Labour Disturbance

Shutting this down for awhile, until such time that:
- Duncan Keith gets his head out of his ass
- The Hawks don't wait until the third period to realize their potential
- Brandon Manning is jettisoned into the sun

This is not me pouting.  This is me being well tired of trying to find new ways to relate the same story.
I'll still be watching and if and when The Hawks change their tune, win or lose, I'll be back.

All Change, All The Same: Golden Knights 206, Hawks 3

Toews: "Blah blah blah...embarrassed...blah blah...stay positive....blah blah...small mistakes....blah blah...."  Essentially the same post-game interview he gave after the WASH and TB games.
The Hawks should be embarrassed, yet they don't give any indication of that when they're on the ice, 'cos they keep making the same damn, preventable errors, making things ridiculously easy for their opponents.
Pick Up A Guy, Any Guy: Once again, the forwards were situationally oblivious, unaware of what's happening around them.  Watch Eakin's goal - Toews makes a failed attempt to check Pacioretty, which is fair enough, but Saad and Kane are just coasting into the zone, never bothering to cover anyone.  Again.  By the time Eakin made his move and scored Kane was, for some reason, already heading back towards the Vegas end.  WTF?
Take a Second, Make The Pass Stick: The Hawks have been way too impatient with their passes, just getting the damn thing off their sticks as quickly as they can.  At the start of the second period The Hawks "controlled" the puck for the first four minutes yet only entered the VGK zone briefly, because their passes were flat-out bad and those four minutes were largely spent recovering the puck, regrouping and starting again.

The players claim to be dissatisfied with their performance and the results of same, yet I see zero effort to improve matters.  Just a lot of talk, so far.

New Guys: Hardly noticed Perlini, seems quick if haphazard.  Strome picked up 1G 1A in his debut and had a couple of good looks that didn't go.  First impression is that he's got the speed, some moves and a very good shot, but that he's imprecise.  Tough to say after a single game, but Strome scored as many goals tonight as the guy he's ostensibly replacing did in the last five weeks.
And What Of Nick Schmaltz?  I was just saying that, if Stan Bowman was going to make a trade to shake things up it was going to be Schmaltz that goes, being as he was the most expendable asset that a) would fetch anything in return and b) didn't have a no-move clause in his contract.  The occasional excellent game did not offset the frequency of games that left me saying "what does he do, exactly?"

Next: Winnipeg on Thursday and Nashville on Saturday, the two best teams in The Western Conference, so the guys had better conjure up some give-a-damn.  I'm losing interest almost as fast as The Hawks are....

Dwight Yoakum - Things Change

Why You Make It So Hard?: Hawks 5, Panthers 4 (OT)

Nevermind that The Hawks once again failed to log a complete game tonight.
Nevermind that a couple of their goals were pretty lucky.
And Nevermind that The Panthers have a ton of holes in their lineup and it's no wonder that they're dead last in The East.
It's more than just the two points, 'cos The Hawks finally, FINALLY showed some resolve, some will to win, and managed to execute.  To it, then.

Things Looked Irritatingly Familiar Right Off The Trot.  The Hawks had a hard-charging first shift only for FLA gather themselves and then utterly dominate the first period.  I won't say that Manning's penalty was the sole cause of the momentum shift, as The Hawks had already begun to fold, but it was certainly inopportune.  Worse, though, was the all-too-familiar defensive obliviousness that we've become sadly accustomed to, epitomized by three Hawks players chasing after one Panthers forward, leaving J. McCann to go mano-a-mano with Cam Ward.  Just like that and we were down 2-0, like some cruel Groundhog Day sequel.
The Hawks Showed Some Signs of Life early in the second when, first, David Kampf executed a textbook power move through no less a man than Aaron Ekblad and then around James Reimer to bring The Hawks within one.  Minutes later, in a role reversal, Kane redirected a Saad pass to tie the score.  Then the wheels fell off again.
For The Second Night In A Row Kane missed a defensive assignment, failing to pick up Ekblad who one-timed a crisp pass past Ward.  Minutes later, after a power play in which The Hawks held the puck for virtually the entire two minutes yet generated zero legit scoring chances, The Panthers pounced (because that's what panthers do) on a tired group of Hawks who had been unable to change and put the home side up 4-2.  FLA managed to spend most of the remainder of the second period in the CHI zone and it was starting to look like the sun had gone down for The Hawks, yet again.
Then Two Things Happened.  First, The Hawks finally got the bit in their teeth, outshooting the suddenly passive Panthers 9-0 in the first half of the period, which is nothing new, really, as we've seen these guys wait until it was too late to get their motors running.  HOWEVER, fortune smiled upon The Hawks on this night.  Sometimes you make your own luck through hard work, etc, and sometimes you just fall ass-backwards into it, and I think Fortin's shorty was a little bit of both and I am 100% okay with that.  On the game-tying goal.....well, anytime you tie a game in the final second it kind of smacks of dumb-ass luck but, again, Saad's pass to DeBrincat was pretty special.  We won't overstate that James Reimer was soft as hell on that goal....
Overtime.  What I've become used to is The Hawks getting one or two good looks, changing all three skaters and getting scored on immediately.  Tonight it took 4 or 5 shifts to settle matters, providing not only a much needed victory for The Hawks, but also some redemption for a couple of guys.
Erik Gustafsson has been bad, lately, his play going from sublime in October to terrible in November. Prior to this fall the expectation with Gus had been that he'd be an okay puck-lugger but, when it came to being defensively aware, he was nowhere to be seen.  The last month we were treated to Gus being defensively ambivalent AND he couldn't make a breakout pass no way, no how.  His OT goal tonight was nothing special, just a well-placed shot but, if we're lucky, it might be the confidence booster Gus desperately needs.
David Kampf had his first taste of NHL Overtime about two weeks ago vs. Carolina, and that didn't go super well.  Tonight, though, he dominated at the dot, winning 70% of his faceoffs including the final draw of the night.  That and his impressive goal to start the second period highlight Baby Huey's best NHL game thus far.
Other Good Stuff: Gustav Forsling has been given a lot of icetime and a lot of responsibility for a lad who kinda curled up & died last winter.  Quite right though, on this night anyway, as he was the best Hawks D-man in this match.  John Hayden finally got to play more than five shifts and, while nothing came of his efforts, he was creating opportunities.  
Meanwhile, this is what I suspect goes through Brandon Manning's head when he's out on the ice, doing whatever the hell he thinks he's doing.

Next: The strangely erratic Golden Knights who seem to either win big or lose big.  Here's hoping they've shot their bolt with their 6-0 drubbing of The Sharks tonight.

(Be sure to listen to the song.  The horns really complement the emotional release....)

Boz Scaggs - Why You Make It So Hard?

Hopeless? Lightning ?, Hawks ?

Full disclosure - I only watched the first 9½ minutes before finding something else to do.  I don't even know what the final score was.  Maybe tomorrow when I'm less angry.

In that less-than-ten-minutes The Hawks were already down 3-0, had a single shot on net and looked as bad or worse than they've ever been.
Zero defensive coverage.  Forwards failed to pick up a man, any man.  The D had shitty gaps and either committed too soon or not at all.
Breakouts were terrible, with too many Hawks happy enough to try to pass through skates and bodies rather than hang on to the single second longer to see if a lane would open up.
No Hawk won a puck battle in those 9½ minutes.  Not one.
And good god, The Hawks made Ryan McDonough look like a star. This is a guy who skates like he's got one foot in a bucket, yet he calmly halted every Hawks player who came his way, gathered the puck and moved it up ice with a crisp, on-target pass.  If HE can do it why can NO Hawks defenceman pull it off?

And if tomorrow, when I get around to finding out what happened in the last 50 minutes, I hear any Hawks player or coach utter the phrase "full sixty minutes" I'll plotz.  Stop talking about it and just do it.  Play ONE game from start to finish like you give a shit.  I'm tired of the bait & switch The Hawks keep pulling....playing so well for only part of a game, and I'm tired of typing the same stuff night after night.

One Step Forward Two Steps Back: Capital 4, Hawks 2

The Hawks almost played a complete game tonight but, as Da used to say, "almost only counts in shit fights and hand grenades".  But for an abysmal first ten minutes and a mistake here, a defensive lapse there, The Hawks more than had the measure of The Capitals.  Alas, they once again sucked just enough and at the least opportune times.  Onward to the post mortem, then.

Lazy Defensive Coverage killed The Hawks tonight.  This has been a problem for the last 10 games or so (or two years, arguably, but nevermind) but this evening's failings are even harder to accept than usual 'cos they had this one and gave it away.  On the first goal it was Schmaltz who had a chance to take out Backstrom or Wilson but could only be arsed to wave his stick meekly at the former and glance at the latter as he coasted into The Hawks' zone when, really, he should have been watching for the trailer, Ovechkin.  On Washington's fourth goal it was both Kane and Saad who gave up on the play, picking up absolutely no one and barely moving, really.  Hell, it was Anisimov that made a desperate attempt to cover Smith - Pelly, and he had hustled back from The Caps blue line, twice the distance that 88 and 20 had to cover.  Unacceptable.
The Hawks Failed to Make Much Out of A Lot of Hard Work.  They actually controlled the game, for the most part, comprehensively crushing WASH in shots, chances and possession (to the tune of 62-38 at evens, 59-41 overall).  But, for all the time they held the puck they too often made weak passes, no passes or sent a pass off target, forcing them to start all over again.  Schmaltz carried the puck a lot tonight but, unfortunately, was the worst offender where gacking passes is concerned.
The Hawks Second Line Needs To Get Going.  While Anisimov wasn't bad tonight and Schmaltz was trying stuff but failing, DeBrincat was once again invisible.  These three have combined for a mere 2G and 5A in the last ten games, and Large Arthur collected two of those assists playing with different wingers.  DeBrincat and Schmaltz, particularly, are supposed to be our secondary scorers but are barely putting up bottom-six numbers.  Entirely unacceptable.
Our Old Friend Comes Back To Haunt Us.  Michal Kempny played a gem of a game, scoring the game winner and making a ridiculous defensive play that not only prevented a Hawks breakaway but led to a WASH goal.  My schadenfreude is diminished somewhat with Quenneville not being there to witness the event but I assure you that I still gleaned some sick satisfaction from this.

Next: Off to Florida where, in recent years, we've been sent back to The 312 with healthy glows but no points in hand.  Still, if they can find it within themselves to tighten things up they could, based on the good parts of tonight's game, return with 3 or 4 points.

Gang Of Four - At Home He's A Tourist

Better You Bet: Hawks 3, Wild 1

Not great, not even very good for much of the game, but The Hawks were good enough, at least when it mattered most.
Despite being outshot badly, more than 2:1 in the last 40 minutes, and being manhandled in possession, The Good Guys managed to make the most of the opportunities they created and got another all-universe performance from Corey Crawford.  Let's get this done.

Saad WasA Beast Tonight, constantly barging into The Wild zone which, in addition to resulting in one goal, gave The Wild D something to think about: when Saad was on the ice in the latter half of the game The Wild had at least one D-man hanging back.  On the goal, he not only outfoxed Dumba but somehow jinked around Stalock's poke check. Equal parts will and skill, my friends.
Crow Was Phenomenal, full-stop.  When he's playing like this a little goal support will go a long way.  Imagine what a shit-show this would have been with Wardo or Bergie in net.  Still, The Hawks mustn't expect to be bailed out by Crow night-in, night-out -- the skaters really have to get back to scoring and take the pressure off the guy.
On that tack, Schmaltz and DeBrincat have to get going.  One fumbled chance between the two of them tonight and a total of 3 points between them in the last ten games is not remotely good enough.  Still, I hope Colliton keeps them with Anisimov a little longer 'cos I think there's some potential there.
I Have A Hard Time Congratulating The Hawks' Defence when they let the bad guys land 40 shots but, only a few mishaps aside, they weren't too bad.  Gustafsson's form was more like in October and Forsling had another good game.  Gus and Hank Jokiharju were the only Hawks north of 50% Corsi which looks pretty good on them on a night when The Wild just never stopped coming at them.

Next: In Maryland to face the also-not-in-a-playoff-position Capitals.  Let's see who wants it more.

The Who - You Better You Bet

Flat, Beat: Kings 2, Hawks 1 (SO)

I don't know what it's going to take for this team to score some goals.
Two half-throttle periods followed by a kind of frantic third just isn't going to get the job done.
In the first two frames The Hawks had ZERO primo chances.  Not a one.  No traffic in front of the net, really, until the third power play and they never looked like scoring at all.
Well, there's yer headline: yet another lacklustre attempt at hockey, far beneath what this lineup should be capable of.
Crawford was excellent, yet again, beaten only (in regulation) by a puck deflected off his own guy.  In all but one or two games that Crow has lost there's been some "circumstance" that prevented a victory, be it a bad bounce or a terrible mistake in front of him.  He deserves better than his teammates have been able provide.
The Hawks' D was okay, apart from a few conspicuous giveaways - Keith, Forsling and Seabrook all committed unforced errors - and Gustafsson's unfortunate tumble wasn't so great but were overall solid.  Manning, though....if he has this much trouble simply getting the puck out of The Hawks' zone how does he manage to cross the street without being killed?
Forsling came to play, though.  Yes, he's defensively anemic but boy did he push the play tonight.  He was credited with only two shots on net but he was launching bombs on practically every shift in the last half of the game, and had a near-miss on a tip-in attempt in OT.  I'll take that trade off.
Adjustments To The Forward Lines in the third period perked things up considerably.  Schmaltz had been invisible on L1 and slotting Saad in there brought at least some urgency to that trio.  Anisimov - DeBrincat - Schmaltz had a couple of good shifts in that frame, as well, and is probably worth further investigation.  Schmaltz and DeBrincat have been MIA for almost the entirety of The Hawks' slide down the standings and I see kicking their asses back into gear as Priority #1 to getting back on track.  Kampf, I fear, has been miscast at 2C.  He does what he does pretty well, but keying offense isn't something he does well, at least not yet.

Next: Two more sleeps until The Hawks get pummelled by Minnesota.  Can't wait.

Flat Eric - Flat Beat

How It Ends

It was arguably a fortunate win but, after more than two weeks between wins, ya take it when you can get it, right?  Beyond the two points and the bonus of earning them vs. the Missouri Jackholes there were things to like about this game.
The Defense Was Solid.  Mostly, anyway.  Despite being raked over the coals possession-wise, having played the vast majority of their shifts vs. The Blues incredibly dangerous top line, Seabrook & Keith were good.  STL had some looks against The Hawks' top pair but no second chances as rebounds were either gobbled up or the nearest Blue was pinched out of the play.  Gustafsson and Jokiharju were outstanding, playing a safe, smart game while generating a lot of push from the back end. The only time either of these fellas put a foot wrong was Jokiharju panicking a bit in the last minute, blindly firing the puck up the boards.  Manning and Forsling were okay - I'm still not sold on Goose's defensive acumen, as he's tentative when challenging opposing forwards and, if he fails, kinda gives up on the play.  We've seen this film before and, if that's how Forsling is going to go about business, he'll be back to Rockford soon enough.  Manning started well but, in the final moments of the first period made an awkward outlet pass and then joined the rush that never happened, getting caught out of position and making a weak poke check attempt.  He followed that up by ending a full-court press in the third period by just flinging the puck away, as he does, when he could easily have skated it back a little and maybe hit Kane or Schmaltz as they cleared The Blues zone.  
Corey Crawford, behind a solid D tonight, was obviously excellent.  He had only a handful of really tough saves to make but he was there every time.  Crow's puck handling was outstanding, too, getting breakouts off to the best possible start.
Andreas Martinsen is a marginal player, at best, but he's been executing his directive to the letter, credited with seven hits tonight.  Not to overstate the importance of the physical element of the game but this is something The Hawks have lacked for a long time and, if it gives opposing defensemen something to think about, I guess that's a good thing.  Marty on the PK, though....I'm less convinced of that being a good idea.
John Hayden, similarly, had a strong game.  He's a puzzle, though: he can rag and drag and otherwise maintain the puck for a long time, but rarely does anything useful with it after all that effort.  Hopefully, sometime soon, he can connect the dots there and start creating some chances but, until then, he's not setting The Hawks' efforts back, anyway.
Each Of The Forward Lines had their moments.  The Toews line played opposite O'Reilly's line for much of the night and spent a lot of time in their own end, but someone's got to pull that duty.  Saad stormed back into the lineup and, while his line often looked like three guys operating independently of each other, he drove The STL net hard all night.  I'm not convinced that David Kampf between DeBrincat and Kahun constitutes a viable 2nd line.  I like Kampf, generally, but I just don't know if his offensive instincts are up to the task of centering a couple of guys who move the puck quickly, often unpredictably, as he's rarely where you wish he'd be when his wingers have the puck.  Maybe that's something he'll grasp with more experience, maybe not.  That said, I think Anisimov would struggle to keep up with those two guys and Johnson is nowhere near ready for that responsibility, so Kampf it is, for now anyway.
So We Get a Win on an Own Goal but, hey, if Bouwmeester hadn't kicked that one in Schmaltz would have tapped it in, himself.  The goal was hard-earned, with a determined effort by Kane to get the puck to Toews, followed by a dandy pass by the captain to Seabrook.

Next: At Home vs. The Kings and an opportunity to rough up a team that's scored only two goals in their last three games.  Keep the foot on the gas, boys.

DeVotchKa - How It Ends

Close....: Hurricanes 3, Hawks 2

This was the first game in which head coach Jeremy Colliton attempted to make any significant changes to not only The Hawks lineup but also to their approach.  While they still lost, and really only played a half-game, having lost their focus somewhat around the middle of the second period,they earned a consolation point, which is better than nothing and hopefully something to build on.  Behold!

Big Line Shuffles: To summarize, Toews found himself between Schmaltz and Kane, Kampf centered DeBrincat and Kahun and Anisimov anchored a "what do we do with these guys" trio with Hayden and Fortin.  On the back end, Keith and Seabrook were reunited while Gustafsson and Jokiharju were a new duo.
So how did that go?  Mostly ok.  The first line had a lot of zone time and some dominant shifts, so it was a little surprising to me that the only offence they generated was a tip-in goal, but it's one game, early days yet.  Each of the other three lines had their moments and, unexpectedly, the fourth line of Johnson, Martinsen and Kunitz were the most dynamic of the other three trios, undone only by a general lack of finish.  I'll circle back to the D in a bit. 
I suspect that Schmaltz was not the first choice to join Toews & Kane but, with Saad ailing, he got the call.  He was good, impressing with his puck pursuit and willingness to hang around in front of The 'Canes net.  Maybe not a statement game, as such, but he's sure given the coaches to think about once Saad returns.
Andreas Martinsen impressed me by not trying to be something he is not.  He charged around, laid some big hits, took a lot of shots and kept his feet moving all the time.  That's about all we can realistically hope for from him and, in that sense, he delivered the goods.  Of note, his line sported the best possession stats of any line tonight on both teams, with Martinsen ticking along at a gaudy 68% Corsi.  Kind of on this tack, The Hawks were a lot more physical than usual, allegedly making 27 hits.  Now, I'm with ya when you say "HITTING ISN'T AS IMPORTANT AS IT USED TO BE" but, given that there have been many a night in recent years in which The Hawks have had zero physical presence, I don't mind this directive.  Just keep it clean, boys.
As BAD as Keith was on Saturday, and it was very bad, he was that good tonight, one spectacular whiff notwithstanding.  
Gustafsson with Jokiharju: I expected disaster but it was okay, mainly because Jokiharju is so responsible in his positioning.  I wondered if he'd be left to chase down Raleigh forwards when Gus went walkabout, as he does, but he managed to cover really well.  Some mistakes were made but let's remember that the kid is still 19 years old with fewer than 20 NHL games under his belt.  He's remarkably poised, I think, and quite confident in his ability to skate or pass his way out of danger.  It doesn't always work out but, given his relative experience, he's doing well.
Overtime, Deployment and Hunches: Well, inserting Kampf in the second unit there didn't pay off, but I can see why Colliton went that way.  Kampf had a strong game, overall, and is far quicker than Anisimov, the only other realistic choice to "center" a unit in OT.  Maybe too much, too soon for Baby Huey, as he gambled and lost (as did Colliton, I guess) but what ya gonna do...?   I'm not pleased with the result but I like that they're trying new things, especially being as the same-old hasn't been getting results these days.
Cam Ward was good in his "homecoming" game, but a little soft on the game winner, I thought, perhaps because of Seabrook being more of a distraction than anything.
DeBrincat had his best game in about two weeks, and it wasn't only about the goal.  He hasn't looked fully invested lately but, apart from a pair of weak plays, was far more engaged than he's been of late.  I liked how he worked with his linemates and what about that pass from Kahun?  He seems to have a supernatural sense of what's going on behind him, sometimes.

Next: The Blues on Wednesday.  Stick with the plan, I say, with Saad drawing in for Hayden or Fortin, should he be ready to go.  We're due, but we have to get a full 60-minutes of concentration, something we've not had since the Edmonton game over a week ago.

Thomas Dolby - Close But No Cigar

The Fun Machine Took A Sh*t and Died: Flyers 4, Hawks 0

#105: Don't Cost Your Team a Chance At a Win By Doing Thoughtless Things That You Know Better Than to Do
What an utterly disappointing attempt at hockey that was today.  Despite making the worst giveaway in recent memory, gambling and failing on an all or nothing pinch against a much faster opponent and failing to make any passes today, it wasn't all on Keith.
The Hawks outshot Philly, slayed them on faceoffs and, apparently, crushed them in Corsi....yet they never looked like winning this game after the first period.  Lots of shots, lots of zone time, but we can count the number of true quality chances they earned on one hand.  Even then, the best looks they did get were each compromised in some way.  Seabrook charges hard into the slot but is off balance just as he sets to shoot.  Manning (!) is unable to snare a skipping puck as he too barges in on the rush.  Toews loses the handle momentarily when in primo position.  Schmaltz hits a post... and that's about it.
There Were No Second Chances.  I don't believe a single rebound was collected & converted by The Hawks in this game.  Nobody apart from the puck carrier was driving the net.
The Power Play is Complete Garbage.  We saw some light at the end of a long, dark tunnel back in early-mid October, but what happened to the quick puck movement, the brisk one-timers and always having a guy there for tip-ins or rebounds.  How has this all been forgotten?  They even trotted Kunitz out on the PP, he of 0 G, 2A on the season, presumably to provide some presence in front of The Flyers' net....yet he was never there.

That's about all I have the stomach for.  It's still the early days of the Colliton administration but he'd better get busy kickstarting this crew, 'cos they're free-falling right now, and Colliton's first two games were no different than Quenneville's last five.  Last season's excuse was not having the goaltending to compete night-in, night-out.  Well, the goalie is back, and playing pretty well, so what's that leave?  Colliton had better prepare himself for some extreme remedial work with these guys 'cos, right now, the culture on this team is terrible.

QotSA: The Fun Machine Took a Shit & Died

Gift Of Death: Hurricanes 4, Hawks 3

An interesting, entertaining if somewhat frustrating game, in which The Hawks did some very good and some very bad things, ultimately making enough mistakes and poor decisions to gift The Hurricanes a win, despite carrying the play for much of the game.  Let's break it down, with the bad stuff first.

Too Many Giveaways.  First goal, Rutta's outlet pass was way too soft and easily picked off, while Davidson chased the wrong guy in front and Anisimov was lazy picking up his man.  Third goal, Gustafsson does essentially nothing and loses the puck while Jokiharju chooses to cover a guy with two Hawks already on him, leaving DiGuiseppe wide open.  
Gustafsson got away with another couple of terrible turnovers due to what I can only guess is impatience, in which he chose to take the first action that came to mind rather than take a look and take a better, smarter path, which he is fully capable of.  Just mentally lazy.
Crap Coverage: Beside the botched decisions described above, the 'Canes' fourth goal was made possible by neither Fortin nor Kampf bothering to get after DeHaan.  Baby Huey was a little deep, maybe, to respond, but Fortin was floating in the high slot, something he'd best stop doing if he wants to stay in the lineup.  Breakaways are great and fun and all that, but first things first, son - this ain't beer league hockey.
Generally Weak Defence: While Seabrook did make a pair of clutch defensive plays he couldn't make a pass all night. Keith and Jokiharju started well but gave up their gaps an awful lot, collapsing into Crawford's crease far too much.  I already spoke of Gus' giveaways but that wasn't all, 'cos far too many of his passes were much too soft, either being picked off or causing the intended recipient to have to break stride to corral the puck.  Finally, Rutta and Davidson flailed pretty hard a lot of the time.  I liked Davidson joining the rush and getting a couple of good looks for his trouble, but he and Rutes spent too much time chasing Hurricanes forwards around.
No Deception: Each of The Hawks' goals were scored by either driving or crashing the net, which is great I guess, but there were virtually no shots on net off a quick pass, no one-timers to speak of and no plays in which you could say that they took The 'Canes by surprise.  On the flip of that, the Carolina forwards were coming back diligently and plugging up the middle of the ice, cutting off passing lanes.
But it wasn't ALL Bad....
Kane played a ridiculous 27+ minutes and looked quite comfortable with that.  Hopefully double-shifting Kaner isn't the only item in Jeremy Colliton's playbook, and it was partly down to Kruger's injury, but it almost kinda sorta worked tonight.
Nick Schmaltz was tremendous.  He had a shift midway through the first period in which he just kept ending up with the puck, digging, scrapping and making "small" plays to try to create a chance that just astounded me.  
Crow was excellent, again, complicit on only one of the four goals against, really.  He deserved better.
The Hawks didn't quit.  Down four goals early on they DID battle back, which they don't always do.  Sure, they fell short, but they competed and left with something to build on.
Trevor Van Riemsdyk played just as stupid a game as any he'd played when he was a Hawk.  Is it wrong that this pleases me to no end?  

And What Of Jeremy Colliton?  Too soon to say.  I cannot point to any deployment issues that pissed me off and it was players' decisions/failings that led to any CAR goals.  It'll take more than two practices and one game for the new guy to even begin to figure out how to bring the best out of what he's got.  Let's see what happens.

Next: an afternoon delight in Philly on Saturday, which sounds like something vile on urbandictionary.com.  It might be, actually.

iwrestledabearonce - Gift Of Death

Bye, M'Friend, Goodbye

Joel Quenneville's dismissal today has, in my mind, been a viable option for at least three years.
I even expected this to occur last winter but, no sooner had the thought seriously crossed my mind, Hawks GM Stan Bowman suddenly appeared in front of microphones, doubling down on the team's commitment to Q.
I think that Q received the benefit of the doubt at that time, being that their free-fall coincided with Crawford's injury, but his challenges went beyond which goalkeepers were available.  His player deployment became increasingly strange.  As most coaches do, Q had his favourites, it's just been infuriating that some of his favourites happen to be bad at hockey.  In recent years it's been Oesterle and Van Riemsdyk but, if you want a little longer list of guys who were given a little more rope than they deserved and a lot more responsibility than they could handle, let me mention Bollig, Carcillo, and Shaw, his spell as 2C being the most glaring example of a player being ridiculously miscast.
On the flip side of that are players like Kempny, Rutta and Teravainen, all of whom Q either didn't hit it off with or simply had no trust in.  Well, Kemps and Teuvo are both just fine where they are now, and Rutta will perhaps have the opportunity to reestablish himself under Jeremy Colliton and his staff.  Brandon Manning should be worried.
Of greater concern, though, have been The Hawks' special teams, both of which have been awful for at least three seasons.  Things had gotten stale and, no matter how long they'd go with their PP and PK strategies failing to work, they just kept on trying the same stuff, night in and night out.  Only occasionally would something change and those units would experience some success, but it never lasted and things would become all too familiar, soon enough.
Quenneville is almost certainly a good coach.  He's won four Stanley Cups, admittedly with some stacked teams but, in the case of The Hawks, he was given a lot of great parts but it was he who made them into a cup winning machine.  Maybe anyone could have done that with the players he's had at his disposal, maybe not, and we'll never know anyway.  Regardless, a shake-up of some sort was desperately needed and, even if the old chestnut about "It's easier to replace one coach than twenty players" is crap, The Hawks have so many guys with no-movement contracts they couldn't have seriously retooled at that level, even if they wanted to.
Oh well, it was great for awhile but now it's time to move on, and hopefully up.

Maserati - Bye, M'Friend, Goodbye

Just Bad...: Flames 5, Hawks 3

When was the last time one of these Western Canadian swings went well?  2015? 2014?  It's become ridiculous.
It's looking as if not even Corey Crawford is going to get this team where they need to be.  Crow was excellent - maybe he'd like either of Monahan's goals back but it's hard to fault him on the others and, given the terrible coverage in front of him, 4 GA doesn't look that bad.  Too often the D were backing in too far before even thinking about closing their gaps and the forwards weren't picking up their guys very often at all.  Just a bad, bad effort in which the final score actually suggests that The Hawks were in this game.  The Hawks were outshot nearly 3:1 fer goodness' sakes.
Only Three Hawks were north of 50% Corsi: Toews, Kruger and Fortin, and we have to take Fortin's stat, here, with a grain of salt 'cos he spent much of the game cruising the neutral zone looking for the stretch pass.  Despite appalling possession stats I thought Schmaltz was good, trying stuff, at least, but Anisimov was downright awful and Kane kinda came & went, still not feeling his normal self, I suspect.
The Third Line accomplished nothing.
DeBrincat put us through a third consecutive game in which he was painful to watch.  His pass to send Saad in to score was the first he'd made this week.
Seabrook was excellent.  His Corsi line tells a different story but, with Keith "unavailable" he was out almost every second shift, always against The Flames top six.
And Then There's Maude.  I know I said I'd just pass on slagging Manning but I can't let this crap pass without comment.  He has no idea what he's doing.  His positioning is dogshit and his decision making is terrible.  I'd like to see what would happen if, given two opposing players to contend with, he chooses to check one of them, y'know, instead of pissing around between the two guys, accomplishing nothing.  Edzo continues to talk about "the element" that Manning brings which is, presumably some snarl, but all we've seen in that vein is some slashing and the occasional cross-check to the back of a player who's just scored on us.  He's had one meaningless fight in which he fought a middleweight to a draw and the only hits he's made have been on stationary players along the boards, so I don't wanna hear about "the time and space" he creates for his teammates. Yeah, Hard Pass on this idiot.  
I Didn't Mind Martinsen and, if Q doesn't get any ideas about expanding Marty's role I'm quite fine with him doing what he does for the amount of time he's being allotted to do it.  He hasn't hurt the team in his last couple of games and his puck retrieval has been impressive.

Anyway, this wretched road trip is mercifully done and, now The Hawks have a few days in which  to focus on either continuing to do all that stuff that failed to work over the last six or so games OR they can start making some passes and not allowing their opponents' third forwards unlimited access to primo shooting zones.  Y'know, good hockey...

Illyus & Barrientos - Just Bad Shit

Got To Get Better: Oilers 4, Hawks 0

Too many times in recent years have I typed one of these in which the message is this: The Hawks carried the play, yet still lose.  Here's another one.

Costly Errors: After a head-turning start to the season Erik Gustafsson has been ordinary or worse in the last few games.  Twice he messed up keep-ins, one of which ended up costing The Hawks a goal.  We've seen what he can do....now he has to get back to doing that.
And then there's Manning, getting the puck the hell away from him as fast as possible as is his custom, this time right onto Draisaitl's stick.  I guess the difference here is that Gus can do better but I'm not sure Manning has it in him.  If Schmaltz was scratched for, essentially, one horrible pass, so should Manning, but we'll see, we'll see.
Cam Ward wasn't bad but he failed to make any phenomenal saves on a night when The Hawks could have used a few.  Maybe he could have been sharper on Chaisson' s goal but, by then, it was already all over but the crying.
Kane was merely at half-speed, which is fair enough given that he was sick enough a day earlier to miss a game. Maybe he gave whatever he's had to DeBrincat, 'cos The Cat turned in another poor effort in which his passes were trash and his decision making dubious.
Anything Good Here? Well, take those four goals against out of it and maybe most of the third period while we're at it and The Hawks played a pretty sound road game.  I wasn't pumped to see Martinsen in for Kampf but the big fella actually played pretty well, credited with five hits, which is probably a conservative estimate.  Yeah, yeah, big deal, but on this night it actually created some opportunities as Martinsen had frightened Klefbom sufficiently that he straight up gave the puck away rather than be crushed again, and he made a nice chance out of basically nothing just through force of will.  It's just a shame that the one hit he shouldn't have made (and really, he was just out of control) became an Oilers PP and, of course, a goal against.  Davidson was actually decent - not perfect but far better than expected.  Once again he found himself crossed up during a fast break but, otherwise, a surprisingly good two-way effort.

Big game tomorrow, The Hawks' last chance to salvage something from this so-far quite disappointing road trip.  There are a handful of Hawks who, if they don't deliver something, anything, are going to be sliding down the order, some into the press box.

Clapton - Got To Get Better

A Three Dressed Up As A Nine: Canucks 4, Hawks 2

Thought we had a good one going, for 35 minutes anyway.  Even then I was confident that The Hawks would regroup after those few rough minutes at the end of the second period and resume having their way with The Canucks.  Alas, The Canucks stormed the gates right off the trot in the third, while The Hawks failed to respond.
These west coasties always have me a day late so let's not muck about.

No Kane looked like No Problem for awhile.  Kunitz was an odd choice to fill 88's boots but Saad was so good that it could have been anyone on the left wing.  Saad was a beast all evening with a goal, a shot off the post and an optimistic kick-in that was called back.  All his game seems to lack, when he's switched on like this, is precision - he could stand to be slightly more patient and choose his shot locations more carefully rather than just shotgunning the puck.
The Hawks Third Line was a nightmare.  Schmaltz's errant pass led directly to VAN's first goal, annoyingly scored by a guy who, had he not stumbled onto that interception, would have been hollered at for lazy-dogging it back to The Canuck's zone.  Fortin did  little more than chug up and down the wing, rarely involved, probably just hoping for a long pass and a scoring chance.  I didn't mind Johnson on the PP, actually.  He'd got some poise and he appears to know what to do and where to do it, even if he lacks any finish (which is still left to be seen).
Brandon Manning: I'll partially violate my standing order to not discuss this lump unless he's anything except bad, but only because he was well beyond merely bad last night.  As usual, his first pass was rotten all night and, on Virtanen's second goal, he was absolutely pantsed by Granlund.  Why was he standing still at his own blue line with three Canucks entering The Hawks' zone?  Tipping Roussel's shot past Crawford was just the icing on Manning's shit cake.  He might have gotten away with fucking up the Granlund thing had Davidson not been paralyzed by indecision.  Maybe if Davidson had committed to Virtanen he could have closed the gap and prevented the shot, or maybe the shooter was always gonna be out of reach.  We'll never know.
Crawford had a so-so game, mighty in many ways but three of the four VAN goals were nothing special.  That's partly on the guys in front of him, allowing so many mano-a-mano chances, but Crow did lose all of those duels.
DeBrincat wasn't super sharp, either, whiffing on passes and having the puck bounce off his stick a bit.  He's going to have off nights like anybody else but his timing kinda sucked, what with Kane being ill and half of his teammates not showing up for the third period.
Dominik Kahun is in a precarious spot right now.  That line has been great, generally, but his contributions have been infrequent.  If that trio fails to get going in EDM and CAL I expect Kahun to find himself in the bottom six next week.

Trooper - 3 Dressed Up as A 9