You Can't Get What You Want: Blues 7, Hawks 3 (Hide The Knives)

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)

Awful: Lightning 6, Hawks 3

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

As Bad As The Hawks Were Jake Allen Was Worse and That Makes Me Smile: Hawks 4, Blues 3

Brutal, brutal, awful effort from the majority of The Hawks, but I don't care 'cos they fell ass backward into a win and messed with The Blues playoff plans.  If that's mean or petty...I don't give a damn.  There's been precious little to enjoy about this season and sticking it STL is one of the few pleasures I have left, so don't give me that look.
Luckily, Jake Allen was porous, 'cos The Hawks breakouts were terrible, their passing was rotten and, while this has nothing to do with Jake Allen, the defense served up a big stinkeroo of a game.  It's been awhile since I've seen so many lazy, thoughtless pass attempts as I did tonight.  Passes off the mark, to no one in particular (lookin' at you Connor Murphy) or to a teammate who is already under pressure.  Just a lot of dumb choices from the back end.
Rutta was ridiculously, comically bad and Gustafsson treated us to another game in which he was on-point offensively, disinterested defensively.  The rest were unexceptional.
And that stupid push-em-back crap they try to do on the PP....laughable tonight. I'm pretty sure the guy who's been nominated to carry the puck up-ice shouldn't have to skate back to his goal line to retrieve a drop pass to no one.
Corsi was about 7:3 in favour of STL.  I don't think The Hawks won more than one or two draws in The Blues zone.
Yet they prevailed. It goes like that sometimes.  Heaven knows The Hawks have been on the other end of that stick enough times this year.
JF Berubé had a typical Guy night, letting in goals that appeared savable but also making a host of excellent stops, many on second chances.
Dylan Sikura, I think, will be A Thing.  I'm less sure about Victor Ejdsell, but it's early days yet.
Blake Hillman kinda floundered in The Hawks zone for much of the game, but he did score his first NHL goal, and a shortie, at that.  He was no better or worse than the other five D-men.

Okay, that's enough.  Let's hope that The Hawks can bring their C- game again on Friday against Jake Allen's D- game and stick a fork in The Blues' playoff hopes.  Please.

Well, That Happened: Hurricanes 3, Hawks 2

Zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz.  
It'll always be a tough row to hoe when your top line, which was excellent two nights ago, rock a collective Corsi below 20%.  The second line, also good recently, wasn't much better and the entire defense group struggled all night long.
That left the bottom six to get it done and, while they made the effort, couldn't quite close the deal.
JF Berubé was heroic, if a little scrambly, but certainly made this game closer than it should have been.
Jan Rutta returned and was The Hawks' steadiest defender which, on this night, was otherwise a five-way tie for last.
Anthony Duclair was good enough to show up for this one and even managed to bully a puck out of Scott Darling's pads to set up the Sharp goal.  Later, he set the table for Baby Huey Kampf who was subsequently denied by Darling.  Kampf, incidentally, was the sole Hawks forward to crest 50% Corsi tonight.  That's great for Baby Huey but doesn't reflect very well on the rest of the team.

I cannot point to any particularly evil plays or egregious errors, but rather a general lack of give-a-damn.  The Hurricanes only needed to plug up the middle and that was enough to stymie the majority of The Hawks' breakout attempts.
Buckle up for the upcoming back-to-back afternoon delights vs. Boston, 'cos I hear they're pretty good.

Approximately Good Enough: Hawks 2½, Sharks 1

Once again The Hawks defy logic.  After losing a lot of games in which they crushed the opposition in shots / attempts / chances, tonight they were outshot and just below break-even in possession, yet won the game.  Statistics are lies, I guess.
It was an untidy game for both sides but maybe a bit messier for The Sharks.  Neither team hit a pass in the Danger Zone™ in the entirety of the first period and, really, it didn't get a lot better later on.  Would it be damning The Hawks with faint praise if I said The Sharks wanted this less?
* All that aside, if Wingels could shoot or pass even a little bit The Hawks could have had this salted away a lot sooner.  He, Toews and Saad buzzed The Sharks zone all night yet came up empty when they could have used a crisp pass on the tape or a shot on net.  Please, Q, this is ridiculous.
* On that tack, Jurco lined up with Kane and Anisimov again.  Tonight he was muscled off the puck countless times, lost the handle on a couple of rushes and, somehow, missed an open net.  This choice is even more silly than Wingels playing on L1, because Jurco has yet to contribute anything to this team.  There are no past successes to suggest he belongs this high up the order.  He tries, I'll grant him that, but he accomplishes nothing.

* Even though he was probably only in the lineup because The Hawks are shopping him for trade day, Duclair had a fine game, his best as a Hawk.  He was on the move all night, had a strong forecheck going and was one of a very few Hawks forwards making a pass now and again.
* Rutta returned after missing eight games and was fine.  Better offensively than defensively but okay, overall.
* Oesterle was bad again.  Keith was refraining from giving him the puck deep in their own end because, I assume, he's well tired of having it weakly pushed back toward him a few seconds later when Oz is under pressure by a forechecker.  He's been better, it just seems like he's underthinking almost every aspect of his game right now.
* JF Berubé was good.  He didn't get that much work tonight but he did survive a handful of sustained attacks by The Sharks and a few goalmouth scrambles.  Now let's see him do it again.

Just Bad: Islanders 7, Hawks 3

Bad Defensive Coverage.  Rutta and Forsling were eaten alive and the rest weren't a lot better.  It was nice for Gustafsson to notch a couple of points in his first NHL game in over 20 months but he was garbage in his own end, too.  Waaaay too many odd-man rushes, virtually unopposed.
Bad Penalties.  Were any of those necessary?  Lazy play, using their arms and not their legs to keep up with their opponents, will always end in tears.
Bad Goaltending.  This game took the bloody biscuit in this category, underlining the fact that without Crawford The Hawks are sunk.  Okay, given the myriad other issues with this squad they might be done-for even with Crow, but it's clear that neither Forsberg nor Glass are legit NHL starters and maybe not even capable backups in the long run.  Both of these fellas made some fine saves tonight but they also coughed up three softies.  Not good enough.
Bad Transition.  Good lord, did The Hawks have any clean breakouts tonight?
Bad Offensive Execution: It's the same old song here - poor positioning and bad timing, as well as being too static when they set up in the offensive zone.  There were exceptions, of course, but for the most part The Hawks' offense was unimaginative, predictable and doomed to fail.

Was anything Not Bad?
Kane was terrific.  Sadly, Hartman and Schmaltz were rarely willing or able to keep up with him.  Things improved with Sharp inserted in Harts' place but even that was too little, too late.
Saad certainly worked hard, but his efforts were largely individual ones.  He drove The Isles' net harder than any other Hawk but couldn't make a pass to save his life and rarely got a shot away.
That's about it.

A missed opportunity, for sure, what with The Islanders struggling defensively. Luckily for the Brooklyn Boys they caught a team in even worse nick than themselves.

To make the playoffs The Hawks are going to have to win roughly two of every three games from here on in, and I'm not convinced they've got in them to fundamentally change the way they're playing to get that done.  I hear a lot of post-game droning about "getting past this loss and looking to the next game" but that mostly ends up with the same guys doing the same things and achieving the same result.  How about focusing on the game that they're currently playing?  Start there.  Sweet Jesus.

Happy Birthday, Baby Huey: Hawks 2, Jets 1

For the past two or three years I've slated The Jets organization for doing....nothing.  Apart from jettisoning Evander Kane in exchange for what amounted to Guys they chose to stand pat and not tinker with their lineup a whole lot.  It seemed like lunacy at the time, sticking with the horses that failed to get you in the race, but here they are, leading The Central Division and flirting with first place in The Western Conference.  Blake Wheeler has matured into an all-round leader and must be a massive nuisance to try to defend against.  Patrik Laine is no Auston Matthews but remains a thoroughbred (check the shot he zinged past Jeff Glass) and if Mark Scheifele could manage to walk to his car without injuring himself his name would be 'pon the lips of all hockey reporters, all the time.  Even their Guys are decent, with Man Bun Perreault, Kyle Connor and Joel Armia putting up good numbers.  Add to all this an okay D-corps and Connor Hellebucyk emerging as a bona-fide NHL starter after a bunch of seasons in which The Jets' goaltending was "awful by committee" and you've got a team that improved ridiculously by virtue of simply being patient.  And maybe a little bit lucky, but you kinda need a bit of that, dontcha?  One could even argue that The Jets improved by subtracting non-helpful elements like the aforementioned E. Kane and Andrew Ladd, which at least created the opportunity for their young fellas to get some minutes in.  All respeck to GM Tim Cheveldayoff for not allowing the media and assholes like me to cause him to deviate from his Master Plan.  Stick that in yer pipe, Marc Bergevin.

So, since I'm a full day late on this recap and I just spent 15 minutes praising the team that lost the game, lemme get a few things down and you can get back to your families, alcohol, whatever.
* Jeff Glass had his best game so far.  None of those "accidental" saves, no moments sliding across the crease & out the other side and beaten only by a perfectly-placed laser beam.  Between Glasser and Forsberg we've enjoyed three quality starts in a row from the backup guys.  Can't ask for much more than that.

* David Kampf broke through with a two-point night, including his first NHL goal and the Third Star of the game....all on his 23rd birthday.
* Anthony Duclair was alright.  Picked up a helpie, had a few looks even if he seemed a bit yippy around The Jet's crease.  He may have been responsible for the almost-an-own-goal (although that may well have been Goose missing the attempted pass - could not tell from the replay) but no harm, no foul, and a decent enough debut.

It was a close-run game and one could argue that either team deserved to win, and I'll note that both of The Hawks' goals were a bit fortunate, Baby Huey's being a tip-in and Rutta scoring on an eephus that 99% of NHL goalies save 99.9% of the time.  However, they were good enough to be in it to win it and, they way things have been going, I'll take that.  I still feel like there are three or four forwards underachieving mightily and, if I happen to be right on that count and they get themselves sorted out, we'll be okay in the end.  Until that happens, though, wins like these are precious gifts.

One more game against the inconsequential but still-irritating Red Wings and then it'll be the mandatory five days off for The Hawks, during which time our closest rivals could well leapfrog or gap the idle Hawks.  Gotta get the two points tomorrow.

Sorry for all the late posts, lately.  Work and "stuff".  Gonna be quicker on the draw after the break.

Under Control: Hawks 4, Oilers 1

Well, there's nothing quite like a home game against a team in deep, dark funk to help sort out some things.  The Edmonton Oilers have been just plain bad, lately, and The Hawks took full advantage of the situation, making off with a relatively easy two points and a shot of confidence, perhaps, for goaltender Anton Forsberg.
* Wow, The Oilers are thin.  I don't mean to diminish The Hawks' effort by stating this but EDM hasn't even got a full top six, really.  Tack on a below-average D-corps and a struggling goaltender and you've got yourself a team in a tailspin.
* Hartman had another fire-in-the-belly game tonight.  Where was he on Friday?  No, seriously, why was he scratched - I think he's been as good as he's ever been, lately.

* Anton Forsberg finally came across with a (more or less) complete game.  Even his obligatory soft goal against wasn't that soft.  
* Rutta returned and was fine.  Kempny was better, but no one on The Hawks' coaching staff gives a damn so that's all I'll say about that.
* Richard Panik does not belong on a checking line.  This is not because he's "too good" for that role but because he cannot really be arsed to play in a defensive role.

Alright - Ottawa on Tuesday and then two Divisional games.  Now's the time to tear off a few good games in row and not rest on the warm fuzzy feelings one gets after dusting off a bit of a sad sack team

Baby It's Cold Outside: Western Canada Tour Vol I and II

Ugh, these left-coast games are killing me.  So far we've seen two games that were more similar than they might appear by looking only at the score, with just a couple of details that led to disparate results.  This is already old news so let's go.

Vol I: Vancouver
Now this seriously pissed me off.  Even with no Burrows and no Bieksa I still have zero use for The Canucks.  The most visible aspect of their fanbase are given to tantrums that qualify as "civil unrest" and they're still booing Duncan Keith every time he touches the puck, presumably because he elbowed one of The Creepy Twins (doesn't matter which one) almost six years.  That's all I need to know about that gang.
Just as frustrating was that The Hawks held the balance of play, took a lot more shots and still lost to these jokers who are ahead of only Phoenix in the standings.  Oy.  So what about them there details?
* Anton Forsberg was rubbish, full stop.
* Forsling and Rutta were both -3 while playing what amounted to second-pairing minutes.  Whether by accident or by design Goose and Roots were out against the Gagner line A LOT and were there or thereabouts for three of that line's four goals against.  I honestly don't remember Forsling doing anything particularly rotten but Rutta was undeniably awful.  They weren't alone where backline fecklessness was concerned as Keith was next-worst after Rutta, but he's Duncan Keith and we won't be seeing him healthy scratched anytime soon.
* Failure to Convert.  The same old refrain - poor shot selection, lazy choices, bad positioning
The Advanced Stats made things seem far rosier than they were and The Hawks got what they deserved.

Vol II: Edmonton
At least here The Hawks played one-half of a great game, beginning with Hartman's late first period goal and petering out midway through the third when EDM went into desperation mode.  As above, the Advanced Stats were fairly similar to the previous game but a few adjustments helped them eke out a win with an effort that was not perfect, but good enough.
* Jeff Glass.  Let's get the feel-good story of the weekend out of the way.  Glass was remarkably solid.  His game appears a little...static, but he's a big guy, moves the puck well and is surprisingly athletic.  He got a bit lucky when he found himself completely out of shape on a couple of plays that The Oilers failed to close, and Strome erred when he had Glass dead to rights.  I half expect him to get lit up in Calgary tomorrow - I hope he doesn't - but his NHL debut was a great story and contributed to the win.
* Lineup Changes.  Kempny and Franson came in for Rutta and Forsling while Hinostroza and Panik replaced Sharp and Anisimov (injured).  The two D-men hardly played and, really, weren't good or bad, their greater contribution being simply avoiding a repeat of The Goose & Roots show from the night before.  Panik remains snake-bitten but he was out there trying stuff, at least.  Vinnie Hinnie and Franson found themselves on the new-look second power play unit and, while Franson simply picked up where he left off before his injury, Vinnie looked alright in that role, even notching a helpie on the third goal.
Sometimes a change is as good as a rest and the changes kind of paid off, this time.
* Ryan Hartman returning to form.  Harts was one of the few Hawks that put in a full effort in Vancouver and he carried that over to Edmonton.  I think he's been playing a lot better, generally, for the last couple of weeks, and Hartman starting to contribute again makes me feel slightly less bitter about DeBrincat being buried on the third, arguably fourth line.  At least Q is trotting out DBC on the power play, where he's had some good chemistry with Schmaltz , particularly.
* Oesterle breaks through.  While he was far from flawless and still leans awfully hard on Keith for safety passes and covering his ass when things go sideways, he did alright.  Paired with Franson on 2PP they kept the puck heading toward The Oilers net relentlessly, but I can't help but feel that persisting with these two is playing with fire - The Hawks gave up quite enough breakaways and odd-man rushes as it was.  I had a feeling that Oz was going to score soon, so it was cool that he finally found the twine against the team that never really gave him a proper look.

* David Kampf?  Never have I seen a player more closely resembling Baby Huey but that's not for now.  I cannot yet see what he brings, to be honest, and was surprised to see the big, plodding centreman on the penalty kill.  Well, he's a big body with good reach, although he never looked particularly physical in either game.  
You know he'll score in Calgary, now, right?

Sometimes The Cream Rises Even Though It's Gone Sour: Hawks 3, Panthers 2

They didn't really deserve it but The Hawks eked out two more points tonight.  The Panthers outshot The Hawks and made fewer mistakes, but Chicago had just a couple more players be really good at key times.  Corey Crawford outplayed Panthers' netminder Reimer and, while Vincent Trocheck was far and away the best skater on the ice tonight, Kane and Saad were just good enough, just often enough to steal the win.

* Enough Blackhawks fell somewhere between flat-out bad (Forsling, Hinostroza, Bouma) and merely ineffective (practically everyone except Crawford) that most of the game was an uphill battle.  Those that did play well did so only occasionally but, thankfully, had those moments of inspiration at opportune moments.

* I just about plotzed when I saw that Oesterle would play. While he wasn't as terrible as he was on Sunday he still wasn't very good.  It's difficult to have much confidence in a coach that scratches a player for over a month and suddenly gifts the guy with 20+ minutes despite the player wavering between "dogshit" and "laughable".  Imagine how Michal Kempny feels about all this.
* Speaking of Kemps, regardless of how Q feels about him, I guess we might see him soon enough, unless Franson & Rutta make quick recoveries.

Taking The Scenic Route: Hawks 3, Sabres 2

Yep, they took a roundabout route, but The Hawks got where they needed to go.  As in the last game, The Hawks laid waste to their opponent in terms of shots (51-28) and possession (Corsi 70-30 - oy!) and, just for good measure, let me mention that The Sabres blocked a further 31 shot attempts.  This is the sort of effort that a team that's clicking transforms into an 8-1 win.  Despite the win, however, The Hawks still aren't clicking.  Here are some Bits before bedtime.
* Sure, they finally cashed a power play goal, but the power play is still trash.  The Hawks have had more man advantage situations than any other team this season, so one would think the in-game practice would have aided them in tuning up this aspect of their game but, somehow, this is not the case.  The end of the second PP, late in the first period, sort of epitomized what a bad job they've been doing, with a half dozen passes between the two point men and Kane along the right wing but no shot until Kane took a wrister from a crappy angle to kill the play.  What the hell?
* Sidebar: while he is one of a select few NHLers who can score somewhat regularly from poor angles, why is Kane insisting on only shooting from south of the faceoff dots?  Why must he ensure that scoring will be difficult?
* Sidebar #2: Edzo quipped that Buffalo had the best power play in the league last season but are now 31st and last in that category.  I submit to you this: Cody Franson was a fixture on The Sabres PP last year.  He had no PP time this evening and The Hawks sucked in that department, again.  Just sayin'...
* Alex DeBrincat now shares the team lead in goals but it took 29 games before Coach Q saw fit to start him in the Top Six.  That it took so long for this acknowledgement is just plain stupid.
* Since Seabrook's ice time declined he's been a lot less conspicuous.  I don't know if the lighter workload has benefited his performance or if it simply allowed him less opportunity to make a mess of everything.  His final gesture tonight took the biscuit, though, being either too lazy or just plain incapable of legging out an iced puck and taking a penalty.  If Franson misses any time we'll be treated to more of this, I'm afraid.
* Tommy Wingels wins the bang-for-the-buck prize, with the game-tying shortie (on the aforementioned Seabrook penalty), five shots and 68% Corsi in a mere 7:35 ice time.  What's more, Wingels and his linemates started every one of their shifts in their own end.
* Good bounce-back game for Keith after that steaming pile on Wednesday.
* Jan Rutta was excellent.  Not perfect, but nearly so.  He and Forsling are seeing a lot more of the opposing teams' top lines, too.
I haven't busted this out for a year or more....

With the game-winner in OT, a pair of helpies and a great effort all night, The Big Boy has got to be Gustav Forsling.  It could just as easily have ended in tears for Goose when he hauled down Jack Eichel, setting up a rare overtime penalty shot, but Corey Crawford capped off his fine game, his first after missing a few with an injury, by denying The Sabres' best player at that crucial moment.  After a pretty rough patch in late Oct - early Nov Goose's confidence appears to be sky-high.  Sometimes the stuff he tries doesn't work out, but having the guts to try and fail will only help him improve and to give him a better sense of his own limits.  Big game for Goose, big win for The Hawks.

Better Get Used To It: Stars 3, Hawks 2

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.

Better When I'm Not There: Hawks 4, Panthers 1

So, I got home with about three minutes remaining in the first period and immediately hear Steve Konroyd remark "this is probably the best period The Hawks have played all season." Well, I missed it, and the rest was....okay, I guess.  But that's the way it goes, isn't it?  I hesitate to say that The Hawks let up when they have a lead, but rather that they don't always continue to press the point once they're ahead.
Not that it mattered tonight; The Hawks did what they had to do and not much more, which is entirely appropriate given the busy week ahead of them.  I have a few Bits for yis.

* The Toews line kinda ran wild with The Panthers' brain trust choosing to pit their best all-around line and top D-pairing against the Anisimov trio.  As I said, I dunno what went on for most of the first period but, once they were behind by a couple of goals, the Trocheck - Bjugstad - Haapala line weren't checking a whole lot as they tried to mount some offense.  How did that go, you ask?  How about a goal and a pair of helpies for Toews, a couple of points for Saad and, while he failed to make it to the scoresheet, Panik crushed a whopping 86% Corsi.  The cherry on top was Toews' goal - maybe not the prettiest but certainly one of the most fun goals I've seen in awhile, with the captain backhand swatting a puck out of the air past Roberto Luongo.  

* Despite the high shots against The Hawks' defense were decent enough, with Keith, Rutta and Murphy putting forth solid efforts.  Forsling and Franson each had a few not-so-good moments, but nothing ruinous.  Hardly noticed Seabrook, which I'll chalk up as a positive.
* The Hawks' fourth line had an...interesting night, consistently generating chances (or almost chances?) and somehow capitalizing on their effort only once.  What am I saying - Bouma and Wingels, for all their hard work, will only score the odd opportunistic goal.  Hayden has okay hands and is very determined in front of the net but often struggles to keep up with his speedy if unfocused linemates.  Konny quipped that this trio have been playing more or less third line minutes lately and, if that's the way it's going to be, one hopes that they could cash in a little more often.  That said, these guys were +1 and all three sported Corsi numbers north of 60% so, ultimately, I have nothing to complain about.

* Crawford had yet another near-perfect outing, with only a kinda soft goal against to detract from a an overall great game.  He actually worked harder than he should have, with FLA mounting several brief but intense attacks in which he was forced to make two or three saves in rapid succession.  

The Hawks now face a week in which they'll play five times over seven days with two back-to-backs, so we're gonna see Anton Forsberg at least once, maybe twice.  Like I said last week, it's felt like it's only a matter of time before the Toews line busts out, and this would be the perfect time to do it.

Power Restored: Hawks 6, Rangers 3

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.

Back To Earth: Devils 263, Hawks 5

So, it was another one of those deals when almost every defensive mistake ends up in he back of The Hawks' net.  First, Forsling, inattentive and overmatched.  Then, Oesterle, too soft twice on the same play, with a side of Bouma floating instead of taking away the passing lane.  Next, Hayden coasting back to The Hawk's zone even while Andy Greene "sped" past him.  After that, Saad standing and watching, Rutta pantsed by Hall, Oesterle weak again, although precipitated by Kempny's terrible breakout attempt and, finally, Rutta convinced that merely placing his hand on Miles Wood's back would slow him down.  As score-y as Rutta was tonight his defensive effort was garbage - dude nets three points and ends up -1 on the night?
The Hawks outshot, outchanced and made fewer turnovers than the Devils, but they were so lackadaisical about containing the Devils' forwards it was always going to end in tears.

The absolutely best part of this game was Pat Boyle slipping in "The Devils were sporting Full Wood tonight...."
I'll just bet they were.

A Half Effort and Zero Reward: Nathan MacKinnon 6, Hawks 3

Oh, to have just ten minutes back from that game.
In that ten minutes (more like 11, but whatever) Colorado scored four times, took what seemed like half of their total shots and pulverized The Hawks in puck possession.
It didn't help that The Hawks were shorthanded most of that time but, hey, you make your bed, right?
Otherwise, The Hawks weren't completely terrible.
Some quick Bits:
* Anton Forsberg was not sharp.  Circumstances were not ideal, with the penalty parade and several coverage errors in front of him but, really, 3 of the 5 GA looked soft from my angle.  Another poor start will possibly cause a phone to ring in Rockford.
* Nathan MacKinnon simply ran amok.  When he decides that's what he wants to do there's not much you can do about that.

                                           This is not how it looks, but it may as well be.
* Poor Coverage and Soft Play - the first GA was a double-shot, with Rutta taking way too much time doing whatever he thought he was doing behind the net, while Forsling stood idly between two COL Players, not covering either of them.  On the third COL goal it was a gamble lost by Kempny that led to the Av's breakout, and he and Sharp were thereabouts when MacKinnon tapped the goal in, but as spectators, watching but not actively checking anyone.  It didn't help that Seabrook had given up his gap and resorted, yet again, to laying himself out.  On the fifth GA, the guy in the most dangerous place on the ice was the only one not being covered.  All small mistakes with big consequences.
* Too Many Odd-man Chances - yes, this again.  I have no problem with the D joining the rush, and they've been doing that a lot lately but, when the puck inevitably comes back toward The Hawks' zone there is One Guy Back more often than not.  It seems to me that the D needs to tone down their offensive adventures and/or The Hawks' forwards need to ensure that someone hangs back to support the lone remaining D-man.  As it is there appears to be very little communication in this regard.
* Forsling was hurt in the first period and left the game.  Truthfully, The Hawks played better after he left.  Coincidence?  Let's see.

                                                            Crow's lament.
Was there anything GOOD to say about this game?  Sure.
* Cody Franson was excellent, full-stop.  More, please.
* Crawford, in relief, was very good.  He didn't see a lot of action but he did make a tough pair of saves on a shot-rebound combo in the third.
* Shots-for and Possession - all very good.  The missing piece element here is turning those shots & chances into goals.  That, and not having every single error end up in a goal against.

Yeah, but...: Hawks 5, Blue Jackets 1

Once all of the inevitable Saad / Panarin chatter died down we saw an entertaining hockey game, got a result and perhaps got a little insight into this year's Hawks team.  Let's go.

Nick Schmaltz was out of the game within two minutes, the victim of a greasy Malachi Crunch between two large CMB defenders, and will not travel to Canada for the games vs. TOR and MTL.  Not to pin too much emphasis on Schmaltz's absence but, after that and the line-shuffling chaos that followed, only the Toews line was a consistent offensive threat.

                                Best play of the game and he didn't even touch the puck.

Yeah, but the Toews line was fantastic and, all slumps, funks and potential injuries aside, could well tear The NHL a new one this season.  Interestingly, I hardly noticed Toews out there: he won the draws, disappeared into the weeds and reappeared later to take a pass or pounce on a Saad or Panik rebound. Saad was great and Panik had one of his finest games as a Hawk, forechecking and getting after loose pucks (leading to his third period goal) choosing his shots wisely (no tries from the goal line in this one) and, best of all, perfectly executing a search & destroy mission on Seth Jones to create the Toews goal.

The shots-against and Corsi numbers were not especially flattering, but that often happens when a team has a three goal lead by the halfway point of the game.  Crawford did make a handful of sparkling saves but all credit to The Hawks' D, as there were precious few second attempts available to the Blue Jackets. Let's not forget that Crow was a hair's breadth from a shutout, if not for an unlucky bobble through Hartman, sliding into the crease.

On The Hawks' D, it was a mostly-good effort. Seabrook was swallowed up a couple of times by swifter CMB forwards (I guess that would be all of them, actually...) and Kempny had another one of those basically solid efforts, tarnished slightly by a WTF moment or two.  I thought the best pairing was Rutta and Forsling, which is as unexpected as that pairing even being a thing.  I barely noticed Connor Murphy which, given how much I noticed him flailing a week ago in the preseason, is probably a Good Thing.

The Line Shuffling and what failed to come from that, as mentioned above, could signal something significant....or nothing at all.  Once Schmaltz went down and the revolving door opened, with Sharp, Anisimov, DeBrincat and Hayden all filling in on Line 2, the only offense The Hawks received beyond Toews' line was on the power play and on an audacious 50-foot backhand saucer pass from Kane to Rutta, in which the other players on the ice were irrelevant.  

So, was this an indication of how brittle The Hawks' lineup is, and that the loss of one top-six forward can throw their entire effort into disarray?  Maybe, but I kind of think Coach Q took the opportunity, what with an early lead and all, to try some stuff, specifically to see how DeBrincat and Hayden performed when elevated up the lineup.  With special-teams duties, Kane double-shifting with Bouma and Wingels and the occasional insertion of Sharp & Anisimov, though, I'm not sure if anything concrete was learned there.  Hayden's barge up the middle in the first period was fun but he didn't do much else, and DeBrincat wasn't particularly noticeable, aside from clanging the post late in the game.  Hartman did not have a super game, either, but was inserted at center for much of the game which is still an unfamiliar position for him at this level.

We are thin at center, and being without two of the usual pivots is going to be tough, but I'm confident that if the game was at any time in question Q would have popped Anisimov into 2C and left him there, with the remains of the bottom-six being rearranged as the situation demanded.

Yeah, but The Hawks beat up on a couple of backup goalies to start the season.  True enough, but they also didn't press all that hard after zooming out to early leads, AND they managed these wins with only two actual centers for the majority of both games.  That feels like a push to me.

Toronto is next and it proves to be interesting game, as The Leafs are essentially Hawks 2.0, seven or eight years along (but with even more dire and immediate salary cap problems in their future). Anyway, The Leafs have also potted fifteen goals in their first two games, but did not encounter much resistance from the feckless Jets goaltending nor the ghost of Hank Lundqvist and the imposter known as Ondrej Pavelec.  The Leafs have also allowed seven goals in those two games, and I'm unconvinced that Freddy Andersen is a bona fide NHL starter, but I guess we'll see about that.  

Expect to see Crow start in Toronto and Anton Forsberg to debut vs. the less-scorey Canadiens on Tuesday.

Hawks Preseason PT. XXIG?: Bubble Boys

Last night was always going to be tough with The Hawks trotting out only a handful of players who are sure to make the squad, whilst Boston iced a far more representative lineup.  That said and given the number of grinder-types that Coach Q loaded up on, they acquitted themselves reasonably well, outshooting The Bruins and occasionally looking capable of stealing the game.
Anyway, I am compelled to peck a few words on specific players that are in the hunt for a roster spot.

Cody Franson showed me nothing that a few younger, quicker candidates possess.  Pass.
Laurent Dauphin is better than I expected.  Quicker & shiftier than Kero but lacking Kero's situational awareness and passing skills.  I don't see Dauphin making the cut over Kero but he could be a useful firehose in case of injuries or even as the 13th forward.
Bouma / Tootoo / Wingels were really only visible when they coughed up the puck.  Pass, pass and pass.
Hayden made a case for sticking around.  I still think he's making it up as he goes along a lot of the time but that's stuff he can learn, whereas you can't learn BIG and he does have good hands.  The bottom line is that I'd far rather have Hayden around than any of the three Guys mentioned above.  A Hayden - Kero - Hino fourth line would suit me fine.
Forsling did himself no favours last night.  I still think he has an inside line on a roster spot but, based on his last couple of games, Rutta and Oesterle are equally deserving of the opportunity.
Jordan Oesterle: maybe punching above his weight?  I haven't minded him at all, so far, for what he is; decent wheels and hands, maybe a little wander-y and a bit lightweight, but calm and patient with the puck.  He did well last night, running on fumes at the end of a too-long shift, to get the puck close enough to Kero to set off the Hayden goal.
Rutta was okay, too.  He's poised, for sure, but maybe a little too daring, trying stuff he's been mostly able to get away with but, once the season starts for reals, would likely result in him looking at the numbers on his opposition's back.  Not a lock by any stretch but The Hawks are sure giving him every opportunity to crack the squad.
Alex DeBrincat suffered some, apart from Kane & Schmaltz (already?) but I think The Hawks have to at least try him in the top six to start the season.  And no lower down the order - top six or Rockford, sink or swim, 'cos his destiny is top three, so there's zero point in deploying him with Guys who won't complement his skills.

The picture's getting a little clearer.

Preseason III: The Preseasoning

Just a few quick notes to keep things current.

Saturday: The Hawks were goalie'd, pure and simple, and at both ends of the ice, with CMB's Korpisalo turning away 50 shots and The Hawks' JF Berube allowing three softies. That, barring disaster, will likely be the last time we see Berube in a Chicago jersey.

Lines 1-3 each had several excellent shifts, although all three units struggled with consistency.  There was some nice puck movement with Kane-Schmaltz-DeBrincat, but also plenty of occasions in which Schmaltz and DeBrincat skated themselves into trouble and couldn't find their way back out.  Only Kane seemed to have any consistent awareness of where his linemates were.  It's early days yet.

Toews worked hard along the walls but hardly exerted himself otherwise, which is fine.  Richard Panik did his thing - dynamite when it works but kinda silly to watch when it doesn't, and it didn't work a whole lot in this game.  Saad was a sledgehammer.

Sharp and Anisimov are already signaling some significant chemistry which, with Hartman re-inserted, gives The Hawks a damn good third line.  Somebody get Dr. Terry to wrap Sharpie's head in Bubble Wrap™, stat.

As much as I like the idea of John Hayden stepping in and being a versatile big body, I don't think it'll be happening this fall.  Hayden either goes all-out, crashing around with no apparent plan, or he stands around, watching, and there's rarely anything in-between.  A few months in Rockford would do him good, I think.

The fourth line gonna be the fourth line and, with so many Guys still in camp, could "feature" any number of spare parts guys.  I was going to type a few sentences about Alexandre Fortin's obvious skill mitigated by him having no clue how to employ it, but he's been dismissed to Rockford, so maybe another time.  Riddle me this, though: what, exactly does Tomas Jurco do?  He's not especially quick, hasn't much of a shot and all it takes is a stern look to separate him from the puck.  Yeah... I'll pass on that.

As for the defense, it's hard to say much about last night's group of guys, as they really weren't troubled much.  I thought all three of the guys who are competing for a spot played well enough. Rutta is maybe a little quicker than I gave him credit for and Pokka played a simple but effective game.  Either guy could likely step right into the third pairing, maybe higher for Rutta.
The competition is very much ON, too, as I still believe Rozsie will pack it in sooner than later, and it looks as if Cody Franson has been released from his PTO? (I can find no mention of this but he no longer appears on the team roster) The Hawks have options and they aren't all terrible.

Postscript: well, it's Monday and Cody Franson is in The Hawks' lineup, so I dunno why he's not on the active roster.  Of course, tonight's roster insists that Luke Johnson is playing and that Jordan Oestrle is not, so who knows what the hell's going on...