Catching Up: Hawks Invade Canada, Win 10th Straight, some Big Boys

Okay, I've been a bit lazy, so let's get in some quick remarks to bring this thing up to date.

- I watched the game vs. Nashville but, beyond the result, cannot remember much about it except for being gobsmacked that Crawford made 200 saves and got no love when they were handing out gold stars at the end.  Okay then, he'll just have to make 300 saves next time, right?
- The Toews line continued to look revitalized.  I know I bitch about Shaw but not so much when he's playing as he has been the last week or more.  I'm still not convinced that he's the best fit on Toews' left side but he may be the best option available at this time and, again, with the way he's been playing lately, he'll do just fine.  Let's just remember that Shawzer is always one shiny object away from losing his shit and regressing to the mess we witnessed in October/November.

On to Montréal, then, and the slumping Habs. The hacks can blame their horrible slide from dominance to irrelevance on Carey Price's injury, but those jokers have scored one or fewer goals in nine of their last nineteen games.  Mike Condon is no Carey Price, but he's not received the goal support that Price enjoyed at the beginning of the season.  How much of that is tied to the absence of Brendan Gallagher, I wonder.
- So, Crawford did make 300 saves, stole another win and won a sticker. Finally. 
- The Hawks' fourth line (Razmatazz, Garbutt and Panik, this time) all played north of ten minutes after playing 5-7 minutes most nights for the last several weeks. What was different about this game that caused Q to get all free & easy with the ice time?  All I can think is that he was limiting the icetime for the Toews & Anisimov lines to save a little for Toronto on Friday, which doesn't sound like a Q thing to do at all, but why else...?  He wasn't even deploying the Ras line in a shut down role, as they most often lined up against The Habs' fourth line.  Odd.

Finally, it was off to Toronto where, in only two years, The Leafs can "celebrate" 25 consecutive Rebuilding Years.  That's a Diamond Jubilee, folks, and I look forward to seeing the commemorative coin that The Canadian Mint will produce.  
- I always appreciate a Hawks game in which they get better as the game wears on.  Yes, the level of competition may flatter to deceive, but let me enjoy it, please.
- Not a bad effort from Scott Darling, although I'm sure he had no clue where his posts were on the Rielly goal and he looked a little scrambly on a few plays, but I'll take it.
- Roman Polak is a menace, but only if you're looking the other way. Not sure why he was shuffling around with his palms up after cross-checking Shaw firmly in the numbers.  On the back of his pair of similar nasty shoves in CA last week the league should probably take a squint at this dude.
- Apart from Scuderi I cannot complain about anyone on The Hawks' roster in this one. Kane & Panarin had their psychic connection working properly, Shaw had a strong game apart from a bit of a meander-y stage in the third and Teravainen looked game to get some things going but was undone by his linemates not always picking up what he was laying down.  On the D side of things, the "Big Three" were excellent, with Hjalmarsson playing an especially solid game.  Also, Ryan Garbutt had five shots.  What the?
- Betcha didn't know that Joffrey Lupul played almost twelve minutes in this match.  When did this occur, during the intermissions?  Okay, there were four or five other Leafs players that I also failed to notice, but Lupul is the only one of that bunch earning $5mil/yr to be invisible.

                           Guys falling over and wide open nets?  We must be in Toronto.