Hello. Welcome back from Hiatus. I’m currently in London so if these posts get few and far between that’s why. Luckily I now have something which allows me to watch hockey, so we should be good.
Anyways. Here we go.
Three Stars:
- Jonathon Toews
- Corey Crawford
- Andrew Shaw
Time to honestly assess our three stars. This is Brightside so honesty comes with a tinge of optimism.
Corey Crawford is still one of the best goalies in the league. He’s top 10 in every statistical category. He’s, in my opinion, top five. Better than Rinne and Quick. He showed why I believe in him last night, where he made so many crucial saves even with the pairing of Roszival-Scuderi. Although to be fair neither of these are horrendous defensemen. I just would prefer Goose to be on the ice. I think we all would. Anyways, after the first period the game became a goalie duel and Crawford won. I want to see Montreal again with Price in tow.
Jonathon Toews has gotten over the thug life he had in October and November and has found his groove again. Whether that has to do with Hossa trying to move past his last few snake-bitten months or if the chemistry with Shaw is for real (this one) Toews is scoring and being the captain the Blackhawks need. We are a talent over size team and Toews is currently buying in.
Shaw is a for real first liner. Two goals versus Nashville plus the assist in last night’s game is proving it. We may not need a deadline deal this year. What a weird sentiment that is. Shaw is a man on a mission currently, and he wants to validate Q’s trust in him. This isn’t to say Shaw can do no wrong, but he’s in a contract year. He earned an extension in the playoffs. Now he’s just adding money to the deal.
I like the current bottom six. Desjardins-Danault-Teuvo is a deadly combination. I mean, their line is literally DDT so what do you expect? Panik is certainly better than Mashinter and he had a few good chances last night. In fact the whole team did. I like what Panik brings to the table, and we continue to move in the direction of talent over size, something I’m incredibly pleased about. Plus Rasmussen and Garbutt play decently together and it’s complimented by Panik.
Kruger will have a position to come back to, don’t get me wrong, but Danault is another star we’re going to have to extend in the near future. This is getting really good. Stanbo’s been drafting well and quietly and the resurgence of youth is a welcome thing.
As they say here, cheers.