IceHogs Year in Review: Dylan Olsen

                      Position: Defenseman         Shoots: Left
                      Height: 6'3"                      Birthday: January 3, 1991
                      Weight: 220                     Hometown: Calgary, Alberta

2010-11 Stats
GP   G   A   PTS   +/-   PIM   PPG   SHG   SOG   S%
42    0   4     4      -18     10      0        0       40     0

The Hogs received an unexpected arrival on the blue line in January when Dylan Olsen signed an entry level contract on the first of the year and was assigned to Rockford. When he played his first game with the Hogs on January 14th, he was coming off of winning a silver medal at the World Junior Tournament where he represented Team Canada. Before World Juniors, Olsen was patrolling the blue line as a sophomore at the University of Minnesota-Duluth, where he tallied 13 points [1G, 12 A] in 17 games.

In his first couple of games in Rockford, it wasn't too hard to tell that jumping from college to the AHL was a big transition. He wasn't very physical at first and made some rookie mistakes, but he settled in nicely as time went on. He began to use his big frame and gradually became more physical. His ice time increased, especially when Ivan Vishnevskiy and Jassen Cullimore went down with injuries, and it was obvious that head coach Bill Peters showed more confidence in him down the stretch. He made smarter decisions with the puck and by the time the season ended, he looked much more comfortable out there.

When he was drafted by the Hawks in the first round (28th overall) in 2009, some compared his style of play to Brent Seabrook's. As he continues to develop and his physicality increases, he definitely will be a Seabrook type player, which he has shown flashes of this year.

Olsen will be back on the Hogs' blue line next year, barring a very big summer and an opening in the Hawks' top 7 defensemen.

Olsen during a faceoff on Jan. 22nd on Pink in the Rink night at the MetroCentre.

IceHogs Year in Review: Garnet Exelby

                      Position: Defenseman         Shoots: Left
                      Height: 6'1"                      Birthday: August 16, 1981
                      Weight: 215                      Hometown: Ste. Anne, Manitoba
2010-11 Stats

GP   G   A   PTS   +/-   PIM   PPG   SHG   SOG   S%

77    3   10   13     +7    128      0         0     81     3.7

On a team filled with young players, Garnet Exelby provided that much needed veteran presence for the IceHogs this year. On November 3rd of this season, he was named team captain and he was a solid and consistent player all year long. He showed up every night ready to play and could normally be counted on for a big hit or two. In fact, he earned the award for heaviest hitter on April 9th when the Hogs gave out their annual team awards before the last home game of the season. He had a solid year and because of it, and also because he's a veteran, he was called up to the Blackhawks to be apart of the Black Aces for the playoffs. 

His contract is up this summer and he could easily find himself in the NHL somewhere. But if no big club comes knocking, he would definitely be a guy the Hogs would love to have back with the club next year.

Hawks' Big Guns Step Up in Vital Game 5

Chicago Blackhawks @ Vancouver Canucks

 Game 5-Round 1-Western Conference Quarterfinals

4-21-11

Final Score: 5-0 Hawks

Scoring Summary

1st Period

5:54-CHI-PPG-Marian Hossa [1] (Duncan Keith [1], Corey Crawford [2])

6:18-CHI-Duncan Keith [3] (Ryan Johnson [1], Marcus Kruger [1])

12:17-CHI-PPG-Patrick Kane [1] (Keith [2], Brian Campbell [2])

2nd Period

1:26-CHI-Marian Hossa [2] (Patrick Sharp [1], Bryan Bickell [2])

4:47-CHI-Duncan Keith [4] (Hossa [2], Sharp [2])

3rd Period

None 

The Hawks rolled into Vancouver Thursday night for Game 5 carrying all the momentum after their 7-2 win in Game 4 that allowed them to stay alive in their first round series against the Canucks in which they were trailing 3-0.

They were looking to have a quick start Thursday, and they did just that.

Just about 6 minutes in, and on their first power play of the night, Marian Hossa got his 4th career playoff goal in the Indian Head sweater to give the Hawks the 1-0 lead.

Hossa carried the puck through the neutral zone and into Vancouver's zone fairly easily as he maneuvered around Canuck penalty killers.  He found himself in between the tops of the circles and let let one of his wicked wrist shots fly and it beat Canucks goalie Roberto Luongo glove side.

24 seconds later, the Hawks struck again. This time it was Norris Trophy winning defenseman Duncan Keith getting his third goal of the series and extending his goal streak to 3 games.

Rookie Marcus Kruger had taken a shot on net from below the right circle and Luongo sent a rebound into the slot where former Canuck Ryan Johnson picked it up. Johnson was in the left circle when he dished a pass over to Keith, who was just inside the blue line at the left point. Keith bombed a shot and it beat Luongo up high.

With Alex Edler in the box for holding at 10:49 of the first, the Hawks found themselves on their second power play of the period and they made it count.

Patrick Kane registered his first goal of the series as he tipped home Keith's shot from in between the hash marks. Captain Jonathan Toews was providing the screen out in front.

The Hawks had a great chance to extend their lead to 4-0 with around three and a half minutes left in the period after Hossa sprung Patrick Sharp on a clear cut breakaway. He tried to go glove side on Luongo, but he stopped him. 

1:26 into the second, Hossa did give the Hawks their 4 goal lead with his second goal of the night.

Sharp was the one who sent Hossa away on a breakaway and Hossa was sure not to miss. From the slot, he went high glove side on Luongo again. There was plenty of open space up there because Luongo was keeping his glove low and close to his body.

 That also ended Luongo's night and backup goaltender Cory Schneider came in to replace him. Schneider also replaced Luongo in the third period of Game 4.

A little over three minutes later, Keith also scored his second goal on the night.

Sharp had brought the puck into the zone and from the left wing boards, sent a cross ice pass over to Hossa at the right halfwall. Hossa touched passed it to Keith just above the top of the right circle and he bombed it. Ben Smith provided the traffic out in front and the shot found its way in for a 5-0 lead.

The Canucks had a good scoring chance with 12:56 left in the second after Dan Hamhuis' shot from just inside the blue line hit some traffic in front and Henrik Sedin got the loose puck and put it on net. Hawks rookie goaltender Corey Crawford made the save and it bounced around some, but Crawford was able to spot the puck and cover it up as John Scott cleared Alex Burrows out of the crease.

Early in the third, Crawford made a big save point blank on Cody Hodgson. Hodgson was left alone out in front by the Hawks' defensemen and his one time shot was swallowed up by Crawford.

Sharp had a chance to redeem himself from his previous breakaway with a shorthanded one with under 13 minutes to go in the third period. Smith provided the pass and Sharp was in all alone again. He tried doing his normal breakaway move, backhand to the forehand and go glove side, but Schneider stoned him with the left pad.

The Hawks were able to hold on and preserve Crawford's shutout as they closed the series gap to 3-2 and forced a Game 6 on Sunday at the United Center.

"Awesome, awesome game for [Crawford]," Kane told chicagoblackhawks.com about his goalie's 36 save performance, "We didn't really give him much help in the third period for him to get that shutout and he made a lot of big saves for himself."

"We built a lot of momentum the last game," Crawford said to the media after the game, "We played so great and it kind of just carried over for tonight. We were solid, we were hard in all areas, [we made] solid plays getting pucks out, pucks in at the blue lines and making those smart plays.

"And our guys are so skilled and we took advantage of our opportunities."

The Hawks are still going to take the series a game at a time and right now are just looking forward to Game 6.

"Let's face it," Keith said, "We're not out of the woods yet. It's still a battle and they've got a great team on that side. We know we've had a couple of big wins here. We know they're a tough team to play against and we gotta respect that."

"We're looking [forward to] next game," Crawford added, "That's all our focus is on is to come out hard again and have our best game again."

Kane was asked if all the pressure is on Vancouver for Game 6 and he replied with, "I think so, yeah. You gotta feel that way. Especially with them being up 3-0 in the series and now it's 3-2 [and] we're going back home. It seems like all the pressure's on them to win again and we're trying to make history here. We'll take it one game at a time like we said, but it's nice to get two in a row here and put ourselves back in the series."

"We knew they were gonna come out strong after last game," Scott said, "but we were ready for them and we played our game. If we keep doing that, I think we'll have more success."

"We're trying to win a series," Brian Campbell also told chicagoblackhawks.com, "We haven't done ourselves any justice by putting ourselves here now. We'll try to make this comeback and we'll work hard to try and do it and [we'll] see where it goes."

Said Crawford:  "We'll just keep battling hard until there's a winner."

Notes

•The Hawks' 5-0 win was the largest margin of victory in a playoff shutout in franchise history.

•Corey Crawford has 2 assists in the series. He is tied with Murray Bannerman for most assists by a goalie in a single post season in franchise history. Bannerman did it in 1985.

•The Canucks outshot the Hawks 36-26.

-The Hawks' power play went 2-5 and the Canucks' went 0-4.

-Both teams won 26 faceoffs.

•The Hawks' centermen's faceoff percentages were:

-Ryan Johnson: 60%

-Jonathan Toews: 53.3%

-Dave Bolland: 51.7%

-Patrick Sharp: 50%

•Brian Campbell led the Hawks in ice time with 26:20 and in shifts with 40.

•Bryan Bickell led the team in hits with 4.

•Duncan Keith led the team with 8 shots on goal. His four points [2G, 2A] were also a career high for him in one game in the playoffs.

•Niklas Hjalmarsson had a team high 4 blocked shots.

•Patrick Kane and Duncan Keith each had 2 takeaways.

•The Hawks' scratches were:

-Jordan Hendry [torn ACL]

-Brent Seabrook [upper body]

-Tomas Kopecky [upper body]

-Jake Dowell [healthy scratch]

-Fernando Pisani [healthy scratch]

•The three stars of the game were:

1. Duncan Keith

2. Marian Hossa

3. Corey Crawford

•Patrick Kane's four assists are 5th in the league and he is 9th in scoring [1G, 4A].

-Duncan Keith's 4 goals are second and his 6 points [4G, 2A] are 4th.

-Patrick Sharp's 3 goals are 6th in the league and his 5 points [3G, 2A] are 9th in the league in scoring as well.

-Bryan Bickell, Dave Bolland, and Chris Campoli are all tied for 5th in the league in +/- ratings with a +4.

-Duncan Keith, Marian Hossa, and Patrick Kane all have one power play goal which is tied for 10th.

-Marian Hossa and Duncan Keith also have one game winning goal which is tied for second.

-Duncan Keith leads the league in shots on goal with 22 and Patrick Sharp is 2nd with 20.

-Ben Smith's shot percentage [66.7%] is second in the league.

•The Hawks' next game is on Sunday at the United Center at 6:30 p.m. on Comcast Sportsnet and Versus.

Post Game Interviews

•Brian Campbell 

•Corey Crawford

•Patrick Kane

•Duncan Keith

•John Scott

•Coach Q

•Patrick Kane on CSN

•Patrick Kane on NHL on the Fly

•Game Highlights

•Boxscore  

Marian Hossa celebrates his first goal with Brian Campbell.

Duncan Keith celebrates his first goal with Ryan Johnson, Troy Brouwer, and Nick Leddy.

Patrick Sharp hugs Patrick Kane after Kane scored to give the Hawks a 3-0 lead in the first period.

Nick Leddy congratulates Corey Crawford after the game on his 36 save shutout.

Stalberg Provides the Heroics in the Shootout

Chicago Blackhawks @ Columbus Blue Jackets

4-1-11

Final Score: 4-3 Hawks [SO]

Scoring Summary

1st Period

2:41-CHI-Patrick Kane [26] (Chris Campoli [16], Nick Leddy [2])

5:49-CHI-PPG-Brent Seabrook [7] (Kane [43], Marian Hossa [30])

9:17-CBJ-Maksim Mayorov [1] (Anton Stralman [14], Antoine Vermette [26])

2nd Period

14:07-CBJ-PPG-Derick Brassard [16] (Stralman [15], Vermette [27])

3rd Period

13:22-CBJ-Sammy Pahlsson [7] (Stralman [16], Sami Lepisto [11])

14:57-CHI-Bryan Bickell [17] (Duncan Keith [36])

Overtime

None

Shootout

Maksim Mayorov-CBJ-Save

Jonathan Toews-CHI-Missed the net

Tomas Kubalik-CBJ-Save

Patrick Kane-CHI-Save

Jakub Voracek-CBJ-Save

Viktor Stalberg-CHI-Goal   

Most of the games for the past month have been must wins for the Blackhawks.  Friday night's game in Columbus was really no different.

The Hawks came out flying in the first period, and took it to the Blue Jackets for about the first six or seven minutes of the game.

There were some hairy moments before the Hawks got on the board though.  Rookies Marcus Kruger and Nick Leddy made turnovers near their own blue line and goalie Corey Crawford was there to bail them out. 

Good things happened after Leddy's turnover though.

Chris Campoli was able to collect the loose puck from the side of his net after Crawford's saves and he used the glass to get the puck up and out of the zone.  Patrick Kane was waiting at center ice and once he got to the puck, brought a two on one with Jonathan Toews into the Columbus zone.  

From the bottom part of the left circle, Kane let a wicked wrister go and beat Jackets goalie Mathieu Garon over his left shoulder for his 26th on the campaign.

The Hawks made it a two goal lead just over three minutes later on the power play.

Kane was able to show off his sweet hands again as he dished a pass from the right circle through traffic over to Brent Seabrook, who was pinching in from the point, in the left circle--where the injured Patrick Sharp would normally be waiting on the power play.

Toews was tying up defenseman Marc Methot out in front and it provided enough traffic for Garon not to see the puck and for a falling Seabrook to one time it home.

Following that goal, the Jackets seemed to gain some momentum and it resulted in them cutting the lead to one.

Anton Stralman wristed a shot towards the net from the right point and rookie Maksim Mayorov was able to register his first career NHL goal by tipping it from just below the right hashmarks.

The play was under review for a couple of minutes because it could've been called a high stick.  The ruling on the ice was a goal and there wasn't any conclusive evidence to overturn it so the 22 year old's goal stuck.

"We talked about a big start and we came out really flying tonight," winger Viktor Stalberg told chicagoblackhawks.com after the game, "I thought we had a great start, a couple of really good chances off the bat, and you know, we get [to] two-nothing and we kind of [took] our foot off the gas a bit."

The second period was riddled with penalties--mostly on the Hawks' part. There were nine total penalties called and 6 of them were taken by the guys in the white sweaters.

They did get a good shorthanded chance while they were down a man for four minutes due to a Kane high sticking double minor.

Marian Hossa and Toews had a two on one going for them into the Jackets' zone. Passing to Toews wasn't an option as the passing lane was taken away nicely. Hossa got in too close and couldn't get a good shot away from the bottom of the right circle.

On that particular kill in general, the Hawks did a great job of killing it all off and not letting Columbus see too many chances.

Columbus was able to strike on their five on three power play though. Hossa was in the box for boarding and Niklas Hjalmarsson was in the box for delay of game.

From center ice, Stralman gave the puck to Antoine Vermette along the right wing boards to lead the rush into the Hawks' zone. Vermette gave it back to Stralman near the right halfwall. Stralman handed it over to Derick Brassard at the top of the left circle and Brassard let a bomb go that found its way past Crawford blocker side to tie the game at two with 5:53 left in the period.

Crawford came up huge in the third period.

The Jackets had a two on one rush coming up ice led by Mayorov.  He sent a cross slot pass over to Derek MacKenzie in the right circle. MacKenzie was able to one time it and Crawford came across the crease and made the save with his left arm and or pad. 

Nevertheless, he made the save.

The Jackets took their first lead of the night at the 13:22 mark of the period.  Stralman's slap shot from the point found its way onto former Hawk Sammy Pahlsson's stick and he was able to tip in the shot for his seventh of the year.

The Hawks were quick to answer back.

Just over a minute later, Bryan Bickell recorded his 17th of the year to tie it back up at three.

Bickell just threw a shot on net from the left halfwall and it somehow found its way past Garon, blocker side.

"It's kind of funny," Bickell also told chicagoblackhawks.com after the game, "most of my goals come from about there, but I was just trying to get a rebound there, low pads, and [...] I guess [the puck] just snuck by him. Good things happen when you put it on the net."

The game went into overtime, and Hossa had a golden chance to get his 2nd overtime winner in one week.

Michael Frolik took advantage of a Jackets turnover just outside of their blue line and brought the puck into the zone down the right wing boards, with Hossa coming up on the other side.

Frolik backhanded a pass into the slot for Hossa and Hossa tipped it on net, but Garon was there with the right pad to make the save.

A shootout followed the extra five minute session and Crawford continued to prove why he should be a candidate for the Calder Trophy for rookie of the year.

He was a stellar three for three, stopping Mayorov, Tomas Kubalik, and Jakub Voracek, to set up Stalberg to seal the deal for the Hawks after Toews and Kane both didn't convert on their chances.

Stalberg went to his forehand, then his backhand and put it through Garon's blocker and left pad to give the Hawks a much needed win to stay in 8th place in the Western Conference standings.

"It was nice to see Crow come up with the last save there so at least I got a chance to win it, instead of just trying to get it tied, so that helped out a lot," Stalberg explained.

On the game as a whole, Bickell said: "[The Jackets] are a run-n-gun team and we just weren't playing smart. We were just coughing the puck up too much and the rest of the opportunities they'd been getting [were from] us.

"Then they get the lead and then we come back, it's a huge two points for us and we need to keep this going."

"We can't underestimate these guys," Stalberg added. "They're a hard working team and they're going to get their chances. 

"Obviously we put ourselves in some penalty trouble tonight and we can't do it against a team like this."

Notes

•Viktor Stalberg is now two for two on shootout attempts this year.

"So far so good, I guess," He said after the game. "We do [shootouts] a lot in practice. I try to score as much as I can there. Q asked me a couple weeks ago if I wanted to go if we got a chance. I like the opportunity; we haven't had any shootout games since he asked me, but it was good for us to get that win and it's a big extra point for us in the standings."

•The Jackets outshot the Hawks 34-21.

-The Hawks' power play went 1-4 while Columbus' went 1-7.

-Columbus beat the Hawks in the faceoff battle, winning 22 draws. The Hawks won 16.

•The faceoff percentages of the Hawks' centermen were:

-Ryan Johnson: 73.3%

-Jake Dowell: 66.7%

-Jonathan Toews: 45.8%

-Marcus Kruger: 0%

*Tomas Kopecky: 37.5%

The * means he took a lot of draws but wasn't playing center.

•The Hawks' scratches were: Jordan Hendry [torn ACL], Patrick Sharp [lower body injury], Dave Bolland [concussion], and John Scott [healthy].

•Brian Campbell led the Hawks in ice time [31:38] and in shifts [36].

-Brent Seabrook led the way in hits [6] and blocked shots [3].

-Bryan Bickell and Tomas Kopecky each had a team high 4 shots on goal.

-Michael Frolik had 3 takeaways.

•Jonathan Toews is 10th in the league with 75 points [31G, 44 A] and is 8th in game winning goals with 7 of them.

-Patrick Sharp is 8th in the league with 34 goals and is 6th in power play goals with 12.

•The Hawks' next game is on Sunday, back at home at the United Center, against the Tampa Bay Lightning. It's on WGN at 6 p.m. 

Post Game Interviews

•Viktor Stalberg

•Bryan Bickell

•Coach Q

•Game Highlights 

•Boxscore

Other Videos

•Ryan Johnson Talks About the Team Nominating Him for the Masterton Trophy

Patrick Kane celebrates his first period tally with Bryan Bickell.

Brent Seabrook celebrates with the bench after he scored a power play goal.

Viktor Stalberg scores the game winning goal in the shootout for the Hawks.

Hawks' 3rd Period Propels Them To Win Over Canes

Carolina Hurricanes vs. Chicago Blackhawks

3-4-11

 Final Score: 5-2 Hawks

Scoring Summary 

1st Period

0:55-CHI-Jonathan Toews [26] (Patrick Sharp [27])

6:23-CAR-Eric Staal [29] (Cory Stillman [18], Erik Cole [23])

9:51-CHI-Bryan Bickell [15] (Brent Seabrook [32], Marian Hossa [23])

2nd Period

None

3rd Period

2:50-CHI-Ryan Johnson [1] (Chris Campoli [12], Brian Campbell [20])

3:57-CHI-Dave Bolland [15] (Hossa [24], Bickell [19])

7:22-CHI-Patrick Kane [21] (Sharp [28], Campoli [13])

12:09-CAR-Jeff Skinner [23] (Joe Corvo [24], Jussi Jokinen [29]) 

Coming off of a dramatic 3-2 overtime victory the night before, the Carolina Hurricanes rolled into the United Center to take on the Chicago Blackhawks on Friday night.

 Backup goaltender Justin Peters got the start in net after Cam Ward had started the previous 24 games.

It wasn't pretty early for the Canes, but great for the Hawks. 55 seconds in, Jonathan Toews notched his 26th goal of the season by going low blocker side on Peters from the left hashmarks. The play all started when Patrick Sharp stripped the puck away from Cory Stillman at the top of the right circle of the Canes' zone.

The Canes tied it up about 6 minutes later. 

They took advantage of a Niklas Hjalmarsson offensive zone turnover from just inside the blue line. Stillman corralled the puck and brought it up ice with Erik Cole with him. He dished it to Cole just before the Hawks' blue line and Cole went to pass it back to Stillman in the slot. Hjalmarsson got back in time to break up the pass, and the puck stayed a couple of feet behind him and Stillman.

In came Canes captain Eric Staal to pick up the loose puck at the right hashmarks and he fired it by rookie goaltender Corey Crawford blocker side for his team leading and 29th goal of the year. Hjalmarsson was in front of Crawford and he didn't see it.

Just before the halfway mark of the period, and after some hard work and cycling from Marian Hossa and Dave Bolland, Brent Seabrook bombed a shot from the right point and it clanged off of the post and into a bunch of traffic in front of Peters. Bryan Bickell somehow found the puck and put it home to restore the Hawks' lead.

In the second, Peters was a rock for the Canes and kept them in the game. He made multiple remarkable saves that had the UC faithful wondering how the Hawks didn't put the puck in the back of the net.

One of those times included when he stoned Bickell in his attempt to get his second of the night with 16:14 left in the period. He came across the crease and bodied down Bickell's shot from the right hashmarks.

There were some scary moments for the Hawks on the power play as Pat Dwyer got past the defense at his own blue line for a shorthanded breakaway. In all alone, he went to his backhand to try and sneak the puck past Crawford's right pad, but Crawford made the save. Dwyer managed to get the rebound, too, and even tried a wraparound attempt, but Crawford still shut the door on him. Canes fans are used to seeing the 5'11" forward provide good, hard working shifts night in and night out whether it's on the penalty kill or even strength.

About 3 minutes into the second, newly acquired defenseman Chris Campoli led the rush up the ice and into the Canes' zone. He gave it to Ryan Johnson at the top of the left circle and Johnson threw it on net. It got by Peters for his first of the year because it deflected in off of Joni Pitkanen's skate.


A minute and seven seconds later, the Hawks struck again.
From under the left circle and to the right a bit, Hossa put the puck on net and Peters gave up a pretty small rebound. Bolland came in, following Hossa, and got to the rebound before Jamie McBain and chipped it in to give the Hawks a 3 goal lead.


At the 7:22 mark, Patrick Kane joined in on the fun. 
From the slot, Sharp sent a backhanded pass from the slot over to Kane in the right circle. Kane one timed it to give him 21 goals on the year.


Canes rookie phenom Jeff Skinner added his 23rd of the year a couple of minutes after halfway just to change the final score pretty much. 
Skinner provided traffic out in front of Crawford and Joe Corvo sent a shot from the point towards the net. Skinner was able to get to the rebound and shovel it home.


Canes centerman Brandon Sutter summed up their third period very well.
"We just kind of collapsed, I guess," He told the media, "I think through two periods we probably didn't have our best game but our goalie made some saves for us to keep us in it, and yeah, we just kind of collapsed.
"We started cheating a little bit, [we] weren't playing good defensively and they're going to capitalize on that."


Staal also added to the media: "It kind of got away from us in the third period and, you know, they got some skill and some guys that can find the back of the net and they did that in the third.
"We didn't have a good start. They seemed to skate it around us pretty good the first ten minutes of the game. They gave us one shot and we gave them probably a little bit too much respect as far as their skill goes and then we kind of got to our game a little bit better and [...] in the second period had a better push and some good chances, as did they.
"Petey made some good saves to keep it at 2-1 and would've been nice to get to 2-2 and then see what happens."


As far as the home team goes, that third period was one of their best in a while.
"We've talked about [our third periods] a lot this season," Brian Campbell told chicagoblackhawks.com after the game, "We talked about it Monday night in Minnesota and that didn't happen and obviously we did again Wednesday night.
"[Friday night] was better. I know they played [Thursday] night, so I'm sure they're a little bit tired, but it was better all around. We gotta learn from it and grow as a team."  


The win was also the Hawks' 7th in a row and with every game, their confidence seems to be improving.
"It's in the air here," Campoli said, "Guys believe that we're gonna win. We find ways to score goals, we get up on teams and [Friday] we buried them.
"Good teams do those things. They don't let teams back in games and as of late, maybe we have a little bit, but we still find ways to win and at the end of the day, that's the bottom line."


"We're just playing better overall hockey, working harder," Campbell said, "Obviously, the lines that are going have some chemistry and feel good. We got depth and skill in all areas of the four lines. I think that's the biggest part of it. We're just working harder for pucks and winning battles."


Crawford is appreciative with what he's seeing in front of him.
"We keep getting a ton of chances and keep scoring a ton of goals.
"For a goaltender, that's pretty nice when your guys are scoring that many goals every night," He said with a smile.
"We're playing great, we're playing awesome. We've been good all year, especially offensively we've been good; [it] hasn't really changed." 


Notes

•The Hawks were monsters on faceoffs Friday night. Granted, the Canes aren't that great of a faceoff team...
The percentages of the Hawks' centermen were:
-Jake Dowell [the birthday boy]: 91.7%
-Ryan Johnson: 73.7%
-Jonathan Toews: 72.2%
-Dave Bolland: 50%
•The Hawks outshot the Canes 29-20.
-Both teams went 0-2 on the power play.
-The faceoffs wins were 47-19 Hawks.
•The 3 stars of the game were:
1. Marian Hossa
The Hawks' right winger had two assists on the night. 
2. Ryan Johnson
The Hawks' gritty centerman tallied his first goal in a Hawk uniform and played a solid game in which he played 13:42.
3. Jonathan Toews
The Captain kept on rolling with his 26th goal of the year.
•Patrick Kane played in his 300th NHL game Friday. He's the second youngest Hawk to reach the mark, next to Grant Mulvey.
•The scratches for the Hawks were Jordan Hendry [torn ACL], Fernando Pisani, and John Scott [both healthy].
•Duncan Keith led the Hawks in TOI, playing 25:57. He also led them in shifts with 29.
-Troy Brouwer had 4 hits.
-Patrick Sharp had 3 takeaways.
-Jonathan Toews had 5 shots on goal.
-Niklas Hjalmarsson and Chris Campoli each had 2 blocked shots. Campoli also record his first points in a Hawk uniform with assists on Ryan Johnson's and Patrick Kane's goals.


Post Game Interviews

•Corey Crawford
•Brian Campbell
•Chris Campoli 
•Duncan Keith
•Coach Q 
•Ryan Johnson's Interview on WGN Radio
•Game Highlights

Jonathan Toews celebrates his first period goal with Duncan Keith.

Bryan Bickell celebrates with Dave Bolland and Brent Seabrook after he gave the Hawks a 2-1 lead in the first period.

The Hawks salute the home crowd after their 5-2 win.

Hurricanes vs Blackhawks Preview 3-4-11

Friday night's game between the Blackhawks and the Hurricanes is huge for both clubs. It's not necessarily because they're playing each other, but for their respective playoffs hopes.

Currently, the Hawks sit 4th in the tight Western Conference with a record of 35-23-6 and 76 points. The Hurricanes are in 7th in the Eastern Conference with a record of 31-25-9 and 71 points, only up on the 8th place Rangers by one point.

[**This was before all of Thursday's games had ended.]

Overview

Jonathan Toews celebrates after scoring his second goal of the night on Wednesday.

The Hawks are coming into Friday night as one of the hottest teams in the NHL. They're currently on a six game winning streak and are 7-1-2 in their last 10 games.

 In those 10 games, the top of line of Jonathan Toews centering Patrick Sharp and Patrick Kane has been red hot. They've accumulated 37 points in that span [14G, 23A]. Toews leads that line with 15 of those points [6G, 9A]. Sharp and Kane both have 11. [Sharp has 6 goals and 5 assists whereas Kane has 2 goals and 9 assists.]

On the backend for the Hawks, it hasn't been the Duncan Keith-Brent Seabrook tandem that has been shutting down opposing top lines. 19 year old rookie Nick Leddy has been paired up with Keith, and they have made quite a pairing. Keith has been +4 since being paired up with him starting on February 9th. Leddy has been +2.

Don't worry about Seabrook though--he's doing just fine being with Niklas Hjalmarsson back there. In fact, since being with Hjalmarsson, Seabrook has been a +6. He also signed a 5 year, $29 million contract extension on February 27th. 

Goaltender Corey Crawford has been a rock in net. He's currently 3rd in the league with his 2.17 goals against average. 

Special Teams

The Hawks sit at the top of the league with their power play percentage of 24.7. They're edging out Vancouver by .2%

Their penalty kill leaves a lot to be desired as it is 27th at a 77.9%.

Trade Deadline Moves

•Before the deadline, on February 9th, General Manager Stan Bowman sent Jack Skille, Hugh Jessiman, and prospect David Pacan to Florida in exchange for Michael Frolik and goalie prospect Alexander Salak. 

•On the 28th, the deadline itself, Ryan Potulny and a conditional 2nd round pick in the 2011 draft were sent to Ottawa for defenseman Chris Campoli and a conditional 7th round pick in the draft. Not only had Bowman been saying he was wanting to acquire another defenseman for awhile, but it became even more imperative when Jordan Hendry went down with a torn ACL on the 27th. 

Last Game

The Hawks are coming off of a 6-4 win over the Calgary Flames on Wednesday. Toews scored twice in the win and Dave Bolland got the goal that ended up being the game winner with a bullet from the right circle. Michael Frolik also got his first goal in a Hawk uniform.

Highlights From The Game

The Hurricanes

 Overview

Erik Cole [center] celebrates with Jussi Jokinen [left] and Eric Staal [right] after scoring the go ahead goal on February 18th on Rod Brind'Amour night.

The Canes haven't been as hot as the Hawks in their last 10 games, but they've been holding their own, getting points where they can. They're 5-3-2 and have been playing some pretty decent hockey. 9 of those 10 games have been one goal games, with the exception of a 4-1 loss to the Devils on February 19th.

Eric Staal continues to lead the way for them in goals with 28. Erik Cole has been on the right wing with him for most of the season, and those two have great chemistry. They've had a rotating winger on the left side with them, which have included the likes of Zach Boychuk, Chad LaRose, and Jussi Jokinen. But since reacquiring Cory Stillman, he's been playing up there with the Eric(k)s. It's almost like they haven't missed a beat. Stillman was on their line back in 2006 when they won the Stanley Cup.

Brandon Sutter has turned into a great two way center for the Canes. He leads the team in +/- with a +14 rating and has put up 24 points in 65 games [12 G, 12 A]. Coach Paul Maurice counts on him in pretty much every situation including sending him out to shut down opposing top lines and on the penalty kill. More likely than not, he may draw the assignment of the Sharp-Toews-Kane line.

Rookie Jeff Skinner has been sensational in his 1st NHL season. He's the leading rookie scorer in the league with 48 points [22G, 26A]. He has also drawn a ton of huge penalties for the Canes as he is so good at using his edges to maneuver around defenders, causing them to take a penalty.

He's also not afraid to get his nose dirty. Even though he's only 5'10", he gets to the scoring areas of the ice and is also able to work for pucks along the boards in order to make a play. He's not afraid of anyone either. Teams have tried roughing him up, hitting him hard, and he just keeps on trucking and starts playing with a bit of a snarl in his game.

Watching him is something else, and he will be a star in this league for many years to come.

Cam Ward.

What else can you say?

His goaltending has been outstanding again this year. Especially in the last couple of games, his rebound control has been good and he continues to make the stops when he needs to. 

He's seen the majority of the work-lode this season, appearing in 58 games. He has a record of 28-21-8 and leads the league in saves with 1,720--that's not necessarily a good thing though when you think about team defense...

He has a 2.68 goals against average and a .920 save percentage. 

Maurice hasn't said if Ward is starting Friday, but it wouldn't be a surprise really. If he doesn't though,  Justin Peters will see his first game action since January 17th against the Boston Bruins. Peters has only appeared in 11 games and his record is 3-4-1 with a .879 save percentage and a 3.88 GAA.

Don't let the numbers fool you though. Peters is a good, solid goaltender. He's 6'1" and has played pretty good when he has gotten a chance.

Once again... that whole team defense thing has kind of been at low points when he's seen the ice sometimes.

Special Teams

The power play has had its moments this season, but it hasn't been the greatest. It's 20th in the league at a 16.8%. 

The penalty kill is better than the Hawks', but barely. It's 23rd in the league at 80.7%.

Trade Deadline Moves

•The Canes sent Ian White over to San Jose on the 18th for a 2nd round draft pick in the 2012 draft.

•That same day, the Canes got defenseman Derek Joslin from San Jose in a different trade.  

•On the 25th, the Canes traded Ryan Carter and a 5th round pick in the 2011 draft to Florida for a familiar face in Cory Stillman. 

•Finally, on the deadline day, defenseman Brett Carson was claimed on waivers by the Calgary Flames and winger Sergei Samsonov was traded to Florida for defenseman Bryan Allen.

Last Game

The Canes played Thursday night at home against the Buffalo Sabres. Jiri Tlusty and LaRose both tied the game up in the second period after the Canes had fallen into a one goal hole each time. The game went to overtime and 26 seconds in, Jamie McBain bombed a shot from the point, and with traffic provided by Captain Staal, the puck got past Ryan Miller for the 3-2 win.

 

Highlights From the Game

 Last Meeting Between These Two Teams

Last year, the Hawks were down at the RBC Center on January 30th for their lone meeting of the year. The Canes won 4-2 with goals from Samsonov, Jokinen, Sutter, and Matt Cullen. The Hawks' two goals were scored by Marian Hossa and Andrew Ladd.

The Canes' mascot Stormy on game day. The area was pounded by snow and drew a small crowd, even though it was supposed to be a sold out game.

Brandon Sutter scoring the eventual game winner.