Thursday’s Three Stars: Penalties + MIA Offense = Shutout Loss

Jim Neveau, PIB Co-conspirator

For the third time in under two weeks, the Hawks looked across the ice and saw the familiar snarling cat logo on the jersey of the Nashville Predators.

Much like in their first two meetings, Cristobal Huet played solidly throughout, stopping 26 shots and making some very solid saves that kept the team in the game.

Unlike in the first two meetings, however, the Hawks failed to get much offensive pressure on Pekka Rinne and the Preds, and ended up losing 2-0 in good ole’ shutout fashion.

Joel Ward and Jerred Smithson notched tallies for the Predators, and Rinne stopped all 22 Blackhawks shots.

When looking at the key numbers in this game, there are two that immediately stand out: the number of Hawk shots, and the amount of penalties that Chicago was committing, which killed pretty much any shot that the team had of getting any type of positive offensive mojo going.

Starting with the shots, the Hawks only managed 22 shots against a defense that has been allowing nearly 30 a game. Most of the chances the team had were straight on shots that most goalies are simply going to smother or glove with ease, and Rinne didn’t allow many rebounds.

The two bright spots in the game offensively were Patrick Kane and Kris Versteeg. Kane had a couple of great scoring chances, and double shifted frequently in the game, notching 21:11 of ice time, a high number for him. He also put a great pass right on Tomas Kopecky’s stick in the second period, who narrowly missed a goal that would have given the Hawks the lead.

Versteeg had a fantastic short-handed scoring chance in the first period, and also had three shots in 17 minutes of ice time.

The real story of this game for the Hawks, however, was penalties.

Early on, they killed off a penalty in the first period, on which they didn’t allow a shot, only to have Niklas Hjalmarsson go to the box for tripping at the conclusion of the penalty kill. Then, with 37 seconds left on THAT penalty, Dave Bolland went to the box for slashing. This penalty occurred after the Hawks knocked the puck out of the zone without Nashville getting a shot AGAIN.

The Hawks did kill off that penalty, and ended the first period none the worse for wear on the scoreboard. The second period, however, did bring another penalty, this time on Cam Barker, and the Preds were finally able to get a tally.

The third period featured two more Hawks penalties, with Kopecky and Brent Sopel (who played very solidly on the 5-on-3 the Hawks faced in the first period) taking the infractions. They continued to avoid allowing goals, however, with Huet making some key saves to keep the game close.

The Hawks offense just couldn’t get it going, however, and after an empty net goal with four seconds left in the game, the Hawks fell 2-0, dropping their season record to 2-1 vs. Nashville.

It may seem pointless to pick out Three Stars from a shutout loss, but there were a few Hawks who did stand out even in defeat tonight.

Third Star: Niklas Hjalmarsson

On the broadcast tonight, Pat Foley was discussing how highly Scotty Bowman thought of Hjalmarsson, and the words that the former Detroit head honcho used were “reminds me of Nick Lidstrom“.

That praise may seem a little too glowing, or perhaps tainted a bit by proximity to the young man, but he displayed some toughness tonight that may at least have him meet Lidstrom in the grittiness factor.

After blocking a huge slapshot off of his leg, Hjalmarsson could barely skate back to the bench with the assistance of Brent Seabrook (who unleashed a couple hellacious hits tonight in his return) and Dustin Byfuglien, but he was back on the ice shortly after that, playing 15:40 and making a couple of solid defensive plays in the process.

If this is the kind of toughness we can expect from the young kid, then the Hawks would be well advised to get him locked up for a decent sum now, before some team sees his potential and snatches him away.

Second Star: Cristobal Huet

Yes, the competition Huet has faced in recent games hasn’t exactly been stellar (the Preds and the Wild come to mind), but he has been doing everything that he needs to do for success. He is centering the puck up well, not dropping into his crouch too early, and maintaining a hovering glove, instead of letting it be velcroed to his side.

With games against the Coyotes, Avalanche, Flames, and Kings on the horizon, it will be up to Huet to prove that his recent success has not been a fluke, and that he can continue to play well.

First Star: Kris Versteeg/Patrick Kane

The Hawks’ effort on Thursday night wasn’t one to write home about on the offensive side of the puck, but Versteeg was the rare exception to the rule of mediocrity. He had several good scoring chances, and he looked very quick on his skates.

If Steeger can continue to produce efforts like he did on Thursday night, then more goals (and accolades) are sure to follow.

Kane was also fantastic on the offensive side, getting good chances, but his main contribution was his 21 minutes of ice time. It’s not something that you want to rely upon him to do every night, but if he can do it occasionally, it could give some all important rest to other forwards who aren’t quite so young and energetic.

The Blackhawks next take the ice on Friday night against the Montreal Canadiens at the United Center. The puck drops at 7:30pm CDT, and the game can be seen on Comcast SportsNet in Chicago.

Tags: Brent Seabrook, Brent Sopel, cam barker, Chicago Blackhawks, Cristobal Huet, Dave Bolland, Dustin Byfuglien, Jerred Smithson, Joel Ward, kris versteeg, Montreal Canadiens, Nashville Predators, Nicklas Lidstrom, niklas hjalmarsson, Patrick Kane, Pekka Rinne, scotty bowman, Tomas Kopecky