Timely Goal from Bickell Gives Blackhawks Life

photo from blackhawkup.com

Another sloppy start for the Blackhawks left them with another 3-0 deficit to overcome, this time on Vezina-worthy Pekka Rinne, who before this game had a GAA of 1.81. No easy feat. Seven minutes and ten seconds later, it was tied at 3-3, before a badly timed Too Much Man call gave the Predators the go-ahead goal with about a minute and a half left in the second period. Bryan Bickell's tying goal in Game Six in Boston two years ago came with seventy six seconds left on the clock. This one? With seventy three.

Goals from Kane, Seabrook lead Blackhawks past Avs

photo from espn.go.com

The way Chicago started this game doubtless worried a lot of people. It looked worryingly similar to the way they started the game against Winnipeg, a scrambling, rushed affair where they just barely had the shot advantage, but this time, they went into the second period tied with Colorado, instead of down 3-0, and what a difference it made.

Grieving Blackhawks Fall Flat Before Christmas

photo from cbc.ca

The Blackhawks rallied for Clint Reif on Sunday night, but the emotions of the last few days look to have caught up with them, as a slow and painful first period resulted in three goals for Winnipeg, and a new goaltender for Chicago.

With Heavy Hearts, Blackhawks Win It For Clint

photo from usatoday.com

Early yesterday morning, the Blackhawks lost one of their own. Assistant equipment manager Clint Reif passed away unexpectedly, and the Blackhawks dedicated their 4-0 shutout against the Maple Leafs to him.

Blackhawks Fall Short in Shootout Loss to Blue Jackets

photo from zimbio.com

Near the start of the season, the Blackhawks felt they had been robbed of a second point by the Calgary goalie, Jonas Hiller. Quenneville said the same thing last night of Sergei Bobrovsky, who made over forty saves in regulation and overtime, and then made eight saves in the shootout to secure a win for the Blue Jackets (their first win against Chicago since 2011, fourteen games ago).

Late Rally Sends Blackhawks Past Wild

photo from bleacherreport.com

The Blackhawks had a 3-1 lead going into the third period, statistically their strongest period this season, but they ended up having to push late after giving up another two goals, the Wild tying the game ten minutes into the third period.

Hawks Take the Season Series with a Win Against Struggling Flames

photo from dawindycity.com

The Blackhawks rebounded well from Saturday night's loss to the Islanders to retake first place in the Central Division, handing the Flames their fifth straight loss to win the season series 2-1, and take five of a possible six points.

Morin traded to Columbus

photo from zimbio.com

Earlier today, Jeremy Morin was traded to Columbus in return for defenceman Tim Erixon.

Jeremy Morin had no points in fifteen games with the Blackhawks this season. Erixon has six points in nineteen with Columbus. He will report directly to Chicago

Chicago's third defensive pairing has been shuffled around half a dozen times since the injury to Trevor van Riemsdyk. It seems like Quenneville can't decide on which pairing works best, calling up a couple of Rockford players to fill in before settling on Klas Dahlbeck and Michal Rozsival for the last few games. With Erixon reporting directly to the Blackhawks, it's likely that that will change, with Dahlbeck or David Rundblad being sent to Rockford, and Erixon slotting in as the sixth or seventh defenceman.

As for Morin, this is a good trade for him. He was never going to get the playing time he needed to fully develop into a good player in Chicago; they're too deep at the wing, and he's just not a fourth line player. He's a scorer, not a checker or a possession guy, and short of another huge injury to one of the top six wingers, he was never going to get that opportunity with the Blackhawks. He's going to go on and be a ten to fifteen goal scorer for another team, like Brandon Pirri, or Jimmy Hayes, or potentially Kevin Hayes. The Blackhawks organisation is deep, and this is just another case of that being a problem for developing their young players, but I think Morin could easily have a hugely successful season with the Blue Jackets. He probably deserves it, after five seasons of bouncing up and down from Rockford to Chicago.

Islanders Snap Blackhawks Streak

photo from islanders.nhl.com

The Islanders gave the Blackhawks their first loss since November 23rd last night in a fast paced back and forth that really could have gone either way, and looked like it was going to right up until midway through the third period.

'Hawks Win Eight Straight, Lose Toews

photo from zimbio.com

The Blackhawks were in an excellent position to win this game, and win it easily. With two minutes left in the second period, the Blackhawks were up 3-0 and were looking like the stronger team everywhere on the ice. But halfway through the second period, Jonathan Toews was hit head first into the boards, and was incredibly slow to get up. He stayed in the game to complete the power play from the boarding call, but left for the locker room shortly after, and didn't return to the game. He's had concussion problems at least three times in his career.

Lukewarm Blackhawks Somehow Pull Out a Win

photo from newyork.cbslocal.com

The Blackhawks didn't look anything like their usual self this game. Despite being the struggling team and the tireder one, the Devils kept them pinned in their own end for long stretches, beat them to the puck countless times, and had little to no trouble shutting down our top two lines for the majority of the game.

Morin: Play Him or Trade Him

photo from bleacherreport.com

Earlier today, Jeremy Morin was sent to Rockford for a conditioning assignment. It's a two week reassignment, maximum, and is a way of getting Morin some playing time without having to put him through waivers.

Morin has reportedly told the Blackhawks that if they aren't going to play him, he wants to be traded. It's the same story as Brandon Pirri last season, or Kevin Hayes during the offseason. The Blackhawks roster is just so deep, that they really only have room for one or two additions each season. This season, it looks like Daniel Carcillo is getting a second chance with the organisation he won a Stanley Cup with.

That has to sting if you're Jeremy Morin, who's played parts of the last five seasons with the Blackhawks, and whose play late last season, after injuries to Patrick Kane and Jonathan Toews, was good enough for a two year contract extension during the offseason. He's done everything he can this season to earn his spot on the roster, especially after an injury to Carcillo left a gap in the fourth line for Morin to slot into. However, he's been held pointless so far this season, despite playing fifteen of the twenty seven games, and Quenneville seems to be reluctant to play him in place of Carcillo, who has five points in seventeen games.

Earlier on twitter, Chris Kuc reported that five or six teams have been in contact with the Blackhawks, asking about a possible trade, which sounds like sneaking Morin through waivers just isn't going to work.

I like Morin. I like him on the roster, and I especially like him on a line with Marcus Kruger and Ben Smith. But if the Blackhawks won't play him, then he deserves to play for someone who will. Pirri has played twelve games so far in Florida, and has four points, and Hayes is having a great rookie season in New York (ten points in twenty three games with the Rangers). Morin would be a great pick up for a team struggling with their depth on the wing. There are no shortage of teams out there who are interested in that.

Other news

• Patrick Sharp returns to the lineup tonight, after missing twelve straight games with a lower body injury. 
• Corey Crawford will miss his third straight game with a lower body injury. Scott Darling will make his second consecutive start after allowing only one goal against Nashville on Saturday.

"Elite" play from Saad Gives Blackhawks the Win

photo from blackhawkup.com

The Blackhawks moved into first place in the Central Division after last night's win over the Predators. They've won six in a row, and nine of their last ten, and they show no signs of slowing down.

Timely Goal from Saad Sends Canadiens Home Empty Handed

photo from o.canada.com

Last night's game was a lot of fun. Certainly a lot more interesting than the 5-0 rout the Blackhawks gave the Canadiens in their own building last month. The Canadiens were a much better team than they were last time around, and they almost gave the Blackhawks a run for their money.

Three Third Period Goals Put The Blues Away

photo from bleacherreport.com

The Blackhawks were riding a three game win streak going into this game, and were fresh off a successful six game, five win road trip. They were also without Corey Crawford, one of their best players so far this season, for the first of at least seven games, and were just coming out of a hardfought weekend against Anaheim and LA. The game could honestly have gone either way.

Crawford's Injury a Chance for Raanta to Prove Himself

photo from zimbio.com

Today it was announced that Corey Crawford will miss a handful of games for the second time this season, after suffering an off ice lower body injury. Crawford will miss two to three weeks, per Joel Quenneville.

The Blackhawks' goaltending depth is still as strong as it was at the start of the season, with Scott Darling being called up from Rockford to serve as Antti Raanta's backup for the duration of Crawford's injury. This duo went 3-3-0 during Crawford's injury earlier this season, including a shutout for Raanta. Raanta has a save percentage of .933 and a 2.03 GAA, Darling has a save percentage of .933 and a 1.98 GAA.

It's a tough stretch of games to be missing Crawford, who's been one of the best Blackhawks so far this season, sixth in the league in save percentage and fourth in GAA. Their next ten opponents (the games that Crawford is projected to miss) include Montreal, Nashville, St Louis, Boston, New York and Calgary, all teams at or close to the top of their division, so Raanta and Darling will have to step their game up against these teams in particular.

Other news

• Patrick Sharp will not play tonight, but possibly will return some time this weekend. He has missed the past eleven games with a knee injury suffered against Montreal November 4th.