Blackhawks Playoff Preview Part 1: What Should The Lineup Be For Game 1

The Blackhawks have clinched everything there is to clinch in the Western Conference so it’s finally time look towards the playoffs even though there’s still two games to play in the regular season. That man in the picture above with the deep sunken eyes and bristling mustache has a lot of options going into the playoffs. The Blackhawks are currently carrying 16 forwards and 9 defenseman with the call-up of D-Man Gustav Forsling yesterday. It’s a swiss army knife roster. Fast, skilled, tough, responsible, with a mix of youth and experience. It’s up to Joel Quenneville to find the best combination of 20 guys to dress every night this spring. It’s becoming a Spring time tradition to 2nd guess Joel Quenneville’s playoff lineup. Fans and media types love to criticize the man with three Stanley Cups, 800 something wins, and a first ballot Hall of Fame resume. That’t not me. I am not going to second guess him. Instead, I am going to first guess him. Get out in front of the trend and critics.

Assuming Anisimov is back from injury for the playoffs(fingers crossed, knock on wood, etc) then the Blackhawks have 10 forwards as locks to be in the lineup.

Schmaltz–Toews–Panik

Panarin–Anisimov–Kane

Hartman–Kero–Hossa

_____–Kruger–______

The 4th line wings still need to be filled out(and obviously Kruger and Kero could be flipped, but that would be my 3rd line). That’s 6 guys on the roster battling for 2 spots. Not only is it six guys, but its six very different guys. I am guessing we will actually see all of them at some point in the playoffs, and matchups will dictate who skates and when.

Jordan Tootoo

I am starting with Tootoo, not because he’s my first choice, but because he’s the guy who will anger the internet the most if he plays. Spoiler alert…he’s gonna play at some point. Joel Quenneville has a LONG history of dressing his enforcers in the playoffs and he almost always has a tough guy in the lineup at the start of the series. Ben Eager, Jake Dowell, John Scott, Jamal Mayers, Brandon Bollig, Dan Carcillo, and Brandon Mashinter have all played games in the playoffs under Coach Q. Joel seems to like having that element of protection, especially early in the series where emotion is ramped up and things can get out of hand quickly. I would expect Tootoo to be in lineup for Game 1, police things, play 5-7 minutes, and then probably sit for the rest of the playoffs.

Andrew Desjardins

It seems like injuries have really slowed Desjardins in the past couple years. He was a key 4th line piece for the 2015 Cup run. Now he seems to be in the dog house. But not like type of dog house when a puppy misbehaves, but the type that brings a dog to a farm in the country upstate where he can chase rabbits and squirrels. There are, however, two areas that are critical in the playoffs where Desjardins is still competent. As a wing, he can step in and win face-offs. Small sample size this year for Desi, but he’s at 56%. That could be helpful if his centerman gets the boot or the team opts to have Desjardins take the draw to his dominant hand depending on who the normal center is on his line. He can also be an extra body to help kill PKs. Is that enough to get in the lineup consistently…I personally don’t think so. Coach Q loves his vets though and he isn’t afraid to tinker from game to game. Desjardins also knows what it takes since he has been through these playoff wars before.

Tomas Jurco

In terms of pure talent, Jurco might be the best of the bunch. I just personally don’t trust him. He has high-end skill, but we don’t see it consistently enough. I also can’t get those couple of blatant mistakes he made that led to goals out of my head. It would be my personal preference that Jurco doesn’t see the ice in the playoffs, but #InQweTrust.

John Hayden

Hand up…I said I didn’t really think Hayden would be able to contribute very much this year. WRONG. He looked a little lost and over-zealous in his first game, but he has really settled in after that. 4 points in 10 games, good along the wall, pretty smart and responsible, and gives the Hawks an element of size and physicality that they don’t have a ton of elsewhere in the lineup. He’s been effective no matter who he plays with or where he lines up. His lack of experience is probably the only thing keeping him from being the 11th forward lock to play. I think he will be on the 4th line wing opposite of Tootoo in Game 1.

Vinnie Hinostroza

This would be my pick. I want extra speed and skill on the 4th line that gives the coaching staff the ability to roll four lines and challenge the opposing D on every shift. The only guys who really fit that bill are Hinostroza and Jurco, and I already told you how I feel about Jurco. Hinostroza has impact speed. We saw it against Colorado where he burned a D to the inside and drew a penalty. That is the type of thing that can be the difference in a series and he’s the only real 4th line option to give that look. A 4th line of Hayden-Kruger-Hinostroza would be able to threaten the opponent and would still be very solid defensively. Hinostroza doesn’t really help at all on special teams and that may be what ends up keeping him out of the lineup.

Dennis Rasmussen

I was the one time chairman of the Dennis Rasmussen fan club on twitter. I really like his game. He’s really good defensively, has someeeeee skill, he is another guy that can step in and win a draw, and he’s good on the PK. The problem with Rasmussen his is feet. If he were a half step or a step faster we wouldn’t be talking about this because he’d be solidly in the top 9. As it is, he’s fighting for a role. The Hawks do have plenty of offense in their top 9 and you can definitely trust Rasmussen out there so if he plays I would be fine with it. He is probably the “safest” option on the wing.

On defense, it is way more cut and dry. The top 6 defense are LOCKED in. I repeat, the top 6 D are locked. Last night, in April 2017, I still had people arguing for Kempny over TVR. I couldn’t believe it. It doesn’t make any sense. It’s a god damn fire drill with Kempny every time. TVR is steady. Gap control is good, he jumps into the play at appropriate times, and he puts the puck into good areas. His game is quiet, and that’s really what you want out of a 3rd pair Dman. This is the deepest the Hawks have ever been on defense and TVR is a big reason for that. If you have a friend that argues for Kempy over TVR…stop being friends with that person. I am not closing the door on Kempny forever. He is more physically gifted that TVR. Bigger, stronger,probably faster, heavier shot, etc. TVR has a better brain. It’s that simple. He and Campbell have been really good together for months on end now. Not sure where the Kempny narrative/love is coming from, but the Hawks 3rd has great chemistry and you should trust them in just about any situation. I’ll never understand the hate TVR gets in this town.

Keith–Hjalmarsson

Oduya–Seabrook

Campbell–TVR

Forsling

Roszival

Kempny

I think Roszival and Forsling are essentially even on the depth chart, and if one of them needs to be inserted due to injury or suspension, who gets the nod will likely depend on who(whom?) they are replacing. If it’s Campbell, then maybe Forsling gets in there. If its one of the other guys I think Q will probably go with Rozsival. Obvisouly just a guess though. That makes sense in my brain, there might not be an ounce of truth to it though.

My fourth line would be Hayden-Kruger-Hinostroza. I think that is their lineup combination with the highest ceiling, but my gut/intimate knowledge of Coach Q’s brain tells me that Hinostroza will probably get fewer cracks than Tootoo and Rasmussen. We’ll see though. The best thing about this team? No bad options. The Blackhawks don’t need to dress a guy like Peter Regin or Tomas Fleischmann. They have 16 guys that you can at least trust out there. How Coach Q puts it all together will be interesting, but this team has the depth to make another deep playoff push this year. And it is widely said that nobody has a better feel for his bench or the locker room than Joel Quenneville. Dynasty Reign.