Two Points Undeserved: Hawks 7, Coyotes 5 and NO Big Boy

I didn't really want to write this but I find myself compelled to, so I'll be quick about it.

- The bottom line on last night's game is that The Hawks won a gunfight that they probably should have lost.  They can thank The Arizona Coyotes for being slightly worse in most regards, especially in the net.
- The only benefit of the doubt I will grant The Hawks is that, after finding the net rather easily in the first half of the game, they played just well enough to not lose.  Good job there, guys.
- There were several varieties of strange in this one, first with The Hawks leading after the first period recording a whopping two shots at even-strength.  The saving grace here, of course, is the three power play shots they managed, all three of which dented twine.
- The Coyotes rarely outshoot an opponent but, of course, the outshot The Hawks by nine in this one.
- Gustafsson and Rozsival were each +3.
- This has nothing to do with Strange, just an observation: of the legion of Rockford IceHogs that have auditioned for The Hawks so far this season, I believe P. Danault has been the only guy who is both truly committed to remaining in The Show and has the skill to do so.  Rasmussen is a somewhat distant second as he's taken a few nights off, which I find mind boggling, BTW. Who in their right mind, given an opportunity like this, chooses to mail it in?  Anyway,  Kyle Baun, Vin Hinostroza and Tanner Kero might evolve into okay fourth-liners, somewhere, sometime, and history suggests it will probably be Florida.  Marko Dano, it would appear, cannot be arsed one way or the other.  So, well done Phillip Danault and keep on striving, Whatshisname Rasmussen.

Colorado tomorrow to play a bunch of bumbling goofs led by the King of bumbling goofs, who appear to exist solely to defeat The Hawks every time they meet.  I can't wait.

Faster, Cheaper, Better

From blackhawks.nhl.com:

The Chicago Blackhawks announced today they have recalled defenseman Erik Gustafsson from the Rockford IceHogs of the American Hockey League.

Gustafsson

Gustafsson, 23, has recorded 11 points (3G, 8A) in 27 games with Rockford this year in his first professional season in North America. He also registered three assists in six games with the Blackhawks from Oct. 30-Nov. 12, after making his NHL debut on Oct. 30 at Minnesota. The Nynashamn, Sweden, native signed with the Blackhawks as a free agent on April 30, 2015.

So, that's probably a good thing, as long as Coach Q can bring himself to platoon Slow and Slower, allowing Gustafsson the opportunity, at least, to play a bit.

Additionally, Marcus Kruger was officially placed on Injured Reserve and David Rundblad has been placed on waivers.  I really wanted Rundblad to succeed but in the end, when he wasn't running a rather effective point on the PP, he flailed. He never gained anything like trust from Coach Q, which was probably deserved, but I'm still not sure if Rundblad was a worse option than Scuderi.  

Now don't break open the champagne, yet, as Rundblad could still clear waivers and report to Rockford...which means he could be back.  I fully expect that Pittsburgh will scoop him up, though, since they already grabbed Trevor Daley...

Hawks vs. Arizona tonight.  I hope Viktor Tikhonov lights them the hell up.

                              Sure will miss that wonderful, wonderful shot, though.

A Bad Day for "Lems"

                                                      Born to lose, lived to win.

It was always going to happen and, to be honest, I thought it would have happened a lot sooner.
Lemmy Kilmister passed away in his home yesterday, age 70.
Lemmy's people have stated the cause of death was an aggressive cancer but I prefer to believe that he died from "Being Lemmy", which isn't such a bad way to go out.
There will be any number of links to classic and wholly appropriate Motorhead songs and videos, so here's something a little different and, I think, the last best thing ol' Lem did.

PROBOT Shake Your Blood


Meanwhile, an ocean away...

Meadowlark Lemon, long-serving member of the world-famous Harlem Globetrotters died yesterday, as well, age 83.  Equal parts athlete and entertainer, Lemon played over 16,000 games with The Globetrotters and thousands more with spin-off teams such as The Bucketeers and The Shooting Stars. Basketball Hall of Famer Wilt Chamberlain considered Lemon the best basketball player of all time, even though Lemon had never played in The NBA and had a short, undistinguished College career.  Lemon became an ordained minister in 1986, working within his own Meadowlark Lemon Ministries.

Off-Topic Mini-Rant

I'm selling, or trying to sell, some stuff using Kijiji.

It's been a frustrating experience.

There are so many people out there that don't know how to communicate respectfully.  Or, more likely, they know how and simply cannot be arsed.

I did have two very pleasant exchanges, and I thank those folks not only for their business but for conducting themselves like human beings.

I clicked through my Deleted Messages box from the last week, though, and found a lot more of this kind of thing:

"interested"

Emailed him back, no reply.

Lots of these no-replies, actually, usually with more than one word in their message.  But not always.

"60"

I assumed they meant "$60".  This was in reply to an ad for a $300 item.  When I politely declined I received the reply

"fuckn keep it asshle"

Well, thanks for at least replying, I guess.

"your crazy I canget that for 100 at a panw shop"

Be my guest, assuming you can find the "panw shop".

"...I will take can you meet me at Tim's across fro Canadian Tire Arthur St.around 1:30?"

This message sent at 1:02 PM.  It's a 25 minute drive.  For a $10 item. I regretfully RSVP'd on this one as he didn't leave me nearly enough time to bake him some cookies as a Thank You gift.  

Five separate individuals made arrangements to visit for the purposes of buying items, which ranged from $15 guitar accessories to a used car, and never bothered to show up.  

I want to do this right but it's becoming increasingly difficult to not lash out at these people.  I really don't want to make anyone feel bad but, holy shit, the lack of courtesy is mind-blowing and more than a little depressing.  It's not just the disrespectful tone and, it's a lack of respect for another person's time, too.  So, is this indicative of anything?  I have some ideas.

- Many Kijiji browsers are simply jerks.

- Many people in Thunder Bay are simply jerks.

- Many people are simply jerks.

- The anonymity that online marketplaces afford allow people to be jerks and not be called on it.

Musicians are tough to deal with.  Not all musicians, of course, but I've never seen a social group more consistently guilty of having Cadillac Tastes and Hyundai Budgets.  And what is with these guys always wanting to trade?  It's always crap, too, that they want to trade.  They have no problem instructing you on the various deficiencies of the item you're selling yet have no problem offering you what I can only describe as junk.  If they actually listened to the lectures they give on why you're asking too much for an item they'd talk themselves out of wanting the damn thing.  Yes, I realize it's a tactic, but it's the clumsiest application of this tactic that you're likely to encounter...and most of these guys do it.  How stupid do you have to be to think that other people are more stupid than you?

I want to note, also, that when I was in BC we did a LOT of online marketplace transactions.  Mostly buying, as we were outfitting an apartment from scratch, but some sales, too.  Perhaps one in twenty of these exchanges were icky, and we always received a reply and those were almost always typed in sentences. With actual words.  Spelled correctly.  Sideways from that, though, I'll note that Kijiji is not very popular in Vancouver...Craiglist is King, there, which I found odd because Kijiji is so much...prettier and easier to use.  Anyway, remember that - all the best stuff in Vancouver is on Craigslist.

I used to think that Facebook Marketplace pages were pretty bad, and they are.  Most FB users, I think, are more careful about how they present themselves as FB does not provide the anonymity that Kijiji and Craigslist provide.  Most, of them, anyway; there are still some awful people on FB, so consumed with getting what they want that they become oblivious to how horrible they're being.  Or, to backtrack, maybe they just don't give a shit what people think about them, as long as they get what they want.  These Kijiji people, though... the jerks are outnumbering the nice people about 6:1 by my estimation, and it's depressing the hell out of me.

Rant over.  I probably have a number of one-and-two-word emails to respond to.

                                                     $1300?  No, I meant $13!

Just One Thought: Hawks 4, Sharks 3

It seems to me that, when the best option you can come up with is to trot out Brandon Mashinter, who spent more time in the penalty box than he did on the ice, your team is going to have trouble with even a mediocre team like The Sharks.  The Hawks have had great success, lately, with four well defined lines but, with Mashinter in the lineup, you essentially take one of those lines out of play.

What is this, 1976?

Just Good Enough: Hawks 3, Sabres 2 and Saturday's Big Boy

Or was it that The Sabres were just bad enough?  Taking two penalties in the dying moments of a tight game...not usually a hallmark of a successful endeavor but, then again, it was The Hawks' speed and skill that forced those misdeeds...it's a push.
- Unfortunately, this was one of those games in which The Hawks had a decent first period and then decided to mail in the last two periods.  I can't say I noticed Teravainen after the first period and that simply won't do.  Was it the early start, or a lack of urgency due to being up against a feckless opponent that found themselves unexpectedly in this game?  Hard to say, but Teuvo wasn't the only Hawk who disappeared for 30+ minutes and, while they'll sometimes get away with this vs. non-playoff teams, they'll be buried by Dallas, St. Lewis etc.
- One question: what was the idea with keeping Danault's line out for a faceoff in the offensive zone after a TV time out?  
- Not a bad effort from Phillip Danault.  He ended up -1 but did some good backchecking, kept his feet moving and did well at the dot.  No PK duty, but I expect that will come, soon enough.
- Quick - tell me which Hawk is most likely to take a penalty in overtime.  Yep.
- I'm rather liking this Rasmussen guy but I have to say that his impressive goal was tempered somewhat by his apparent belief, later in the game, that he was in a rugby game.  I don't know when I've seen so many superfluous back-passes.
- That O'Reilly guy is pretty good when he's not drunk and plowing a pickup through a Tim Horton's.  Why isn't he in jail, BTW?  Every time I do that I end up in jail.
Speaking of not being jail.

Kane was among the many Hawks who took a powder for more than half the match but managed to rematerialize when it mattered.  It took a deliciously shady pass from Panarin to set up the tying goal but, once that was done, I felt this vibe that Kane would finish the thing, as well.

                                            Hey Chad, what's feckless mean?

Once a Jackass...

Earlier this week former NHLer Patrick O'Sullivan remarked on Twitter:

Burrows only guy who said he wanted to hurt me like me father did — why I can’t stand him. Right to my face, twice actually. Once in the minors and once in Vancouver early in my career.
Vancouver Canucks forward Alexandre Burrows was referring to O'Sullivan's father, who subjected his son to many years of physical and emotional abuse.  On Thursday night Burrows made a public apology for the verbal missteps that occurred almost 10 years ago.

“I apologize if I offended him back then. Especially when I first came in [to the NHL], I was playing six or seven minutes a night on the fourth line and I wanted to help any way I could. And if I could get one guy off his game and get in someone’s kitchen, I was willing to do it to help our team or maybe get [us] on the power play."

Nice.  First, let's assume that Burrows was shamed or even ordered to make the apology publicly.  Second, he says "if I offended him", as if there is any doubt whatsoever regarding Burrows' intention when he said it or how O'Sullivan would react to the remark.  Including that "if" is kind of like saying "I'm sorry you feel that way", as if it's now Burrows who is being troubled by this.  It's a backhanded, insincere apology, and Burrows isn't sorry he said what he did, only that he's been called out for it.
Burrows continued: 
"I think I’ve matured a lot. I grew as a player and a person and in today’s society, for sure, it’s something I’ve got to be careful [about]. I wouldn’t cross that line now.”

Whatever. This is on the back of Burrows being spoken to by The NHL in November for making personal and hurtful comments to New Jersey's Jordin Tootoo.  That was quite a month of growth there, Alex.
So, yeah, once a jackass...and not kidding anyone.

Four Months

So, yeah, I missed last night's game, so no recap or Big Boy.

But there's this, from blackhawks.nhl.com:

The Chicago Blackhawks released the following statement regarding forward Marcus Kruger:

Blackhawks head team physician Dr. Michael Terry:

“Marcus Kruger underwent surgery today to repair a dislocation of his left wrist. The surgery went well. We anticipate Marcus will return to hockey activities in approximately four months."

I wondered if something was up when I noticed he had not played at all in the third period last night.

The Hawks have recalled Phillip Danault from Rockford.  Rather conveniently, Danault recently returned from rehabbing an injury of his own, having played a mere six games in the AHL.  Had he not missed training camp due to being hurt Danault had, by all accounts, a decent shot at making The Hawks right from the get-go this season.  It;s been widely reported that Danault was being groomed to "be the next Marcus Kruger", so here's his chance.

                          My turn-ons include Marty Robbins tunes and holding hands.

Older, Slower, Cheaper

From blackhawks.nhl.com:

The Chicago Blackhawks announced today they have acquired defenseman Rob Scuderi from the Pittsburgh Penguins in exchange for defenseman Trevor Daley.

Scuderi, 36, has registered four assists, a +4 plus/minus rating and 32 blocked shots in 25 games with Pittsburgh this season. The two-time Stanley Cup champion (2009 and 2012) shares fourth on the Penguins with 2:40 of average shorthanded ice time per game. The Syosset, N.Y., native has recorded 104 points (8G, 96A) in 745 regular-season games across 12 seasons with Pittsburgh (2003-09, 2013-15) and Los Angeles (2009-13). He has tallied 14 points (1G, 13A) in 117 career postseason contests. Scuderi was drafted by Pittsburgh in the fifth round (134th overall) of the 1998 NHL Draft.

Oh, goody.

On the plus side:

- Pittsburgh is eating some of Scuderi's salary, freeing up ~$1mil of cap space

- That is all

On the down side:

- The Hawks just got older and, we thought it couldn't happen but it has, slower

How do you form pairings now?  This leaves The Hawks with three d-men whose two speeds are "dead slow" and "stopped".  Anybody think The Oilers aren't salivating a little at the prospect of spending 10 full minutes behind Scuderi and Rozsival/Rundblad?

Best possible case: Scuderi's heart explodes after a week of being back in The Western Conference.  He dies a heroic death ("with his skates on") and frees up another $2mil on the cap.  Dead guys don't count against the cap, do they?

The Hero of Zero: Hawks 4, Canucks 0 and Sunday's Big Boy

Tonight's was the first game all year that I had an easy, confident feeling about throughout the match. All four lines were ticking away like never before this season.  The defense...maybe not as much, and the level of competition may have flattered to deceive but, for the most part, I liked what I saw.
- That makes four consecutive solid outings for Andrew Shaw, after two months of sometimes-okay-sometimes-chowderhead.  I wonder if playing on a line in which his duties are more in tune with his abilities has anything to do with that.
- On that topic, I thought the Bickell-Rasmussen-Shaw line was excellent tonight.  This was easily Bickell's best game since returning from the gulag and I'm beginning to think this Razmatazz guy might be okay.  I think he owes Bickell a steak or something after bogarting that goal, but he had a strong game with some good looks and sound positioning.
- TVR was a nightmare and Rundblad went back to being unable to get the puck out of the zone if any opposing player was within 20 ft of him.  Hjalmarsson was oddly yippy in the first period but seemed to settle in after that.  On the plus side, Daley almost hit the net with a shot.
- So, Mashinter managed to cash in his third of three gift-wrapped chances tonight.  Bravo, sir.  I guess that will buy him another, what, 10 games?  20 games?  A four year contract?
- What of the others?  Toews' line was, I thought, the least dynamic line tonight, but they had the task of covering those Creepy Twins for most of the game.  They had a shift in the last half of the second period, though, that shifted the momentum back The Hawks' way after being outworked for almost all of the period up until then.  The Art Line was good but just seemed on the wrong side of the inch tonight, which is just going to happen, sometimes.  Even the Kruger line manufactured several legit chances that were done in mostly by Mashinter but, let's face it, neither Krugs or Dez have soft hands, either. 

Extra credit, maybe, for posting two consecutive shutouts, but Corey Crawford was a beaut tonight. The boxscore says he made 30 saves and, while it didn't seem like that many when it happened, some of those were tough stops to make, what with a couple of semi-breakaways and a dandy at point blank range off Vrbata (I think).  F*ck yeah, Chicago.

                                                                 Oy-yoy-yoy.

The Killers: Hawks 2, Jets 0 and Friday's Big Boy

That was a shockingly good effort given the hot mess The Hawks served just last evening.  Pull up a chair.
- Pairing TVR with Keith makes a great deal of sense, actually, with Keith's superior speed and savvy being a better means of covering TVR's lack of footspeed and still-developing positional game.  At least I hope it's still developing.  This is no knock on Seabrook, I just believe that Keith is the better firehose of the two.  We'll see, I guess, if having to mind TVR blunts Keith's sword at all, so to speak.
- All credit to Crawford and the penalty killers tonight.  The Jets, miserable as they can often be, managed only a single shot on the man advantage.  There was also the matter of Byfuglien cutting short one of The Jets' five PPs when he couldn't contain Hossa.  Good sticks, nice work at the dot by Toews and Kruger and some brave shot blocks; that's how it's done, son.
- Outstanding puck movement, once again, on The Hawks' PP, and I love Rundblad's shot.  Those pinpoint passes by Kane and Teravainen were beautiful to behold.
- I may have to refrain from talking shit about Shaw, as he's had three very good games in a row.

He did it all tonight.  His goal wasn't particularly pretty, but any goal is a good goal when they're tough to come by.  Toews was a demon on the PK and, as already mentioned, slayed on faceoffs.

                           Would you mind delivering some Pizano's to my mom?

Little Big Boy: Waaay Late but I'm Doing This Anyway

Last night's encouraging 4 - 1 win over Nashville is old news by now, so I'll just briefly mention a few things.
- That Shaw kid had himself quite a game there.  It's pretty rare for Shaw to register shots from further than a few feet from the crease but, on this night, he scored one from 20+ feet and took the shot that Rasmussen tipped in, that one from closer to 40 feet out.  I'm not sure if there's a connection between last night's successes and his atypical shot choices but I feel like I want to pay closer attention to where he shoots from, going forward.  Shaw has a well-deserved reputation as a "net-front-presence" guy, a label he probably takes pride in, being as it's worked reasonably well for him and, as a smallish guy, the swagger factor plays into it, too.  Anyway, he probably won't want to change his style much, even though I think it might be fun to see him try.
- That power play that led to The Hawks' second goal was pretty special and I really enjoyed watching Shaw, Teravainen and Rundblad  moving the puck so crisply and accurately.  Shaw's shot was outstanding but TT's pass was a thing of beauty.
- On Rundblad and his first game in what seems like months; not a disaster, but The Preds are so thin up front right now and his zone starts were so carefully selected he was set up to succeed.  Which I'm all for, BTW.  He was right at home on the power play but I guess that's where he had better be great, with the extra time and space that the man advantage allows.  It's when he's forced to make quick decisions that things go off the rails for him.  It just breaks my heart to know that his wonderful, wonderful shot is stuck to this guy who is prone to becoming paralyzed when the pressure mounts.
- Crawford's best game in weeks.  'Nuff said.
- The Art Line wasn't The Hawk's best line last night.  That's not to say they were bad, just that the Toews trio was a little better, and that pleases me to no end.

Three games is a small sample, I know, but I'm so encouraged by the Toews-Hossa-Teravainen reunion.  The truth is, if they didn't achieve results in a hurry they would be disbanded, so I'm extra grateful that Teravainen has been getting to do good stuff with good linemates.  He's actually got a pretty quick release, there, far moreso than I gave him credit for since, before this week, the last goals I remember him scoring were of the knuckle puck variety in the playoffs last spring.  He lacks the snap that Panarin possesses but it's better than I'd thought. Last week, Teravainen wouldn't have had those kind of chances, skating 10 minutes with Kero and Mashinter, because the bad guys could pounce on him straight away; if Teuvo passed the puck off what's the worst that would happen? You really do get a lot more space to work with when your linemates are Toews and Hossa.

                                                    Viihdyn taalla ja haluan pysya.

From Hero Kero to Zero

From blackhawks.nhl.com

The Chicago Blackhawks announced today they have recalled forward Dennis Rasmussen from the American Hockey League’s Rockford IceHogs and reassigned forward Tanner Kero to Rockford.

Wow, miss one check and it's off to the Gulag with you.

Two is Better Than One: Hawks 3, Jets 1 and Sunday's Big Boy

Well, that wasn't perfect but it wasn't bad, either.
Here's what I saw or possibly hallucinated.
- It was a decent enough first game back for Bryan Bickell, in which he played the way Bryan Bickell is "supposed" to play, with 7 hits in 7 minutes of work,  I've always found his rep for being a hard-hitting player a bit odd 'cos there have been long stretches throughout his career in which he didn't, wouldn't or couldn't play all that fiercely.  If that's what it takes for him to stay in the lineup I hope he remembers what seems to be expected of him.
- How nice to resolve a game, with a win no less, in regulation and equally encouraging that The Hawks saved their best for the final period.  The Jets looked a little dangerous on their third period PP (but I'm not sure they actually hit the net) and had a pair of good looks before that, but they didn't really trouble The Hawks that much in the final frame.  I was surprised to learn that The Jets put up 31 shots, too, as it sure didn't feel that way to me.
- It was doubly nice that Coach Q saw fit to keep Toews-Hossa-Teravainen together, 'cos I half expected he would stick Bickell in TT's spot, and they ended up generating the most chances of The Hawks' forward lines and scored both of the goals that mattered.  See what happens when you ice two skilled lines?  
- After the game Patrick Kane admitted that he was probably thinking about his points streak a little too much.  He and his linemates weren't bad, exactly - his second period pass through Anisimov's feet and onto his stick was pretty cool - but Kane wasn't as consistently commanding as he's been the last several weeks.  Ah, but we have two scoring lines, right?
- Ryan Garbutt had a good game going until he took that idiotic penalty in the third.
- Had a brief moment of terror and disbelief when I realized it was TVR and Rozsie working the points on The Hawks' last PP.  Get well soon, Trevor Daley.
- Speaking of Rozsie, it almost looked like he was going to join a rush there midway through the third period, but I guess he would have had to leave yesterday to get that done.
- Crawford, as it turns out, had a good crack at a shutout until Kero lost interest in Chris Thorburn.  Yeah, it was kind of a goofy goal, but if Kero kept the check on it never happens.

Hossa looked a little tight early on, I thought, failing on a stuff attempt and losing the handle on the puck a couple of time.  He got better as the game wore on, exercising great patience on his goal and keeping the puck moving on the last Hawks PP as well as during many of his even strength shifts in the third.  I'm encouraged.

                                                        Unbeliebabal perogies.

Would You Pay an Extra $2 Million?

The Hawks recalled Bryan Bickell from Rockford earlier today and, to make room on the roster placed Viktor Tikhonov on waivers, where he was promptly snapped up by Phoenix.  Or Arizona. Whatever.
The hope is that Bickell can jump start some line, any line on The Hawks, having notched 7 goals and 14 points whilst in The AHL.  The reality will likely be that, if he fails to win the next couple of games single-handedly, Bickell will assume Tik's role of watching Mashinter do whatever the hell it is he's trying to do.
And that will cost The Hawks and extra $2 million in salary (over a full season) for Bicks to sit and watch Mashinter, Shaw & Desjardins accomplishing very little.  Oh, and Bobby Hull will be there, drunk.

About Last Night: Twenty Five Percent

On last night's game, itself:
- Jonathan Toews continues to show signs of life, especially when SURPRISE SURPRISE he's combined with other talented forwards.  Last night he played primarily with Hossa and Teravainen which amounted to The Hawks having two lines that represented an actual threat to score.  Doesn't that sound better than just one line?  More about that in a bit.
- Crawford did not look especially great but his D frequently struggled to clear the zone as well as they are able.  Sometimes that happens.

The Bigger Picture:
- This was going to be a post about how Joel Quenneville needs to do something, anything, to live up to his reputation as a "Top NHL Coach".  I remain mostly unconvinced that this is true; I believe he has been a decent coach and can be an effective strategist but, given the talent he's had at his disposal both in Chicago and in Colorado, the job was half-done for him.  He's had the leeway to make many poor decisions and still find success when the players rise above those circumstances and I'm leaning toward thinking that almost any experienced coach could have "guided" The Hawks teams of the past six or seven years just as ably.
Last night's lineup, though, was a small step in the right direction as Q doubled down with two capable lines and at least gave The Senators some decisions to make as far as matching lines was concerned.  The Hawks' best line, among the best in the league, has been the only consistent threat all season, accounting for 35 goals-for which is about 50% more than all the other Hawks forwards combined.  How this trio has managed to remain effective for so long is mind blowing given that they face the opposition's best shut-down men night-in-night-out, especially on the road.  We've already seen Panarin appear to wear down a bit and opposing coaches keying on the rookie, specifically, so the need to have another line that at least might score a goal, someday, is be essential to get Panarin a little less of that personal attention.  
The Hawks have been somehow getting by with 25% of their lineup doing more than 50% of the scoring.  It's time to exercise some patience with the players that have some chance to contribute and cut bait with those that aren't going to do more than skate up and down the rink.  Last night's lineup was encouraging but let's see how long this lasts.  
- On that tack, I find it puzzling that Q has spent as much time tinkering with his third and fourth lines as he has with the ostensible "first" line (i.e. whichever unsuitable wingers Toews has been burdened with, lately).  It's all the more of a head-scratcher when we consider that he persevered with Shaw-Toews-Garbutt for much of the Circus Trip when, as the road team, they ceded last change to their opposition for six straight games, a stretch in which the aforementioned "first" line found modest success in one game.  
- Where the third and fourth lines are concerned, they are what they are; The Hawks are not blessed with incredible depth in the bottom six or eight right now, and that's just something that they'll have to make the best of.  Perhaps establishing consistent lines down there will at least allow those six guys to develop a little chemistry...I don't know.  I'm pretty sure that having Dano and Mashinter play 5-to-8 minutes apiece is not helping these lines gel; Dano needs to play more, Mashinter needs to be playing in the ECHL or some other place, far, far away.  Quenneville's deployment of Dano has hardly set him up to succeed and the few opportunities Dano has been afforded have been halfhearted, at best.  The kid needs a little more rope than he's been given, as he's paying dearly for each and every mistake.
- Andrew Shaw has been a nightmare.  In the past he has usually been able to bounce around the lineup and be sort of effective but, this season...not so much. He's been undisciplined, out of position more often than not and, whilst skating with Toews the last few weeks, probably more of a hindrance than a help.  But, he's Quenneville's guy and, until some other team decides they need a less capable Steve Downie or whichever goof you like, we're stuck with him.
- One last mini-rant on depth and deployment: looking at what should be The Hawks' bottom six Kruger needs to be there, even though his meager offensive skills have all but departed, and Kero has probably been the best of the rest of the group. Shaw, as discussed, is a made man so he's a lock, and Dano should at least be given a chance to play.  This leaves Garbutt, Desjardins and Mashinter for Quenneville to tinker with.  Hinostroza, Baun and Hartman all had their looks, each failed to accomplish anything in their NHL auditions, and only Hartman has been less than shitty even at the AHL level.  Would reinserting Tikhonov or Bickell or even Morin (ha!) be any worse an idea than carrying on with some of the others? Tikhonov knows how to play positionally and keeps his feet moving, at least.  As it is now he's the highest paid interpreter on The Hawks' staff.

I'm Serious

With The Hawks returning home tonight Marcus Kruger will almost certainly start most or all of his shifts in the defensive zone which means, unless changes are made, Marian Hossa will start the majority of his shifts in the defensive zone, as well.

This, of course, is stupid and all but assured to happen, even though Teuvo Teravainen could just as easily be slotted in to play between Hossa and Dano in lieu of Kruger.

If Coach Quenneville fails to make this adjustment he will be visited by this man:

File Under "Good Enough": Hawks 3, Ducks 2 and Friday's Big Boy

Despite only one line working well and general confusion, lack of cohesion and a pair of idiotic penalties, The Hawks took the two points when raw talent prevailed over lunkheadedness.  Also, The Ducks.  Here's what I thought I saw.

- Andrew Shaw does a few things very well but it's starting to look like the stupid things he does outweigh the couple of pluses he brings.  His two penalties were just plain dumb and not borne out of desperation or even anger.  This is of zero consequence, though, as he'll never miss a shift, will he? Luckily, Ryan Getzlaf is apparently just as stupid as Shaw.
- Trevor Daley hit the goalie twice today, which is progress.
- I understand that when things aren't working, for whatever reason, it's incumbent on Quenneville to jostle things up a bit, but Toews skating with Shaw & Garbutt is just bad human resources. They will undoubtedly find some small successes here and there but this cannot be a long term solution. Hossa with Dano and Kruger is less bad, but what does Kruger offer offensively apart from a handful of opportunistic goals each year?  The scorers need to be with scorers; let them ride out this rough patch, get used to each other again, and let comes naturally to these guys happen.  Dano and Hossa showed a little chemistry today, I thought, so it's a shame Toews wasn't able to join in.  Even Teravainen would be a better choice centering The Slovaks, but of course he was playing wing with Desjardins and Mashinter.  What the hell?
- I guess those nice things I said about Tanner Kero were all crap since he was scratched while the barely ambulatory Mashinter remained in the lineup.  Whatever success and fine reputation Quenneville has earned loses it's authenticity when galoots like Mashinter, Bollig, Burish and Eager remain on the lineup card.
- The Ducks suck. They have a few fine players and their goaltender played well enough today, but any team that leans on Shawn Horcoff for 18 minutes and carries another four guys that are basically dead weight are going to underwhelm more often than not.
- Once again, the "second" line carried the mail today, with many even strength shifts looking like The Hawks had a man advantage.  The other lines weren't awful, but none of them got much going for more than an isolated few moments or a shift here and there.  I don't know how long they'll be able to get by with only one line clicking.  
- Crawford was better than the boxscore suggests, as he was left swinging on the Cogliano breakaway and Stewart's goal was a fluke on a pass that Stewart screwed up.  These things happen and it's nice that he won't have to take the fall for a game he was actually decent enough in.

Tough one, today.  Anisimov was dangerous all day, Kane had entire shifts where he just did whatever he felt like doing and Seabrook notched three helpies, but I liked the complete game that Keith played today. As well as from scoring the tying goal he was moving the puck exceptionally well and making good passes in all zones.

                                             Lovin' those orange sweaters, though.

Do You Want it Or Not?: Hawks 5, Sharks 2 and Wednesday's Big Boy

Right off, The Hawks played a good game on Wednesday.  Not great, but pretty good.  The Sharks weren't entirely terrible, but there were a few factors that kept them on the outside looking in.
- How did The Sharks reel off six road wins in a row when coach Peter deBoer is apparently unwilling to match lines even when at home and with last change?  I would have to dip into the archives to see what the nature of those six wins were but I'd hazard a guess that The Sharks were playing some fine hockey, 'cos their coach isn't doing them any favours.  Please note that when deBoer coached The Devils they were awful, and now they're not.  Hmmm...  What is with these Sharks coaches and their stubbornness?  It took Todd McLellan three years to realize that trotting out his top line against Toews always ended with his top trio getting pantsed.
- Martin Jones was not very good, dropping for everything and kinda just waving at the puck.
- The Sharks, as a group, appeared to be only intermittently interested in winning this game and, when they did get some momentum going, The Hawks were in lead-protection mode.  That's going to end in tears more often than not.
- Apart from having consistently spectacular facial hair, what is Mike Brown for?

                                                      Pistols at dawn, Flashman!
- In the last two games Ryan Garbutt has been alright.  Maybe not top line alright, but not a mess, entirely.  He did a few selfish things vs. Vancouver but that little flick pass to Toews last night was subtle and smart, qualities not heretofore part of Garbutt's oeuvre.
- Oh, Trevor Daley, could you consider actually hitting the net with a shot one of these days?
- Was Jonathan Toews in a funk because Duncan Keith was out of the lineup?  Could be a coincidence but, even though the team had a couple of shaky games since Keith's return from injury, Toews is getting ever closer to his usual form.  If there is any merit to this...I don't know why, exactly.  It would be something more subtle than I'm able to distinguish, at least right now.  I think the other defensemen are also doing a better job now that Keith is back and doing Keith things; now those other guys don't have to think that they should or can do the stuff Keith does.
Either that or ROZSIVAL.  Yeah, right.
- I kinda think that with Tanner Kero what we see now is pretty much what we're going to get, as in I don't see him progressing north of the third line on this club.  That said, what I see of Kero I don't mind at all.  Every team needs a couple of guys like Kero and he actually does it pretty well.  I guess having 4 or 5 guys doing that job (plus one that is trying but failing) is a little excessive, but that's not for now.  Kero's tip that just by chance hit Martin Jones was very good, very good indeed.  If he can keep that sort thing happening we may soon bid adieu to A. Shaw.

As mentioned above, this lad subjected us to several weeks of sub-par play, something that probably bugged him a lot more than it bugged Hawks fans.  Often, as Toews goes so go The Hawks, and that may well have been the effect of Toews and his linemates being outplayed most nights had it not been for the so-called second line carrying the mail so ably.  I don't know what was going on with Toews - it could just have been one of those deals where a few mistakes or bad bounces start to get on a player, and the stick is gripped a little tighter and it becomes really tough to do what normally comes naturally . And you know Toews was pissed off about it, what with him dropping the gloves twice in recent weeks, probably as much out of general frustration as anything. The good news is that Jonathan Toews isn't going to shrug and just let it happen (hi, Alex Semin!), and that's just one of the qualities that make him such a great player and leader.  May we resume our regular programming, now?

                                                            Welcome back, Cap'um.

It Seems to Me...

...that if your team gets outplayed, outshot and grossly outchanced by the two teams with the worst record in The Western Conference, your team will soon be among them in the standings.  Edmonton was bad but with caveats; the Calgary game was a nightmare.

Not sure I buy this "Dano is/was sick" line.  Sick of backchecking, maybe.

Better Late Than Never: Hawks 4, Oilers 3 and Wednesday's Big Boy

Yup, late again 'cos I watched this one on DVR a day later.  Hey, it's tough to keep up with these Western Tours.  Points!
- This one felt like three different games, in a way, with The Oilers being the better team in the first, The Hawks getting serious in the second and a pretty even third period, despite The Oilers holding the edge in shots.  It's not surprising, then, that this one went into extra innings.  
- On that tack, sort of, the shot count vs. the outcome once again illustrates that, while The Oilers are becoming increasingly well appointed up front, their defense is still very much a work in progress. The Oilers are going to outshoot better teams from time to time but, for now, their thin defense is going to even things out.
- I don't know what, exactly, went on at The Oiler's training camp but it's ridiculous to consider that Leon Draisaitl failed to make this team from the get-go and Darnell Nurse was "on the bubble" as they say.  I wonder if that's a reflection on their effort in camp or a goofy coaching staff, 'cos those two were the best Oilers in this game, apart from Taylor "When Does This Contract Expire" Hall.
- I've finally seen Teddy Purcell do something, now.
- I watched this on SportsNet which was a strange and slightly frustrating experience.  Their local broadcast team, who apparently are Kevin Quinn and Drew Remenda, are the least impartial hockey broadcasters I've heard since Jim Huson and Craig Simpson.  I didn't immediately realize The Hawks had scored their second and third goals due to these guys' non-reactions.  Like Simpson, Kevin Quinn has never bothered to read the NHL Players Guide, as he consistently said "Jarmalson".  I complain about Pat & Eddie (okay, Eddie) from time to time but games like this remind that they're doing a good job, really.  
- Still on the broadcasters, Remenda was still grinding away about Crawford's save in OT when Hoss scored the winner which, mercifully, gave him something actually worthy of complaint.  He's probably still moaning about The Hawks having too many men on the ice.  ALSO, neither of these fellas noticed or bothered to mention that Teravainen left the bench in the second period.
- Enough Oiler talk: Once again, the Art Line was awesome and the rest were patchy, at best.  The fourth line, Brandon Mashinter and all, had the best looks in the first, I thought, but when Teuvo went down they had precious few shifts together as the lines got kinda wonky after that.
- Even without seeing the vein pulsing on Quenneville's temple I pinpointed the shift that caused Dano to take a time out.  I was surprised to see him return to Toews and Hossa at all, actually, after he lazy-assed his way back into the defensive zone on consecutive shifts.  I'm starting to think Dano cannot really be arsed.
- Now that I've seen Purcell contribute something I have renewed hope that Garbutt will someday do the same.  I shan't hold my breath, however.
- Hey, Kruger got a point!  Game 19.

Any member of The Art Line could have been bestow'n the mystical pants-holder-upper, but tonight I go with Crawford.  The Pouliot goal was a bit sketchy, I thought, but all was forgiven after this.

                     Apropos of nothing I am smitten with olde English on this eve.

Just As it Should Be: Hawks 4, Flames 1 and Sunday's Big Boy

Briefly, this game went pretty much exactly as it should have; The Hawks dominate in shots, scoring chances and come away with a win.
The Flames, oddly, do not appear to be very good.  This is a team that unexpectedly made the playoffs last season and even won their first round match up against The Canucks.  Tonight, and for most of this season, though, The Flames have been pretty ordinary.  A few peculiar things occurred, like a post-post-crossbar shot that should have gone in and the usually dependable TJ Brodie making a pair of poor choices leading to Panarin's goal, but the truth is that The Hawks had their way with The Flames.
- Keith hasn't missed a beat, has he?  Is he bionic?  Alien technology?  No one should be that good after not skating for a month.
- Rozsival and Daley will = spastic colon for me at some point this season.  Aye caramba.
- That was a solid and well-timed effort from Scott Darling, tonight.  I'm not sure that there's anyone in the system that could step in and take Darling's job, should he falter, but I feel like Stan wouldn't hesitate to make a deal for a backup if necessary.  Yup, The Flames aren't exactly All-World but Darling was sound on this night.
- I really like Artem Anisimov.  A Lot.  He'll just provoke the occasional mention from the hockey media but he is such a perfect complement to Kane & Panarin.  He'll go to the corners, he's a huge obstacle in front of the net (watch practically any video of 72 or 99 scoring and check where 15 is at), has a great stick when backchecking or killing penalties and he's got this deceptive speed that he trots out every couple of games when he gets sprung on a breakaway. Stan Bowman made the correct call in extending this fella's contract before he'd even played a game in Chicago. Now if only he could win a draw...
- Lookit TVR, all scorey and shit.

A close one, tonight, but I asked myself...who was it that made you sit up a little bit when he had the puck?  He might not have the sneaky vision that Kane possesses but this kid is just plain exciting to watch.

                                                  Endless fist bumps, please.

About Last Night: Hawks 4, Mayonnaise-slurping Primates 2, and Some Other Stuff

Late, late, late again.  When I was in BC these games would be done by mid-evening but, being back in Ontario now, most Hawks games don't end until 11pm, leaving me too weary to try to be clever.  Also, I'm enjoying the point form stuff or, more correctly, I'm enjoying not writing coherent paragraphs, so this is how it's gonna be.

- To acknowledge the result, The Hawks played well enough to win, for  most of the game, anyway.  The Blues had their moments but, as much as their sparkling record might suggest, they're not there yet and are several pieces away from being a real force that matters.  Despite the score being close and having experienced some flashbacks to last week's debacle, this one felt like The Hawks were in control.  Specific failures to execute aside, The Hawks' passing was better than in the last bunch of games and breakouts were mostly brisk and decisive. Mostly.
- Duncan Keith - - 27 minutes after missing 10 games.  So much for easing him back into things.
- Michal Rozsival...that was about what was expected for his first game this season.  I wasn't sure it would be possible but Rozsie did, in fact, appear to be even slower than he was last year.  His current default speed is probably "stopped" but he has that extra gear called "dead slow".  It wasn't out-the-ordinary awful or anything but it might have been nice for him to have been in front of Crawford trying to disrupt Steen on that first goal.rather than settling for a lousy excuse for a two-pad-slide behind his goalie.
- Toews just gets NUTS when D. Backes is around.  All credit to Backes for successfully causing Toews to lose his composure altogether, as The Hawks need Toews a lot more than The Blues need Backes.  Toews was of little consequence in this game and, as Captain, he needs to not let himself get into positions like that.
- How is Eddie Olcyk always the last person to realize what's happening. On Dano's non-goal the referee was on the phone to Toronto before Edzo said "heyyy..."  
- Given that Marko Dano was "elevated" to the top line and then played less than 6 minutes I expect he will be fine with being "demoted" to the third line where at least he gets 9-12 minutes ice time.  Not much of a reward, there.
- Okay, it's official: Brandon Mashinter is worse than Bollig.  I'm not sure this guy is good enough to play in The AHL, so get him the hell outta Chicago. I've never seen a worse skater at this level and, even if he did know what he should be doing out there (he doesn't) he hasn't got half the skill needed to complete even the most elementary tasks.  Just awful, and he saw more ice than Dano!
- I honestly did not notice Garbutt until the third period, yet he played 9 minutes.
- I didn't hate Teravainen skating with Kruger and Shaw but it still sorta feels like a wasted asset down there.  That kid needs to be in the top six, full stop.
- Once again, the "second" line was The Hawks' best, despite a couple of rough patches.  Panarin looked like he was rushing passes in the first period and Kane seemed a little wary at times.  

No one Hawks player really stood out for me in this game, but one of the coaches distinguished himself rather firmly.

Congrats to Coach Q for deploying the worst player in the NHL last night not once, but twice in the last five minutes of the contest.  Does he not think The Blues can erase a one-goal lead in short order, especially when you choose to essentially put yourself a man down?  Good God, man, they scored 4 unanswered goals to beat his team last week...
It's rare to see Quenneville change the lineup after a win but the only guys to skate this morning were last night's scratches, so maybe, just maybe we'll see Tikhonov or Desjardins draw back in, but I doubt it.

                                    Stop scowling, dummy, you did this to yourself.

Good News, Bad News

The Good News is that Duncan Keith has been skating and may even rejoin the lineup by the weekend.  Is Thursday the weekend?  Maybe in The Hawks' world, but we'll see.

The Bad News:
(From blackhawks.nhl.com)

The Chicago Blackhawks announced today they have recalled forward Brandon Mashinter from the Rockford IceHogs of the American Hockey League.

Mashinter, 27, is tied for second on the IceHogs with seven points (4G, 3A) through 12 games in his first campaign as team captain. The Bradford, Ontario, native has notched 27 penalty minutes in 23 career NHL games with San Jose (2010-11) and the New York Rangers (2012-14). He has also tallied 201 points (100G, 101A) and 538 PIM in 410 career AHL tilts with Worcester (2009-13), Connecticut (2012-13), Hartford (2013-14) and Rockford (2013-16).

A-yup.  

So Toews drops the gloves and this is what happens?  Oh well, we made it through almost a fifth of the season without a gorilla in the lineup and that's progress, I guess.  I suppose, also, that he won't be any less effective than Hartman or Hinostroza.  Buckle up for a pointless tussle with Ryan Reaves on Saturday.

                                                 What the HELL is THAT thing?

The One-line Ripoff: Hawks 4, Oiler 2 and Sunday's Big Boys

As usual, I'm exhausted so it will be points again so as to maintain some degree of coherence.

- While I wouldn't go so far as to describe the first and third periods tonight as "textbook", they were very good, at least.  That second period, though...woof.  To say that hot mess was all down to The Hawks is disrespectful to The Oilers, as they're only a couple of forwards and...well, a bunch of defensemen away from being a huge nuisance for a long time, but The Hawks just seemed confounded for all but a few minutes of that period.
- It appears that Corey Crawford's couple of recent sub-par outings were just a blip, thank goodness.
- Unfortunately, I noticed Trevor Daley tonight. He did skate his way out of trouble there, once, but he couldn't seem to get rid of the puck fast enough in this game, whether it was "passing" it to no one in particular or turning a scoring chance into a shot that missed by 10 feet.
- Erik Gustafsson, though...I don't mind this guy,  He shows remarkable poise for a lad who has played only a dozen or so games in N. America and I've yet to see him make a truly poor play.  He's not the quickest guy and he's rather small (6', 176#) for an NHL d-man, but he's shifty and times his actions well enough that he doesn't need to be faster or larger than his opponent.  It's a shame that he's buddied up with Daley, because...
- ...Viktor Svedberg doesn't really belong in this lineup.  Perhaps he's a slightly better option than Rundblad but it pains me to consider that replacing Mr. 6'8" with Rozsival will be an upgrade.  Svedberg has done nothing to merit playing 20+ minutes per game, apart from being partnered with Seabrook.  Ideally, Gustafsson should be alongside Seabrook, but then you have Daley and Svedberg which would be enough to cause spontaneous diverticulitis to anyone unlucky enough to behold such a horror.
- Hossa sure fought the puck tonight, but it always seems to take him a few games to get his mojo working after missing some time.  His line had only a handful of okay shifts, I thought, which sucks because that probably means Teravainen gets scratched in favour of Garbutt on Thursday.
- That said, maybe the third line could use Teravainen to inject some skill/sense/patience into that group.  The Shaw-Kero-Dano combo were not terrible but never appeared to have a plan tonight, with Kero and Dano often just lurking around while Shaw did Shaw things.  They had a few good looks but the ratio of effort to scoring chances was not positive.
- I just wish to point out that tonight's fourth line have zero points and are a combined -18 in 40-man games, so far. 
- Eddie Olcyck cracks me up.  When he droned on about Taylor Hall not keeping his feet moving on a backcheck it made me wonder who told Edzo about backchecking?  He certainly didn't bother with it when he was a player.

The Hawk's second line continues to be among the top combos in the league.  It's hard to believe that Artemi Panarin has adjusted  so quickly to "the N. American game" as well as the smaller rinks.  That kid is so fun to watch and it's amazing to see he and Kane work their magic together.  Anisimov has been spot-on, as well; he's not nearly as scorey as 72 and 88 but he's deceptively effective, as he's quicker than he looks, has incredible reach and threads a nice pass, as well.  Oddly, some of his best moments have come at times when he was separated from Anisimov and Kane, but nevermind.  If Quenneville tinkers with this line I will hire Steven Seagal to punch Q in the groin.

      The two little guys once again combine for a big game and share the belt tonight.