Blackhawks Finish Strong On Circus Trip

photo from bleacherreport.com

With this win over LA, the Blackhawks collect ten of a possible twelve points on their six game Circus trip, the only loss a frustrating one to the Canucks on the second half of a back to back.

Richards Line Topples Ducks

photo from nhl.com

The last time the Blackhawks faced Anaheim, they were shut out at home early in the season. This time, the Blackhawks are riding high, with seven wins in their last ten, and a red hot Patrick Kane, with twenty one points in twenty two games, and it was like watching two completely different teams.

Kane leads Blackhawks past Avalanche

photo from milehighsticking.com

Last night, the Blackhawks played an unfamiliarly loose and easy style of hockey, matching the Avalanche's speed and play. It was fast paced, and exciting, and technically probably not that good, but it was a lot of fun regardless, especially after a lucky goal from Bryan Bickell gave Chicago the lead late in the third period.

Frustrating Loss to Canucks Ends Streak

photo from cbc.ca

Last night's game felt a lot like the Detroit game last week. Everyone was just a couple of steps off, and a late Vancouver goal in the third period pretty much put the game out of reach, forcing an empty net with over two minutes left, and what felt like the inevitable empty netter.

Four Point Night For Hossa Helps Put Away Oilers

photo from blackhawkup.com

Last night, Chicago won their game by the biggest margin so far this season, with six different goal scorers and fourteen different Blackhawks collecting at least one point leading to the Oilers' sixth loss in a row, while the Blackhawks have won five of six in that time.

Kane Helps Chicago Edge Past Flames

photo from blackhawkup.com

Last time Chicago played Calgary, they outshot them 50-18, and lost 2-1 in overtime when they probably should have won. This time, they were outshot 27-22 and won 4-3 when they probably should have lost.

Kane, Versteeg, Richards lead Blackhawks past Stars

photo from nhl.com

Six different Blackhawks had a multipoint game last night, and every guy on the top two forward lines, and the top defensive pairing recorded at least one point. At the risk of jinxing the team as a whole, I think this marks the official end of the Blackhawks' struggling offence.

Raanta Reassigned to Rockford

photo from calgaryherald.com

Late last night, Stan Bowman reassigned back up goaltender Antti Raanta to the Rockford Icehogs, and recalled Scott Darling.

Last season, Raanta played parts of twenty five games for the Blackhawks and had a record of 13-5-4. He started fifteen straight games when Corey Crawford was injured last season, and won eleven of them (including his first career NHL shutout). When Raanta gets a chance to play, he's excellent.

However, when Crawford was healthy, Raanta started just seven games that season, and only won two of them. It's understandable, when you have a young, inexperienced back up like Raanta (last season was his first North American season, not just his first NHL season). What he needs is to be playing games, not sitting on the bench, if you want him to develop.

This season is Scott Darling's first NHL season, and it's starting out well. Called up when Crawford suffered an upper body injury early in the season, he started three straight games, and won two of them. He impressed everyone in training camp, and has played outstandingly so far this season in Rockford (a record of 5-1-0, with a .939 save percentage and 1.79 GAA).

This move makes a lot of sense. Chicago wants Raanta on the ice, and they're not going to be able to do that with Crawford healthy and playing as well as he is. Darling also has a slightly better record this season than Raanta, and that might make Quenneville happier to play him. Raanta hasn't played since October 25th, against the Blues. Crawford has started every game since returning from his injury (seven straight starts, including both games in a back to back). That can't continue for the entire season. Chicago needs to have a backup goalie they can trust to win games, but they also need to think about the development of their younger goalies. Having Raanta in Rockford starting the bulk of the games down there can only be a good thing in terms of his development.

Other News

• Yesterday the Blackhawks reassigned Peter Regin to Rockford, and then called up Joakim Nordstrom. Regin had one point in four games so far this season. Last season, Nordstrom had three points in sixteen regular season games for Chicago. This season with Rockford he has eight points in thirteen games.
• Daniel Carcillo looks set to make his return to the roster for tonight's game against Dallas. He has missed ten games with a lower body injury suffered in the October 25th loss to St. Louis.

Costly Turnovers Lead to Blackhawks' Defeat

photo from rantsports.com

The Red Wings opened the scoring last night on a costly turnover by Kris Versteeg, and that set the tone for scoring for the rest of the game. Three of the four wings goals were from turnovers, and two of those turnovers happened in Chicago's defensive zone.

Shootout Success Beats Lightning

photo from lightning.nhl.com

Last season, the Blackhawks won four of their twelve shootouts of the year, and notoriously struggled with overtime. So far this year, they're three for three, and have only lost once in overtime.

Blackhawks Blue Line Rises to the Occasion

photo from blackhawkup.com

The Blackhawks picked up their first home win in four games last night in a decisive 5-2 victory over San Jose, and something happened that hasn't happened since 1992; three Blackhawks defencemen scored in the same period (van Riemsdyk, Seabrook, Hjalmarsson in the first period).

Late Second Period Collapse Hurts Blackhawks

photo from blackhawkup.com

For the first thirty five minutes of last night's game, the Blackhawks played a "perfect" game of hockey, going 2-0 up against a struggling Washington team until a bad defensive breakdown led to a 2-on-1 and then the Capitals' first of three goals in the last six minutes of the period.

Blackhawks Offence Ignites, Shuts Out Canadiens

photo from blackhawkup.com

Coming straight off the back of two tough shut outs on home ice, the Blackhawks came into Montreal looking for a win, and this one was decisive, with Corey Crawford's first shut out of the season, goals for four different Blackhawks, and assists for another eight.

Blackhawks Shut Out Second Straight Home Game

photo from cbc.ca

Last night, the Blackhawks did a lot of things right. They mostly stayed out of the box, they generated a lot of shots, passing was good and on target, but they still lost 1-0 to the Jets, leading to their second straight 1-0 loss at home.

Reimer Stands Tall in Blackhawks' Loss to Maple Leafs

photo from cp24.com

Last night's game was a perfect example of how a goalie can steal two points for your team, as back up goaltender James Reimer made forty five saves on forty seven shots (twenty three saves in the third period alone, point blank shots from Patrick Kane and Jonathan Toews in the last four minutes) to give the Blackhawks their fourth regulation loss in six games.