First Test: Hawks 3, Panthers 2 and Thursday's Big Boy

Missed the game due to my own hockey activities, but here's what looks to be true.
- There were fewer scary moments than I expected in this, the first game that The Hawks will play for a month+ without Duncan Keith.  The most obvious example of what can and will go wrong was the ridiculous "effort" of Daley and Rundblad leading up to The Panther's first goal, with Daley deflecting the puck into harm's way and Rundy standing still and just flailing away until the puck was behind Crawford.  The other worrisome event was Daley being deployed during The Panther's 5-on-3 in the third period, which is less about Daley and more about the decision to place him in that situation.  Still, the bits I did view suggested that Daley is showing signs of actually doing what he was brought in to do - push the play out of The Hawks' zone.  I'm not sure what's taking so long with that.
- The result may certainly flatter to deceive; The Panthers are no longer the whipping boys they've been the last several seasons but, any team that manages only 18 shots against a depleted defense like The Hawks' AND chooses to trot Willie Mitchell out for 22 minutes is not setting themselves up for success.
- Clearly, The Hawks' top line right now is the "second line" of Panarin, Anisimov and Kane, and it's their efforts that are keeping The Hawks somewhat competitive, so far.  There's no doubt that Toews' line will get on track at some point but, while they figure that out (including who to stick on the left side) it's a good thing that the "Art Line" is among the best in the league, right now.  The only negative with that line is Anisimov's dreadful faceoff percentage.
- And then...

In the absence of Duncan Keith, Brent Seabrook responded exactly as I'd hoped, logging a team-high 26 minutes, pushing the play carefully and decisively, making smart, accurate outlet passes.  Much of this was achieved while playing alongside a less-than-fleet and sometimes indecisive partner in Viktor Svedberg.  Seab's pass to Kane for the eventual game-winner almost makes me think we'll get out of this month okay.