Make Your Own Bounces: Hurricanes 3, Hawks 2

A quick wrap, here, as it's late and there's precious little to say about tonight's game.
No Puck Luck, no bounces, however you want to say it, may have been a factor tonight, but when something isn't working you should probably change the way you're going about it.  For the most part, The Hawks thrashed and flailed a lot in this game, right to the end.  There was a lack of patience, little precision and an unwillingness to deviate much from this approach.  They kind of got what they paid for.  
The Only way Vinnie Hinnie was going to score tonight was to get one off his body.  He and Hartman put forth an energetic effort but, as had often been the case earlier in the season, did not take much care in timing or aiming their shots.  A blip, one hopes.
Toews, centering H&H had a strong game, though, not entirely wasted by his linemates' rush to start their weekend.
Right Place, Wrong Guy: Why does it always seem to be Desjardins who gets a gift wrapped chance after some hard work by a linemate, only to stuff it into the goalie's guts?  
Three Passes to Nowhere: In the first five minutes of the third period The Hawks flicked the puck into their own slot / high slot for reasons unknown.  I wish I could remember who got away with the first two indiscretions but it was Kane's that finally cost them.  Yeah, I know it appeared to have been redirected, but what was the plan there, anyway?  There was some bad puck luck in that goal, too: Jay McClement has never and will never again score on that shot.
Michal Kempny had a fine outing, at least, with a couple of points and he rocked 80-per Corsi.  It's a good thing he managed to score, though, as that little miscalculation early in the first that set up a Carolina two-on-one could just have easily got him stapled to the bench.
Kruger Hurt?  Last time he missed the end of a game it wasn't even acknowledged but, tonight, someone noticed and it was mentioned on the broadcast.  Maybe it was because Tanner Kero was playing what seemed like every second shift.  Well, in light of that, let's hope that Krugs is well enough to play Monday, 'cos Kero ain't up the the task.  Better Kero than Tootoo, mind you, but not by much.
Oh well, it's a shame to miss the two points on what should have been easier than The Hawks made it look but, believe it or not, this is a kind of rebuilding year and these things are gonna happen.
Okay, replenishing year.  That sounds better.

Back to Plan A: Hawks 3, Predators 2

That is, get outshot, have the boots put to you in the possession game and fall back on star power to make the crucial difference.
The Hawks dented the twine first, on a tip-in by Anisimov, only for The Preds to knot things up on the next shift, a slapper by Forsberg beating Corey Crawford that was made possible by a lazy clearing attempt by Dennis Rasmussen.  The early part of the first period featured entire shifts with intense pressure by both teams.  The Hawks' bottom six struggled mightily as Nashville seemed to get the line matchups they wanted a lot of the time.  Meanwhile, The Arthurs and Kane ran wild on practically all of their shifts.
Fast-forward to the third period and a tip-in by Mike Fisher to push The Preds ahead.  The Hawks received a bit of a gift when Craig Smith was called for interference when Corey Crawford made sure that he and Smith made contact in Crow's crease and, on the ensuing PP, Jonathan Toews  redirected a Seabrook blast to tie the game once again.  Moments later, while double-shifting in lieu of Tootoo on the fourth line, Patrick Kane scored a dandy, selling the pass right to end before firing a no-look laser under Pekke Rinne's glove.  The Predators pressed hard in the late going but Crawford was up to the task, making several crucial saves in the dying moments.  Once again, timely goals and superior goaltending prevailed, despite The Preds dominating for 3/4 of the game.

                                         A Haiku for Tanner Kero:
                                        No hands, too slow, and
                                        We're Holding Out For a Hero
                                        Not sure you're that guy

Coach Q was aware of the mess that his D threw up in the last game, but chose to scratch two guys who were not even remotely The Hawks' largest problems in that area. Nonetheless, a change is as good as a rest, I guess, as we got the win.  TVR and Keith were not especially great tonight, but not nearly as bad as they were on Tuesday.
Kempny did well, I thought, in what must have been a nerve wracking game for him, knowing that the smallest error would have him rubbing elbows with Bobby Hull in the press box for another two weeks.  I doubt that this game will have changed Q's mind on Kempny, but you can be damn sure that had Kemps not swept that loose puck out of the crease early in the first his fate would have been sealed, for sure.
Hinostroza remains very much a work in progress, of course, and he still has work to do on his vision, but there's a move that he's been trying that impresses me a lot; he begins what appears to be a toe drag but he stops half way through and fires a shot while the puck is still close to his body, which gives him a small element of surprise and usually includes an opposing d-man acting as a screen.  It's not easy to get a hard shot off with the puck so tight to the body, and sometimes it fails altogether, but I'm looking forward to it working out for him soon.

Well, Crawford was excellent and Anisimov was very good, both scoring and with some fine defensive work, but every time Patrick Kane was on the ice, it seemed, The Hawks were moving the puck well and creating chances.  

About Last Night: Jets 3, Hawks 1

                                          You mean to say he's a pro?

Just watched this disaster of a game a few hours ago.  Wow.
Since this is so late I'll skip right to what really needs to be expressed.

TVR is dogshit.  He had two or three games where he was a non-factor which, I believe, is the best anyone can reasonably hope for, but he's turned in two stinkers in a row, with this loss to The Jets likely his worst game ever.
Somehow, he managed to finish the night at +1, which his apologists will love, along with a 69% Corsi.  What stat, though, measures the number of times a players' efforts, or lack thereof, short circuit their team when they're just beginning to mount some pressure?  When did he find time to participate in all these scoring attempts between his shit passes, missed assignments and bungled breakouts.  He single-handedly ruined a power play all by himself, which is doubly infuriating 'cos he shouldn't have been on the PP in the first place.  I seriously don't know how much more of this jackass I can bear.
Keith wasn't much better.  Okay, that's hyperbole, but these things are relative; I expected little from TVR and received even less than that, while I expected far more from Keith and received somewhat less.  Something is up with El Dunco, whether it's a nagging semi-injury, or something off-ice...the boy ain't right.

On The Plus, though, The Hawks re-upped Small Arthur for another two years at an average of $6mil per.  I haven't inspected the ins and outs of the deal yet, but it looks like something's gotta give and the only way they're going to scrape up that kind of cap space is if one of The Old Boys goes.
I think.  More about this later.

Taking The Holidays Off A Day Early: Avalanche 2, Hawks 1

Just ugly, and a continuation of a few unfortunate trends, namely:
a) Start slow - no - make that dead stopped, and then ramp it up when things become desperate.
b) Don't worry about backchecking or limiting chances.

That was the fourth or fifth game in the past couple of weeks that was wide open.  Yeah, The Hawks took a lot of shots and got their chances, but so have their opposition in NYC, Brooklyn and at home vs. Ottawa and Colorado.
That's not why they lost tonight but, boy, wouldn't it be great to not have to go like gangbusters to break a tie or win the game?  Without two of their best forwards, as well, it's like taking a knife to a gunfight.  The Hawks played with three lines, essentially, and we saw the Toews trio out for practically every second shift in the third period.  I'm not saying that was the wrong decision but rather that it's always going to be tough when what you're left with is three studs and a handful of occasional scorers.
Corey Crawford was terrific, though.  Despite The Hawks carrying the play and winning the possession game for the most part, Crow had far more A+ saves to make than Calvin Pickard at the other end of the ice.
The Hawks were, and especially on many of the power plays, just a fraction of a second ahead of the Avalanche and not quite able to get truly established.  As said, apart from some intense flurries of pressure, they controlled the play, but only barely.
Jordin Tootoo is in no position to attempt the sort of stunt play he ultimately screwed up.  If he had a few goals on his stat line and The Hawks were up by a few, then go nuts.  I haven't seen anything that selfish since Phil Bourque flipped his stick upside down on a penalty shot, so it's no surprise that Tootoo moistened the bench for the remainder of the game.  He should be ashamed of himself.

Oh well, have a good holiday-days-off-time.  Hopefully we'll see Hoss and Large Arthur back on Tuesday and can then resume our regular programming.  

Excuses, Excuses: Senators 4, Hawks 3

Another late one, so short & sweet it shall be.
The Hawks stuck to their script....start slow and pour it on in the third period but, this time, it didn't quite go according to plan.  Here's why:
Puck Luck: Only the bounce to Motte leading to The Hawks' second goal went their way.  Two goalposts for Panik, another for Kane and a couple of pretty sketchy penalty calls had the home side up against it for much of the game.
Hossa Out: Never a good thing.  Not only did Hoss play only a few shifts before retreating to the room, but the necessary line-shuffling and the chaos that always brings didn't help, either.
No Go-To Guys:  Missing Hoss and Artem Anisimov, The Hawks were without the guys that have together scored half of the team's game-winning goals.

Aw, well, sometimes it just goes that way.
Forward to Friday, then, when Crow is expected to start and perhaps Hoss & Large Arthur will be feeling better, as well.

Out-Everythinged Except Where it Counts: Hawks 4, Sharks 1

I'm tired & unwell, so this shall be short & sweet.
How peculiar it was that, as the game wore on and The Sharks carried the play more and more, The Hawks were the team doing the scoring?  Hey, it's been flip-flopped the other way more than a few times, so all's fair, right?
Goaltending was a huge part of these apparently disproportionate rewards: Scott Darling was nearly flawless while the usually steady Martin Jones turned in a bit of a stinker, granting The Hawks two rather soft goals.  The only puck to elude Darling, meanwhile, was threaded through a forest of eight-to-ten legs and deflected, for good measure.

Reunited and it Feels So Good: The Triple H Line were back in action and, while they were south of the border in terms of possession and gacked as many plays as they succeeded with, they were right there when they most needed to be.
After a couple of games in which didn't cause me heartburn TVR was a mess tonight.  I lost count of how many footraces he lost, so let's just say "all of them".  Was he always this slow, 'cos that was pathetic, tonight.
Once again, Toews - Kane - Panarin did whatever they pleased.  File that away, willya.

As above, maybe The Hawks win this without Scott Darling's steady hand, as Jones was really quite bad, but why the hell should they?  Tonight was a welcome return to form after a couple of patchy starts.

Happy Holidays to Our Friends in St. Louis: Hawks 6, Blues 4

It wasn't always pretty but, once again, The Hawks found a way.  Being that this come-from-behind win came against those hateful Bloos reminds me of that wretched game last season in which The Hawks blew a five goal lead and lost to these mayonnaise addicts.  Those days are, for now, behind us; The Hawks may still have a fragile lineup but this is the tenth game this season in which they came from behind to win.  It hasn't always been this dramatic, but there it is.  There's no quit in this group.
We suffered through another poor first period, though, in which The Hawks didn't really get their wheels rolling until the last third of the period.  Patrik Berglund opened the scoring with a pretty savable shot, making it two in a row in which Scott Darling coughed up a soft one early on.  It wasn't until the dying moments of the period that Dennis Rasmussen had good enough hands in close to flick a shot past Jake Allen.
The Blues retook the lead on a goofy shot that deflected off a broken stick, a disappointing setback after The Hawks had been dominating for several shifts.  Patrick Kane tied the match midway through the period after expertly snagging a slightly-off-target stretch pass from TVR.  Patrik Berglund scored his second of the game off a masterful pass from Alex Steen; this one probably should have been stopped, as well, but it's tough to say how well Darling saw the pass pack to Berglund in the first place.  Brian Campbell evened things at three while cruising just north of the Blues' crease, taking a surprising pass from Panarin - surprising only because it isn't very often that he'll look for the pass when he's got the puck in his happy place near the left face off dot.  Alex Pietrangelo put the Blues ahead on a screened shot with only twelve seconds remaining in the period.
The third period was all-Hawks, with The Blues only mounting any real pressure in the final minutes of the period.  Nik Hjalmarsson blasted a shot through Allen to tie the game at the one-minute mark and, while chances abounded throughout the final frame, it was not until late in the period, immediately following a St. Loomis penalty, that Vinnie Hinostroza got a puck from his feet to his stick and flipped a hard backhander into the open net.  Small Arthur would pot an empty-netter after exposing Colton Parayko as the all-shot-no-feet goof that he is, and Scott Darling saved his best stuff for the Blues inevitable last minute shopping, in which they left only with gift cards from Bed Bath & Beyond.

Scott Darling, as mentioned, didn't have his finest game but was steady in the late-going.  It'll be interesting to see if Coach Q taps Lars Johanssson tomorrow; being as it's the end of a back-to-back it wouldn't reflect on Darling at all, and the big guy could probably use the rest.
Anisimov left part way through the first period and did not return.  Toews ably (duh) filled in for him for the remainder of the game while Hartman & Hossa were centered alternatively by Desjardins & Hinostroza.  Despite The Vin Man netting the game winner, I thought Dez was the better of the two, there for (but not finishing, mind you) a couple of great chances.  Hoss and Harts looked a bit asea, though, regardless of which center they had. I haven't heard what the problem is with Large Arthur but, obviously, we all hope it's nothing serious.  One positive: Tootoo remained glued to the bench with no one to play with.
The Third Line had themselves a bit of a game tonight, figuring in on two goals for (and one against).  Kruger was a monster behind the net all night and Richard Panik was doing exactly what I'd hoped he would realistically provide for The Hawks, dislodging pucks and clogging the front of the net. Rasmussen, of course, scored once and had other good looks.  It was a near-perfect night for those three.
Kane & Panarin didn't miss a beat when Large Arthur went down. I so enjoy it when those two decide to play keepaway, defying the opposition to take the puck away from them.
Goose Forsling had a nice bounce-back game after a pair of uneven games and a healthy scratch vs. Brooklyn, and TVR was barely noticeable, which I consider a huge win.

We're blessed with an embarrassment of riches tonight with many Hawks having solid games.  Kane was dangerous all evening, and one could make a case for any of the third-liners, but Small Arthur brought home three points and carried the play to the tune of a 75% Corsi.

Shoot Out The Lights: Hawks 5, Islanders 4

It occurs to me that this game wasn't a whole lot different than the game against The Rangers a few days ago, the big difference being that the goaltending was better on Tuesday.  Once again, we saw end-to-end hockey for much of the game with plenty of scoring chances for both teams
A tentative start saw The Hawks down two goals before everyone had even found their seats, one in which Andrew Ladd just plain beat Scott Darling, the second when Casey Cizakas pounced on a rebound.  Midway through the first The Arthurs went to work, each scoring entirely typical goals on consecutive power plays, and Marian Hossa shoveled in a diiirrrrty pass from Ryan Hartman to go up 3-2.  The Islanders would score an annoying, twice-deflected goal before the period ended.  
After yet another tipped-in goal put The Islanders ahead once again, The Hawks spent much of the second period in an apparent fugue state, indifferently chugging up and down the ice, before another PPG by Small Arthur tied matters.  The Hawks held the balance of play in the third period but it took some demonic forechecking by Marcus Kruger to allow Dennis Rasmussen to find Richard Panik in the slot; he beat Thomas Greiss with a quick release shot to put The Hawks ahead for good.

Well, Michal Kempny has obviously not been invited into Joel Quenneville's Champagne Room.  A healthy scratch for three (four?) games, he found himself -3 after the first period and on the bench for nearly all of the remainder of the game.  This short-leash treatment has gotta be awesome for his confidence.  We've seen this before and it's never ended well for the player in this position.
Meanwhile, He Who Should Be In Rockford, Trevor van Riemsdyk....actually had a decent game, highlighted by a deceptive little jink to avoid a forecheck and, earlier, taking a hit to make a play, rather than the usual cringing and shooting the puck blindly.  He still has no business being on the PP.
Duncan Keith was not especially good, but one play stuck in my mind that made me consider what it is that Keith does, or fails to do, that leads to the majority of his shot attempts going nowhere; when he's in a shooting mode he stops moving.  Tonight, there was an instance where he crept in off the point and called for a pass, getting a shot on target from the high slot.  Nothing came of it, but it was an actual chance to score and not merely a "I'll chuck it and see what happens" gambit.  More of that, please.
Andrew Desjardins had about as good a game as one could hope for without him getting onto the score sheet.  He had a good forecheck going all night, created a scoring chance from basically nothing in the first period and ably filled in on the PK when Rasmussen took a penalty.
I guess it was just a matter of time before Scott Darling had an iffy start.  That's fine, that happens and there's no harm done.
Panarin appears to have scored 106% of his goals from within six feet of the dot in the left face off circle.  It's almost more surprisingly when he doesn't score on one of those one-timers he launches from there.  How long will he get away with this, I wonder?  Anyway, I'm glad it's working well and I don't want to take those goals for granted, but...

I gotta go with Ryan Hartman, despite having tallied a solitary assist in the game. His hit on Cizikas changed the momentum of the game entirely; he managed to not rise to Cizikas' retaliation and The Hawks scored on the ensuing power play.  At the beginning of this season who would have expected that?  All indications based on his brief audition last season suggested that Hartman was kind of a meathead, which is turning out to be a big misapprehension.  He followed that up with the aforementioned impressive pass to Hossa to set up the third goal and drew another penalty in the second period that led to Panarin's second PPG.  His critical contribution, though, was the hit, the penalty drawn and being smart enough to keep his cool and not negate the power play, as that's where the game began to tilt in The Hawks' favour.

No, I'm tellin' ya, Long Island isn't even an island...it's a glacial moraine.

Even A Broken Clock is Right Twice Each Day: Hawks 2, Rangers 1

That applies to cuckoo clocks as well as any other timepiece, of course.
In a spirited, fast-paced and hugely entertaining do-over of the weekend matchup between these original six teams it was The Hawks' turn to eke out a win.  Both teams had many chances thwarted by two of the hottest goaltenders in the league, right now, including several saves on second chances.
The Hawks kicked off the scoring when Trevor van Riemsdyk snared a hot pass from Artemi Panarin whilst coasting through the high slot, somehow getting a shot away and past Antti Raanta before falling over for no good reason. The Rangers would tie the game on a bunt single by Jesper Fast (love that name) but that would be all that Scott Darling would allow.  Artem Anisimov would pot the game winner late in the second on a sneaky-good pass from Brian Campbell that Raanta probably expected to come from the other side of the net.
I know I'm a full day late but here are some quick Bits.

I'm grateful that TVR was able to score, even a bit glad for him, but he's still effing brutal and the sight of him on a power play, again, made me taste bile.  Ok, he scored in front of his mom & dad, can we put an end to this, now? (Yeah, that's purely rhetorical; TVR is back, he has the coaches' support, and there's feck all we can do about it.)
Jonathan Toews looked fine, I thought.  He would probably bitch about his timing being off and he'll be royally pissed for having missed that empty-netter, but an ever-so-slightly wonky Toews is infinitely better than no Toews at all.
How can they pump the brakes on Duncan Keith and his crap shooting?  Midway through the second period The Hawks had their longest and best offensive attack completely undone by Keith taking a shot that sailed well wide of the Rangers' net and ricocheted back down into their own end. Seriously, for every shot he gets through there are 5+ that hit legs etc. or just plain miss.  That's not the first time this season that Keith's poorly timed misses have blunted an attack.

Lots to choose from in this game, despite the low score.  Both Arthurs were excellent, Hossa had 10 seconds of absolute heroism and Campbell was very good, as well, reunited with Seabrook. In a 2-1 game, though, in which you're outshot and gave up several second chances, Stormare always looks to the net; Scott Darling's stellar relief stint continues.

Take It When You Can Get It: Hawks 3, Stars 1

It wasn't always pretty but The Hawks managed to overcome injuries and dopey roster decisions to dominate The Dallas Stars and earn two points against their division.....well, they're in the same division.
After a first period which both teams spent feeling out the other with no results, Dallas opened the scoring early in the second when Devin Shore swatted in a goal on The Stars' third try on the play.  It was the only time The Stars would lead as, 43 seconds later, Marian Hossa's hard shot oozed through Kari Lehtonen to tie the match.  Midway through the second The Hawks would take the lead as Ryan Hartman, having just left the penalty box, drove hard to the net and, though Hartman's attempt was foiled, Stars defenceman Stephen John's clearing attempt bounced off Artem Anisimov's shinpad and into the cage. Artemi Panarin would provide an insurance goal at the midpoint of the third period, a power play marker from a ridiculous angle made possible by a smart, hard pass from Keith.

Finally, The Hawks won a game in which they won the possession game and outshot their opponent. The world makes sense, for tonight, at least.  The Arthurs Line ran amok for much of the game and, while they were not always completely smooth, were inches away from another couple of goals.  
Kruger, Hossa and Hartman did not have as consistently dominant a game as they had in the previous few games but were still very good, especially considering that this trio played the last half of the game opposite Benn and Seguin.  This assignment was likely the catalyst for Dallas swapping Spezza out for Eaves as they sought to spread out their attack and try for the equalizer.  
Gustav Forsling had a night to forget, coughing up the puck a few times and making a mess of his coverage leading up to the Dallas goal.  It's frustrating but I recall the same stuff happening to Nick Leddy some years back, and he didn't turn out too bad.
TVR wasn't a complete nightmare but he sure doesn't belong on the power play.  I just about plotzed when Edzo praised the goof to the moon for heading off a Dallas forward at the boards when, let's face it, lacking the great stick that Keith or Hjalmarsson possess, the play could just as easily have resulted in a breakaway for Dallas.  I had been wondering if Kempny is slightly on the limp after missing some shifts late against Phoenix (I think) but the way Coach Q has been deploying TVR has me thinking otherwise; it's probably just business as usual, unfortunately.
Scott Darling has delivered exceptionally in Corey Crawford's absence, playing his four best games in the last five starts, even though he has only two wins to show for it.
I took the piss on the post-game report the other night, not because The Hawks didn't deserve some kind words, but more out of disappointment and fatigue.  Being without three of their most vital players when the lineup is already somewhat thin, they're hanging in alright.

Peter The Great and I are going a bit off-script tonight.  Darling was great, Panarin was darty and exciting and Hossa was vintage Hossa, but Ryan Hartman gets smoke in his eyes for his pinpoint pass to Hoss and his dash-deke-shot that led to Anisimov's goal.  Hartman is still kind of a blunt instrument in many ways, with inconsistent finishing skills and an annoying habit of shooting from stupid places but, of the four Young Fellas, he's been by far the best.

No Wins For No Goals: Rangers 1, Hawks 0

How the hell do you play 60 minutes without a goal and then cough one up in the first minute of Overtime?

Edit: This is Not an indictment of Scott Darling.  It looks that way, doesn't it.  It's not.

More NHL News and Non-News

No Consensus On Hall - Larsson Deal?  

He said: It Hasn't Paid Off
She said: The Gamble Looks Smart
All I know is that Hall is producing at a point-a-game clip and The Oilers defense is still dogshit, but what the hell do I know?

Once A Bruin Always A Bruin?

Ex-Bruin Pleads Guilty to Drug Charge
I get that Kevin Stevens is a Mass. boy, but I'll bet most people don't even remember the 41 Games he played as a Bruin.  Weird choice of associations, there.

We Don't "Do" Vancouver

Canucks Fourth Line are Teh Awesome
This is not so much about the game or The Canucks' bottom three, but rather this: SportsNet has nothing up today about the Canucks' game last night.  It's like it didn't happen or, better yet, The Canucks don't exist.  Yeah, either way...

The Habs: I Am Not Making Any of This Up

The following was gleaned entirely from English-language sources.  My point here is that this probably isn't even the really Good Stuff.
Should Price be Suspended for Blocker Punch?
Maybe, but the real question is should The Habs' Defense be suspended for being spineless do-nothings?
Habs Don't Have any Prospects that Other Teams Want
Also, players on other teams don't want to be in Montréal.
Galchenyuk & Desharnais Out 6-8 Weeks
Add Greg Pateryn to this list, as well.  But wait, things get worse!
Beaulieu Likely to Return
Yeah, that'll sort things out

Now, Let's Not Get Too Excited:Hawks 4, Coyotes 0

I don't want to be a guy that types long breakdowns after a loss and has little to say after a win, but I find myself in a position, tonight, in which only a few words will do.
The Coyotes are horrible.  They are somehow far less than the sum of their parts. Having this feckless group over for the evening was perhaps just the thing The Hawks needed right now.
After a not-great start, which has become an irritating trend as late, The Hawks struck first on the power play with a neat redirect by Large Arthur.  While they were outshot in the first frame The Hawks seemed to carry most of the play in the latter part of the period.
Hard out of the gate to start the second, The Hawks first found twine after Hossa reeled in a slightly askew pass from Hartman, kicked the puck to his stick, backhand-forehand and past Mike Smith.  On the next play it was Dennis Rasmussen shoveling some trash after Panik made amends for a completely gacked breakaway with a rather determined one-handed takeaway and pass into the slot.
After that, it was all over but the cryin' for PHX, and Marian Hossa capped things off with a single-handed drive to the net made possible by a long bomb from Hjalmarsson.
The Hawks were rarely troubled and never for long. Yep, the quality of their opponent was not high, but perhaps this win will put a little wind in their sails, going forward.  Hey, scoring more than A GOAL is a victory unto itself.

                      What is this, a Devo or Kraftwerk album cover photo shoot?

The Line Blender was set on "Mush" with all but The Arthurs + Kane being shuffled somewhat. The Kruger - Hossa - Hartman line created several chances and Hartman looked as inspired as he's been in four or five games.  Rasmussen - Panik - Motte...not so much, despite producing an entertaining goal, as they struggled with getting and then keeping the puck.  The fourth line were a non-factor, although it was encouraging to see Hinostroza actually pause to look for a play THREE TIMES. Unfortunately, each time it was Desjardins who received the puck, and we know how that usually goes.  All I'll say is that if Coach Q goes with these combinations on Friday vs.The Rangers he'll be pressing "Purée" soon enough.
On defense I was pleased to see Seabrook & Campbell back together but far less sure about Forsling with van Riemsdyk.  No disasters, though, and not even any particularly glaring errors.  Seabrook, of course, left the game halfway through after an awkward fall into the boards so, hopefully, him not playing was purely precautionary with The Hawks being up 3-0 at the time of his mishap.

Scott Darling earned a shutout, yes, but was only truly tested a couple of time, so the Somber Swede must then acknowledge Marian Hossa for his two goals and a superior effort up and down the ice.

You...are de engine....what drives dis foim.

The Gang That Couldn't Shoot Straight: Jets 2, Hawks 1

I don't even know what to say about this.
Oh, wait, maybe I do, a little bit.

Sportsnet colour man Garry Galley praised The Hawks' confidence in their ability to nail the stretch pass, pointing out how the Hawks forwards would bolt out of the zone as soon as their D gained possession, looking for the long bomb.  Yeah, sometimes that works but tonight, and on many other nights, the D found themselves with no one to pass to, forcing them to backpedal, regroup and, IF they aren't checked off the puck or have a desperation pass intercepted, start all over again.  Do that a dozen or more times each game and you're spending way too much time doing nothing, really. Do they all have to run to the endzone every time? Could one guy not hang back for a short, safe pass if the lanes to the other two forwards are covered? I'm just sayin'...
Shooting was a problem, too, with many Hawks falling into indiscriminate chucking mode, again.  "Pucks to the net", Edzo always says, and it's a nice idea, but let's try to look for a play if there's no one around the net for tip-ins or rebounds. I expect and can accept the less skilled guys to fall back on a shoot-first-and-see-what-happens dealio, but the good guys have to strive for more than that, because they can actually pull it off a lot of the time.
Scott Darling was fine; both goals against were tough, tough ones to stop.  No blame there.
Hey, Jordin Tootoo, thanks for showing up, ya used up goof.  20% Corsi and punched out, again.  Hey, at least Thorburn didn't score.
The Defense pairings didn't seem as slick as they were, lately.  I quite liked Campbell and Seabrook together and was disappointed that Coach Q chose to pair up Soupy and Keith, once again. I mentioned before that Campbell and Keith often look hesitant when they're together and that appeared to be true tonight.  That said, Campbell made a few nice defensive plays.
Is Kempny hurt or was it just short-bench-time late in the game?  He hardly played in the third period. 
Nick Schmaltz wasn't mentioned here yesterday as a candidate for demotion because I felt that any of the other fellas I did cover were more deserving of a time out, AHL-style.  The move kind of makes sense, though, as Schmaltz did go straight from college hockey to The Show, so perhaps some time in Rockford will allow him a greater opportunity to do the things that worked for him as a student-athlete and, hopefully, find a way to apply that at the NHL level. At this time, Schmaltz isn't quick or confident enough to pull off whatever his schtick is.
Finally, there's less than three seconds left in regulation and you've got a faceoff in enemy territory: you're gonna want your best available faceoff man out there, right? Apparently not...

     If The Jets are garbage, and they mostly are, then The Hawks must be...

Get The First Flight Outta Philly and Don't Wait For The Goalies, Either: Flyers 3, Hawks 1

There's little point in breaking this game down a whole lot so, instead, I'll zoom in on some larger issues that face The Hawks at the moment.
Corey Crawford will be out 2-3 weeks as he recovers from an emergency appendectomy.  Are there ever non-emergent appendectomies? Anyway, we'll get a long look at Scott Darling over the next couple of weeks.  He's done this before and he didn't make too bad of a mess. There are also no back-to-backs until Dec. 17 - 18, putting us in the early part of the window for Crow's return, so we might not even see whoever gets summoned to back up Darling.  Unless mop-up duty is required, Sweet Jeebus.
Jonathan Toews remains unlikely to play tomorrow vs. Winnipeg.  He was placed on the Disabled List yesterday or today, just to keep the lineup legal.  He won't stay there long, I hope, so....
Something's Gotta Give.  Once Toews returns the roster must shrink, so who's it gonna be?  I see three logical candidates but, let's be real, logic doesn't always enter into these decisions.
One is Jordin Tootoo, whose most noteworthy contribution in 19 games played, is having drawn a penalty, once.  For the five minutes he logs in the games he does play, no one will even notice that he's gone.  Except his linemates, I suppose.
The second is Trevor van Riemsdyk.  A casual observer might see TVR's woeful performance in today's game and point out that he'd been hurt for over a month, it's his first game back, blah blah blah.  The sad truth is that today was not so far from a pretty typical outing for TVR.  One of the two cardinal sins that defensemen are guilty of committing is, when having to choose to cover one of two opposing players, covering neither of them.  TVR does this ALL THE TIME and may as well not even be there.  Watch the replay on Schenn's goal for a fine example of this. It's anyone's guess how this slug has stuck around this long.  Do the staff find him "coachable"?  Is smiling and nodding an indication of coachability?  One game back and I'm tired of this idiot already.
The third is Vin Hinostroza, who has still cobbled together only 1½ good games.  If he was safe from demotion yesterday, today's display could well have changed that, as he was, in no particular order:
* screening Darling on The Flyers' third goal, while covering no one
* taking a thoughtless penalty while The Hawks were attempting to get some pressure going
* unable to win a face off to save his life
* tearing around with no apparent plan or purpose

                                                           Pack ya bags.

Today, ultimately, could have gone either way.  Two goals against through two-and-three-man screens and another made possible by TVR stumbling around rather than TAKING A FRIGGIN' MAN.  Kane made two pretty icky passing errors, which we can sometimes go weeks without seeing, and Keith had several shifts in which he wasn't at his best.  Finally, the non-goal that went to review could easily have been a good goal; had the ref called it a goal on the play, the task of the men "upstairs" is spun 180º, as they must then find evidence that it was without a doubt not a goal.
Bygones.
Tomorrow, Winnipeg with their single line and Hawks-Slayer Chris Thorburn.  I'll wait to eat until the game starts 'cos if TVR plays I'll never stop vomiting.

                          Better make it good or Semborski starts on Tuesday.

Clash of The Titans: Hawks 4, Devils 3

                      Don't lose that.  It's the only restroom key we have.

Yeah, right.  Sloppy, chaotic, mistake-ridden and half of the goals scored in this one were not "good" goals.  It's all right, though, because neither team was especially switched on last night; The Hawks were fortunate to get a win on a quite ordinary shot.

Boy, that first seven or eight minutes had to be the worst three weeks of hockey The Hawks have put us through since about 2007.  They couldn't even clear the zone and The Devils looked like the Red Army Team of the 70s, just playing keep away for what seemed like forever, before Travis Zajac finally shuffled the puck past Corey Crawford.
To their credit, The Hawks picked things up slightly to close out the period, before storming out for a mostly-dominant second frame, in which each team traded errors and goals.  Kruger potted his second of the season on a fine shot from high in the slot, before Nik Hjalmarsson made an uncharacteristic mistake, gift-wrapping the go-ahead goal for Zajac.  Large Arthur nailed a right-place-right-time goal to tie the game once again, before Hjalmarsson made amends by capitalizing on a Devils turnover and wristing a soft shot through a screen and past Cory Schneider.
A fairly even third period yielded only one goal, Zajac, to tie the game AGAIN, and we were off to yet another OT.  Seconds after Mike Cammilleri hit iron, Marian Hossa cruised through the high slot and floated a speculative shot past Schneider, who was once again screened by his own guy.

                                                Who's next?

Momentum was swinging all over the place in this match, with both sides enjoying periods of sustained pressure. Both teams hit goalposts, both goalies were beaten by some pretty savable shots and each side made a few colossal errors.  This was a game to simply endure, with the luckier team "earning" the extra point.
Marcus Kruger had himself another fine outing, with a whopping 65% Corsi at even-strength and a goal to boot.  He and his linemates have been terrific the last few games.
Dennis Rasmussen made another sneaky-good feed to start the play leading to Kruger's score, two nights after making a diabolical between-the-legs pass to start a fast break.  Does this suggest better hands than he's been given credit for or merely dumb-ass luck.  Let's see!
Wide Open Hockey was the order of the day, once again and, for the second game running, The Hawks came out on top.  Is this worth noting, or pursuing?  How long could they hope to get away with squeaking out these kinda haphazard things, leaving it until the end to get the win.  Not that long, I'll wager, but I don't think that'll stop them from trying.

Well, duh. You don't have to be St. Stormare to know that Hossa has been the king of the last minute men so far this season.  Hoss leads The Hawks in goals, game-winning goals and utterances of "unbeliebable"