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Wednesday, December 29, 2010

I've Got a Theory

By now, I'm sure lots of Blackhawks fans are wondering the same question. 'Why the hell does the defense not want to play when Marty Turco is in the net?' A few fans actually decide to blame Turco himself for the losses when it's CLEARLY not his fault at all. Sure, Turco's goaltending style is unorthodox, but if he's making the saves, his style of goaltending shouldn't matter, right?

First of all, I think it was hard for the Hawks at the beginning of the season dealing with two goaltenders with completely different styles. They pretty much switched goalies every other game, and I can't imagine it would be easy to adjust to. Corey Crawford's style of goaltending is much like Antti Niemi's, while Turco's is a bit... out there.

The fact that Marty Turco likes to play the puck more leads me to believe that the Blackhawks defense feel as though they can slack off a bit and treat him more like a defenseman or forward than a goaltender. I'm sure it's an extremely hard style to meld to since Turco's one of the few goalies in the league that really does play the puck constantly (and constantly accidentally passes it to the opposing team's players).

Turco's let in some bad goals, sure, but what goaltender hasn't? Crawford was lacking at the beginning of the season, but no one seems to remember the game Niklas Hjalmarsson got his suspension.

The team melds with Corey's style of play the same way they did with Niemi's, and leave Turco out to dry much like they did with Cristobal Huet last season.

Why don't the Blackhawks want to play defense with experienced goaltenders? It could be the fact that the goaltenders are experienced, which makes them slack off. The inexperience could also make them want to play harder in front of Crawford.

Whatever the case may be, allowing 43 shots to get to your goaltender is absolutely ridiculous and unacceptable, especially when your offense isn't shooting the puck. When the opposing team has nearly twice as many shots on goal as your offense, you might want to start kicking some asses (if you were Coach Q, of course).

Now, admittedly, the lack of heart last night could have had something to do with the injuries that occurred. I didn't get to see the game, so I can't say 100%, but I can imagine that your captain being injured would weaken your morale. Thank god for Turco making 40 saves last night and working his ass off while the rest of the team skated in lala land.

It in no way makes Marty Turco a "horrible goaltender" when his defense isn't helping him out. Hockey is a team sport. If the defense plays badly, it reflects on the goaltender either positively (as it did with Quick and the Kings when he faced 50-something shots and blocked them all) or negatively. A goaltender can't be expected to do ALL of the work.

You can make all the excuses you want, but when it comes down to it, shitting on your goaltender is unacceptable. The Blackhawks need to learn how to play defense and play harder in front of Turco AND Crawford.

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