder Joey Hishon now back on the ice playing after being out for over a year with concussion problems. For the Avs, there is a major move needed to overhaul the group. Most of the current D-men are large defensemen who have limited athleticism and skating. This has created a dad defense for the Avs as todays game needs more than just size on the blue line. Jones would be the cornerstone of the transition of the Avs D. He can instantly join the team and play with Erik Johnson on the top line. From there it will be time to make guys like Tyson Barrie and Stefan Elliott full time players as each have been up and down on the roster over the past two season. They were 3rd and 2nd round picks back in 09. Each player can skate well and move the puck while adding scoring ability. They are both limited defensivly and need a strong defensive partner to back them up, but both guys are ready to contribute. As for their partners, the Avs drafted Duncan Siemens with the 11th pick back in 2011. He has great size and good skating ability. Not as polished offensively as our other young guys, he is solid in his own zone and a perfect candidate to pair with either Barrie or Elliott on the 2nd line. As for the last guy, the Avs have enough defensive candidates (Wilson, O'Brien, Hejda) to pair with Barrie or Elliott on the last D-line. While this squad would have their difficulties at first being so young, this would be the Avs best bet moving forward at having a solid defensive group. It would be best to give these guys the playing time next season to grow with our young offense. It would give us the best chance at being a winning team down the road.
First team to clinch the playoffs. 10 games to go. I'd venture to say if we win 7 of those, we'll probably have the President's trophy. Still tough with a lot of teams trying to make the playoffs, there should be a bunch of a grind out games, I'm just hoping we can stay healthy before the playoffs start. Sharp should be back this week. Remaining schedule: @ Wild vs. Red Wings @ Blues vs. Stars vs. Predators vs. Coyotes @ Canucks @ Oilers vs. Flames @ Blues
I agree that Sacco has a hard job on his hands. There was no competitive fire in that team last week. Very interesting info about Seth Jones, I didn't know that. I automatically tune out any scouting report that drops the name Sidney Crosby.
As much as I'd love to see Blackhawks/Red Wings in the 1st round, a Coyotes/Blackhawks re-match would be nice also
That didn't come from a scouting report. Just my 2 cents on the player. In no way am I saying that he is going to be Crosby, but just that his size and skillset lend itself to that type of game. What I have read about him recently that opened my eyes was some scout said he has the fastest first 3 strides he has ever seen. I found that to be very interesting.
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Columbus is really coming up. They had a great win over St. Louis today. Race in both the East and West are tight right now. Aside from Dallas, I think Phoenix, Minnesota, Detroit, or Columbus can give the Blackhawks fits in the first round too.
I've been impressed at how great the Hawks have been on the road this season. Came out on top in a very intense game in St. Louis today, and I think it's possible that they could come out in points in all 7 of the remaining games.
It's certainly possible. Going to almost have to in 5 of those 7 if Pittsburgh keeps winning if the Hawks want the Presidents trophy. I think the Hawks need somewhere around 72 pts to clinch the West 1st seed.
