Zawaski's Shorties: Hawks Win But Could Lose Toews
By Jay Zawaski-
(CBS) On Thursday night, the Blackhawks edged the Bruins, 3-2, at the TD Garden in Boston. Klas Dahlbeck, Ben Smith and Patrick Kane all scored for Chicago, extending the team's winning streak to eight games. Scott Darling was in net and improved his record to 5-1.
The big news of the night came after Jonathan Toews took a big hit from Dennis Seidenberg behind the Bruins net in the second period. Toews met the boards face first, and after playing the next shift and taking a penalty, he didn't return. After the game, Chicago coach Joel Quenneville said he expects Toews to be "all right" and that he will be re-evaluated soon.
To fight or not to fight – Whenever a Blackhawk player takes a hard hit, the Twitters explode with outrage that Chicago doesn't retaliate adequately enough. If you've read my stuff before, you know my take on fighting. It accomplishes nothing. It's not a deterrent, and it often takes away a would-be penalty.
So does that mean the Blackhawks should just take abuse from their opponents? Absolutely not. Hockey, if you haven't noticed, is a physical game. Opportunities to put big, clean, powerful hits present themselves every shift. That's the correct way to "retaliate." Had a Blackhawk attacked Seidenberg, Toews would still have been injured, but Chicago would have been without the power play it was awarded. In a game that ended 3-2, those precious power-play seconds could have been the difference in two points.
The Bruins aren't going to stop hitting, no matter how many rabbit punches their opponents throw.
The big "if" – If Toews has to miss a couple of games, it will be interesting to see what the Hawks do with his roster spot. When Quenneville says Toews is "all right," that mean a few games at worst. Quenneville doesn't lie about injuries. He may not admit what the specific injury is or exactly how long he expects a player to be out, but he does make it clear if an injury is serious. (Knock on wood -- Toews' injury doesn't seem to bad.)
That said, long-term injured reserve isn't an option, so you can probably cross Teuvo Teravainen's name off the list of options. People in the organization insist he isn't ready. It appears the Hawks plan on calling Teravainen up once and leaving him up for the rest of his career.
The Hawks have experimented with Brandon Saad and Kane at center before. Patrick Sharp also did a good job in the second-line center slot during parts of 2010. There aren't a ton of good options beyond those players. The organization is rich with wingers but thin on centers. Let's hope Toews can play Saturday, and we don't have to worry about it.
Oh my Darling – So, Scott Darling has been pretty good, huh? The Hawks now have a little bit of a goaltending dilemma on their hands. They've made a two-year investment on Antti Raanta as their backup goalie. He'll be paid $750,000 to be part of the NHL roster. However, Quenneville doesn't seem to trust him.
There's no doubt Darling has been a bit better, but Raanta isn't getting chances, especially when Corey Crawford is healthy. When Crawford does return, who's going to go down? My money is on Raanta. Darling makes less money, which would give the Hawks a little bit of cap breathing room. If the Hawks aren't going to play Raanta anyway, why not keep the cheaper -- and right now, better -- goalie on the big club? To me it's a no-brainer.
Speaking of Crawford… -- Most Blackhawks fans didn't have a huge problem with Crawford's bizarre injury. If you missed it, he injured his left leg when he missed a step at a Rise Against concert at the House of Blues. Accidents happen, right? Well, something struck me odd about the way the Hawks had him face the media to explain the injury. That's humiliating, and it's not like the Blackhawks to go out of their way to humiliate a player.
I've heard from several reliable sources that the Hawks are furious about the injury and how it occurred. These same sources imply that it was the organization's intention to embarrass Crawford. Is this the sort of treatment a player gets for a clumsy mistake? No. This is the sort of treatment a player gets when an organization is fed up with a player's repeated antics.
Hello, Old Friend – Remember Nick Leddy? Right before the season began, the Hawks traded him to the New York Islanders for a few prospects and (more importantly) salary cap relief. Since joining the Isles, Leddy has been terrific. He has five goals and 14 points in 29 games. He's a +7 and has played 20 minutes or more every night. He's playing at a 56.2 percent clip in his Corsi rating and is tied for the Islanders' team lead in scoring among defensemen.
He's having a good season. It's a shame the Hawks had to lose him, but this is the cost of the salary cap era. More good players will be leaving this summer. Hopefully, the league's estimation of a $73 million salary cap next season is accurate. It's all depended on the strength of the Canadian dollar. If the value sags, the cap could stagnate. Then the Hawks would be in real trouble.
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On Wednesday, Dec. 17, join Blackhawks goalie Antti Raanta and me at Cork and Kerry (10614 S. Western Ave. in Chicago) for a Bud Light "On the Glass" event. Raanta will partake in a Q&A and sign autographs. Fans can register to win a pair of Blackhawks tickets to a game in the Bud Light Legend's Lounge (must be 21 to enter). The event begins at 7 p.m. and then we open it up until 8:30 p.m. for autographs. Be sure to arrive early. These South Side events fill up quickly. We hope to see you there.
