Duck and Cover: Hawks Win 4 - 1 and Friday's Big Boy

I'm not sure which scenario disturbs me more; that The Ducks are somehow in 1st place in the NHL or that The Hawks are not.  Maybe it's a case of right-place-right-time but The Hawks have owned Anaheim this season, winning three matches handily and losing a 1-0 game in which John Gibson stole a win for the waterfowl.  Where are The Ducks picking up all these points?  Looking at their roster, especially their defence, there's not a lot there past the top line.
As for The Hawks, they seem to find ways to chuck two points away pretty often.  Maybe every good team in the NHL is guilty of this from time to time but, holy crap, The Hawks have wasted a lot of pints this season by simply not applying themselves as they could and should.
Enough of that.  We got the points tonight and without a lot of effort, it seemed.

There were a couple of likely suspects tonight but, with assists on all four goals, this evening's Big Boy is Patrick Sharp.

Oddly, Google Images provides twice as many photos of Sharpie in street clothes than in hockey gear.  It took me 45 minutes to get this.

Cashing in the Blue Chips

The Hawks traded former prize prospect Adam Clendening to Vancouver for a younger but apparently similar-style player in one Gustav Forsling.  Expect to see Clendening to play for the 'Nucks very soon, and for Forsling to begin his 2-4 year apprenticeship in Rockford in 2018.  He will eventually be traded to Brooklyn (Yes! I've been itching to type that!) in 2021 for a second round pick, with which The Hawks will draft an offensive defenseman.  Rinse and repeat, always repeat.

Despite Clendening's tumble from the tippy-top of The Hawks' minor-league depth chart, falling behind Stephen Johns, Ville Pokka and, hilariously, TJ Brennan, I did not see this coming.  Players have funks, off months and even years, but I seriously didn't expect Stan Bowman to pull the trigger quite this fast.

Let that be a lesson to the rest of them.  I'm talking to you, Klas Dahlbeck.

I don't typically dignify any Hawks losses in this space but regarding Wednesday's loss to the Kings:
- Soooo, neither Rozsival nor Oduya are suitable to play alongside Keith on a regular basis, but the guy who "is" plays considerably fewer minutes the afore-mentioned leadfoots...  In what world does this arrangement make any sense?
- Ditto for Teravainen vs. any number of lesser mortals.  The boy is a thoroughbred, but he need more mileage to show his stuff.
- On that topic, sort of, that was the first game that I didn't wonder why Joakim Nordstrom deserved his ice time.  Ultimately, he accomplished nothing, but he did some good things.  I expect he will sit in favour of Dennis Rasmussen on Friday, just because.

Time for a Break: Hawks 3, Penguins 2 and Wednesday's Big Boy

Fifty hits?  I want to talk to the scorekeeper in Pittsburgh.  I'll just bet Pat Foley will get a mileage out of that.
Anyway, The Hawks won the coin toss, thanks to what looked like a couple of five-holers by Toews and Kane in the extra inning.  The Hawks should feel lucky to have emerged from this with two points, just as The Penguins will be disappointed to have not won this one.
A few items:
- Icetime.  Weirdness abounded, with Keith playing less than 24 min and Rozsival cracking 20 min.  11 min for Nordstrom (0 goals this season, BTW) and barely 8 min for Teravainen.
- A 9-shot differential will not result in success most nights.  A beauty from Hossa, a puck with eyes shot by Rundblad, a goalpost or two and Fleury's gaping five-hole in the shootout allowed The Hawks to steal this one.  It won't come that easily in these circumstances very often.
- These guys need a break, they need to regroup and get their priorities sorted out.  Unfortunately, five Hawks have to work during the break...

Who else?  It was one of those nights that he would not be denied. With a hand in both regulation goals, it has to be Hoss.

                                                       That'll do, sir, that'll do.

How's This For Strange?

Between 2012 and the spring of 2014, Michal Rozsival essentially platooned in the sixth defenceman position with Sheldon Brookbank.  Now that Rozsival is older, slower and generally less capable we find him locked in the fifth-D role.  This is not a good sign at all, especially given that talents like Clendening and Dahlbeck remain buried in the AHL and still have Rundblad, Erixon and Van Riemsdyk to overcome before they even get to Rozsival.

So forgive me if I am not filled with confidence when speaking of the decisions that have shaped The Hawks' blueline.

                                         All that aside, I cannot stay mad at this face.

More, Please: Hawks 6, Coyotes 1 and a First Time Big Boy

That's more like it.  Yeah, let's not get too excited about punching out these feckless 'Yotes, but 51 shots-for is a good sign and, while 36 against isn't optimal, there weren't a ton of high quality shots there.  A few observations:
- Sometimes I mistake Teravainen for Kane, with their similar size, speed and stance.  I take this as a Good Sign.
- Shaw's second goal may be the longest shot he's ever scored on.
- Man, Rundblad can shoot that puck.
- Is there a backup goalie in Phoenix?  Why was Mike Smith left on the hook for 6 goals against?  I mean, it couldn't happen to a nicer guy, but come on....
- Can we PLEASE get Rundblad and Erixon together again?  For more than 8 minutes?
- Joakim Nordstrom: not terrible but not really anything else.  Would Peter Regin be a lesser option?  I think not.

Anyway, to it -

Coulda been Kane, coulda been Shaw but, being an optimist, I hope to be Googling fresh images of this guy for years to come. Often.

                                "Teh-voh Tear-ah-vine-en".  Pay attention, Olcyck.

A Proper Wilding: Hawks 4, Wild 1 and Sunday's Big Boy

Check it out - The Hawks cracked the 30-shot mark!
A closer game than the score would suggest, with significant, lasting momentum swings, this one was most influenced by The Hawks' greater scoring prowess and Niklas Backstrom's...whatever he was doing out there.

Five Hawks notched two points apiece and Corey Crawford put in another solid effort, but on merit of a goal, a helpie and five hits, Bryan Bickell is again The Big Boy.

                       I will continue to post dog pics until all of Bick's Pits are adopted.

It's Opposite Week: Hawks 4, Wild 2 and Thursday's Big Boy

You have to ask what's going on when a team launches 54 shots in a game and is shut out and, two days later, is outshot 44-20 and manages to win. I guess the easiest answer may be that there was a very good goalie at the other end on Tuesday and not so much tonight.  At least The Hawks received a decent effort from their netminder in each game.

Despite being owned in the shots & chances departments there was still lots of positive stuff to take away from tonight:
- Rundblad, decisive with his shoot-ins
- Sharp, getting after the shoot-in!
- Kane, three more points and climbing steadily up the scoring ladder
- Bickell, unexpectedly on the second line and cashing in a pair
- Faceoffs, with The Hawks continuing to improve in that area (34-for-62 tonight)
- Best of all, though...

Brad Richards, with 3 sweet assists while playing more minutes than he's logged in several weeks earns secure trousers on this day.

                                              I'm makin' Mike Yeo anxious!

Clash of the Titans: Hawks Win Keepaway Game and some Big Boy Stuff

Sloppy, sloppy, sloppy.  Neither The Hawks nor The Stars were particularly great in this one and The Hawks were downright lucky to finish the third period tied, on merit of a hail-mary shot by Brad Richards that should never, ever work in an NHL game.  Right? 
Still, it was an entertaining, if a bit frustrating match.  The ten or so seconds preceding Saad's goal was all about Toews being All-World, yet again, with two take-aways and a sick pass to set up the goal.  On the other end of the spectrum, well, take your pick of any number of botched breakouts or Crow's sweet pass up the middle, there.

There were a few Hawks that caught my eye; Richards with a couple of points, Keith's outstanding slap-pass in OT and Toews had a few simply outstanding shifts, but a great pass in the second period and the game winning goal in OT earn The Sharp Dressed Man the Belt.

              First star but didn't hang around to talk to Dan Roan.  Should we be worried?