Regardless, two wins to begin the year goes a long way toward not digging a pit early on, which is especially encouraging given that it's been Cam Ward in the twine with Crawford yet to be seen.
The Bits
Toews & Kane have been masterful, doing almost everything right. Toews is skating with more pep than we've seen in several years and has been driving the net with impunity. If you cross your eyes a little you could swear it was 2013 again. Each of them have benefited from linemates who are themselves playing with greater authority; both DeBrincat and Schmaltz are displaying greater vision & puck patience, something that did not kick in until the second half of last season, when other issues cast a long shadow on their blossoming. Schmaltz made a great keep that led to the second goal and, a bit later, did not hesitate and hit Kane with a brilliant head-man pass to set up Kruger's tap-in.
Henri Jokiharju burst forth with a stunning game after a slightly yippy debut in Ottawa. It's almost as if he needed to just that first game over & done with before he could settle in and do his thing. He collected his first two NHL points, foiled no less a man than Vlad Tarasenko and began a number of rushes with smart, calm outlet passes.
Breakouts have been good so far. The man starting the rush has been able to find one or more good passing options, which says as much or more about the forwards' positioning as the d-men making a good first pass.
Coming From Behind was tough, last year, even for the team that is notorious for leaving it late but, in two games, The Hawks have managed to overcome deficits and win it late. I like their resolve, thus far.
Plenty of Hawks had quietly effective, even excellent performances. Saad & Kampf each made nice defensive plays and were positionally strong all evening, while Rutta and Keith were calmly blocking shots and keeping pucks in The Blues zone, and Keith jumped in on the offense to create some chances. Anisimov didn't have as strong a game, overall, but was driving the net hard and won some crucial faceoffs late in the game.
Did Erik Gustafsson just have the two best consecutive games in his career? There's been no single highlight reel play but his game has been simply excellent, overall, with none of the defensive complacency he was so often guilty of in the past. So far.
Beefs - Seabrook was a mixed bag tonight. Never mind that there should have been a penalty on Maroon for the high hit to dislodge the puck, 'cos Seabs had two far better options other than the one he chose, either of which would probably have clicked if he'd gone that route. Later on, though, his good stick check stripped Bozak of the puck, allowing Schmaltz to start the rush to The Hawks' third goal. Seabs and Manning weren't always great in their own zone, either, as they always seemed to be out there when The Blues were taking medium-range potshots from the high slot. Martinsen, also, was disappointing. I realize that we musn't expect a lot from the fella but he was flat out bad in this one, taking a thoughtless penalty and making an inopportune turnover. Probably time for John Hayden to draw in.
Cam Ward wasn't awful, wasn't great but was good enough on the night and outdueled Jake Allen, at least, in a pretty even contest. I'm not sure we can realistically hope for more than that.
Tomorrow: I'd been worrying about the home opener given that it'll be against the now offensively potent Maple Leafs and on the second half of a back-to-back, at that. However, The Leafs are also in the midst of two in a row and just lost to OTT this evening. It will likely be Bergie getting the start tomorrow which probably means less than one would think, as it's a push, really, where he and Ward are concerned. Hopefully, the guys in front of him can limit the Leafs' quality looks and score some goals while they're at it.
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