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Sam Rinzel Breaks Down Current Blackhawks Situation, Spencer Knight's Play, & More
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- Sam Rinzel Breaks Down Current Blackhawks Situation, Spencer Knight's Play, & More
The Chicago Blackhawks just completed a 7-game homestand at the United Center. The homestand had its ups and downs, but their win over the Los Angeles Kings brought their homestand record to 3-4-0.
It's not a good record, but the chatter about the team suggests that they went 1-6. Their 0-3-0 start to the season (all on the road) likely contributed to that.
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After the game, I sat with Sam Rinzel for a few minutes to discuss certain things about the game, what winning means for the group heading into the two-game road trip, and other hot topics.
The Blackhawks had a poor start to their game against Los Angeles. The Kings were in the second half of a back-to-back with travel, and the Hawks have been at home for 2.5 weeks, with 6 days idle in the middle.
'Poor start' may even be an understatement. They were outshot 8-0 to start the opening period, and one of those chances beat Spencer Knight to give the Kings a 1-0 lead. However, something flipped about halfway through the first period.
According to Sam Rinzel, sometimes that has to happen for a team to find its legs and get going in the positive direction. The NHL is a difficult league to play in, and this was an example of that.
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"Sometimes that's how it goes," Rinzel said. "You have to grind it out in the defensive zone a little bit. Not everything is going to be tic-tac-toe. Sometimes, it's just chip-chip. I thought we got better as the game went on; we supported each other well."
When a team faces multiple tough losses in a row, they will do whatever it takes to win. If they have to grind out a one-goal game, they will. If they can have an offensive explosion and just bury the opposition, they will do so. Sam Rinzel didn't think this Blackhawks team had a mindset of what the breakout would look like, just that it needed to happen.
"You're not looking for a score; you're just looking to win," Rinzel said when asked about looking to break the losing streak. "Some games you're going to win 2-1, 3-1, 4-0, whatever it is. [Los Angeles] is a defensive-minded team; to get a 2-1 win is a good time."
Without goaltender Spencer Knight, the Kings would have gotten out to more than a 1-0 lead. As mentioned before, the Hawks were hemmed in their own zone and couldn't break out of it for the first half of the first period. Knight gave them a chance to get their legs under them and start playing their game without the score getting out of hand.
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"He's always been a rock," Rinzel said of Knight. "You can't say enough good things about his game and his preparation. He's just so dialed, and does a good job communicating out there. He's a stud."
In the win over the Kings, you started to realize, while watching, that Roman Kantserov is starting to come into his own as a scorer in the NHL. He was a brilliant sniper in the KHL, and now it's starting to translate.
Rinzel isn't out there with Kantserov on the power play, but he gets to see it from up close on the bench. At even strength, he gets to play behind him and see how that scoring process develops, and even can be of help at certain points in the game.
"He plays off his linemates really well," Rinzel said about Kantserov. "He's really good at finding those soft areas, and he's got a great shot. When he's doing a good job finding those soft areas, guys can find him."
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Now it's time for the Blackhawks to play two games on the road. They are still looking to gain some traction when playing away from the United Center. It hasn't been perfect at home, but it's been far better than on the road.
"Whenever you go on the road, it's a little bit of a different animal," Rinzel said. "We want to steal as many points as we can."
The interview had to end on a much more lighthearted note. When I asked Sam Rinzel who had the best Halloween costume, he didn't hesitate. It was, according to him, Patrick Kane, who went as Austin Powers.
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