Two Way Tie for Last: Hawks 3, Islanders 2 and Friday's Big Boy

Not really sure how I feel about typing this.  
Happy that The Hawks won, somehow, but a little off-balance because of...well, you know.
So it's point form tonight.

- Within moments of the game's end I was reading accounts that stated how much The Hawks sucked tonight.  Well, certain players, at certain times were below-par, for sure, but they were no worse than The Isles, really.  They played well enough to win, barely.
- Yikes, Viktor Svedberg was a nightmare early on, gift wrapping scoring chances for two of The Isle's most potent weapons.  Thankfully, he settled down and, if not for his ridiculously lanky frame, would have been unnoticeable for much of the remainder of the game, as he should be.
- The Two Arts were both fun to watch tonight, with Anisimov deftly stealing a puck from Brock Nelson and then showing an unexpected burst of speed before potting a shortie.  Panarin, meanwhile, has been a joy to watch, especially in high-traffic zones; he seems singularly able to get the puck out of the tightest, most congested areas, and moving with speed before his foes even know what's happening.  The kid's got some wrists, too, judging by the snot behind his shot that rang the crossbar in the second period.
- 36 shots against seems like an awful lot, but I'm not about to panic just yet.  The Islanders are a good hockey team that generates their fair share of chances, it's the second game of the season and The Hawks are still working out their defence pairings.  I'm not sure we'll contend for The Jennings this year but things will get better.  Probably.

Credit goes where credit is due; neither of Kane's goals were highlight-reel stuff but rather the sort of goals that a top level player gets by knowing where to be.