Every Dog Has His Day or Would The Real Anton Forsberg Please Stand Up: As bad as Bergie was in the brief amount of time it took for him to make a big stinky mess on Thursday he was brilliant in this one. He was in full command, tracking the puck exceptionally well (which has previously been noted as a strength of his) particularly in close when The Isles had multiple whacks at the thing. While I suspect the real Bergie falls squarely between the disaster on Thursday and the gem last night, it was very good to see him bounce back so emphatically. And, hey, he didn't let in a softie!
The Islanders Big Line Were Where, Exactly? In the weeds, mainly, absolutely kicked in while matched up primarily against the Schmaltz - Hinnie - Charlie Bucket line. It's difficult to say how much of that was due to the effort of that Hawks trio or merely a complete lack of give-a-shit by John Tavares but, even though NYI sport two dangerous lines, as JT goes so go The Isles.
Lookit Jurco, Shakin' Off Checks: Well, there's a first, second and third time for everything, but when Jurc's is able to get around or through a check whatever line he's on is instantly 50% more effective.
Best Of All...with one minor exception I cannot say that any Hawks player stood out as being bad which, I have to say, is all too rare and a pleasure to report. Only Gustafsson was noticeably naughty; his defensive work was okay but his breakout attempts were poorly executed and his passing a bit yippy.
That's enough high fiving for now and, to be realistic, this win was against a team that is one loss away from being mathematically eliminated from a playoff berth. Next up are The Sharks, who still need a few wins to seal their playoff berth, so let's keep it real, keep it steady and try to do this again.
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