With the weekend approaching, we need to get one more edition of Hawks Headlines in this week, and today’s batch features an easy guide to understanding advanced statistics, thoughts on the Chicago Blackhawks’ decision to send down Brandon Pirri, and the excitement of Joakim Nordstrom and Jeremy Morin in rejoining the Hawks.
-Before we get to the nitty gritty stuff, you should definitely check out the Photoshop wizardly of @MonocleMan1 in this recap of the Hawks’ Thursday night defeat at the hands of the Minnesota Wild. Whether you’re a fan or not of Joel Quenneville’s constant lineup tinkering, the picture will still make you laugh. [HockeeNight]
-Sam Fels is an unashamed critic of many of Quenneville’s decisions, and he went right to work on the team’s decision to send Pirri back to the IceHogs despite having injury concerns with both Andrew Shaw AND Michal Handzus going into Thursday’s game. [Committed Indian]
-After giving up two more power play goals on Thursday, it’s pretty clear that this incarnation of the Blackhawks’ penalty killing unit isn’t nearly as good as it was when Michael Frolik was in town. Is there anything they can do about it? [ESPN Chicago]
-Interested in learning more about statistics like Fenwick Close and Corsi? Then Jen LC, one of our favorite stat geeks, has got you covered with this easy-to-understand primer. [Second City Hockey]
-Morin and Nordstrom both could have a short tenure with the Hawks because of the impending return of players like Shaw, Handzus, and Mike Kostka [Chicago Sun-Times], but they are still excited about the chance to contribute to the team while they can. [Chicago Tribune]
-Finally, the Rockford IceHogs ended up with a lead against the Charlotte Checkers on Thursday night, but they couldn’t hold onto it, and they ended up falling in overtime. [IceHogs.com]
