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