News and Notes, Game Preview

Blackhawks fans got a nice treat this morning as they got to watch the Blackhawks morning skate for the first time. It aired online on Blackhawks TV and on the Blackhawks mobile app. Beyond this special treat, Hawks fans got another treat. Jonathan Toews skated with the team for the first time in three weeks. From watching the morning skate, I'd say that he looked great. He was skating up and down the ice quickly and during one drill he skated with the puck and let go of a really nice shot. I wouldn't say the captain is ready to come back in the next few days, but the progression seems to be going great. He skated alone yesterday and with the team today. He also talked to the media about his injury and confirmed what everyone knew, that his upper body injury was in fact a concussion.

In other injury related news, it is now also assumed that the injuries to Steve Montador and Niklas Hjalmarsson were concussions. Hjalmarsson will be back in the lineup tonight against the Rangers and is expected to be in the third defensive pairing with Olsen. Montador is said to have experienced a setback today. Sami Lepisto is out indefinitely after injuring his left leg in the game on Tuesday against the St. Louis Blues.

The final injury news is about my favorite player and current Blackhawks prospect in Rockford, Ben Smith. Smith suffered a right hip labral tear and hernia. He will undergo surgery and be out for four months. He played 13 games with the Blackhawks this season recording two goals and. In 38 games with the IceHogs, he had 15 goals and 16 assists for 31 points. Smith is known best for his game 6 goal against the Vancouver Canucks during last year's playoffs. I hope for Ben to have a full recovery and come back even stronger for the 2012-2013 season.



Game Preview
Tonight the Blackhawks play the Eastern Conference leading New York Rangers. It should be a good game as John Scott comes back to Chicago for the first time since the trade right before the deadline. The Rangers are a very good team and the Blackhawks beat them the last time they played. The Blackhawks won't be as lucky this time as they will have to face Lundqvist in net.

The Blackhawks can win this game, but they'll have to play tough. This seems to be a big problem for the Hawks as fans saw on Tuesday against the Blues. The Blackhawks had good games against both the Senators and Red Wings in the past week and will have to play like they did in those games in order to beat this good Rangers team.

Goaltending will be key. Ray Emery will be in net and after giving up a couple weak goals in St. Louis, I'm not sure that I feel safe with him for the game tonight. If he can play like he did prior to the St. Louis game, it should be fine. The Blackhawks will have problem against Lundqvist, because he is one of the best goaltenders in the league but if they get after him early they have a good chance of scoring some goals.

This is going to be a hard fought game and the Blackhawks will have to be ready and play aggressive early. The Hawks can win, and a win would be huge. The Blackhawks are currently 6th in the standings and would love to move higher in the standings to be in a better position come playoff time.

Hawks lose first game 2-1, play home opener tonight

I didn't get to catch the game last night, but what I heard from other fans, it wasn't very good. Q decided to change the lines as much as he possibly could. Even Montador got a chance to play wing last night. The team was crazy and everywhere. Confusion and Lehtonen are what killed the Hawks last night.

There were some positives, though. The Sharp, Toews, and Kane line was reunited and looked like the only line that wasn't completely lost. This means that Kane probably won't be playing center as expected. Q might use him there every once and awhile, but he can't deny the chemistry between those three elite players. Nick Leddy scored with 14 seconds left in the third period to prevent the shutout.

Hopefully the Hawks can get a win tonight at the United Center. They are playing the Stars again and maybe this time Q has his lines figured out. Kruger was recently recalled from Rockford and will probably be used at center on one of the lines. With Bolland and Smith out, the team looks a lot worse. When they come back, the Hawks should start clicking. But, as Patrick Sharp said, "2 points in October is just as important as 2 points in April."

Crawford didn't play extremely well and hopefully improves tonight. The Kane, Toews, and Sharp line should be together for most of the game and I predict that they'll get at least one goal. I'm predicting a Hawks win tonight.

Crawford Locked in for 3 Years, thats Crawesome

Turco was supposed to be the guy this year. When he couldn't get that done, Corey Crawford came in and showed the Blackhawks that they had a gem they didn't even know about.

I have to admit that I wasn't sure if Crawford would be a good goalie. I was afraid that using two goalies would kill both of them, because they wouldn't have confidence in themselves. Luckily, Turco handled this whole situation like a veteran should and became Corey's best friend on the team. The pictures of Turco mentoring and talking to Crawford after wins and losses were amazing. The leadership shown by Turco this year will be missed.

In the playoffs, Corey played even better than he did in the regular season. The first three games were a little shaky, but most of the goals were not his fault. He got into his rhythm starting in game 4 and in game 5 got a shutout in Vancouver. What happened in game 6 to force OT was not his fault and we got the win. His best game was game 7. He stopped so many great shots. The Blackhawks needed to win that game for him, because he played so well. He stopped everything. The OT goal was a breakaway and a great shot. There was nothing Corey could do. If he had made that stop, I would have married him.

Going into the off season the most important thing to do was to sign Crawford. They took care of this right away and now we have him for 3 more years. I predict at least one Stanley Cup team led by Crawford and Toews in those three years.

Crawford, Leddy, Smith, and Kruger were all super-rookies this year. Crawford is locked in for 3 years now. Leddy is here for awhile. Smith will be her for a long time, because there is no way Bowman gets rid of him. Kruger is not certain, but I think he will stay. I like the way the Blackhawks are going in the next three years. Smith has the same qualities as Toews and Kane on the ice and I wouldn't be surprised to see him on the second line with Hossa all year.

Crawford is a very important part of this team and will get better in the future. He did have flaws this season and even in the post-season, but he is young and will get better. He will get used to playing in the NHL and will become our franchise goalie. I don't think his play with the Blackhawks will end in 3 years either. If he plays well, which I expect him to, Bowman will be sure to keep him. I love Crawford and I feel so bad for doubting him in the beginning. It is obvious now that he is a great goalie and will help the Blackhawks win a lot more games than they did this year.