Hawks Weekly Update 3/18
Hawks showcase terrible defense but get 2 of 3 wins.
There is one more month of Blackhawks hockey left and things aren't as bleak as they might seem. With Slaggert in the lineup, Reichel being called up to close the season strong, and Kaiser having a callup of his own, there are things to watch. I can't promise that they are exciting things.
Some quick housekeeping. This week will see limited posts because I'm doing real life things and such. There won't be a preview or recap for the Ducks and Sharks game for sure, and don't expect anything for the Kings game.
On to the things we care about but continually hurt us.
Weekly Update
There were some updates on the Corey Perry situation: the team, the NHLPA, and Perry reached a settlement that would impact the Hawks cap. No grievance was filed and now we can close the book on the Perry saga.
Landon Slaggert made his debut against the Kings on Friday and he hasn't looked horrible since. He had a decent scoring chance in the Sharks game and overall had an alright showing. I'll do a more in-depth breakdown once he hits the 10 game mark, but here's how he's looked in the past two games.
Slaggert Stats
In 2 games played, Slaggert has 19:01 of icetime. He has 4 shot attempts, 1 shot on goal, 2 takeaways, no giveaways, 3 hits, and 1 shot blocked.
His 5v5 fancy stats are a 44.44 Corsi, 35.72 expected goals share, and he has 3 5v5 defensive zone starts.
Lukas Reichel was called up to the Hawks and played his first game against the Sharks on Sunday. He logged an assist and more importantly, he looked confident. Let's hope he goes on a tear to close the season out and sustains that next year. Below is his All Three Zones data prior to his time with the IceHogs. He had a goal and 6 assists in his 9 games with Rockford.
Zach Sanford was sent back down to Rockford on March 16. This followed the Reichel callup. In 18 games with the Hawks, he has 4 points, all assists. Sanford was claimed on waivers Jan 6 in an effort to bolster reinforcements for a battered Hawks roster. You can expect his chapter as a Blackhawk is closed.
Wyatt Kaiser was also called up to the Blackhawks on Monday, March 18. He was initially sent down to Rockford to follow a similar development path as Alex Vlasic. In 31 games with the snow pigs, Kaiser has 3 goals, 12 assists, and a +/- of 0. He's looked good there and now is the time to see if he can apply what he's learned to the NHL level. If he does look good, you should be very excited to watch the blueline next season.
Reese Johnson was placed on concussion protocol March 14 following the Ducks line brawl.
Game Recaps
This week was the start of the California boogaloo. The Hawks opened up with a 7-2 win over the Ducks on Tuesday. This game featured a line brawl that almost had a goalie fight but also sent Reese Johnson onto concussion protocol, causing him to miss Friday's game.
The Hawks ended up losing to the Kings 5-0, which was a nice crash to reality after the Ducks game. This was a game that showcased the Blackhawks defensive breakdowns, and boy, was it littered with them.
The Hawks then played game 2 of 3 in the Turd Bowl race for Celebrini on St. Patricks Day. What started off as a shaky game ended up being a rare comeback as the Hawks beat the Sharks 5-2.
Overall, a week that went as expected. You get your two wins against beatable teams and a loss that went as expected against the Kings. Can't complain unless you're one of those rooting for the tank race.
3/12 Hawks vs Ducks - Hawks win 7-2
Game Recap can be found here.
3/15 Hawks vs Kings - Hawks lose 5-0
Game Recap can be found here.
3/17 Hawks vs Sharks - Hawks win 5-2
No recap for this one. For some reason, I just miss Sharks games, as I will miss the one this week. I was able to catch pieces of this one on the radio. Sounded like it was a fun game, although the first two periods looked like a nightmare. Below are some graphs and fancy bars that should give you an idea of how things went. Including the game highlights as well.
Week Ahead
A lot of late games this week as the Hawks play the same teams as last week, just on the other side of the country. Even as someone who lives on the West Coast, these games run too late. I'll be sharing the annoyance with Chicagoans this week, however, as I'll be returning to the motherland for a bit.
Just a reminder, if you read the game previews/recaps (I don't know why you would), there won't be any this week. Maybe one. I'll be out of town for the week and back next Monday.
- @ Kings 3/19 @ 9:00
- @ Ducks 3/21 @ 9:00
- @ Sharks 3/23 @ 9:30
Sick Bay
- Taylor Hall – Knee/Out for season
- Connor Murphy - Lower Body/day-to-day