I watched a hockey game yesterday and this is what I thought I saw. Yeah, yesterday, and I still have the stones to pop "Early Birds" in the header. What nerve.
Three Critical Elements
* The Hawks Woke Up Earlier than The Preds. While they didn't set the world on fire The Hawks did manage to outskate NSH in the first period and made a lot less mistakes than those yellow bastards. This, of course, flies in the face of every single other time in recent memory that The Hawks have stumbled into a random arena after more than two days off and didn't suuuccckkkkk. I cannot explain but I will certainly take it. Let's be honest, too: The Preds are better than The Hawks, so getting the early drop on them was instrumental in this win. If NSH arrived ready the game could well have been over in 20 minutes.
The Predators gained some momentum at the end of the first period, carried that over into the second only to see The Hawks become interested again after the game was tied. The third period, however, was all about...
* Anton Forsberg, who played his best game as a Hawk, marred only by his own dreadful puck-handling. His athleticism has never been questioned and he's very good when the action is close up and frantic but, as we've seen in every game he's played until now, he always lets in a soft goal. I guess he put a slightly new spin on the obligatory softie in this one but, seriously, Fors was terrific and just the thing The Hawks needed.
* Vinnie Hinostroza continues to shine. A lot of the time he looks slightly out of control and he's still prone to zooming around with no apparent plan, but he's bringing constructive energy to the team and is beginning to make heads-up plays more consistently. He started things off in this game with a subtle little forecheck-chip that, fortunately, landed right on Baby Huey's stick. Later, whilst moonlighting in Saad's spot alongside Schmaltz & Kane, he managed to thread a one-timer through Matt Irwin's pins and just beyond Jusse Saros' blocker. Maybe a little lucky on both plays but you create your own luck, just as his strong play earlier got him bumped up from the fourth line to the second.
Not going to type anything about who didn't show up or who has been basically invisible for three weeks 'cos it doesn't really matter until the next game starts. Speaking of, better plan a nap tomorrow...those West Coast games kill me.
Alright, catching up after a busy couple of days and two more games done & dusted.
It could have been worse, right? Oddly, I feel like The Hawks had the Toronto game slightly more in-hand than the Detroit game even if they did appear to dominate The Red Wings.
Statistically, there was virtually nothing to choose between the teams in both games, with Corsi coming up pretty much dead even for both matches and shot totals almost identical, as well.
On Wednesday The Hawks got a decent game from Jeff Glass, beaten only by a deflection, a PPG on which Keith and Oesterle kinda pooped the bed and a penalty shot, which is basically a coin flip. Downrange, though, The Hawks had lots of trouble mounting any offence to speak of. We hear endless chatter about netfront presence, and that's all fine & good, but does that have to mean all three forwards standing in or around the crease? Can't they be a little bit old fashioned and spread out a little bit? At least the latest New Look Power Play was working, hitting for two out of four chances.
Don't Trust The Stats #71: Officially, Oesterle led all Hawks in Corsi with a 62% share, but he was rubbish in his own end. Keith was slightly better in general but was culpable on two TOR goals. It happens.
With the consolation point salted away it was off to Detroit to meet the usually toothless Red Wings who nevertheless shut out The Hawks a couple of weeks ago. Goaltending was the main difference here, as Jimmy Howard was touched up for three GA in nine minutes of work, while Anton Forsberg had hisself a fine game in The Hawks' nets. It's true, also, that The Hawks eased up after the halfway point of the game, allowing The Wings to get some looks that they really needn't have had.
On the plus, though, we got goals from someone other than Kane. Maybe this was thanks to The Red Wings deploying what passes for a checking line against the Schmaltz - Kane - Saad unit, allowing the Toews - DeBrincat- Duclair mob to basically go nuts.
That opportunity wasn't wasted, with DBC notching his second hat trick of the season and Duc potting his first goal as a Hawk, to go with a pair of helpies.
So, maybe a bit unlucky to get one the single point vs TOR and maybe gifted the win against DET by Jimmy Howard being just bad enough and The Wings not being deep enough to counter if The Hawks could get more than one line clicking (which is never assured). It kind of evens out, I guess.
What else?
Loving Hinostroza, lately. It often seems like he has no plan but the energy and determination he brings gets him by. Eleven points in nineteen games, all while averaging 12:45 per night, is a welcome contribution.
Saad was virtually invisible in both of these games.
Seabrook made an ass of himself bitching about the non-call on the icing play vs TOR. He's got to be less casual than that and had no one to blame but himself.
Glass was a bit lucky that Van Riemsdyk bowled him over and The Leafs' apparent goal called back, 'cos interference or not, he wasn't making that save.
Let's face it, Jordan Oesterle has no business being on the PK unit - he's just not that good defensively and lacks the strength to handle any opposing forward who chooses to camp out in front of The Hawks' net. I like the rest of his game but he's often a mess around his own net.
Similarly, as dramatic as his first game in almost two years was, Erik Gustafsson has otherwise been pretty bad; decent enough offensive instincts but a disaster in The Hawks' zone.
The Hawks are now "only" four points out of a playoff berth but have four teams to catch and pass. Corey Crawford has apparently been sighted around The United Center so maybe, just maybe, The Hawks might have a shot at this thing.
Let me just mention the worst offenders to kick off the fun.
Toews.
Keith.
Oesterle - twice.
Gustafsson - and that one was spectacular.
Passes to no one, or even nowhere, most of the time with no particular pressure 'pon them.
Only one of these egregious turnovers actually resulted in a goal against but all of the others, at best, slowed The Hawks attack, caused them to regroup and took away their momentum.
With the many changes in the lineup I guess I'd concede that at least the coaches are trying stuff, but the fact that guys like Kampf, Jurco, Gustafsson and even Hinostroza and Oesterle are A) in the lineup and B) granted the amount of icetime they've received tells you everything you need to know about how fragile and....ordinary The Hawks have become. From time to time Gustav Forsling looked as if he would be a player who had made a giant step forward - now he's in Rockford. Ditto for John Hayden.
The fact is that it doesn't really seem to matter who suits up. We'll get some good games from some of these Guys just as we'll get stinkers from The Core, but the results end up the same.
Toews and Oesterle each played 23+ minutes tonight. Were either of them any better than Hinostroza or Kempny? I'd argue that they were not.
And I don't mean to take anything away any of The Guys when they do have a good outing. Jurco and Hinostroza both had a good game, but the fact remains that even when Jurcs and Hinnie play out of their skin it's still never going to be enough.
The Hawks laid a beating on Tampa in the possession dept. tonight, but what does that matter when it generates almost no quality chances? Jeff Glass lost the game yet made five or six saves that were tougher than any shots Vasilevskiy faced. Two A+ chances and a goalpost - that's what The Hawks mustered up in 60 minutes.
Toews entire line had the puck in their feet all night.
Sharp was late to almost every attack and couldn't hit water if he fell out of a damn boat.
Oesterle's fall-back tactic whenever he was out of options or ideas was to pass to Keith, regardless of where Keith was, which direction he was facing or whether he had a forechecker bearing down on him.
Etc.
Yeah, The Hawks got screwed when the officials failed to catch the glove pass leading up to Kunitz' goal but, even discounting that, they still lose 1-0. Outside of Kane and the occasional player who gets hot for a short while, they've got nothing.
And I fear that things will get worse before they get better if there is no significant change, and the change that needs to made most does not revolve around a player.
Bad Defensive Coverage. Rutta and Forsling were eaten alive and the rest weren't a lot better. It was nice for Gustafsson to notch a couple of points in his first NHL game in over 20 months but he was garbage in his own end, too. Waaaay too many odd-man rushes, virtually unopposed.
Bad Penalties. Were any of those necessary? Lazy play, using their arms and not their legs to keep up with their opponents, will always end in tears.
Bad Goaltending. This game took the bloody biscuit in this category, underlining the fact that without Crawford The Hawks are sunk. Okay, given the myriad other issues with this squad they might be done-for even with Crow, but it's clear that neither Forsberg nor Glass are legit NHL starters and maybe not even capable backups in the long run. Both of these fellas made some fine saves tonight but they also coughed up three softies. Not good enough.
Bad Transition. Good lord, did The Hawks have any clean breakouts tonight?
Bad Offensive Execution: It's the same old song here - poor positioning and bad timing, as well as being too static when they set up in the offensive zone. There were exceptions, of course, but for the most part The Hawks' offense was unimaginative, predictable and doomed to fail.
Was anything Not Bad?
Kane was terrific. Sadly, Hartman and Schmaltz were rarely willing or able to keep up with him. Things improved with Sharp inserted in Harts' place but even that was too little, too late.
Saad certainly worked hard, but his efforts were largely individual ones. He drove The Isles' net harder than any other Hawk but couldn't make a pass to save his life and rarely got a shot away.
That's about it.
A missed opportunity, for sure, what with The Islanders struggling defensively. Luckily for the Brooklyn Boys they caught a team in even worse nick than themselves.
To make the playoffs The Hawks are going to have to win roughly two of every three games from here on in, and I'm not convinced they've got in them to fundamentally change the way they're playing to get that done. I hear a lot of post-game droning about "getting past this loss and looking to the next game" but that mostly ends up with the same guys doing the same things and achieving the same result. How about focusing on the game that they're currently playing? Start there. Sweet Jesus.
What I really wanted for the headline, here, was a shot of Oesterle somehow falling under Duncan Keith, sending them both sprawling to the ice whilst Hank Zetterberg neatly dished to a streaking Anthony Mantha. Alas, it was not to be, but y'all can see what I'm driving at.
This rubbish effort was against a team that ain't making the playoffs, no way, no how and facing arguably the weakest starting goalie in the league. Yet, The Hawks came away with nothing but embarrassment and a touch of sunburn on Jeff Glass' neck.
They made it easy for Wings starter Petr Mrazek, not forcing to him make any especially tough saves and virtually no second saves. We couldn't even get lucky enough to get a cheapo tip-in goal 'cos there was really only one shift in which The Hawks had traffic in front AND got some shots on or toward the net.
Glass was not great. The odd thing was that he actually made a clutch of saves tougher than anything Mrazek faced, but he also let a few savable shots past him...
The refrain is largely the same: poor shot selection/timing, sloppy positioning and no one getting to the danger zone at the right times. Don't they practice this shit? What's even happening here?
The Hawks are in 10th place right now but, with five days off, they're sure to fall to 12th by the time they reconvene on Saturday. The Wings weren't the only non-playoff team out there today.
For the past two or three years I've slated The Jets organization for doing....nothing. Apart from jettisoning Evander Kane in exchange for what amounted to Guys they chose to stand pat and not tinker with their lineup a whole lot. It seemed like lunacy at the time, sticking with the horses that failed to get you in the race, but here they are, leading The Central Division and flirting with first place in The Western Conference. Blake Wheeler has matured into an all-round leader and must be a massive nuisance to try to defend against. Patrik Laine is no Auston Matthews but remains a thoroughbred (check the shot he zinged past Jeff Glass) and if Mark Scheifele could manage to walk to his car without injuring himself his name would be 'pon the lips of all hockey reporters, all the time. Even their Guys are decent, with Man Bun Perreault, Kyle Connor and Joel Armia putting up good numbers. Add to all this an okay D-corps and Connor Hellebucyk emerging as a bona-fide NHL starter after a bunch of seasons in which The Jets' goaltending was "awful by committee" and you've got a team that improved ridiculously by virtue of simply being patient. And maybe a little bit lucky, but you kinda need a bit of that, dontcha? One could even argue that The Jets improved by subtracting non-helpful elements like the aforementioned E. Kane and Andrew Ladd, which at least created the opportunity for their young fellas to get some minutes in. All respeck to GM Tim Cheveldayoff for not allowing the media and assholes like me to cause him to deviate from his Master Plan. Stick that in yer pipe, Marc Bergevin.
So, since I'm a full day late on this recap and I just spent 15 minutes praising the team that lost the game, lemme get a few things down and you can get back to your families, alcohol, whatever.
* Jeff Glass had his best game so far. None of those "accidental" saves, no moments sliding across the crease & out the other side and beaten only by a perfectly-placed laser beam. Between Glasser and Forsberg we've enjoyed three quality starts in a row from the backup guys. Can't ask for much more than that.
* David Kampf broke through with a two-point night, including his first NHL goal and the Third Star of the game....all on his 23rd birthday.
* Anthony Duclair was alright. Picked up a helpie, had a few looks even if he seemed a bit yippy around The Jet's crease. He may have been responsible for the almost-an-own-goal (although that may well have been Goose missing the attempted pass - could not tell from the replay) but no harm, no foul, and a decent enough debut.
It was a close-run game and one could argue that either team deserved to win, and I'll note that both of The Hawks' goals were a bit fortunate, Baby Huey's being a tip-in and Rutta scoring on an eephus that 99% of NHL goalies save 99.9% of the time. However, they were good enough to be in it to win it and, they way things have been going, I'll take that. I still feel like there are three or four forwards underachieving mightily and, if I happen to be right on that count and they get themselves sorted out, we'll be okay in the end. Until that happens, though, wins like these are precious gifts.
One more game against the inconsequential but still-irritating Red Wings and then it'll be the mandatory five days off for The Hawks, during which time our closest rivals could well leapfrog or gap the idle Hawks. Gotta get the two points tomorrow.
Sorry for all the late posts, lately. Work and "stuff". Gonna be quicker on the draw after the break.
It's a full day removed from this lackluster disappointment, now, so I'll be quick about it.
Once again, The Hawks played one tremendous period and then packed up & left town.
This, in a so-called four point game versus a team with whom they are in direct conflict with for a playoff berth.
We had the shots and we received an excellent performance in goal from Forsberg, yet no joy.
Shot selection, positioning and timing were all mediocre, at best.
With the new guy, Duclair, drawing in I expect we'll see significant reshuffling of the forward lines.
And possibly Keith & Seabrook reunited.
And maybe even Tomas Friggin' Jurco.
Please, no, not Jurco.
Super-quick up too late & too long post here, with nothin' but The Bits:
* Save some goals for tomorrow, maybe? Wow, that was something, and not to diminish The Hawks' dominant effort, but The Senators have been dead in the water for a month or more. Not unlike The Hawks, they have many excellent pieces, up front anyway, but somehow fail to deliver consistently. One familiar problem is that they rarely seem to get more than one guy producing at any given time. Second, their defense is suspect with not a whole lot past Karlsson & Ceci, and Karlsson is hobbling these days. Finally, if Craig Anderson falters in goal it's Lights Out. I feel your pain, Sens fans.
* Brent Seabrook was scratched, probably for the first time in his career. I'd be curious if Coach Q tried to frame this as "let's rest you for Wednesday" which would, I think, be kind of insulting.
Anyway, the guys that did play were mostly fine but I fully expect Kempny to make way for Seabs tomorrow.
* Astonishing Fact - Patrick Kane had never had a 4-assist game until tonight.
* The Stats DO Lie: Kane, Schmaltz and Hartman were each around 25% Corsi at even strength. It just so happened that nearly every shot they generated went in the net.
* Richard Panik scored. I was about to check the yard for locusts but the window was frosted up...
Kinda luckily, The Senators have a back-to-back tomorrow as do The Hawks and, once the game was truly out of reach, appeared to dial back their effort in the third period to save themselves a bit for the next one. Accordingly, The Hawks didn't exert themselves much either, but it's still gonna be a big ask to come out with a sharp effort vs. The Wild.
Blackhawks place D Franson on waivers
Well, I didn't see that coming, but I might well have done now that Coach Q is head-over-heels for Jordan Oesterle. Franson's most useful role is (was) on the power play and it appears that, between Keith, Oz, Forsling and occasionally Seabrook, The Hawks are sorted out in that department.
Follow up remark: has anyone ever used the word "owns" this many times in this short an article?
Well, there's nothing quite like a home game against a team in deep, dark funk to help sort out some things. The Edmonton Oilers have been just plain bad, lately, and The Hawks took full advantage of the situation, making off with a relatively easy two points and a shot of confidence, perhaps, for goaltender Anton Forsberg.
* Wow, The Oilers are thin. I don't mean to diminish The Hawks' effort by stating this but EDM hasn't even got a full top six, really. Tack on a below-average D-corps and a struggling goaltender and you've got yourself a team in a tailspin.
* Hartman had another fire-in-the-belly game tonight. Where was he on Friday? No, seriously, why was he scratched - I think he's been as good as he's ever been, lately.
* Anton Forsberg finally came across with a (more or less) complete game. Even his obligatory soft goal against wasn't that soft.
* Rutta returned and was fine. Kempny was better, but no one on The Hawks' coaching staff gives a damn so that's all I'll say about that.
* Richard Panik does not belong on a checking line. This is not because he's "too good" for that role but because he cannot really be arsed to play in a defensive role.
Alright - Ottawa on Tuesday and then two Divisional games. Now's the time to tear off a few good games in row and not rest on the warm fuzzy feelings one gets after dusting off a bit of a sad sack team
I offer this assessment of The Vegas Golden Knights: they have two very good forwards, three more pretty good forwards and one more young winger with the potential to be great. Their defense is nothing special.
Upon reflection, that still leaves them better than The Blackhawks.
While I believe that The Hawks have the better lineup they are, somehow, constantly far less than the sum of their parts.
Or, looking at The Hawks' failings from a different angle, they fail to apply themselves consistently, when they even bother at all. How many games in recent weeks have The Hawks played out of their heads for 25-35 minutes and been utter dogshit for the rest of the game? Almost all of 'em.
Anything else?
* Hinostroza's three-point night was spoiled a bit, wasn't it? Sure, the goal caromed in off his pants but his two assists were marvelous. On the flip, however, nobody forced him to kick off the seemingly endless chain of icing calls that resulted in Keith being stuck on the ice for almost three minutes, followed by a VGK goal.
* The Icing Fest: all unnecessary and borne out of thoughtlessness and/or panic. There was no particular pressure on any of the guys who iced the puck early in the third period, there.
* Murphy and Seabrook were eaten alive. Am I wrong or did one of them always seem to be trying to catch a VGK player who had blown past him?
* The House of Glass is a fragile one, indeed. That said, 2 GA were deflections, one was a breakaway (watch the replay to see Murph try to catch Reilly Smith) and one was mostly down to Toews and Seabrook just standing around instead of doing their friggin' jobs. That leaves only Eakin's goal that I thought Glass shoulda coulda stopped,but even that GA was after all those icing calls and we had a dead-tired Keith out there with parts of a couple different lines. Well, Glass outplayed Subban, at least.
Tick tock, boys. We're approaching that time of the year in which The Hawks typically stop giving a shit for about four weeks. Good god, though, is it possible they could care any less than they appear to, now?
Tonight we were treated to The Hawks putting together a near-complete game, much like the best parts of the EDM and CAL games but sustained for almost the entire game. It wasn't a perfect effort, as The Hawks' D had some moments in which they flailed, but it was quite enough to handle 'dose Ranger bums.
Those Rangers had been mighty at home too, having lost in regulation only once in over a month, but Coach Q and Co. were much quicker on the draw than The Rangers' staff, getting preferred matchups more often than not with The Hawks' top six rarely seeing the NYR shut-down line.
* The Hawks' best trio in the first period was the Toews line, with Hinostroza starting the scoring off a bang-bang set off by a blind back-pass from Toews. Along with Saad they dominated every shift in the early going. Saad's effort flagged a bit later on and Vinnie Hinnie became a bit unfocused, but Toews was mighty for the entire game. I was furious to see that Vinnie Hinnie had drawn in on Toews' wing while DeBrincat remained on the fourth line, but I guess things worked out okay...
* The second period was all about Hartman - Schmaltz - Kane. Schmaltz did some some wonderful forechecking, Kane was strong on the puck, as usual and Hartman was an absolute beast. Not talking about Harts drilling Staal into The Rangers' net, either, although I suppose that was indicative of the kind of fire Hartman brought to the rink tonight.
* Jeff Glass was generally solid in his third straight start. As was also the case in Alberta he was guilty of over-committing a couple of times and found himself waaaay out of his net yet, somehow, The Rangers could not close the deal. He showed great concentration during The Rangers' several full court presses, especially in the third, and I saw no fault in the two goals against, one being a total screen job, the other on a five-on-three. The only mistake he had to pay for was that puck he goosed into the stands.
VGK on Friday. Let's hope The Hawks can keep the ball rolling and bring those goldenrods back to earth. Hey, somebody has to.
It was one of the most evenly contested games I've seen in awhile but, frustratingly, The Hawks probably could have buried The Flames had they bothered to show up in the first period. It's the same refrain: they just cannot muster up a full 60-minute effort. Ever.
It's late, I'm tired and I'm disappointed, so this will be short.
* Jeff Glass was alright, probably better overall than on Friday. A couple of the goals were honest enough and Giordino's shot for the winner was darn-near perfect, but had David "Baby Huey" Kampf bothered to do something about Matthew Tkachuk's stick we'd be looking at a win, here. Sharp is sitting out to make room for this buffoon?
* Speaking of M. Tkachuk...I don't like that guy. That permanent, punchable smirk makes him hockey's Martin Shkreli.
* Still liking that 2PP unit, for some reason. Maybe the fact that they only sorta know what they're doing affords them an element of surprise - if they have little idea what they'll do next imagine how little their opponents know!
* Keith was not good yet played 28+ minutes, not at all a recipe for success.
* Wingels has to stop it with the bullshit penalties. He's gotten the gate three times in the last five games and The Hawks were scored on each time.
* Kempny and Franson both played alright but, with the loss, you know one or both of them will be scratched on Wednesday, right?
* Richard Panik will never score again. Ever.
