Bad Day At The Office: Knights Of Gold 4, Hawks 3 (OT)

Once again we have borne witness to The Hawks barely hanging in there against a superior team, getting the consolation point but, at the heart of it, being kinda fortunate to glean even that. Here's why!
As Kane and DeBrincat Go, So Go The Hawks.  Mostly, anyway, and even with the hot streak these two little fellas are enjoying it's often not quite enough.  When, not if, those guys hit a cold spell it'll be very, very tough for The Hawks to earn points.  The team has improved but they're not yet ready for prime time.
Apart from some occasional defensive ambivalence Kane is playing as well as he's ever done.  As good has he's been, DeBrincat is still rounding into shape, suggesting a brighter future for both he and the team, yet I worry about how he's getting all these goals lately.  I mean, if he's gonna score on half the shots he takes from the left circle I'm all-in for that, but we've seen this episode before with Panarin and, before him, Sharp.  Once other teams devise means of blocking DBC out of that position or reliably preventing Kane/Gustafsson ('cos it's always them, isn't it?) from getting him the puck DeBrincat's scoring rate will tumble.
Bad Day At The Office.  Dahlstrom endured his worst game since rejoining The Hawks, his first stinkeroo, really.  Minus three and inadvertently shovelling the winning goal into your own net makes for an evening he'd prefer to forget, I'm sure.  Wrong place, wrong time, wrong circumstance....whatever.  It was bad.
Even Worse but without the stats to back it up were Seabrook and Jokiharju, with Seabs huffing and puffing his way to three giveaways and Hank failing to contain any Vegas forward, ever.
The Stat Line was not kind to Kampf, Saad & Caggiula either, but I feel the need to qualify their apparent failure as tonight's shut-down line.  Their primary assignment was to box out VGK's ostensive top line, Marchessault, Karlsson and Pirri and, while they had their hands full with those guys, they gave up nothing.  Oddly, it was always the next Vegas line that burned them. Unlucky, unaware, definitely unfortunate.
Colliton's OT Deployment has been strange, too.  Coaches play hunches as much as they go with the horses that got them in the race, but I question him trotting out Kampf - Kahun - Dahlstrom, particularly after the rough night Baby Huey and Big Carl suffered.  I dunno much about anything, really but, in that position in a game that you've been a bit lucky to get to OT in the first place, I'd probably go back to Toews, Kane & Gus.  Just sayin'.

Next: Monday vs. the improving Devils, more of a "better win" than a "must win", I'd say.

Posts may be sporadic going forward, lumping two or more games together or just me popping in with vital observations.  Vital!

Bad Day At The Office

Steal Away: Islanders 3, Hawks 2 (OT)

Aw, man, that was awful to watch.  The Hawks just looked tired and going through the motions most of the time.  Couldn't win a draw, vainly chasing The Isles and out of sync with each other all night long.  So this is gonna be quick.
Only The Toews Line looked kinda half decent throughout the match and, even then, those three had a lot of pucks behind them, were arriving where the puck was rather than where it was going.  As for the other, Kampf's line had one, maybe two good spins.  Kruger's group had a pair of fine shifts including an utterly dominant one in which they somehow managed to not record a shot on goal.  Apart from that one in which Kane clanked one off the post in the second Strome's trio was invisible until the third period, during which they had a few good looks, and this line was -2 on the night.  Not even remotely enough.
Despite Combining For Six Giveaways I thought Murphy and Dahlstrom had a very good game, playing almost exclusively against The Islanders' lethal Bailey - Beauvillier - Barzal line.  Even against these Killer Bees they notched the highest Corsi-for ratings among Hawks d-men, and by a large margin, too. 
Forsling Was The Worst Hawk, by far, bobbling the puck, losing practically every battle and sending panicky "passes" to empty space.  His lazy penalty late in the second set the stage for Barzal's second tally of the night.  Hurry back, Hank Jokiharju....
Collin Delia, however, single-handedly stole a point for The Hawks tonight, making a whopping 48 saves, directing his rebounds somewhat better than he has been able up 'til now and done in on a couple of oddball goals - one that was bunted in out of the air and another after he'd had his stick knocked out of his grasp.  My only nit-pick where Delia is concerned is that he was not handling the puck well behind the net with several iffy and/or unpredictable passes.

So, really, to leave Long Island with a consolation point is a fortunate result.

Next: Sunday vs. the Penguins who are riding a seven-game win streak.  What a perfect opportunity to be the assholes who mess that up.

Robbie Dupree - Steal Away

Rocky Mountain High: Hawks 3, Avalanche 2 (OT)

First off, I completely missed the Thursday match between The Hawks and The Wild.  Between guests and a pain in the ass snowstorm I couldn't get it done.

Alright then, to the matter currently at hand.

The Hawks are finally starting to look like the team I thought they could be.  Not everything was perfectly executed tonight but, refreshingly, there were no catastrophic unforced errors that cost them.  Their puck movement was more swift and crisp than it's been in ages, forwards are getting back more regularly and passes were on the mark for the most part.
After a sterling first period there appeared to be a slight letup in the second frame.  Much of that was due to COL getting it together, especially their forecheck, and The Hawks took awhile to up their intensity accordingly.
Patrick Kane Had a Big Night, figuring on all three CHI goals and just looked good all night.  He's been far more engaged than say, three or four weeks ago, when he was often just going through the motions with no joy, no impetus to excel.  Kaner has often connected well with Gustafsson since Gus was called up late last season and, now, Strome is getting in that action.  More than any other Hawks, perhaps other than Toews, those two get what Kane is up to and can either get the puck to where he's going to be or get themselves where they know Kane will find them.
DeBrincat Cashed Yet Again and had several other good looks, yet I worry that he's putting all of his chips on the one-timer from the left circle.  If and when that gambit fails to work I hope he changes his approach accordingly, lest he fall into the doldrums that befell the previous residents of that patch of ice, Panarin and Sharp.
Collin Delia Was Sublime.  My only issue with Delia's play is rebound control as he often pops those straight out into the slot.  That, apparently, is the last thing that goalies get right, if they ever get it right, and with a mere five NHL starts under his belt he's barely even started his apprenticeship.  That's fair enough.
I Hardly Noticed Seabrook and Dahlstrom tonight and that's just perfect.  Big Carl and Murphy played a lot of hard minutes against MacKinnon & Co. and were even on plus/minus which is a big win.  As for Seabs, his memorable games in recent months have been riddled with giveaways and other calamities and there was none of that tonight.
Special Teams Were Actually Special again, hitting for two PPG out of five tries and killing two of three PK.  The PPG against, scored by Rantanen, was a ridiculously well-placed shot through a screen, so I'm not gonna pin that one on the PK or Delia - some shots are just always going to go in. Puck movement and positioning on the PP started off great but lost momentum as the game progressed, but at least we're getting more zone time, more shots and more goals, generally.
Hilariously, Foley Twice Praised Perlini for not touching the puck and avoiding a too many men penalty, rather than calling him out for jumping the boards way too soon.
John Hayden's Hold on a Roster Spot is precarious right now.  His ice time is dwindling and he's one of the few minus players in the last several games.  At the moment I'm failing see what he does apart from protect the puck pretty well, but then do nothing productive with it.

Next: The Winter Classic vs. Boston on Tuesday.  The Hawks have not fared well in these affairs in recent years but, if they can replicate tonight's first period somewhat they'll be just fine.

John Denver - Rocky Mountain High

The Honeymoon Is Over: Panthers 6, Hawks 3

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

Double Your Pleasure: Hawks vs. Dallas and Hawks vs. Colorado Wraps

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....

Keep Hanging On - Hawks 2, Predators 1

Not perfect but good enough.
More than anything, after the news that Corey Crawford has suffered another concussion and will be out indefinitely The Hawks turned in a gritty performance, front to back, signalling that they're not prepared to just pack it in and mail in a repeat of last season.

Cam Ward was faultless.  Only divine intervention would have prevented Fiala's shot from going in, so I'm very impressed with Wardo bearing down and taking control tonight.  I don't believe Ward has it in him to carry The Hawks too far but if the old warhorse was going to toss in a blinder of a game he could not have timed it more perfectly.
The Hawks' D was better than usual.  Not perfect, as Keith was again defaulting to just flinging the puck up the boards to no one or, worse, to a Predator and Forsling had a particularly nerve wracking shift in the third in which he gave the puck away twice.  Generally, though, the D were pretty good with Murphy and Dahlstrom being especially mindful of net front activity and clearing rebounds aside. Dahlstrom logged a team high 22 minutes and it was he and Murph that got the call for that last frantic shift, so all respeck to Coach Colliton for going with the horses that got you there tonight rather than the ones that have great resumés but haven't done much lately.
Lack Of Finish Was a Little Frustrating as Kahun, who skated and battled well all night, somehow biffed all of his scoring chances, as well as Hayden and Ansimov not getting good wood (or whatever) on the puck when they most needed to.  
In The End we get two points, a shot of confidence and some satisfaction from having defeated one of the top teams in The West, and there's nothing wrong with that.

Next: Thursday in Dallas, likely with Collin Delia making his season debut so as to save Ward for Friday in Denver. Colliton says Kruger has a concussion after his unfortunate collision with our old pal Ryan Hartman, so we can expect Strome to move back to center and Anisimov to draw in at 3C against The Stars.

The Supremes - You Keep Me Hanging On

Not Good Enough: Jets 4, Hawks 3 (OT)

So close....
The truth is, though, The Hawks needn't have been on the wrong side of this one.  Shots were close, chances were closer, but The Hawks made too many bobbles to seal the deal.
Too Much Meh.  Only a few Hawks had truly bad nights (Strome, Martinsen, DeBrincat, maybe) but even fewer had a great night (maybe only Toews and Crawford).  There were just a lot of seemingly insignificant things that did or didn't happen that added up to an overall weak effort.  Saad was flying all night, made a brilliant pass to Toews to put The Hawks up 2-1, but was awkward around the net.  DeBrincat was stepping on the puck and lazy on the backcheck.  Murphy wasn't terrible but had his weakest game of his short season.  Strome couldn't hit water if he fell out of a fuckin' boat.  Perlini took a lot of shots, all indiscriminate without a thought to where his linemates were.  None of these shortcomings sunk The Hawks on their own but they added up to enough weak, failed or thoughtless plays that led to goals against or opportunities missed. The small plays matter, and The Hawks blew a lot of these details.
Signs Of Life: I thought we exited our zone and moved north as well we've done all year.  They're persisting with that silly push-'em-back stuff but at least they were brisk on on-target tonight, actually hitting Kane with a pass when he was already at speed, allowing him a greater chance of barging into The Jets' zone.
Carl Dahlstrom might be alright.  
Could We Try Someone Other Than Keith to start OT?  I know Gustafsson has his defensive issues but, good lord, so does Keith these days. We're 4-and-5 in OT games and Duncs has been on the ice in only one of those wins but in 4 of the 5 losses.  Change it up.

Next: Sunday at home vs. The Sharks.  With a little fine-tuning we'll be alright.

Blood Orange - You're Not Good Enough

That's The Way I Like It: Hawks 6, Penguins 3

For a few hours all was right in the world.
It wasn't an especially pretty win and, if I'm honest, it was maybe a bit fortunate 'cos how often do we get two goals from the fourth line, but it's two points, The Hawks showed some commitment and maybe it's something they can build on.  Let's go.
The Hawks Went Wildly Off Script by not sucking in the first period.  In fact, they were very good, breaking out with precision and moving the puck briskly in the offensive zone.  The defense were shockingly responsible up until late in the frame when they started running around a bit.
Order Was Restored however, in the second period when, all of a sudden, The Hawks couldn't clear their zone for love nor money.  Apart from DeBrincat's goal-scorer's-goal the second period was a complete mess.
The Third Period was better.  Still not great, as The Hawks gave up a lot of chances, but Crawford was outstanding when he needed to be at his best.  They've been in this situation a few times lately, up a goal late in the game, and the fact that they didn't collapse or commit the unfortunately common fatal error should be a big confidence builder.
Fourth Line Represents.  While the Kruger - Hayden - Martinsen trio didn't blow the doors off during all of their shifts they had a handful of crazy-dominant turns, cashing in one goal that was, while a little lucky, made possible by a relentless effort by Kruger in which he kept a play alive by kicking the puck to Hank Jokiharju, hit the crossbar and only then made the pass to Dahlstrom, whose shot would deflect in off Martinsen.  And later, a perfect pass by Marty to Kruger cashed in the game winner.  
The Defence Were A Mixed Bag, the strongest games coming from unlikely sources.  Dahlstrom was very good, keeping things simple and, holy shit, THAT's what it looks like when a d-man pays attention to opposing forwards in front of The Hawks' net.  Murphy and Manning played it quiet and steady,  not giving up much.  Keith and Jokiharju were so-so, with Duncs too often choosing to just launch the puck up the boards without any apparent thought and Hank was yippy a lot of the time.  Seabrook, despite scoring a goal, was garbage, too often out of position and serving up yet another unforced giveaway that ended up in The Hawks' net.

Next: Winnipeg again, in a game that may well be decided in the first ten minutes. If The Hawks come out like they did vs. PIT, like they've promised they'd do for weeks, they could be in it.

KC And The Sunshine Band - That's The Way I Like It

No Expectations: Jets 6, Hawks 3

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

Just The Right Amount of Dumb: Hawks 5, Kings 3

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.

The Good, The Bad and The Ugly Vol. XIX

Long after the fact due to stuff and things, some thoughts about The Hawks' weekend games...

The Good
Well, snapping an eight-game losing streak was pretty good, and in grand style, too.
Why go all-in like that, though - scoring seven goals in a rare offensive outburst during a drought in which they could rarely score more than two in a game?  We'll get to that.
Possession Domination - both WASH and LA were buried in attempts-against, even if The Hawks only put forth their best effort for one period vs. The Kings.
Key Forwards Emerge From Hibernation - Saad hasn't played this well since October.  Hartman logged two solid games, scoring an absolute beauty vs. The Capitals and gelled well with linemates Sharp and DeBrincat.  Toews looked something like his old self for awhile there and even Anisimov got off his arse.
Tell me Who Is Carl Dahlstrom to Claim Your Five Pounds - after a stinkeroo against Anaheim young Carl bounced back with a solid effort vs. The Capitals and a gem of a game against LA, single-handedly breaking up two odd-man rushes and being one of the few Hawks d-men who were able to consistently push the puck north.  His gutsy pinch and interception that led to Sharp's goal was mighty impressive, too.  SO, that's great for Carl and probably good news for The Hawks...
Vinnie Hinostroza Is The Man.  That is all.

The Bad
Patrick Kane has disappeared in recent games.  It happens, but it cannot happen for much longer.  Also note that as Kane goes, so goes Schmaltz to a large extent.
Carl Dahlstrom was, at best, the eleventh d-man out of training camp and appears to have nailed down the D-5 or D-6 spot, for the moment at least.  When a guy rockets up the depth chart like that you have to wonder if it's his improvement that enabled that or merely a desperate "I'll try anything at this point" attitude where Stan Bowman and the coaching staff are concerned.
Possession Domination Ain't Winning Games - during this six-week funk The Hawks have, more often than not, destroyed the competition in shots and possession, yet have only won four of the last eighteen games.  
I'm Still Not Sure What Lance Bouma is For.

The Ugly

Jordan Oesterle is a bad defenceman.  Love his nerve and his offensive instincts, but he is just flat-out bad at playing defence.  On top of that, his good qualities are often compromised by....I don't know what...brain fade?  Lack of concentration?  He gacked four breakout attempts in the first period alone vs. The Kings, all but one of which was 100% down to simply not putting enough oomph behind his passes.  Do that once, you take note and you adjust.  Do that twice and you should be sitting with the backup goalie.  Four times, though?  That's as much on the coach as on the player.

I Think Adam Burish Might Be Right.  Sweet Jeebus, that was hard to type, but Bur said some stuff about The Hawks being able to run a bit wild on wide-open teams yet struggle against the slightest back-pressure....and I think he's correct.  The Hawk's biggest wins this season were against teams that don't emphasize defence and tend toward a fast, wide-open style....sorta like The Hawks on most nights.  The Penguins, Senators and Capitals were all dispatched rather easily and The Hawks managed to stick with The Golden Knights for two periods before losing the plot, yet they cannot maintain a net-front presence if the other side resists in the slightest, and they are paralyzed by any gumming up of the neutral zone.

Not sure if a solution is at hand, immediately.  The Hawks have a lot of small forwards who are critical to their success and, unfortunately, the few physical players on hand either lack the full package (Kampf, Anisimov, Hayden, Bouma) or aren't applying themselves fully (Saad, Hartman to some extent).  Even if two or three of these "physical" players were to up their game would that be a difference maker?  I like to hope so, 'cos I'd sure like to see what Schmaltz, DeBrincat and Hinostroza can accomplish in the long run, but that's a lot of small forwards, along with Kane, to go to war with.  Unfortunately, you almost need a Ryan O'Reilly or *ahem* a Brandon Saad alongside each of those small, skilled guys....

Any idea where we could find some guys like that?