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...
Flames 4, Hawks 3
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.
I can't even get angry anymore. I expect little and The Hawks deliver exactly that. At this point I think I'm just hoping to be surprised.
The Same Old Same-Same. Another slow start, possibly the worst first period The Hawks have played this season. The Jets had three goals on fourteen shots before The Hawks recorded their first shot on net. This is after a lot of chat after Monday's practice about coming out of the gates hard, matching The Jets' intensity. Just shut up, guys. Do something, then talk about it.
The Middle 30 Minutes looked pretty good on The Hawks, although it was about 50% CHI bearing down and 50% WPG not giving a damn until The Hawks scored a few. Once Perreault put WPG up 5-3 The Hawks kept skating but began missing passes, making poor decisions....all the stuff they do in the third period when they're still within a goal or two.
And that's it. Nothing we haven't already seen over a dozen times this season.
The Rockford Shuffle has begun, with Alex Fortin going north while Dylan Sikura and Carl Dahlstrom will be the next young ones to have spirits crushed in the 312. Not sorry to see Fortin's tail lights as he remains far from ready for The NHL. Dahlstrom replaces Forsling, who was placed on IR a day or two ago, while Sikura The Younger fills Arthur The Large's roster spot as he is sidelined with "concussion protocol" (which is seriously how they articulate this now).
Can We Call Time on Chris Kunitz Now? He's accomplishing nothing except embarrassing himself. Just end it, now.
Next: Penguins, I think. Does it matter? Right now, what I look forward to the most where The Hawks are concerned is Trade Deadline Day, our last best hope to unload Seabrook and/or Keith, providing a contending team or two need a second-pairing guy and have some money to spend AND either of those guys are willing to leave. That's a lot of Ifs but, hey, I'm an optimist...
Johnny Cash - No Expectations
Straight to it, then.
The Good
Patrick Kane scored twice, his first goals since Nov. 24th and just his second and third in the last month. I don't think it's hyperbolic to suggest that as Kane goes so go the Hawks, so this is kind of a big deal. Kaner also cracked a smile for the first time in ten days.
Connor Murphy played his first game this season after back surgery in September and was arguably The Hawks' best D-man tonight.
The Hawks outshot MTL handily and the shot attempts were even more lopsided. HOWEVER....
The Bad
...The Hawks "enjoyed" a whopping 15 minutes of Power Play time which is when they managed to run up the shot clock. At evens The Habs were outshot by a mere 23-21 and Corsi was dead even. This signals two issues: first, when your opponent plays shorthanded for almost an entire period and that massive advantage nets you only one goal something is terribly, terribly wrong. By the time MTL took their 5th or 6th penalty The Hawks, one would think, should have had those guys on the ropes, exhausted and easy to exploit. Nope, didn't happen.
Second, had Les Canadiens not been short for so long one can only imagine what would have occurred.
Anisimov left the game after being given a rough ride by Habs captain Shea Weber early in the third period. I expect we'll have to wait until at least tomorrow to learn the extent of his aches & pains. His early exit coincided unfortunately with Strome's trip to The Room to be stitched up after being sliced open by Jordie Benn, leaving Toews and Kampf as the only available centers for the ensuing four minute PP.
The Ugly
Well, The Hawks lost. In a game that, at a glance, looks like they dominated but, in reality, was practically handed to them they managed to find a way to lose anyway. One could argue they were goalie'd by Carey Price but, with the opportunities given to them, The Hawks should have closed the deal. Weber's goal was legit but Domi's and Tatar's were made possible by GUESS WHAT - shite defensive coverage, Kruger giving up on Domi for the first goal against and Keith failing to bother Tatar on the third GA. He was right there, too, but was content to just kinda hang out behind Tatar. Maybe Tatar tips that one in regardless of any pressure Keith applies but ol' Duncs didn't make life hard for the guy whatsoever.
The Power Play Failed Again. One PPG out of eight tries, while actually an improvement, is still rubbish. The main problem tonight, in my view, was that Seabrook was absolute garbage, generating little, letting pucks slip by him at the point and taking too long to tee up shots that either sailed wide or were easily blocked. With Seabs at the point there's no movement, the entire effort is entirely predictable and any goals The Hawks glean with that unit are going to be despite him rather than because of him. Seabrook soaked up 10 minutes of power play ice time too and, even with that massive advantage, still rocked 26% Corsi! Could someone please point out to Coach Colliton that Henri Jokiharju was not only available for this detail but that he gets his shot away far quicker than Seabrook, hits the net more frequently and has excellent mobility, as opposed to Seabs' two settings, "Dead Slow" and "Stopped". It pisses me off that a better option is right there, sitting on the bench, but Colliton doesn't seem convinced that Jokiharju is up to the task.
Next: Another well-deserved beat-down by Winnipeg, Tuesday night. Count on it.
The Danish Symphony Orchestra - The Good, The Bad and The Ugly
The Hawks almost played a complete game tonight but, as Da used to say, "almost only counts in shit fights and hand grenades". But for an abysmal first ten minutes and a mistake here, a defensive lapse there, The Hawks more than had the measure of The Capitals. Alas, they once again sucked just enough and at the least opportune times. Onward to the post mortem, then.
Lazy Defensive Coverage killed The Hawks tonight. This has been a problem for the last 10 games or so (or two years, arguably, but nevermind) but this evening's failings are even harder to accept than usual 'cos they had this one and gave it away. On the first goal it was Schmaltz who had a chance to take out Backstrom or Wilson but could only be arsed to wave his stick meekly at the former and glance at the latter as he coasted into The Hawks' zone when, really, he should have been watching for the trailer, Ovechkin. On Washington's fourth goal it was both Kane and Saad who gave up on the play, picking up absolutely no one and barely moving, really. Hell, it was Anisimov that made a desperate attempt to cover Smith - Pelly, and he had hustled back from The Caps blue line, twice the distance that 88 and 20 had to cover. Unacceptable.
The Hawks Failed to Make Much Out of A Lot of Hard Work. They actually controlled the game, for the most part, comprehensively crushing WASH in shots, chances and possession (to the tune of 62-38 at evens, 59-41 overall). But, for all the time they held the puck they too often made weak passes, no passes or sent a pass off target, forcing them to start all over again. Schmaltz carried the puck a lot tonight but, unfortunately, was the worst offender where gacking passes is concerned.
The Hawks Second Line Needs To Get Going. While Anisimov wasn't bad tonight and Schmaltz was trying stuff but failing, DeBrincat was once again invisible. These three have combined for a mere 2G and 5A in the last ten games, and Large Arthur collected two of those assists playing with different wingers. DeBrincat and Schmaltz, particularly, are supposed to be our secondary scorers but are barely putting up bottom-six numbers. Entirely unacceptable.
Our Old Friend Comes Back To Haunt Us. Michal Kempny played a gem of a game, scoring the game winner and making a ridiculous defensive play that not only prevented a Hawks breakaway but led to a WASH goal. My schadenfreude is diminished somewhat with Quenneville not being there to witness the event but I assure you that I still gleaned some sick satisfaction from this.
Next: Off to Florida where, in recent years, we've been sent back to The 312 with healthy glows but no points in hand. Still, if they can find it within themselves to tighten things up they could, based on the good parts of tonight's game, return with 3 or 4 points.
Gang Of Four - At Home He's A Tourist
Almost entirely disappointing, that one, especially being that this flat effort took place in Garbagetown, whose inbred denizens will get a shit-ton of mileage out of their massive victory. Hell, they'll probably hang a banner or some damn thing.
Only Patrick Kane had a truly good game. Even Anisimov, with three points on the night, bookended his great middle part of the game with some pretty shoddy passing and failing to transition to defence in time. Kahun and DeBrincat both played lazy games. Jokiharju was decent, overall, but made a bad/weird choice abandoning O'Reilly on that first goal. Kunitz was a disaster. Keith had one of those nights when the simplest pass was beyond his capacity and his decision to stand idly by while Maroon screened Crawford, unopposed, was a poor choice. And so on...
Crawford was not sharp, even if a couple of The Blues' goals were simple tap-ins, or made possible by defensive shortcomings in front of him. He got himself ridiculously out of position before Bozak scored, but we'll spread the blame a bit by mentioning that a) that goal was moments after The Hawks committed an unforced icing and b) Manning was, as usual, being worthless.
I saw Rutta commit one obvious giveaway but was there more than that? Is that why he was benched for half of the game? If so, I'd be happy to gin up a lowlights tape of Manning, one that will make Coach Q never stop vomiting.
Passing Was Poor in general. Breakouts were not crisp and O-zone passes were largely off target. Even Gustafsson, who has been on-point nearly all the time thus far, was passing behind guys and not putting enough muscle on his passes. They can be better, they just chose not to, tonight.
I'm Still Not Sure What Luke Johnson does, exactly, but he somehow reeled off 72% Corsi tonight, so I guess he did it properly, whatever "it" is.
Edmonton tomorrow, with The Oilers emboldened after defeating The first-place Predators earlier today. With last change, I wonder who Q will match up against McDavid. Can he afford to "waste" Toews to try to cover McD? What about Draisaitl's line, then? Some tough decisions are in order and, no matter what direction The Hawks choose, it's likely going to come down to them needed Kane & Co. to score a few.
Joe Jackson: You Can't Get What You Want (Til' You Know What You Want)
That's more like it.
It was "only" two goals and one was an empty-netter but the potential effect Brandon Saad's busting out could well be huge. The expected joy and relief of having finally scored was plainly evident but, almost as good, Saad played with fury, purpose and swagger from there on. It's not as if he'd been playing so badly up until last night but, when that first goal went in, it's like a switch was flipped.
I'd thought he was lost, perhaps he is found.
Yes, there's more
I don't know what to do about Anisimov. It felt like he was dragging Kane & Saad down a bit yet, he's pretty good in front of the net, being as he's large and has okay hands. Is it worth putting up with his lack of speed and his defensive indifference for awhile to see what these three can accomplish?
Toews and Gustafsson had fantastic games apart from one gacked play....and it was the same play for both of them and Toews very nearly undid his end of the mistake, barely failing to lift Rakell's stick as they bore down on Crawford. Gus has been a revelation, having upped every aspect of his game to unforeseen levels. Two months ago I'd written that the roster could only support either Gustafsson or Forsling and not both and, at this point, Forsling will be lucky if Stan Bowman doesn't delete him from his contacts list. Gus could still use a bit of improvement defensively but he is already ridiculously better than he'd been last year.
Marcus Kruger - penalty minute leader. Okay, that has to stop.
Luke Johnson - does anyone know what he does? Schmaltz and Fortin had a few interesting moments last night but Johnson was nowhere around. Coach Q seems really enthusiastic about Johnson so maybe there's something there and I just haven't spotted it yet. As it is, he appears to be a downgrade from super-steady David Kampf.
Corey Crawford is The Man.
That is all.
NEXT: The Rangers on Thursday. Get ready for The Attack of The Killer Zees....or possibly Zeds, with Zuccarello and Zibanejad leading "the charge" in the midst of an icky rebuild.
Left Boy The Return of...
TFW your goalie allows five goals and his save percentage improves....
Okay, not Cam Ward's fault. He kinda made a mess of that side of the net stuff-in and a couple of his puck exchanges were sketchy but, otherwise, he played a fine game. It's a pity that the rest of The Hawks only showed up for, what....fifteen minutes?
Not going to pick this one apart because this was a failure on practically the entire team's part, although some surely did fail more than others.
The Hawks' defence was simply awful. Slow, hesitant, out of position and too often just standing around. Check the tape on Cirelli's goal, with Gustafsson leaning on the back of the net and Jokiharju pushing Cam Ward off the post - what the hell was all that about? Meanwhile, NO Hawks forwards had picked up anyone, instead just standing by, waiting for what, I do not know. I saw Schmaltz' and Anisimov's backs more than once while a TB shot scooted past Ward.
Each of the TB goals, except maybe Hedman's, displayed a similar level of ain't-give-a-damn.
Breakouts were sloppy and subsequently exploited by The Lightning. That'll happen sometimes but, when it does, you have to try something different. The Hawks did not try something different, apparently content to keep sailing against the same rocks, again and again.
The Hawks even set a modern record by allowing a whopping 33 shots in the second period alone.
As ridiculous as all that is it's frustrating to note that The Hawks dominated the last half of the first period and the final few minutes of the game. Why just then? Isn't anyone putting these guys' feet to the fire, at least in some way that they'll respond to?
Anything good? Sure, Saad had his best shifts of the season thus far, although he seemed to lose interest in the latter stages (who can blame him?) and, having hit the post twice in one period, one fears that it'll be another one of those years for him. I thought Rutta was quite good, and Davidson was at least okay, far more than I can say for the rest of them.
Kane was trying and started some interesting plays but his linemates were nowhere to be seen much of the time. He fared better while double-shifting with Kruger & Fortin, fer goodness' sakes. Yet, his only reward was a team-low -3, not at all indicative of his effort.
Hole - Awful
It wasn't very pretty, they really only played well for 25 minutes and they were raked over the coals in most statistical categories but, somehow, The Hawks prevailed. Perverse lot, these Blackhawks.
Let's go.
The Dumb wasn't referring to The Hawks (much). Kings ubermensch Drew Doughty took a penalty, the validity of which was discussed to the extent that it became two penalties, leading to the Anisimov PPG and the tide turning in favour of The Hawks. Late in the period it was Tanner Pearson, somehow too slow or too lazy to keep pace with Connor Murphy (ha!) with Toews, this time, cashing in on that PP for the go-ahead goal. Doughty's original penalty was a bit of a weak call but, after Carter drilled DeBrincat earlier with nary a glance from the officials, I'd say they were even.
Stats Pack: As mentioned, The Hawks were on the wrong end of nearly all statistical categories, apart from a pair of vital areas: Power Play Goals (2-for-5) and Giveaways. While Duncan Keith, alone, served up two after-yous that led directly to LA goals, The Kings were even sloppier, with the Oesterle and Hinostroza goals directly attributed to Kings giveaways.
And the power play came alive. Anisimov did exactly what he's meant to do in front of the net and the rest of the forwards did an admirable job moving the puck and getting shots away. For a day, The Hawks kinda looked like they knew what they were doing, there.
Bounce-back games for Gustafsson, Dahlstrom and Oesterle helped immensely, especially given that Keith had his problems and Seabrook was not much better. Despite these performances Keith and Seabrook still led all Hawks in TOI. There's your Dumb, I guess, but what do I know?
Kane + Toews + Saad didn't really come on-song until the third period and, even then, were not exactly dominant. Saad continues to have a tough time getting shots away but perhaps, with Kane providing better passes than he's been seeing a lot of the time, that will change. At this point in the year The Hawks have nothing to lose by persevering with this trio, if only to see what they can accomplish and what effect watering down the other lines will have.
SO, on the back of that deplorable effort in San Jose a few nights ago it was sure encouraging to see The Hawks dig in, come back and beat a team that had blown only one third period lead all season. Sure, there was a bit of luck involved and The Kings didn't make things too difficult in the third period, but we'll take it, and maybe a bit of momentum into tomorrow's afternoon delight in Anaheim.
Catching up a bit, here as I managed to miss the Tuesday game entirely due to an unexpected TV blackout. Speaking of blackouts, though, let's talk about The Blackhawks' offense.
There is none, basically.
During this recent funk, The Hawks have routinely outshot their opponents and have, with a couple games' exception, destroyed their foes in Corsi/possession. Yet, since their lopsided win against OTT on Jan 9th we have:
A 3 - 7 - 2 record
24 GF vs. 36 GA
During these 12 games The Hawks scored three or more goals only three times and even managed to lose two of those "high-output games", too.
I hear a ton of chatter about how if Corey Crawford had been around things would be different. Sure, I can point to several games in which, yes, Crow could well have made the difference, maybe even stolen a win here or there.
But they haven't had Crawford to lean on. They've had to make do with Forsberg and Glass, neither of whom has set the world alight, but that's the reality. Knowing that each of these Guys will undoubtedly give up one or more ridiculously soft goals, night-in-night-out, the rest of The Hawks should know that they'll have to come up with an extra goal, or two, to even things out.
Instead, Crow's injury coincided exactly with The Hawks' offense going into the pooper - they somehow got worse precisely when they needed to be better.
Forsberg and Glass, despite some frustrating outings, have met or exceeded expectations. The goal scorers have not.
Last night in the post-game show the talking heads agreed that team defence is the problem. Horseshit. They've made their share of defensive errors but scoring more than two goals per game would go a long way toward evening those out those mistakes.
(And while we're at it, can someone please explain to Pat Foley that when your team has the puck 60% or more of the time they're gonna get "out hit".)
The Hawks offense is utterly impotent. Toews, Anisimov, Hartman and especially Saad have all failed to deliver, and they've received practically no contribution from the back end. Is it all on these players? I cannot imagine that to be true. Toews is getting older and has some hard miles on his clock, but the cases of Saad and Hartman are just baffling. They've been shuffled up and down the lines (fourth line on Tuesday, in fact) and, in Hartman's case, from a healthy scratch to the top unit and primo power play minutes in consecutive games.
The Hawks' coaching staff are clearly out of ideas.
I cannot say if the problems are motivational, instructional, strategic or if the players are just bad, but things cannot continue like this.
Change the players or change the coaches. Something's gotta give.
Bye, bye, playoff chances...
* That's probably The Hawks' season done & dusted. Maybe they were out of it earlier, maybe not, but this half-assed effort underlines how far off the plot they are. If you're only willing, or only able to play 20 - 25 minutes of half decent hockey this is the result you can expect.
* Oesterle, despite his qualities as an okay puck-mover, is a shitty, shitty defender. He has no business being anywhere near the ice during 3-on-3 overtime 'cos he hasn't got anyone to back him up, which he needs. A lot.
* Three goals against were caused by turnovers, one of which was inexcusably stupid, and the fourth saw Oesterle get absolutely pantsed. Too much responsibility is being placed on so-so players and it probably seems necessary to the coaching staff because many of the players who should be carrying a heavier load have been making a mess of things far too often
* Tonight's lineup "featured" four skaters who failed to make The Hawks out of training camp. This is not to slag on those players; Kampf and Jurco have had good moments and Hinostroza's been a pleasant surprise, but what the hell can one expect if a team that hopes to contend is leaning on Guys that are mostly marginal?
* BUT the reason those Guys are up from Rockford is because too many players are underachieving mightily. Toews works hard every game but, especially lately, accomplishes little. Saad has been a disaster. Anisimov, albeit recently back from injury, has been out of step. I'm not sure what to expect from Duclair but it would sure be nice to see him win a puck battle someday or not lose the handle while trying to stickhandle around defenders. After a promising rookie season Hartman has been a disappointment. Kane has been good for the most part and Schmaltz & DeBrincat have been outstanding given where they're at in their careers, but how much can one line's worth of players accomplish?
* That so many Hawks are somewhere between struggling and pissing the bed makes me wonder....how much of this is on the players and how much is on the coaching staff. It just seems so odd, so improbable, that so many players that The Hawks are counting on to produce, cannot. Is it a lack of skill or a lack of motivation?
If this season ends badly, and all signs point to that being the case, expect a major housecleaning, top-to-bottom.
Here's the thing: with the announcement today that Corey Crawford will miss "about a week" with an LBI, the reality is that Anton Forsberg will be The Man. Because he has to be. Because JF Berubé is awful, historically speaking.
So what do you do if you're the coach, with a super-short turnaround for tomorrow's game? Forsberg on nearly zero rest, and after a loss that kinda points to him, or Berubé, who is awful? Historically.
Anyway, tonight saw a better effort from the skaters, at least. They had moments of greatness and some of utter fecklessness, but so did Dallas.
The Anisimov line was deadly all night but were stepping on the puck a bit, their passes being just a tad off when they most needed to be spot-on. The same was true for DeBrincat; generally excellent but slightly out of sync, somehow, at the most crucial moments.
Tonight's Corsi numbers were not flattering for Forsling & Rutta but I'll suggest that they were better than what that indicates. Not at all perfect as they both had little bobbles that spun off into Dallas chances (and a GA for Faksa when Goose's failed stick check had him badly out of position) but they made their share of great plays, too, and Rutta was heroic in OT.
Surely a frustrating night for the team and especially for Anton Forsberg. The Faksa goal was possibly savable and he was schooled in the shootout by a couple of super-smart & extremely deceptive players but, otherwise, he outplayed his highly-rated counterpart, Ben Bishop. Yet, no result.
Stick him back in there tomorrow, give him a crack at getting it right. If it starts badly, well, there's always JF Berubé. Even if he is awful.
Here comes a workmanlike recap for a workmanlike game, regardless of who or what deserves anything. It wasn't a perfect effort but good enough to earn two points and with enough bright spots to make one believe, or hope at least, that The Hawks will be able to muddle their way into the playoffs. Forward to The Bits.
* Anisimov scores again, and a pure garbageman's goal, at that. It's been fun to watch Large Arthur do his thing and do it so well, as late, but I spoil it for myself (and everyone else, now) by considering where The Hawks would be if he wasn't scoring by the bucketful. Aside from DeBrincat none of the other Hawks forwards have had much luck around the net for weeks. Kane and Schmaltz are both moving the puck well enough, exceptionally well in Schmaltz's case, but not cashing in. The Toews line look dangerous every night but have little to show for their efforts apart from an empty-netter and an OT goal by Saad while playing with DBC. You have to think that the pucks will start going in for them...but when?
The best Hawks' player, once again.
* While the Top Six crushed PIT in possession and chances, which says a lot given that this was a road game and The Hawks wouldn't get their preferred match-ups, the Bottom Six were a sucking chest wound. Sharp had a dozen or so semi-breakaways but couldn't convert because a) a Penguins D-man always managed to catch him just enough to be a nuisance, and b) Matt Murray's already seen Sharpie's best stuff in summer scrub hockey. Wingels had one good look in the second but, around that same time, Old Lead Hands Bouma squandered an A+ chance. Is Kero really not an option over Bouma?
* Forsling had another pretty good game with only a couple of "moments", scored a goal and had that same good, darty stick that he had going against NYR. The Hawks' D was okay, in general, and that's about as good as we can hope for with this bunch, right now.
* Crawford was tremendous, missing a shutout by a fraction of an inch on a shot that may or may not have ticked off of Keith's stick.
* Two Power Play goals in one game is a victory in and of itself. The Hawks had good puck movement for the most part and actually got a few shots on net during the PP. I'm going to go out on a limb here and suggest that The Hawks' recent successes and Anisimov's scoring binge is partly due to Franson getting the puck on-net so often, particularly with the extra man. Seriously, The Hawks haven't had a guy on the back end accomplish that in years.
Off to FLA on Wednesday and too many days off for my liking before that and between the Tampa and Miami games. Maybe it'll rain and the golf courses will be closed....
Early in the first period my electricity briefly went off and I had to horse around to get the furnace restarted. After reviewing the tapes it was apparent that it was a period worth missing, anyway. However, as the house heated up, so did The Hawks. I assume this was entirely coincidental.
* Artem Anisimov. Yeah, he's slow as hell and isn't so good at those faceoffs but, boy, has he been working the front of the net like a champ the last several games. As long as his big body is allowed to hang out there his strength and his hands will continue to ca$h in the goals. Also, while he was below 50% on those faceoffs, he always seemed to win the ones that mattered. That was as perfect a game as one can expect from Large Arthur.
* DeBrincat was good, finally got some significant power play time and continued to surprise me with his aggressive and often effective forechecking. More, please, and in the top six, if you don't mind; he's being wasted on the third/fourth line.
* Patrick Kane was better, but he still seems not-quite-right. His passing has not been up to his usual standards, his shooting mediocre and his judgement a bit suspect for about two weeks, now. He just hasn't always appeared fully invested in what was going on. Last night saw an improvement in all those areas, even with a couple of ain't-give-a-damn passes and a pair of simply dumb shots, but he can and will be better.
* Nick Schmaltz was, I thought, the second best Hawk in this game. Thinking back to around this time last year, he had one move, the old Mats Naslund get-the-zone-curl-back-and-look-for-a-pass schtick. This year, he hardly ever does that, instead usually choosing to barge deep into the offensive zone, trying to set up camp below the goal line and do his passing from there. He's just so much more confident, isn't shying away from contact like he had been (which might be a mistake, but that's not for now) and has a much wider array of plays he's willing to try. If it weren't for Anisimov carrying the mail right now I'd campaign for a DeBrincat-Schmaltz-Kane combo. Yeah, it would be the smallest line in the NHL, but these three all play bigger than they are, and I wanna have a longer look at Schmaltz setting up DBC.
* Brandon Saad. I hesitate to say he's been bad, but he hasn't been good either. Having had only one really good game in the last 3½ weeks should be bugging him as much as it's bugging me.
* John Hayden came through with exactly the kind of goal one expects from him given his location in the lineup. He was well-positioned and did a great job to lift Shatnerkirk's stick, outmuscle him, and get the shot away. He could shape up into a pretty effective blunt instrument.
* Goose Forsling. Despite a pretty shaky first period (from what little I saw and, in his defense, everyone in red was pretty poor in the first) he had his best game in ages, breaking up numerous plays with a good, active stick. His positioning was decent, too. Could be an anomaly, but one hopes he's being coached in these areas and is applying himself, finally.
* Cody Franson. Not perfect, and that back-pass in the first would have gotten Murph or Kemps stapled to the bench for the duration, but he's so good along the other guys' blue line I think you've got to keep him in the lineup. That low, hard shot has led to many primo rebounds. How is it that he shoots half as often but records a shot-on as often as Keith and Seabrook? He just does.
On the topic of Franson v. Seabrook: that's how you execute a last-ditch bellyflop. Franson kept his eyes on what was happening and used his stick and/or legs, ultimately, to break up the play, while Seabrook's plan appears to be to flop, hope for the best and take the rest of the night off.
* Jan Rutta just had his two worst games, back-to-back.
* Seabrook played a team-low 16:26 on the back end. I won't get my hopes up that he's blown his cover and that "circumstances" kept him off the ice more than usual, but a girl can dream...
* Corey Crawford. He did what he had to do and not much else, keeping The Hawks in it during that abysmal first period, but let a few softies in later on. That's fair enough, as he's stolen more than his share of games in this young season, but I rather hope it's not something we need to worry about.
* Lance Bouma. I'm unsure of what he does beyond tearing around, laying a few hits and crashing the net. He has no shot, hands so hard that every pass bounces off of his stick and he's a bad penalty killer. Sorry, just had to get that out.
The Penguins, then, on Saturday. It won't be another 10-1 affair (unless The Hawks are really bad... ha ha) since we won't have poor Antti Niemi to slap around. Better be ready, boys.
It wasn't a pretty game by any stretch, but it may well prove to be a turning point for The Hawks or, at least, for a couple of Hawks that, if tonight's result signals a change in fortune, may have gotten a much-needed confidence boost. Let's see them Bits:
* Alex DeBrincat was the big story tonight, potting two goals and orchestrating a masterful setup on the winning goal. His goals weren't solo efforts, with each marker made possible by excellent passes but, in each case, DBC was charging the net, in the right location for the pass and made no mistake when those chances came. His pass to Saad in overtime was just as good, if not better; as the two forwards approached the Carolina blue line, Saad was rapping his stick on the ice for a pass but, to his credit, DBC had the balls to hold the puck, risking putting Saad offside and, at the perfect moment, deftly slid the puck to #20, who found himself one-on-one with Scotty Darling. This game has certainly lifted a large & angry monkey off the young forward's back, with that gutsy OT play already indicating that his confidence has spiked. It's worth noting that, while DBC was ostensibly relegated to the fourth line, his first goal came when he was tossed out there with Toews and Panik, while his second was off a feed from Kane, who was double-shifting in Hartman's spot. Hmmm....
* Saad scored, even after gacking an easy tap-in and missing on a penalty shot. That was Saad's first goal in four weeks and, in between those goals, he's been absolutely ham-fisted around the bad guys' net. This, too, could be the event that gets Saad back on track.
* Kane made a pass in the offensive zone that actually mattered. He's carried the puck as well as ever, lately, but just hasn't been able to hit a linemate in a primo location very often. That could be down to those linemates not doing enough to get to those good shooting areas, but I wonder if it's been largely impatience or failure to execute on Kane's part.
Those are the key items, now The Other Stuff:
* Forsberg was both great and terrible. He remarkably adept at tracking the puck in close quarters but has let in softies in each game he's played this year. Tonight marks the first game he's ever won as a starter, so that's over with and perhaps he can just get on with business.
* Did Hartman play tonight? That stat line says he did, but he was utterly invisible. While I wouldn't necessarily agree with the move I wouldn't be shocked if he and Vinnie Hinostroza swapped places very soon. Coach Q seems to have little use for him right now.
* Classic Post-2015 Seabrook tonight, complete with the signature bellyflop "move" (it failed) and, despite being on the ice for two goals against, still managed to emerge +1 for the night and smelling like a rose. You're not fooling me, tortoise-boy.
* Is Franson hurt? Did he take another shift after whatever it was that had him in a fetal position in he third period?
* I didn't mind Schmaltz - Anisimov - Kane. The wingers did some nifty stuff and, all foot speed-related shortcomings aside Large Arthur, with his size and hands, has been pretty good in front of the net, lately.
Okay, New Jersey tomorrow, Crow back in net...let's open the floodgates and get this thing going again.
Large Arthur can erase many sins if he continues to score de goals.
Front
All four lines were effective tonight. Not all the time, but more often than not. On the first line DeBrincat had one rotten pass but was otherwise tip-top with sound passing and a solid effort on the forecheck, which doesn't always pan out cos he gives up a lot in size & strength, but his stick and timing are excellent. The third line had moments good & bad and Sharp had a far better effort than in recent games. The fourth line was surprisingly aggressive and occasionally dangerous although Bouma, fine in the 1st, was inattentive & yippy the rest of the way. Wingels had the best scoring chance for The Hawks in the first period.
Middle
Probably the best all-round effort from the D this year. Franson repeated his Wednesday performance, still awfully slow but rarely beaten due to realizing that fact & positioning himself accordingly. Loving him on the power play. Kempny and Murphy were solid; not without errors but when Kemps gacked a clear or made an errant pass, Murph had his back and vice-versa. Kemps also hit for 6 shots - where'd that come from?
Back
Corey Crawford continues to be the most reliable Hawk but, for a change, he didn't have to steal this win. His presence of mind on The Wild's best chance, in which he refused to panic and back the puck into his own net, demonstrates just how dialed-in he is right now.
If The Hawks can keep playing like this good things will continue to happen. They'll have to stay in this headspace tomorrow, as Forsberg will almost certainly get the start and, as stupid as it sounds, I fully expect Forsling to draw in at the expense of a guy who's played well in his absence (pick a guy, doesn't matter who). Regardless of that decision, here's hoping that Forsberg can follow his teammates' lead and have a good bounce-back game after his last rotten start.
Make no mistake, Corey Crawford won this one for The Hawks. He was simply brilliant and, while the skaters were better than they have been, lately, had Crow not carried the mail against a somewhat depleted Flyers squad, the result could easily have flipped in Philly's favour. Here are some quick Bits.
* The changes to the top six were interesting and certainly worthy of a longer look, but failed to accomplish anything concrete. It's difficult to pinpoint what's not quite right with them, as the effort is there but the results have been hard to come by. Kane appears to be doing the right things but isn't managing to get his passes through, which could be on him or it could be a case of his linemates not being in the correct position. It's subtle, and probably really frustrating. Similarly, Saad and Panik have both been driving hard to the net, creating chances and getting some shots, but have not been able to finish. I mentioned The Hawks not capitalizing on second chances and that was true again tonight: there's either no one within reach of a rebound or they're not in an ideal position to do much with it. I'm not sure what else to say about that, so hopefully Coach Q has some ideas.
I'd like to see DeBrincat with Toews & Panik again, and also Saad alongside Schmaltz and Kane. Give those lines at least another game or two and see what develops.
* The slightly altered D pairings were okay. Franson had some moments, just being a bit unable to keep up, but he rarely stuck his neck out and played within himself for the most part, so that was good. His work on the offensive blue line, with hard, low shots on net and some fine keep-ins mitigated any speed-related shortcomings. The rest were generally okay and I can't say I noticed Seabrook much which, given what he's done recently to attract attention, is a small victory in itself. One thing is certain: on this night, The Hawks D were better than they've been with Forsling aboard.
* Anisimov has been better in recent games but not so much when on his regular line. Had Sharp not been kicked in the gut tonight I would not have noticed him at all. The same goes for Hartman - one could argue that he's being wasted on the fourth line, but what's he done lately to warrant being further up the ladder? It seems that the bottom six are existing, right now, to fill a bit of time and to augment the special teams.
The annoying Wild are up on Saturday, followed by the enigmatic Canadiens on Sunday, so we're sure to see Anton Forsberg this weekend which, so far, has meant a loss. Tonight may not have been a perfect effort outside of Crawford, but hopefully The Hawks can build on that, get a little confidence back and maybe find a little more chemistry with the new combinations.
It was only a matter of time before The Hawks coughed up a furball like this, but why did it have to be against St. Lewis? I have gripes, so straight to 'em.
* While Crawford did make many fine saves, many of which he shouldn't have had to make if the guys in front of him had their act together, two goals were squarely on him, and were both borne of momentary indecision. First, he half-challenged Schwartz, and then didn't really do anything at all, allowing the little fella to easily swoop around him. Second, on the Brodziak goal, he seemed unsure whether to square up to the shooter or to pay attention to Tarasenko coasting into the slot. While Brodziak's shot was terrific and he might not have stopped it anyway, Crow has got to commit to the shooter in this situation. If he was wavering because he didn't trust Forsling to take away the pass we've got a big problem.
* How many times in recent years have The Hawks played like garbage after anything more than two days off? Does it really take 50 minutes to skate off four days' rust?
* TOO MANY unforced turnovers! Every defenceman except Murphy (!) committed at least one and Seabrook looked determined to set a modern-day record for coughing up the puck under zero pressure. His pass to an empty corner while on a power play was....breathtaking (or maybe I couldn't breathe because of all the vomiting).
* Only Toews' line was putting in consistent shifts, at least until the final ten minutes when Kane suddenly became interested, but even their efforts were undone repeatedly by their D making bad passes, lazy passes in which they just shoved the puck to their nearest teammate regardless of what direction they were heading or if that player was being forechecked, or simply looking at the puck until a Blues player relieved them of it.
* On the subject of lines, I sincerely hope that Coach Q didn't scratch Kero because he loves the chemistry of the fourth line, because they were beyond awful tonight. It's also pretty crap that Kero was airdropped in 2C last weekend, it didn't work out, and then he gets scratched because the coach deployed him north of his talent level.
Still....
* Most of the final ten minutes were pretty good, assisted mightily by a power play, but they maintained power play-like pressure after that, causing The Blues to take more penalties.
THAT. DO THAT.
They have to use their speed to force the other teams' hand, to wear them down and to generate chances. Why does it so often seem like The Hawks figure this out only after a game is out of reach?
* Despite being held accountable for the turnover that led to the Tarasenko goal, Ansimov wasn't bad. Why was Seabrook passing to a guy in traffic, anyway?
* DeBrincat was tremendous with the puck and a disaster without it.
Coming Up: a stern talking-to, Edmonton tomorrow night and, we assume, Forsberg in net. Get it together guys and let's not be The Oilers' huckleberry.
How can a team dominate for half of a game and be completely out-to-lunch for the other half? It drives me nuts, but it is what it is, right, because we're stuck with Seabrook.
The Hawks came out in the first with a little fire and generated a few almost-chances, but then tripped all over themselves for the remainder of the period and all of the second. And that second period was an absolute horror show, in which no one could make a pass and the puck was turned over countless times, all while Coach Q fiddled with the second and third lines. Seabrook was the worst offender with several passes to no one, including a drop pass to....Corey Crawford while his teammates were poised to break out. I expect he has "33" burned into his retinas as he was left huffing and puffing while Mags Arvidsson streaked away from him at seemingly every opportunity.
Yet, they hung in and hung on, and a timely keep-in by Franson followed by some fine board work by Hayden set up Sharp's backhand goal. The momentum had swung in The Hawks' favour enough that, by the time they reached overtime, only a bad bounce or a gack of the highest order would deny them the win. The four shifts in the OT period were their best all night, epitomized by the excellent give-and-go between Saad and Kane.
Here, have these bits.
* No Crow = No Chance: Crawford was outstanding, once again, especially in close. Maybe he'll finally get some credit for being one of a handful of truly elite goaltenders without the tiresome disclaimers about "the great defense in front of him" 'cos in recent years it hasn't been that great at all.
* Anisimov wasn't super but he was better than in recent games, getting a few looks whilst stationed in Pekka Rinne's kitchen, and his breakout pass to Panik was superb. He was actually better when he slid down the order to join Sharp and Hayden.
* Hartman is no center-man but he did alright in the late going and, with DeBrincat alongside he and Kane, the second line put together a string of solid shifts in the third. The indication is that Schmaltz will be back for the next game but, if not, I wouldn't mind seeing this trio again, or even DeBrincat in Hartman's spot.
* While Franson was caught flat-footed once or twice his offensive acumen was welcome in the late-going, as well. He made several nice keep-ins and kept the puck heading toward the Nashville goal. That oughta earn him another game, I'd say.
* Kero's fish-out-of-water state was never more evident than when he goofed up the three-on-two late in the second period. He does what he does pretty well, but an offensive threat he is not, so to expect more than what he can realistically deliver is just unfair to everyone.
* Toews' line seemed on the wrong side of it for most of the night. Toews looked creative on the power play with Kane, as well as in OT, but he and his usual linemates generated precious little. That's just going to happen, sometimes, and I refuse to believe that their honeymoon is over.
Alright, job done, and a wee break before venturing to The Midwest's worst city. Hey, at least David Backes won't be there to re-injure Schmaltz, right?
Well, there went a missed opportunity. There were actually a few notable bright spots in this match but those were unfortunately eclipsed by a combination of circumstance and a few key players coughing up furballs. I'm in no mood to type a whole lot, so let's go.
* Seabrook and Keith were absolute garbage. Those two need to be at least "average", given the amount of responsibility they receive.
* Too much time was wasted messing around with Kero & Wingels centering Kane & Hartman. Go ahead and make a change, but don't spend half of a period figuring it out.
* Panik had exactly one effective shift. This was always going to happen, so I guess tonight was the night.
* Sharp was less bad, but he, too, alternated between okay shifts and stepping on the puck.
* The failed coach's challenge was a big setback; not only did The Wild score on the resulting power play but the whole ordeal seemed to take what little wind remained in The Hawks' sails.
But it wasn't all bad.
* The Hawks were fortunate to escape the first period even-steven and managed to pick up the pace and started winning some puck battles after that. I hesitate to say that they dominated but, despite the score, The Hawks were the better team in the last half of the game.
* Forsling, Kempny and Murphy all had pretty good games.
* Anisimov was rubbish only half the time, which I'll take, for now.
* Hartman had a good bounce-back after being lost at sea for a few games. It wasn't a perfect effort but he was invested in it, at least.
* The Wild got a bit lucky, managing to salt the game away when The Hawks were starting to hit their stride. They managed this with only eight forwards late in the game, too.
Get well, Nick Schmaltz.
In only the third game for each team, the NHL's two scoriest teams met in what many lunkheaded hockey pundits would deem a truth-telling match: are these teams for real and, if so, has their early form given any true indication of where they're at.
Yeah, sort of, actually.
At full strength maybe The Hawks could have had something for The Leafs, but it would appear that I was wrong about things being just fine with Anisimov bumping up 2C and Kero drawing in at 3C. There were other issues, as well, but the sub-20% possession stats for the Hartman - Anisimov - Kane line was a huge factor in this defeat. Lemme break it down:
* Anisimov was, quite simply, garbage tonight. He wasn't the only underachiever on The Hawks' side, but his failure to provide....well, anything concrete, was the most glaring example of a player found wanting. When you see him get chased down and stripped of the puck by a guy ten years his senior you know it's gonna be a rough ride. He can be better, probably. Hopefully.
* Kero was ridiculously miscast in the 3C role, thrust into that position out of necessity, but the fact remains that The Hawks had two lines completely out of whack in the absence of Nick Schmaltz. The take away here, of course, is how terribly brittle The Hawks' offense is, particularly down the middle and, if Schmaltz cannot remain healthy (or even finish a game or two) some personnel adjustment will most certainly be required.
* The Hawks' D ranged from so-so to downright bad. Keith couldn't make a pass for love nor money, Seabrook was straight-up giving the puck away (once on a Hawks powerplay, no less) and, for all the good things he did in the offensive zone, Forsling was too often swallowed up and outmuscled by speedy Leafs' forwards.
A little help, fellas....?
* Anton Forsberg's debut was a mixed bag, as he was mighty in the scrambles around his crease, which were plentiful, in which he showed superior concentration and quickness. Buuuuuut, three goals through the five-hole isn't especially flattering (although I suppose there wasn't much to do about JVR's off-the-skate goal...). Still, he outplayed his overrated counterpart, for what little that's worth.
* At least the Toews line was able to mount a consistent attack; Saad and Panik were both excellent, I thought. The fourth line of Hayden - Wingels - Bouma punched above their weight but, even so, what's that gonna get you?
Montréal tomorrow and a very real possibility of more of the same, should Coach Q stick with the same line combos, which he will because what other choice does he have? Don't be shocked to see Franson and/or Oesterle draw in on the third D pairing.
En avant.
