Hawks Headlines: “So Far So Good” for Pirri at Second Line Center

Also, Marian Hossa is gaining confidence after his back issues last season

In today’s edition of Hawks Headlines, we take a look at several Chicago Blackhawks players, including Brandon Pirri and Marian Hossa, as well as what new-age hockey statistics can tell us about the play of Jeremy Morin, among others.

-With Michal Handzus still out of the lineup for Chicago, it appears as though Brandon Pirri will remain in the second line center position. As Tracey Myers reports, it’s so far so good for Pirri as he tries to stick in the NHL after many years in the AHL. [CSN Chicago]

-That “so far, so good” ethos also carries over to Marian Hossa, who is feeling pretty good after worrying for the first month of the season about his back. Chris Kuc has more. [Chicago Tribune]

-Barry Melrose took to the airwaves to say the struggles of Hawks back-up goaltender Nikolai Khabibulin have the potential to hurt the Blackhawks down the road. Obviously, there are ways to improve the back-up goaltending, but the point is that Khabibulin DOES need to improve. [ESPN]

-After the Hawks visited the White House on Monday, it seemed like a good time to evaluate whether or not the team has experienced a Stanley Cup hangover through 15 games. According to Tim Sassone, the answer is no. [Daily Herald]

-That road to a repeat that the president endorsed so heartily on Monday is going to be a tough one, as Mark Lazerus reminds us. [Chicago Sun-Times]

-Finally, Sam Fels has been an outspoken critic of the way that head coach Joel Quenneville approaches his decisions about the team, but he went further than that in this post, which is about the revelations that advanced statistics can provide. [Committed Indian]

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