PIB Viewer’s Guide to November, Part One
November 3rd, 2009 | by jneveau |Jim Neveau, PIB Co-conspirator
Coming off of a month where the Blackhawks went 8-4-1, played a couple games on another continent, and endured several key injuries, the Hawks will be looking to get started with a bang in November.
Unfortunately, the timing doesn’t lend itself well to keeping momentum going. Their first four contests of the month are against teams that have come out of the gate extremely hot, including two games in five days against a Colorado team that is stunning everyone with their talent level a year after finishing 15th in the Western Conference.
(photo property of Pam Rodriguez)
After a game against Toronto on November 13th, the Hawks play six straight games against teams that made the playoffs last season, and five of those skates will be on the road. The final game of the month will be in LA against a resurgent Kings team, led by points-machine Anze Kopitar and young goaltender Jonathan Quick, who is being looked at for the USA Olympic hockey roster.
Needless to say, the month of November is going to be a trying one for the Hawks. Not only does the strength of their competition ratchet up significantly, but they also have to play a slew of games away from the United Center, including the end of the month road trip because of the circus rolling through Chicago.
Within this Viewer’s Guide, we here at PIB will try to educate you on not only the teams the Hawks will be playing, but also all the juicy story lines that you can look forward to as the Hawks progress through the month. Heck, they may even have some guy named Hossa by the end of the month.
Here it is, your Viewer’s Guide to the Hawks’ first six games of November. The second half guide to the circus trip will publish on November 15th. Enjoy!
November 5th @ Phoenix 8:00pm CST
The Word: Echo
A mostly empty Jobing.com Arena
The Coyotes have come out of the gate strong, beating quite a few talented teams, including shutting out the Pittsburgh Penguins at the Igloo and beating teams like San Jose, Columbus, and Los Angeles to boot.
They also have one of the better goaltenders in the early going, Ilya Bryzgalov, who is stopping just about everything that is fired his way in the Phoenix net.
The main problem with this development, of course, is that the team is averaging about 22 fans per game, a number only bolstered by their cheap ticket-driven sell-out of their home opener (by the way, they were shut-out in that game. No wonder fans haven’t come roaring back) October 10th. The scores of empty seats in Phoenix may suggest a bad team, but don’t let the lack of Phoenix pride fool you.
The Hawks are going to need to play pretty well against a Coyotes team that many have been overlooking in the early going. Ben Eager might be back for this game, and the Hawks could sure use his physical presence against a guy like defenseman Ed Jovanovski, who was memorably bloodied last year by the since departed Matt Walker.
November 6th @ Colorado 8:00pm CST
3rd overall pick Matt Duchene of the Avs (photo property of Pam Rodriguez)
The Word: Wow
If someone had come up to you and said that the Colorado Avalanche would have notched the most points out of any team in the Western Conference in the month of October, you would have struggled to maintain equilibrium as you rolled around laughing at them.
These Avs are no joke. Behind the stellar goaltending of Craig Anderson, and the scoring attack led by Paul Stastny and Wojtek Wolski, the Avalanche have stormed out of the gate, taking everybody by complete surprise and jumping out to an early lead in the Northwest Division.
The Hawks have played the Avs once this young season, defeating them in a nine-man shoot-out in the Chicago home opener. Even in that game, Anderson kept Colorado in the contest, making save after clutch save in the process.
Fortunately for Chicago, Colorado seems to be beginning to cool off, so they may be able to take this game at the Pepsi Center, but it’s not an automatic win like it would have been this time last year.
November 9th vs. Los Angeles 7:00pm CST (Versus)
The Word: Cable
Yes, Blackhawks fans with DirecTV, for already the fourth time in this young season, you will be unable to watch your team because of the satellite company’s battle with Versus, the network that just so happens to broadcast NHL games.
The feud has already cost those fans with DirecTV to miss the biggest comeback in Hawks history against Calgary, Patrick Kane’s insane goal against the Wild, and the opening game in Helsinki.
Moving away from the television war, this game will feature a Los Angeles team that has learned very quickly how to put the puck in the net. Anze Kopitar has really come into his own this season, and several of his teammates are having good years as well, including Ryan Smyth’s 19 point start, as well as Drew Doughty notching 11 assists in the early going.
In order for the Hawks to be successful, they will need to score early, before young backstop Jonathan Quick can settle into the net. If they are unable to attack him early and often, it could be a long night for the boys in the Indian head sweaters.
November 11th vs. Colorado 7:30pm CST
The Word: Five
The word “five” is used here to complete the phrase “this is the last time that the Hawks will play Colorado for five months.”
Sweet Home Chicago (photo property of Pam Rodriguez)
Thinking of this in broader terms, they will not play each other again until the Winter Olympics have come and gone, the Super Bowl trophy has been awarded, Chicago’s mayoral election is over, and the Cubs and White Sox will have both began their seasons. Seriously NHL? This is the best that you can do in terms of “balance”?
Anyway, kudos to first year coach of the Avalanche Joe Sacco for doing such a magnificent job with such a young roster in Denver. Thankfully the Hawks won’t have to deal with you or your crazy-good goalie Craig Anderson again until winter is over (hopefully).
November 13th vs. Toronto 7:30pm CST
The Word: Gimme
No game in the modern NHL is truly a “gimme”, but the Hawks game against the Maple Leafs on a Friday the 13th is about the closest you are going to get.
The Leafs are allowing nearly four goals a game, and the Hawks strength is supposed to be their offense. Somehow, it doesn’t seem like this should be a problem for the Hawks, but consider how poorly they have fared against teams like Nashville and Dallas in recent weeks.
This will certainly be an easy game for the Hawks players to overlook, especially with the game awaiting them on Sunday, but they are going to have to guard strongly against that.
Phil Kessel should be rounding into shape nicely by then with his new teammates, so the Hawks will have one more headache to deal with on the ice in the form of the 22 year old who scored 36 goals last season with Boston.
November 15th vs. San Jose 6:00pm CST
Jeremy Roenick, November 15th Heritage Night Honoree
The Word: Dany Boy
The Sharks have become perennial regular season juggernauts in recent years, racking up the points and goals and accolades as long as the calendar doesn’t read April.
This year is no exception, and the main catalyst for this continued dominance is newcomer Dany Heatley. He is already tearing up the league this season, scoring bunches of goals and enabling San Jose to kick off the season with a solid 9-4-1 record in October.
Last year, the Sharks came into the Windy City and beat the Blackhawks in a slugfest 6-5 in the last game before Chicago left on its circus trip. The Hawks should be well-tuned for revenge against the team that put such a sour taste in their mouths on that plane ride out of the city, and the Sharks will be ready to go to battle in this Sunday evening tilt.
For a Viewer’s Guide to the Circus Trip, tune back into PIB on November 15th.
Tags: Anze Kopitar, Ben Eager, Boston Bruins, Calgary Flames, Chicago Blackhawks, Chicago Cubs, Chicago White Sox, Coloardo Avalanche, Columbus Blue Jackets, Craig Anderson, Dallas Stars, Dany Heatley, Drew Doughty, Ed Jovanovski, Ilya Bryzgalov, Joe Sacco, Jonathan Quick, Los Angeles Kings, marian hossa, Matt Walker, Minnesota Wild, Nashville Predators, Patrick Kane, Paul Stastny, Phil Kessel, Phoenix Coyotes, Pittsburgh Penguins, Ryan Smyth, San Jose Sharks, Toronto Maple Leafs, Wojtek Wolski
