It was an untidy game for both sides but maybe a bit messier for The Sharks. Neither team hit a pass in the Danger Zone™ in the entirety of the first period and, really, it didn't get a lot better later on. Would it be damning The Hawks with faint praise if I said The Sharks wanted this less?
* All that aside, if Wingels could shoot or pass even a little bit The Hawks could have had this salted away a lot sooner. He, Toews and Saad buzzed The Sharks zone all night yet came up empty when they could have used a crisp pass on the tape or a shot on net. Please, Q, this is ridiculous.
* On that tack, Jurco lined up with Kane and Anisimov again. Tonight he was muscled off the puck countless times, lost the handle on a couple of rushes and, somehow, missed an open net. This choice is even more silly than Wingels playing on L1, because Jurco has yet to contribute anything to this team. There are no past successes to suggest he belongs this high up the order. He tries, I'll grant him that, but he accomplishes nothing.
* Even though he was probably only in the lineup because The Hawks are shopping him for trade day, Duclair had a fine game, his best as a Hawk. He was on the move all night, had a strong forecheck going and was one of a very few Hawks forwards making a pass now and again.
* Rutta returned after missing eight games and was fine. Better offensively than defensively but okay, overall.
* Oesterle was bad again. Keith was refraining from giving him the puck deep in their own end because, I assume, he's well tired of having it weakly pushed back toward him a few seconds later when Oz is under pressure by a forechecker. He's been better, it just seems like he's underthinking almost every aspect of his game right now.
* JF Berubé was good. He didn't get that much work tonight but he did survive a handful of sustained attacks by The Sharks and a few goalmouth scrambles. Now let's see him do it again.
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