AGRI Biz

On Thursday night, the Blackhawks got blown out in Columbus by a Blue Jackets team that sits at the bottom of the Central Division. On paper, the Jackets are terrible. Against the Blackhawks this year, not so much. For a team that’s been offensively challenged all year, Columbus has given the Blackhawks fits. On Dec. 1, the Blackhawks needed 11 rounds of a shootout to finally defeat the Jackets 4-3. In that ...

A lot of people, including me, have questioned whether or not the Blackhawks have the right goalie to make a run at the Stanley Cup in 2010. Consistency, recent struggles and a lack of playoff success have all been cited as red flags between the pipes for the Blackhawks as they approach the playoffs with Antti Niemi and Cristobal Huet. But looking across the Western Conference, the Blackhawks aren't alone in having ...

After Tuesday night's shut out of the Phoenix Coyotes, it appears that Antti Niemi is the man in net for the Chicago Blackhawks. A deeper look at the numbers should give Blackhawks fans more confidence in the rookie moving into April. Niemi has had some rough patches this year just like veteran Cristobal Huet. Certainly his start at the New York Islanders on March 3, where he allowed three goals on 12 ...

Number One. After Tuesday night's 2-0 shut out win over the Phoenix Coyotes, that's where the Blackhawks stand in the Western Conference with 99 points. After Tuesday night's 2-0 shut out win over the Phoenix Coyotes, that's where Antti Niemi should stand on coach Joel Quenneville's depth chart when the playoffs begin. Niemi was spectacular in his sixth shut out of the season, blanking the hottest team in the NHL while facing 28 ...

On Monday, the NHL announced the three finalists for the Mark Messier Leadership Award: Vancouver goalie Roberto Luongo, Los Angeles forward Dustin Brown, and Washington forward Alexander Ovechkin. Luongo and Brown are both deserving nominees; Ovechkin, on the other hand, makes a mockery of the core values of the award. Started in 2006-07, the Messier Leadership Award is presented "to the player who exemplifies great leadership qualities to his team, on and off the ice ...

On Monday, Blackhawks coach Joel Quenneville named rookie Antti Niemi the starter for Tuesday night's game against the Phoenix Coyotes. It will be Niemi's fourth start in five games for the Hawks; the Hawks have only won once in the previous three starts. Does this mean Quenneville has officially moved Niemi to the top of the depth chart? Cristobal Huet had been out with the flu but has returned to skating with the ...

After a weekend dominated by college basketball and government on television, the NHL’s Western Conference has become a dogfight. On Friday morning, the Chicago Blackhawks and San Jose Sharks were the top two seeds in the conference. On Monday, the Sharks will wake up as the fourth seed. The reason the Sharks are now trailing the Phoenix Coyotes, albeit by just one point with a game in-hand, is because San Jose has ...