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Blackhawks looking good, Bulls looking bad and the Cardinals looking at Quintana
After Wednesday night’s satisfying 5-1 win over the
Pittsburg Penguins, here are few thoughts on this year’s Blackhawks. For the first part of the year I was
skeptical about the Hawks, in part, because I thought they had a lack of depth.
That no longer seems to be the case.
With Artem Anisimov out with the dreaded lower body
injury, Tanner Kero has gotten an opportunity to center for the Kane- Panarin
line. The returns are encouraging. Kero stuck for a goal and assist and the line
had a total of two goals and four assists on the evening. Not bad.
When Anisimov comes back, Kero looks like he could be a third line
center. He seems to have surpassed
Marcus Kruger on the Hawks totem pole.
Ryan Hartman, Ryan Hartman
Ryan Hartman has been a more than capable replacement for
Andrew Shaw. Hartman seems to bring more
talent and less stupid to the table. Somewhere
along the line, Richard Panik has become a sniper. In addition, he brings a physical presence to
a team short on that commodity. After
spending some time taking in the bright lights of Rockford, Nick Schmaltz has
returned and provided some nice work as the right wing on the Toews line, as
well as filling in at the center position when needed.
A man named Hossa
Besides the emergence of the young guys, Marian Hossa
seems to have found the Fountain of Youth, or at least the Fountain of Middle
age. While Hossa is playing on the Hawks
third line, he’s probably the best third line player in the NHL, or the world
for that matter. Nice depth.
The Hawks blue line is getting old, but the acquisition
of Johnny Oduya and the improved play of Trevor van Reimsdyk gives the Hawks
more depth than they are used to having.
Goalies Corey Crawford and Scott Darling are one of the best tandems in
the league.
And they're not even related
Before I get away from the Hawks, one more
observation: Patrick Kane and Artemi
Pananrin seem to have the same chemistry the Sedin twins of the Canucks
have. While the Sedin twins are
particularly loved in Chicago, their chemistry is undeniably. As is the chemistry between Kane and Panarin.
Are the Cardinals the next contestant on the Price is Right?
CBS Sports is reporting the Cardinals are interested in
Jose Quintana. Potential return for
Quintana includes catcher, Carson Kelly, and center fielder Harrison
Bader. Those are top prospects in spots the
Sox seem to be chronically weak at.
No hurry
Dwyane Wade is trying to come back from his elbow injury
in time for the playoffs. I don’t know
why it matters. He can operate his TV remote
with his left hand. In the meantime, Jimmy
Butler will continue to be a poor man’s Russell Westbrook. Butler is good, but I don’t think he’s good
enough to get the Bulls into the playoffs.
More next time.
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