Baby It's Cold Outside: Western Canada Tour Vol I and II

Ugh, these left-coast games are killing me.  So far we've seen two games that were more similar than they might appear by looking only at the score, with just a couple of details that led to disparate results.  This is already old news so let's go.

Vol I: Vancouver
Now this seriously pissed me off.  Even with no Burrows and no Bieksa I still have zero use for The Canucks.  The most visible aspect of their fanbase are given to tantrums that qualify as "civil unrest" and they're still booing Duncan Keith every time he touches the puck, presumably because he elbowed one of The Creepy Twins (doesn't matter which one) almost six years.  That's all I need to know about that gang.
Just as frustrating was that The Hawks held the balance of play, took a lot more shots and still lost to these jokers who are ahead of only Phoenix in the standings.  Oy.  So what about them there details?
* Anton Forsberg was rubbish, full stop.
* Forsling and Rutta were both -3 while playing what amounted to second-pairing minutes.  Whether by accident or by design Goose and Roots were out against the Gagner line A LOT and were there or thereabouts for three of that line's four goals against.  I honestly don't remember Forsling doing anything particularly rotten but Rutta was undeniably awful.  They weren't alone where backline fecklessness was concerned as Keith was next-worst after Rutta, but he's Duncan Keith and we won't be seeing him healthy scratched anytime soon.
* Failure to Convert.  The same old refrain - poor shot selection, lazy choices, bad positioning
The Advanced Stats made things seem far rosier than they were and The Hawks got what they deserved.

Vol II: Edmonton
At least here The Hawks played one-half of a great game, beginning with Hartman's late first period goal and petering out midway through the third when EDM went into desperation mode.  As above, the Advanced Stats were fairly similar to the previous game but a few adjustments helped them eke out a win with an effort that was not perfect, but good enough.
* Jeff Glass.  Let's get the feel-good story of the weekend out of the way.  Glass was remarkably solid.  His game appears a little...static, but he's a big guy, moves the puck well and is surprisingly athletic.  He got a bit lucky when he found himself completely out of shape on a couple of plays that The Oilers failed to close, and Strome erred when he had Glass dead to rights.  I half expect him to get lit up in Calgary tomorrow - I hope he doesn't - but his NHL debut was a great story and contributed to the win.
* Lineup Changes.  Kempny and Franson came in for Rutta and Forsling while Hinostroza and Panik replaced Sharp and Anisimov (injured).  The two D-men hardly played and, really, weren't good or bad, their greater contribution being simply avoiding a repeat of The Goose & Roots show from the night before.  Panik remains snake-bitten but he was out there trying stuff, at least.  Vinnie Hinnie and Franson found themselves on the new-look second power play unit and, while Franson simply picked up where he left off before his injury, Vinnie looked alright in that role, even notching a helpie on the third goal.
Sometimes a change is as good as a rest and the changes kind of paid off, this time.
* Ryan Hartman returning to form.  Harts was one of the few Hawks that put in a full effort in Vancouver and he carried that over to Edmonton.  I think he's been playing a lot better, generally, for the last couple of weeks, and Hartman starting to contribute again makes me feel slightly less bitter about DeBrincat being buried on the third, arguably fourth line.  At least Q is trotting out DBC on the power play, where he's had some good chemistry with Schmaltz , particularly.
* Oesterle breaks through.  While he was far from flawless and still leans awfully hard on Keith for safety passes and covering his ass when things go sideways, he did alright.  Paired with Franson on 2PP they kept the puck heading toward The Oilers net relentlessly, but I can't help but feel that persisting with these two is playing with fire - The Hawks gave up quite enough breakaways and odd-man rushes as it was.  I had a feeling that Oz was going to score soon, so it was cool that he finally found the twine against the team that never really gave him a proper look.

* David Kampf?  Never have I seen a player more closely resembling Baby Huey but that's not for now.  I cannot yet see what he brings, to be honest, and was surprised to see the big, plodding centreman on the penalty kill.  Well, he's a big body with good reach, although he never looked particularly physical in either game.  
You know he'll score in Calgary, now, right?