The Good
Patrick Kane scored twice, his first goals since Nov. 24th and just his second and third in the last month. I don't think it's hyperbolic to suggest that as Kane goes so go the Hawks, so this is kind of a big deal. Kaner also cracked a smile for the first time in ten days.
Connor Murphy played his first game this season after back surgery in September and was arguably The Hawks' best D-man tonight.
The Hawks outshot MTL handily and the shot attempts were even more lopsided. HOWEVER....
The Bad
...The Hawks "enjoyed" a whopping 15 minutes of Power Play time which is when they managed to run up the shot clock. At evens The Habs were outshot by a mere 23-21 and Corsi was dead even. This signals two issues: first, when your opponent plays shorthanded for almost an entire period and that massive advantage nets you only one goal something is terribly, terribly wrong. By the time MTL took their 5th or 6th penalty The Hawks, one would think, should have had those guys on the ropes, exhausted and easy to exploit. Nope, didn't happen.
Second, had Les Canadiens not been short for so long one can only imagine what would have occurred.
Anisimov left the game after being given a rough ride by Habs captain Shea Weber early in the third period. I expect we'll have to wait until at least tomorrow to learn the extent of his aches & pains. His early exit coincided unfortunately with Strome's trip to The Room to be stitched up after being sliced open by Jordie Benn, leaving Toews and Kampf as the only available centers for the ensuing four minute PP.
The Ugly
Well, The Hawks lost. In a game that, at a glance, looks like they dominated but, in reality, was practically handed to them they managed to find a way to lose anyway. One could argue they were goalie'd by Carey Price but, with the opportunities given to them, The Hawks should have closed the deal. Weber's goal was legit but Domi's and Tatar's were made possible by GUESS WHAT - shite defensive coverage, Kruger giving up on Domi for the first goal against and Keith failing to bother Tatar on the third GA. He was right there, too, but was content to just kinda hang out behind Tatar. Maybe Tatar tips that one in regardless of any pressure Keith applies but ol' Duncs didn't make life hard for the guy whatsoever.
The Power Play Failed Again. One PPG out of eight tries, while actually an improvement, is still rubbish. The main problem tonight, in my view, was that Seabrook was absolute garbage, generating little, letting pucks slip by him at the point and taking too long to tee up shots that either sailed wide or were easily blocked. With Seabs at the point there's no movement, the entire effort is entirely predictable and any goals The Hawks glean with that unit are going to be despite him rather than because of him. Seabrook soaked up 10 minutes of power play ice time too and, even with that massive advantage, still rocked 26% Corsi! Could someone please point out to Coach Colliton that Henri Jokiharju was not only available for this detail but that he gets his shot away far quicker than Seabrook, hits the net more frequently and has excellent mobility, as opposed to Seabs' two settings, "Dead Slow" and "Stopped". It pisses me off that a better option is right there, sitting on the bench, but Colliton doesn't seem convinced that Jokiharju is up to the task.
Next: Another well-deserved beat-down by Winnipeg, Tuesday night. Count on it.
The Danish Symphony Orchestra - The Good, The Bad and The Ugly
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