Another catch-up post as I only sort of watched Sunday's game, otherwise occupied with snow removal and related bullshit, and racked out seconds after Monday's non-result.
Hawks 5, Penguins 3
A Close Game, but for weird reasons. The Hawks gifted PITT all three goals, with Toews trancing out instead of taking out Hornqvist, everybody being non-committal on Guentzel's tally (but especially Anisimov, who was simply terrible in this game) and Cam Ward, who was otherwise okay, getting leaky on Brassard's one-timer. Even Kane was a bit topsy-turvy inasmuch as his three helpies erased some defensive laziness and a heart-in-mouth drop pass to no one.
Meanwhile, The Pens suffered stretches in which they couldn't seem to find their legs, their defence were occasionally bewildered and their keeper, Casey DeSmith, struggled with some long shots eluding him. The Penguins' general sluggishness was compounded by them trying but failing to skate with The Hawks rather than plug up the middle and slow things down. If either team had their shit only slightly more together they could have run off with this one.
The Hawks' Special Teams were looking good, the PP just missing out on going 3-for-3 by mere seconds. The PK was perfect on the night with Seabrook and Dahlstrom pulling the most minutes there. Notably, Gustafsson was left OFF the PK entirely which was wise, I think. He can do a lot of things but straight-up defence...not so much.
Drake Caggiula finally debuted and I liked what I saw. We'd seen him when he was with EDM, of course, and all I could recall is his speed and hustle, which is pretty much what he brought in this game. The fourth line, along with Kruger and Kunitz, was energetic all night, laying hits and being nuisances.
Goals From Unlikely Sources sure helped as Keith and Kunitz scored their first goals of the season, both on long shots that probably should have been stopped (see DeSmith, Casey, above) but nevermind...
In a bizarre reverso of the previous night it was The Hawks who were lured into a wide-open affair with similar results as, on the second of a back-to-back, they simply hadn't the necessary jump to pull it off. They came close and, but for a cocktail of dumb stuff in the final minute, very nearly got away with it.
Collin Delia was again impressive, and this is with him still figuring out positioning, rebound control and puck handling. His reflexes and athleticism are incredible so, if/when he comes to grips with the other details of netminding, he's going to be tough to beat. He did allow his first bad goal of the season when he let Gaudreau's second goal trickle through him but, hey, just one of those in five starts....I'll take that.
Dylan Strome's Timing isn't great. I was actually going to type some stuff about Strome's passing being just a tad off a lot of he time, either slightly late or slightly early, but in light of his taking three dumbass penalties last night I'd say the timing of that rubbish is somewhat worse. They were all needless, lazy, selfish acts.
Quietly Excellent: I thought Perlini (!) and Kahun each had strong games despite having nothing to show for it and Brandon Davidson has surprised me these last two games. Every stride he takes looks as if it's a massive effort but, unlike his smooth-skating colleague Forsling, he's getting the job done. He didn't commit any turnovers, was even for the two games and was quick to defend his teammates without being stupid about it. If you can get that from a depth Guy that's a win, every time.
That Final Minute: A shambles. The first and worst sin was Anisimov shooting from where he did because he's not Patrick Kane and of course he missed the net and when you miss the net from that angle it is always coming back your way in a hurry. Empty net, there, Artie...
And Gustafsson's seemingly half-hearted attempt to track down Hathaway bearing down on the empty net was disappointing, getting turned inside-out and settling for a final desperate swipe with his stick rather than skating. Caggiula came from a lot farther back and had a better go than Gus did. Maybe dead legs, maybe overconfidence, maybe just a poor decision, but not at all good.
Next: At home Wednesday vs. NSH who shut out TOR on Monday.
Roster Stuff: Sikura and Martinsen were quietly dispatched to Rockford while Hank Jokiharju was activated after his gold-medal winning stint on the Finnish Junior team.
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