Well, it was mostly fun to watch and a game that could have gone either way, but The Hawks never really looked willing to take control of this one. We know from experience that when The Hawks are the least bit noncommittal things generally end badly.
Stuff I Liked
Cam Ward was mostly great, a little lucky on a couple of saves, a little unlucky on Bergeron's goal, but also outsmarted comprehensively by Pastrnak.
David Kampf played a near-perfect game....for David Kampf, of course. His takeaway and subsequent pass to Perlini was Baby Huey at his best. It's just a shame he didn't have the legs to outrace Bergeron on his breakaway.
Eric Gustafsson was very good offensively and good enough defensively, and that's a win any day.
Brendan Perlini had his best game as a Hawk and all in a mere 7:26. Sure, his goal was kind of a gimme but HE PASSED THE PUCK....TWICE. That's real growth.
Stuff I Liked Less
DeBrincat was a no-show, looked distracted or something, failing to generate anything.
Strome's "Touch Pass" in the last 30 sec. Really? In what reality is that play a good idea? I know he had his back to the two Bruins that bum rushed the subsequent loose puck that Strome directed to no one, but he knows they're coming....they always will.
Stuff I Hated
Patrick Kane was either sick or hungover or heartbroken or some damn thing that prevented him from doing his job. 23 minutes TOI and not one good look, no sweet set ups and dragging his arse reluctantly back to The Hawks' zone after his playmaking fell short. A blip, I expect, but one that underlines Kane's impact - when he's bad it's like The Hawks are playing one one foot in a bucket.
Gustav Forsling was dogshit that garbage scrapes off it's shoe. Couldn't make a pass while a Bruin was within 20 feet and was outmuscled/outhustled countless times behind our net and along the half-wall. And then there was Goose turning his back on Kuraly who, of course, scored the game winner. Not at all a good game for him and the sooner Hank Jokiharju returns, the better.
What Else?
No debut for Drake Caggiula due to his US Visa not yet being squared away. I'm not expecting much but we currently have a few forwards accomplishing far less than "much" and he should be able to exceed that, at least. If we're lucky Caggiula could perhaps evolve into an Andrew Shaw-type Guy who isn't an asshole (I hope). As much as anything I'm just happy to see Brandon Manning somewhere else, doesn't matter where...
The South Bend Shovel Slayer
I hoped it wouldn't happen but I kinda thought it would - The Hawks lost the focus they'd had the last few games. While they were okay in fits & starts The Panthers were sharper, more alert and better able to pounce on the opportunities that arose. The Hawks seemed tired....not physically, really, but it often looked as if they were acting on the first impulse that occurred to them and not bothering to take a second look to see if a better avenue was available.
Cam Ward didn't have his best tonight, not especially mindful of his positioning and he made a mess of things on Hawryluk's first goal, letting himself get caught in-between.
Carl Dahlstrom wasn't super sharp either, blowing a tire (maybe with some help, hard to tell for sure) on that first FLA goal and apparently unaware that McCann was heading to the net to score the decisive, momentum-killing goal.
Toews' Line Was Out Of Sorts, skating hard enough, trying stuff, but their timing was all messed up, gacking passes, whiffing on shots...
The Only Plus Players For The Hawks were Murphy and Strome which is exactly how it looked to me in real time. Granted, Strome's first assist was a right-place-right-time deal but he was there, right, and his pass to Murph was tremendous. As for Murph, a couple of points and four hits makes for a good day at the office.
Is John Hayden Hurt or did he commit some terrible mischief to be scratched in favour of used-up Chris Kunitz and shoot-first-from-anywhere Brendan Perlini? I've been generally in agreement with Coach Colliton's deployment but these two, buddied up with Nilsson making his NHL debut tonight, made for a rather weak fourth line, even by fourth line standards.
Oh well, we weren't going to win the next 40 games but it is disappointing to see The Hawks backslide so soon, and against some low-hanging fruit like FLA. I guess they just started their holiday-days-off a day early.
Next: At home vs. Minnesota on Thursday, in an attempt to reclaim their recent mastery over Central Division foes. Can't wait to see Seabrook sweating gravy.
The Cruel Sea - The Honeymoon Is Over
Wow, three in a row, and all against Central Division teams, which is mighty handy. What's more, the special teams have actually been kinda special, the PP going 2/7 and the PK a perfect 8/8 over these three wins. We're approaching uncharted territory now, folks.
I'm just catching up after watching each of these games a day late so enjoy this two-fer at no extra cost.
Thursday - Hawks 5, Stars 2
There were a few wee issues, nothing that they didn't get right eventually, and The Hawks benefitted from DAL fighting the puck a lot of the time but, ultimately, they were good enough and I'll take that gladly.
Cam Ward Was Excellent. Evidently, Wardo called the team out after the blowout loss to SJS and all respeck to the guy for walking the walk after talking the talk. He was maybe a little soft on the second Stars goal but hey, if he's the one kicking these guys into action he can have that one.
Breakouts were not as tight as against NSH but the failed attempts did not, at least, result in goals against. Keith again struggled to clear the zone efficiently, notably on the first PK when he gacked two pretty standard clears, making me wonder if he's losing his mind or if he needs glasses. It's a fair and serious query.
Some Soft Play preceded both DAL goals. I was gonna call out Dahlstrom, who I think has been a great add BTW, as he was on the ice for both goals against. On both goals Big Carl failed to contain Radulov but, hey, hardly anyone ever contains that guy. The greater sins, as it turns out, were Kane failing to cover Seguin on the first and the second goal was a weird one off a squirted-out puck. Maybe Saad had a chance to check Fedun, maybe not. Let's just say The Hawks could have been tighter in the net front.
Dylan Strome Wasn't Great, either, due more to poor decision making than lack of trying. He can and will be better, I think, and I'm sure he's gonna take the shot the next time he's on a two-on-one like the one he squandered in Dallas.
Standouts In This Match: Anisimov was making things happen all night, getting and creating chances. Sikura played his best game this season, earning an assist on a subtle little play, and I was impressed with his puck patience, never rushing and never giving the puck away. Finally, I thought Forsling bounced back well after a bit of a wobbler vs. NSH, moving his feet and playing with more determination than usual.
The Power Play is possibly stirring from its long nap. They haven't all been gems but, in recent games, we've seen more movement, faster, than we've been getting for, oh...three or four years? Gustafsson, who also played a solid game, on the first unit is going well and the umbrella scheme he, Kane and DeBrincat have been employing has been working. Sure, they got a PPG on what was essentially a gift five-on-three when a Stars guy broke his stick but they actually managed to exploit that opportunity, a minor victory unto itself.
Friday - Hawks 2, Avalanche 1
Not as close as it looks at a glance, The Hawks had the stars align for them somewhat to pull this one off. Outshot by eight but, what's this, The Hawks blocked a mammoth twenty two COL tries. Two goals that each had a whiff of opportunism, Collin Delia playing out of his head in his season debut, on the second night of a back-to-back, and against the high scoring Avalanche... I'll take a road win in those circumstances anytime.
Collin Delia doesn't always make it look easy but the kid appears to know what he's doing. Too soon to tell if he's the saviour Hawks fans need right now but I like what I've seen.
Murphy and Dahlstrom played a lot of hard minutes against The Avs ridiculously good top line and did a fine job. Their Corsi stats in this one are not pretty but they mostly kept COL shooters on the margins and gobbled up what few rebounds Delia allowed. These two are the pure-defense pairing we've needed for ages and, under the new regime, are actually getting a chance to take on some high-responsibility tasks.
Dominik Kahun is just a stupidly good passer.
Only Two Minor Beefs in this game which, as I suggested, was a great team result. First, if Brendan Perlini cannot be arsed to pick up a man, any man, fucking ever....he needs to go. I'm also growing weary of his chucking. Has he made a pass on a rush since arriving in CHI?
Second, and this is nothing new, Seabrook took all the momentum out of the Power Play after the first unit did a great job keeping the puck and their bodies in constant motion. Once ol' Seabs arrives, though, it's like watching Pong™ as he plays slow catch with the right wing and other d-man. Zzzzz.
Next: Back home on Sunday for FLA. Luke Johnson is back in Rockford in exchange for Jacob Nilsson, a guy who played for Coach Colliton in Sweden so I expect we'll see him at 4C. Whatever and whoever, The Hawks just need to keep on doing what they've been doing, keep that pedal down....
A Double Pleasure is Waiting For You....
Toews: "Blah blah blah...embarrassed...blah blah...stay positive....blah blah...small mistakes....blah blah...." Essentially the same post-game interview he gave after the WASH and TB games.
The Hawks should be embarrassed, yet they don't give any indication of that when they're on the ice, 'cos they keep making the same damn, preventable errors, making things ridiculously easy for their opponents.
Pick Up A Guy, Any Guy: Once again, the forwards were situationally oblivious, unaware of what's happening around them. Watch Eakin's goal - Toews makes a failed attempt to check Pacioretty, which is fair enough, but Saad and Kane are just coasting into the zone, never bothering to cover anyone. Again. By the time Eakin made his move and scored Kane was, for some reason, already heading back towards the Vegas end. WTF?
Take a Second, Make The Pass Stick: The Hawks have been way too impatient with their passes, just getting the damn thing off their sticks as quickly as they can. At the start of the second period The Hawks "controlled" the puck for the first four minutes yet only entered the VGK zone briefly, because their passes were flat-out bad and those four minutes were largely spent recovering the puck, regrouping and starting again.
The players claim to be dissatisfied with their performance and the results of same, yet I see zero effort to improve matters. Just a lot of talk, so far.
New Guys: Hardly noticed Perlini, seems quick if haphazard. Strome picked up 1G 1A in his debut and had a couple of good looks that didn't go. First impression is that he's got the speed, some moves and a very good shot, but that he's imprecise. Tough to say after a single game, but Strome scored as many goals tonight as the guy he's ostensibly replacing did in the last five weeks.
And What Of Nick Schmaltz? I was just saying that, if Stan Bowman was going to make a trade to shake things up it was going to be Schmaltz that goes, being as he was the most expendable asset that a) would fetch anything in return and b) didn't have a no-move clause in his contract. The occasional excellent game did not offset the frequency of games that left me saying "what does he do, exactly?"
Next: Winnipeg on Thursday and Nashville on Saturday, the two best teams in The Western Conference, so the guys had better conjure up some give-a-damn. I'm losing interest almost as fast as The Hawks are....
Dwight Yoakum - Things Change
