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Game preview: Blackhawks at Coyotes
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After losing in Denver last night to the Colorado Avalanche, the Phoenix Coyotes return home to meet the Chicago Blackhawks for a 7:00 p.m. puck drop at Jobing.com Arena.
Phoenix is looking to get back on the winning track after losing their last two games.
Blackhawks Examiner Dieter Kurtenbach and I have teamed up for this preview on tonight’s tilt.
Chicago Blackhawks (8-4-1)
Who’s hot
Very few would have thought that Cristobal Huet would find his form this season after his horrendous start, but Huet has been outstanding in his last five games. In that stretch he has allowed only four goals and has made saves that will hold up as his best of the season. Huet’s play has allowed the Blackhawks to cope with the loss of Jonathan Toews, who has missed time with an “upper body” injury, or as we know it, a concussion. With back to back games, backup Antti Niemi would normally get a start, but Huet has taken the reigns of this here carriage and is driving, for better or for worse.
Who’s not
Tomas Kopecky is ice cold. At the beginning of the season, I touted Kopecky as an “x-factor” on the team. So far this season, he has proven me very, very wrong. The free agent signing has one goal and one assist while playing in every game for the Blackhawks. And while that’s pretty bad, it’s the bad penalties, positioning, and straight up frustratingly bad play that has put Kopecky on the ironically named hot-seat.
Who to watch for?
This is a bit of a no brainer, but Patrick Kane has been wearing his ‘fancy pants’ as I like to call them. For the past five games, Kane has been wheeling and dealing. Some nights, he doesn’t get the support from his teammates, but recently, Kane has been producing a dozen solid scoring chances an evening, singlehandedly. That’s talent that can’t be ignored by a fan or by a hockey team. I’m interested to see how the big Coyotes blueliners address the Kane situation.
What to watch for?
Powerplays. The Blackhawks are loitering in the league’s lower third when it comes to scoring with the man advantage, and for an offense like the Blackhawks’, that’s unacceptable. Hell, they’re two rankings lower than the Islanders. Perhaps it’s because Joel Quenneville skates Tomas Kopecky (and all of his two points) on the second PP unit. Perhaps it’s Patrick Sharp on the point, somewhere no one believes he belongs. One excuse or another doesn’t change the fact that the Blackhawks’ powerplay isn’t working. Look for constant tinkering from Quenneville, and maybe, just maybe something will click.
Unsung Hero
John Madden’s reputation precedes him at this point in his career, though he might be the most interesting man in the world. But Troy “The Truck” Brouwer, he’s an unsung hero. Brouwer makes space for his linemates, is skating 150% better than last season and has finished for the first time since junior. He’s a player that few teams can match up with, and with Dustin Byfuglien skating on a different line, the teams that can match up with Brouwer might have to use that line to match up against the buffalo that is Byfuglien. Brouwer makes his successes, and right now, he’s 17th in the league in hits, and has five points. That’s more success than Hawks fans imagined at the beginning of the year. If he can keep it up, the Blackhawks are going to have a very difficult decision to make when Marian Hossa comes back.
Line Combos
The Line combos are a crap shoot right now. With Toews’ status variable by the hour, it’s almost impossible to predict if he will play or not. At the same time, Quenneville will probably switch up lines before tonight’s matchup, so anything written here will we worthless in a few hours, here it goes anyway:
Brouwer - Toews - Versteeg
Sharp - Bolland - Kane
Ladd - Madden - Byfuglien
Kopecky - Fraser - Eager?/Ebbett
Keith-Seabrook
Hjalmarsson-Campbell
Barker-Sopel
Huet>Niemi
Injury Report
Ben Eager has been day-to-day for nearly a month now (concussion). The Blackhawks have missed his intensity, enforcer attitude and surprising scoring touch on the fourth line. He traveled with the team to Phoenix, but has not been ruled in for Thursday’s game.
Jonathan Toews, like Eager, has been sidelined with a concussion. He, like Eager as well, may play on Thursday after missing four games.
Expectations
The Coyotes are a good team and it will be great to see a former Blackhawk favorite of mine, Radim Vrbata on the ice. That said, the game will ride on the pads of Ilya Bryzgalov. In wins Bryzgalov has a .955 save percentage. In losses, .844. The goals against average tell the same story, 1.21 to 3.50. So the question isn’t so much what kind of team will the Blackhawks play, but rather, what version of Bryzgalov will the Blackhawks face?
Phoenix Coyotes (9-6)
Who’s hot
Defenseman Ed Jovanovski has had a great year so far for the Coyotes. Through 15 games this season, “Jovo” is the team leader on offense with five goals and seven assists for 12 points. He has also been apart of an improved defensive corps for Phoenix, and he comes into tonight’s game against the Blackhawks with an even plus-minus rating. Jovanovski has been criticized a lot in recent years for not playing up to his contract, but he is certainly earning his dollars so far this season.
Who’s not
Forward Peter Mueller is still trying to break out of his early-season slump. Mueller was a healthy scratch for Saturday’s game against the Anaheim Ducks and Monday’s game against the Los Angeles Kings. He returned to the lineup last night in Colorado, got 15 minutes of ice time and only one shot. The Coyotes don’t have an explosive offense and certainly could use Mueller’s production.
Who to watch for?
Goaltender Ilya Bryzgalov is having a great season so far. In 12 starts he has a record of 8-4 with a 1.88 goals against average, a .927 save percentage and three shutouts. Earlier this week he was also named the NHL’s Third Star for the month of October. At various points in the first month of the season Bryzgalov carried the team on his back and he’s certainly capable of doing it against Chicago.
What to watch for?
The Coyotes' discipline. Staying out of the penalty box has been a minor problem for Phoenix at times in recent weeks. In last night’s game against the Avalanche, the Coyotes committed six penalties for 12 minutes, including two delay of game penalties in the first period. Forward Scottie Upshall was scratched from a game recently because of undisciplined play.
Unsung player to watch
Forward Vernon Fiddler has very quietly put together a nice season here in the Valley of the Sun. He has a pair of goals and six assists for eight points in 15 games. He also has a lot of chemistry with fellow linemates Taylor Pyatt and Daniel Winnik. While it’s not really a line with any big names, they play well on both ends of the puck and the trio of players has combined for five goals already this season.
Injury report
Defenseman Kurt Sauer has an upper body injury and hopes to return in the next 10 days or so. Scottie Upshall is day-to-day with a lower body injury.
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