Close Enough: Hawks 2, Lavalantulas 1

There wasn't much to choose in this one but, given that The Hawks have made a habit of losing close games, or even games in which they had 60%+ of the chances, I'll gratefully take the win.  It's just nice to be on the right side of it for a change.  Let's get after it.

Toews + Kane + Saad took the handful of good shifts they had in the Anaheim game and spun it into an almost complete effort.  We even heard Foley say something he hasn't had occasion to utter in a long time, something about "Saad" and "power move".  I like these eggs in this particular basket so, more of that, please.
Schmaltz + DeBrincat + Hinostroza were not so far behind in chances and general effectiveness but they did barely survive being penned-in The Hawks' zone on two far-too-long and fraught with peril shifts.  While those couple of panicky shifts are not ideal I still really like this trio together.  What they lack in size and strength is mostly made up for by their speed and fitness.  Schmaltz and DeBrincat are obviously the greater scoring threats on this line but, lately, Hinnie has been the straw stirring the drink.  His lightning-fast zone entries, demonic backchecking and surprisingly adept passing have been a most welcome surprise.  The kid is playing like his life depends on it because IT DOES (it doesn't).
It's a Good Thing the top two lines were so good 'cos the Anisimov and Kampf lines had a rough night.  There are a couple of guys there that are dragging things down: Jurco knows what he wants to do but can't pull it off 'cos he gets knocked off the puck so easily, while Duclair has ample size and skill but no plan whatsoever.

Defensively, it was a mixed bag.  The Hawks got a quality start from JF Berubé and okay efforts from the D-corps, with no one being especially great nor especially awful.  At least Oesterle was better than in ANA, even if he was still way too soft in his own end.  

Okay, it was a good result from an uneven effort against a team that is battling for a playoff berth, and we get to see another team in that position on Thursday when Carolina visits.  Let's hope The Hawks can be miserable, contrary pains in the ass again.