Friday’s Three Stars, and a Couple Thoughts On Shoot-outs

Jim Neveau, PIB Co-conspirator

The season series between the Chicago Blackhawks and the Colorado Avalanche  has come down to a single number: 17. That is the number of rounds of shoot-outs that the two teams have had in the two contests they have had this year.

Each team has made four shots in the shoot-outs, but this time it was the Avalanche coming out on top with a 4-3 win in front of 15,616 people at the Pepsi Center.

The loss for the Hawks sends them back to Chicago with one point out of a possible four on their mini West Coast trip, but it also reveals a couple of things about Chicago when it comes to the shoot-out.

The first revelation is that they have very little shot of winning a shoot-out if Jonathan Toews is not involved. Anybody who is 8-of-14 in his career in the extra-extra frame is going to be a key figure in getting the extra point. His fellow injured Hawk, Marian Hossa, is 12-of-33, so his experience will be valuable as well.

As for the rest of the Blackhawks outside of Patrick Kane, who is 11-of-21 in his career, there aren’t a lot of good shooters remaining. Kris Versteeg only has five attempts in his career, making two of them. Dustin Byfuglien is 0-for-4, Troy Brouwer is 0-for-3, and Andrew Ladd is 1-for-3.

Other forwards aren’t too hot at the shootout either, with Patrick Sharp notching an atrocious 4-of-18 record (and he’s missed three penalty shots to boot during games), and Dave Bolland is 0-for-4.

A win celebration: doesn't happen often for the Hawks after shoot-outs (photo courtesy of Pam Rodriguez)

With all of these numbers floating around in our heads, here is PIB’s recommended shoot-out roster for the Blackhawks (for the sake of argument, we will leave out Hossa but include Toews, since he will likely be back in the Hawks’ next game Monday)

First shooter: Jonathan Toews

The logic here is simple: Toews is the team’s best shoot-out scorer, and teams who score first in the shoot-out win 80.58% of the time.

Second shooter: John Madden

Okay, this may not be a sexy choice, but his record in shoot-outs is pretty good. He is 4-for-10 career in the shoot-out, and his veteran smarts can be used to his advantage when facing goalies 1-on-1.

Third shooter: Patrick Kane

He is a dazzling playmaker, and just the kind of guy who you want facing a goalie with the game on the line. He can pull off moves that no other Hawks player can, and so he is the perfect anchor in the shoot-out.

Now, here are tonight’s Three Stars:

Third Star: Antti Niemi

Antti Niemi: Third Star Photo Property of Pam Rodriguez

Yes, the young Finn only stopped 19 of 22 shots against the Avalanche on Friday night, but he came alive in the shoot-out, making some excellent saves and stopping six of the eight shots that he faced. Yes, he ended up on the losing end of the stick at the end, but he kept his team in the game even as the shoot-out progressed to its ridiculously drawn out conclusion.

Second Star: Dustin Byfuglien

After a night when the Hawks went 0-for-6 on the power play, Byfuglien stepped up and scored a power play goal on the team’s first chance on the man-advantage. Nothing else needs to be said.

First Star: Patrick Kane

Kane is continuing his solid start to the season. Mr. Kane had two assists in the game tonight, and he also scored the only goal the Hawks could manage in the shoot-out. He played 20:37 tonight, continuing a trend of playing big time minutes in the absence of Captain Serious. If he can continue this pace, he is going to be in for a solid pay-day at the end of the year when he becomes a restricted free agent.

The Blackhawks will next lace ‘em up on Monday on home ice against the Kings. The game will start at 7pm CST, and can be seen by most fans on Versus. As for the folks amongst us with DirecTV, I would suggest to make a date at your local neighborhood drinking establishment. It’s going to be a good game.

Tags: antti niemi, Chicago Blackhawks, Colorado Avalanche, Dave Bolland, Dustin Byfuglien, John Madden, Jonathan Toews, marian hossa, Patrick Kane, Patrick Sharp