Yep, big goals, big saves and a couple of incredible passes. Here are some quick bits, some good, some not so much:
- Neither team could kill a penalty for love nor money and, without Hinostroza's careless high stick that precipitated two Rangers goals, this game would probably have been a laugher, because...
- ...Henrik Lundquist was awful. It's rare, but it happens.
- Corey Crawford, on the other hand, was near-perfect, despite allowing three goals. I have a tough time faulting a goalie for power play goals against unless they themselves do something stupid. The Hayes goal was a product of momentary incompetence on the part of Gustafsson and Rozsival as well as a terrific pass by Oskar Lindberg.
- The Hawks' defense was not especially good tonight. Seabrook had another game in which he seemed indifferent, Gustafsson looked yippy a lot of the time, Rozsie and TVR both spent an awful lot of time standing around. Add all that up and you'll get more shots against, chances and goals than your opposition deserves.
- At the other end, The Hawks moved the puck rather well in fits and starts, and it seemed that every time they entered the zone cleanly and had a chance to set up they scored. Teravainen laid down a couple of slick passes in which first Desjardins and later, Shaw, really just had to be there to deflect the puck in. That said, there was a bit of good fortune thrown in there; while Teravainen's pass to Desi was undeniably excellent, the events that allowed The Hawks to maintain possession in the first place were less "puck movement" than "repeatedly throwing it behind the net and hoping for the best". I'm pretty sure that Hjalmarsson's pass to Teravainen was, in fact, a ridiculously poor shot that Teuvo was able to corral.
- Keith Yandle is a bit of an asshat, isn't he? And how did Daniel Paille go from an occasional healthy scratch in Rockford to playing ten minutes per night for NYR? And he wants to be my latex salesman?
- Large Arthur officially has 15 assists this season, but his efforts without the puck have led to far more than 15 additional goals. He's big, hard to move and gets hisself in front of goalies without delay. On The Hawks' go-ahead goal Anisimov drew two Rangers to him while he drove to the net, leaving Panarin free as the trailer, and left completely alone by Jesper Fast, to take his shot. All good work that doesn't show up on the scoresheet.
Teravainen was good, Crawford was great, but tonight was all about Small Arthur and his first career hat trick.
Connor Mc-what-now?
I don't usually trouble myself with news items or pre-game stuff but, for some reason, I'm feeling ambitious today. Or procrastinating other tasks. Doesn't matter - onward.
- The Hawks "placed" Rob Scuderi on waivers today, although I believe "hoofed" or "jettisoned" would be more apt. If another team is daft enough to claim the veteran (read: old) d-man The Hawks would have somewhere around $5 million in cap space with which to shop for a decent left winger or another d-man who is able to reach speeds higher than "dead slow" and "stopped". If left unclaimed, which seems most likely, The Hawks still receive some cap relief but probably not enough to splash out for any of the coveted rental players, at least not without giving up a roster player.
- On that tack, the soon-to-be-free-agent wingers that will be in highest demand up until the Feb. 29th trade deadline look to be Andrew Ladd and Mikkel Boedker. Since it's assured that The Hawks would not be able to re-sign either of these players the choice comes down to who can they get, what will they cost and which of these guys would fulfill The Hawks' needs the best. I expect a first-round draft pick would be required and both The Jets and The Coyotes would likely request a roster player, probably beginning with Teuvo Teravainen but more likely to settle with a prospect such as Marko Dano or Ryan Hartman. My personal preference would be Ladd but either of these fellas would be a nice upgrade.
- It's The Rangers tonight who, after an iffy December have been steadily racking up the points and are a distant but semi-comfortable 2nd place in the Metropolitan Division. The Rangers get it done without any true marquee forwards (I consider Rick Nash Off-Broadway at this time) but rather a potent attack of what really amounts to three second lines, their scoring leader being noted Game of Thrones actor Mats Zuccarello.
Tyrion Zuccarello with his linemates.
Their defense is capable if unspectacular, all of whom average 19-22 minutes per game, which reeks of Socialism but appears to be working despite the persistent presence of apparent septuagenarian Dan Boyle. These guys toil in front of still-all-world talent and handsome man Henrik Lundquist and his backup, one Antti Raanta, who really only seems to play well against The Hawks.
- Expect more tinkering with the Toews trio, as Richard Panik is rumoured to have gacked his audition on that line, at least as far as Coach Q is concerned. Who's up next...Sekac? Hinostroza? Noted sniper Mashinter!? Who the hell knows anymore...
