Hurry Back, Duncan – Your Weekly Blackhawks Recap

(Week of 10/25 – 10/31)

Hawks – Ducks Recap

Hawks – Jets Recap

Hawks – Wild Recap

The Hawks went 1-2 this past week, defeating the Ducks at home and then losing on the road on back-to-back nights to the Jets and Wild.

Notes

Forwards: Tanner Kero was called up from Rockford, replacing Vinnie Hinostroza. This was 100% the right move. I liked what I saw from Hinostroza in the preseason and I have no doubts that his time in the NHL will come, but Kero’s more ready right now. Ryan Hartman was also called up and was mostly fine. Ryan Garbutt had a nice week; he’ll likely be at 1RW as long as Hossa’s out. Garbutt’s been a very pleasant surprise; I looked at him as a probably bottom 6 guy after coming over in the Sharp deal, but has played very well to the point that he’s certainly deserving of that spot on the top line.

Defensemen: I think Q finally realized Rundblad stinks, so there’s that. How it took this long for him to realize that, I have no idea. Nick Leddy spent a lot of time in Q’s doghouse when he was in Chicago and Rundblad makes him look like Bobby Orr. Erik Gustafsson came up from Rockford and played pretty well. I think he’s got a ton of potential.

Goalies: Crawford was excellent against the Ducks and not-so-excellent against the Jets. Darling played against the Wild and was pretty bad, but then again, he hadn’t played in two weeks. Hopefully this makes Q realize that goalies, backup or not, should not go two weeks without playing. Will it? My guess is no. He did the same thing with Antti Raanta a couple years ago. When Raanta was the consistent starter filling in for an injured Crawford, his numbers were on par with Crow’s. After Crawford got back, Raanta went long stretches without playing and struggled in sporadic starts. I don’t see who doesn’t benefit from Darling playing more: Darling gets in game shape and Crawford is more rested come playoff time.

Blackhawks 3 stars of the week:

★★★ Corey Crawford, G (.957 SV%, 1.53 GAA, 1 SO)

★★ Brent Seabrook, D (1 G, 2 A)

★ Jonathan Toews, C (3 G (1 GWG))

Twitter: @KSchroeder2325

E-mail: schroeder.giig@gmail.com