Just Enough to Win, Maybe a Little More: Hawks 4, Scouts 0

Well, The Hawks got things going sooner than usual tonight.
And then they stopped.
And then they got after it again.
And then they sorta stopped again, but saw fit to take a couple of shots that went in, anyway.

In a bizarre twist on this season's M.O., thus far, The Hawks got seriously into gear late in the first period and even carried that momentum into the second.  They lost the plot, again, around the half way point before finishing the game off with an inconsistent, but opportunistic, third period.
However, the home side got great games from their best players who, seemingly, cashed in nearly every premium chance they received.  Meanwhile, The Avalanche peppered Corey Crawford with shots all evening, forcing him to make a handful of dazzling saves but failed to get a single puck past him.  
Again, very few second chances were allowed but, even more so, The Avs lacked any kind of deception in this game; only the hardest, best-placed shot was going to beat Crow tonight since The Avs made precious few short passes around the Chicago net and, for the most part, took unobstructed shots.

As has been the case, recently, The Hawks made the most of the few chances they did receive which, when you think about it, is exactly how it should be.  The best Hawks are simply that much better than their counterparts on most nights.  As long as they play as they should they'll rarely need to outshoot their opponents.
And this causes me to look back at the first three or four games of this season, after which I bitched about chuckers and guys shooting from the same, predictable locations.  I think The Hawks were a great deal more selective tonight, picking their spots, looking for plays.

Bits!
Large Arthur's streak reaches nine games.
Kempny's first period was the best he's played so far.  He tailed off a bit late in the game but the couple of days off appeared to have been beneficial.
The Third Line was practically invisible; let's get Schmaltz back on there.
Kane was fortunate to have not jeopardized Crawford's shutout, but totally atoned for his in-front-of-his-own-net bobble by turning in a series of extremely determined shifts.
The PK keeps on rolling...got a little lucky, maybe, but that'll help even out the NO luck they had for the first eight games.

Hossa was outstanding and I thought Panarin & Keith each had a very good game, as well, but 38 saves is 38 saves so, for the third time in a week the Steely Glare falls upon Crow.

Even better than Daren Puppa.