Post-Expansion Draft Catch Up, Hoss, Lineup Building

We've got three things to cover, today.  First, Marian Hossa, unbeknownst to the general public, has been suffering with a painful skin disorder for who knows how long and has decided to not play hockey this season.  Evidently, Hoss has had a poor reaction to the treatment he's been receiving for this condition and it's been determined that it's actually risky to continue.  I had been joking around recently that I wouldn't be surprised if Hoss developed some pesky injury that kept him out of action until mid-winter, next season, just long enough to get some salary cap relief with the big man on LTIR.  Well, this doesn't sound or feel like The Hawks being gamey, at all, and it's quite likely that Hoss' pro hockey days are over.  
Hossa has played eighteen seasons in The NHL and was paid well enough that one has to believe that he's continued this long because he wanted to and not because he had to, so a sudden retirement announcement would certainly seem against his character.  That said, having hit a pair of impressive career milestones this season and the fact that he'll be earning only a token percentage of his heavily front-loaded contract, the timing is probably right to call it a day, even if Hoss isn't ready to admit it.  
More about the implications of Hoss' setback a little ways down the page.

I stayed up last night only until I was assured that Trevor van Riemsdyk was no longer a Blackhawk AND I SLEPT WELL.  For all his good points Coach Joel Quenneville has always had a frustrating penchant for keeping one or two guys around that Just Don't Make Sense, and TVR is the most irritating example of Q's bizarre devotion to substandard hockey players.  Say what you will about those who came before, like Burish, Scott, Bollig or even Jordin "Two great games does not a career make" Tootoo, but those guys and their five-to-seven minutes per night never had the profound impact that TVR has had.  The man is a pylon, who cannot skate, cannot make a decision at NHL-speed, appears to have little idea how to play his position and has never laid a bodycheck on anything that wasn't stationary.  Yet, he got his 20-ish minutes per game, which is infinitely more than a borderline AHL-quality player should ever receive.  It's not as if he accomplished this on a weak team with few options, either.  The Hawks just became a better team simply by not having this goof around.  The morning rumour mill has Las Vegas dispatching TVR to Carolina in short order.  I couldn't care less, as long as he doesn't end up back in Chicago.
Anyway, so long, jackass.  It's not your fault you're bad at hockey.

Here's where I start to feel a little dirty, like a guy who just found out some rich aunt died & left him a load of money and doesn't know whether to be happy or sad and that it's hard to be both those things at the same time.
With TVR gone and Hoss about to be LTIR'd off the books, The Hawks have gone from being $2+ million OVER the salary cap to roughly $4mil UNDER.  I see two paths, here.

PATH ONE: Marcus Kruger remains in Chicago?
The alleged deal done between Chicago & LV to make TVR available in exchange for taking Kruger in a subsequent trade *might* not be as necessary now as it was a couple of days ago.  Can The Hawks now afford the luxury of a $3 mil center who rarely scores?  Perhaps not, as keeping Kruger gives The Hawks only about $1 mil remaining with which to make any significant changes to a team that underachieved mightily this season, which would kinda fly in the face of the press conference promises made by GM Stan Bowman after The Hawks ouster from the playoffs.  Stranger things have happened, though.
PATH TWO: Kruger leaves and The Hawks have approx. $7 mil with which to retool.  
The first task is to identify what The Hawks require in order to change their fortunes.  
Some will say that they need a puck-moving defenceman, as the reunion with Brian Campbell was underwhelming and he will not likely be invited back.  I'm just not sure if there's much out there to be had that The Hawks can afford.   Marc Streit, maybe, as he is firmly into the hired gun phase of his career and could likely be had for an affordable price.The Islanders have an embarrassment of riches on D but are said to be on the hunt for a top-six forward, which The Hawks are not in a position to provide.  Staffing from within is a possibility if Q is prepared to give Goose Forsling an actual chance to succeed, but I think Stan knows better than to count on that happening. 
Besides that, The Hawks need at least one or two quality forwards, not just to fill the gap left by Hossa, but also to fill a hole that existed all of last season.
Again, filling these spots from within is possible but is not likely to alter The Hawks' fortunes a great deal.  One expects Hartman, Schmaltz and possibly even Hayden to step up their contributions but, if they don't, The Hawks risk standing in place, at best, but more likely backsliding.  I don't hold out any expectation that the remaining peripheral players will be anything more than that, not this season and probably not ever.
And Kruger would still need to replaced.  Anyone pressed into this duty has big shoes to fill as, even with Kruger's anemic offense, he remains one of only a handful of players who are able to move the puck north on a consistent basis, as well as having been The Hawks' go-to PK guy.  Nearby, weaker options are available in Dennis Rasmussen and/or Tanner Kero, both okay foot soldiers but almost certainly not up to the level of responsibility that Kruger shouldered.

The possibilities are nearly endless, but let me toss a few names out there, bearing in mind that Silly Season will begin in earnest this afternoon.
Justin Williams - oldish, arrogant & unlikable, but he remains a steady performer, a playoff beast and would earn ~$3 mil or less.  Stick him with Toews & Panik for something resembling a second scoring line.
Joe Thornton - not as out there as it seems.  Jumbo Joe earned ~$7 mil in recent years but I cannot see him commanding that kind of coin at age 37 and coming off any number of surgeries. Thornton could slot in as 1C, 2C or 3C but I would love to see him between Kane & Panarin.  Maybe Thornton assumes Toews' spot and The Captain takes over 3C in Kruger's role.  We could do a lot worse than that, although then there will be louts jawing about The Hawks' $10 mil checking center...
Pierre-Edouard Bellemare - not gonna fully replace Kruger but the guy is a checking machine, good on the PK and "okay" at the dot.  A straight-up trade for Kruger saves $1.5 mil with a serviceable replacement.
Patrick Sharp - It's a risk with his dizzies and all, and who knows how much to believe about rumours of conflict between him and Keith or others.  If all parties are comfortable with a reunion, though, I bet he'd sign for $2mil or less.  Stan may be leery of signing old favourites on a victory lap contract after Campbell, though.

Aw, who knows?  Let's see what happens this week.

About Last Night: Predators 1, Hawks 0

It was another one of those nights in which The Hawks appeared to be the better team but came away with zippo to show for it.  Apart from the last half of the first period the home side demolished Nashville in possession and chances but simply could not close the deal.  Of course I'm gonna tell ya why I think that happened.
The Line Blender was brought out of storage a little too quickly.  Only the third line remained unaltered after the puck dropped for the second period and, while they provided some of The Hawks' most dominant shifts, they remain an incomplete unit to a large extent.  For all his good qualities, Kruger is pretty limited offensively, while Hossa and Hartman are primarily finishers.  If they're not able to get the puck to each other on a regular basis (and they haven't been) goals will be hard to come by.
On that tack, I don't recall what serious indiscretion Schmaltz committed to be relegated to spot duty for the last 40 minutes, but was Kero really the best choice to skate with Toews and Panik for the duration?  Would it have been a bad idea to shoot Hoss in there, instead, as it's not like his trio was accomplishing much, despite their best efforts?  I like Kero, and he puts forth a solid effort every night, but he's far from being a skilled player.
The Nashville goal was made possible to a large extent by the collision of Schmaltz and Panik, with Toews becoming slightly entangled there, as well.  Is THAT what led to Schmaltz's banishment, 'cos he was the only one of those three Hawks forwards who had a Predator in his grasp?  If that's the case then Coach Q and Co. need to look at the tape.
While Anisimov was better in his first game back than I expected his timing was all messed up, so it was unfortunate that he had the lion's share of chances that his line created.
Oduya struggled in all aspects; too slow and couldn't make a simple pass reliably.  On the flip, Campbell had a good bounce-back effort after a few pretty indifferent games to close out the regular season, his only errors in judgement being involving TVR in his plans.  Keith was fantastic, I thought, even if he made a couple of decisions late in the game that didn't pan out.

It's far from panic time. The Hawks could well have won this one; if the sticks start working and the lines begin gelling again we'll be just fine.

Pretty, Pretty, Pretty Good: Hawks 3, Blue Jackets 1

Y'know, despite their record-setting season and glowing record & all that, The Columbus Blue Jackets are going to live and die with Sergei Bobrovsky.  They have two very good but very young D-men in Jones and Werenski, as well as a handful of useful forwards but, past that....a pretty average group.  Get to Bob and down they'll go.
And down they went.  CMB launched a furious attack in the third period, in which The Hawks had only one really great shift, but we've heard this song before.  Maybe they shouldn't always circle the wagons in a close game but this tactic so seldom backfires, so there's no impetus to change, is there?
That said, and despite CMB outshooting The Hawks and pulling ahead in the possession department during their full-court-press-third-period, Corey Crawford wasn't called upon to make any highlight reel saves.  Yes, the one goal against looked a little soft from this angle but, without Hjalmarsson having a blowout a few seconds earlier, The Jackets don't even get that chance. Meanwhile, at the other end, Bob made several fantastic, point-blank saves.  This game wasn't as close as it looks on paper.
The Hawks moved the puck exceptionally well in the offensive zone for much of the game, with lines one through three all mounting sustained pressure at various times throughout the first two periods. Only the Kruger-Hossa-Hartman line managed to get something going in the third but, regardless, there was some excellent passing and creativity on display, early on.  
Nik Hjalmarsson sure took a thrashing tonight, getting a stinger off the foot in the second and clipped with a stick in the third.  He Never Goes Down, though, just like that black knight in the Monty Python film....
Meanwhile, what the hell was TVR doing?  How do you lose every puck battle, fail to break up any plays and still remain in the lineup?  
I wasn't crazy about The Hawks trying to set up Kane at all costs while the CMB net was empty, 'cos some of those failed attempts to get him the puck ended up coming right back at them.  Let's not put the horse before the cart there, lads.

Despite my irritation over The Hawks trying too hard to pad Kane's stats, he was the best Hawk out there tonight.  How many times did he hit Panarin and create a shot attempt?  His puck control was crazy good, particularly when he found himself cycling out to the point, expertly corralling uncontrolled pucks and finding a passing lane in an instant.  And this was all with a fourth-liner as his center.

Maybe It's Better This Way: Canucks 5, Hawks 4

It's time for another The Good, The Bad and The Ugly post.  This won't take long.
The Good
- Great possession stats, a gaudy shot count and a rare night in which The Hawks won the faceoff game.  How do you lose a game with numbers like this?  I'll get to that.
- There were some very good individual performances: Hartman, obviously, and Hossa put together a solid game after a bit of a haphazard start.  Panik was strong on the puck all evening, and both Hayden and Rasmussen made excellent plays at both ends of the ice.  
The Bad
- Two goals against were precipitated by The Hawks' forwards bolting downrange before they had established control of the puck.
- Five goals against on fifteen shots. While three of the four allowed by Crawford were on odd-man rushes or deft redirections, the poke check attempt on Sutter's first goal was clumsy and maybe a little impatient.
- The penalty call on Toews in overtime was as soft as they come.  Maybe they felt that Toews embellished the shove from Edler that propelled him into Ryan Miller?
- Where was Kane for the first 45 minutes of the game?  
The Ugly
- Duncan Keith: six giveaways.  Soupy, another three.  Jurco, two giveaways in a mere seven minutes.  I've seen quite enough of Jurco, now.
- Seabrook simply could not keep the puck within The Canucks blueline.
- TVR and Jurco gave up on the second Sutter goal.  Unacceptable.

So, yeah, maybe it's a good thing to have lost this one.  The game came pretty easily to The Hawks, yet they really only applied a full effort in the last ten minutes or so.  Again.  Losing to a team that's basically senior citizens and Guys, after pummeling them in all regards except the score, might be just the thing to create some urgency and perhaps inspire The Hawks to bring their A Game in the first two periods.  I'd be embarrassed and I rather hope The Hawks are, as well..

Our Guys Are Better Than Your Guys: Hawks 5, Sabres 1

The Hawks trundled into Western New York for the second half of a back-to-back after a decent yet unproductive outing last night.  After yesterday's loss I felt like The Hawks needed only to make a few adjustments and the world would be their oyster.  

With only a few small exceptions, that was pretty much true.  Of course it helped that they were facing the not-ready-for-prime-time Sabres who, despite half of their lineup consisting of really very unexceptional players, find themselves within spitting distance of the last Wildcard spot in The East. The Sabres shouldn't be as bad as they are, as they possess a handful of above-average NHLers in Okposo, Reinhart, O'Rielly and Evander Kane, when he feels like it, as well as the Truly Special Jack Eichel, but the supporting cast is deplorable, consisting of a few used-up veterans and a rotating cast of AHL-quality players.  Their defense is possibly worse, the highlight there being Rasmus Ristolainen who serves as an outstanding power play QB....but little else.  Bogosian and Franson are average, at best and, beyond them, the abyss.  The NBC broadcast team (who the hell was the colour man, anyway, and did he win his job in a raffle?) plumped up Robin Lehner rather comprehensively, only for the young Swedish netminder to cough up a furball in this one.  Anyway, it's not a complete group, by any means, and I'll get back to some of that in a bit.

As for The Hawks, it was a good effort, made to look even better by their opponents, in which I found only a few faults:
- The Toews and Anisimov lines went entire shifts in the first half of the game in which they could not break out of their own zone.  I'm putting this down to their timing still coming back to them after their week off, as well as the fact that The Sabres pitched their two top lines against their Hawks counterparts for much of the game.  On the surface this seems incredibly foolhardy, particularly at home with the last change but, just as it was for Colorado a few weeks ago, that's the best plan The Sabres have right now.  While that was happening The Hawks' bottom-six were having their way with The Sabres bottom-six and, if that's the way it was gonna be, imagine what a nightmare it would have been if those lines were deployed against The Hawks top-six?  Oh, wait - they were, in the third period, and it was a shit-show.  What's more is, even after getting their top two lines out there vs.The Hawks third and fourth units....they still didn't manage to generate a ton of chances, possibly due to being worn out from chasing Panarin & Kane around for the first 40 minutes, as well as having endured a busy couple of weeks with nine games in the last fourteen days.
- Panarin was again not great.  Better, but still not firing on all cylinders.
- Apart from a handful of botched assignments The Hawks D played a fine game, EXCEPT for one shift in the first period in which 57-Varieties-of-Bad insisted on dispatching the puck to teammates who were going the wrong way, three feet away from him, about to be struck by a Sabres player, etc.  Sometimes I just wonder what the hell goes on in his head.

Tough one tonight, as no Hawks player really ran away with the thing.  Toews had some inspired shifts but had only a junk goal to show for it.  Ditto for Hossa and, despite the result, Darling wasn't really tested much at all after the first period.  So for this one, The Surly Swede "smiles" upon hometown boy Patrick Kane who, after a slow start to the game, went a bit nuts on the aforementioned Sabres bottom-six.

Anyway, things get real again on Tuesday vs. The Wild.  Hopefully The Hawks will have worked out all the kinks from the week off and be able to make the most of this four-point game.

One Period Does Not A Game Make (Unless You Happen to be in Arizona): Hawks 4, Coyotes 3

Aaaand we're back after taking the last three games off which, as it turns out, appears to have been just as well since The Hawks took those games off, too.  Bygones - there's plenty to complain about tonight, even with the W.
The Hawks limped into PHX, licking their wounds from three straight losses, their longest streak without a point this season, with an opportunity to regain some confidence and maintain their place in the standings.  The Coyotes are woeful, really, really bad, with what amounts to a second a line and three fourth lines.  The last time these teams met it was a landslide for The Hawks, so another slamdunk game could have been the necessary tonic for the guys to get their mojo back.
Yet, the only success I can see is that The Hawks came away with two points.

The first period was wonderful, but it's just a memory, now.  The Hawks rolled four lines and all four units generated great chances.  Goals by Kane, Hartman and Hossa staked Chicago to a 3-0 lead after the first,  outshooting PHX 14-6 along the way.
Then the wheels fell off.

Being shorthanded consecutively on three delay of game calls was a bit fluky, as were the two of the three goals The Hawks surrendered in the second period, I'll grant them that, but the lack of response to the tide turning as it did was pretty pathetic.  Only a couple of nifty plays by Kane and Anisimov enabled Panarin to score the eventual game winner, and even that was made possible by the eternally feckless Ryan White.  The spate of penalties completely upset The Hawks' rhythm, as they were no longer rolling all four lines and, with the game as close as it had then become, Coach Q shortened the bench, anyway, seemingly forgetting the handful of excellent shifts that the Dez - Kero - Hartman trio turned in during the first period.  And to what effect?  The players that did play generated fewer shots in two periods than they did in the first.

A Few Bits:
While Nick Schmaltz is not lacking skill he simply has no idea where he needs to be.  His positional play is abysmal and, aside from a couple of occasions in which he was carrying the puck, really set back his linemates.  As it was, he, Toews and Panik were buried possession-wise.  I hope and expect that this experiment is nearing its end.
TVR was a disaster, yet again.  My "favourite" TVR moment was when a linesman waved off an icing call, probably under the impression that TVR wasn't making enough of an effort to chase down the puck when, in reality, Mr. 57-Varieties-of-Awful was moving at what is, for him, pretty much full chat.  Sickening.
Kruger, at least, had an inspired night, with a great stick on the forecheck and I loved his unexpected shot on net after he won a faceoff by pushing the puck forward.

I guess I have to do this, eh?  Alright, by dint of scoring the game winner and for his sharp pass to spring Hossa for his excellent PPG, Small Arthur gets the grudging nod.

Despite the victory I cannot help but feel this was a missed opportunity, as I'm not sure that The Hawks got that injection of confidence that they so desperately require right now.  Let's just hope that such a close-run game against the league's worst team doesn't have the opposite effect.

Wicked Something: Hawks 1, Bruins 0

Once again, The Hawks were outshot, outskated and struggled mightily at the dot, yet came away with a fortunate victory.  In contrast to their usual scheme, though, which is to start alright, have a crap second period and see what happens in the third, The Hawks got marginally better as the game wore on.  I'm not sure that's important.
As has been the case so many times in games in which The Hawks struggled to compete it was a series of "small" plays, base hits rather than home runs, that led to their one and only goal; a turnover forced by a defenseman, followed by a hard charge up-ice, two short, accurate passes and the trailing winger has most of the net to shoot at.  Sounds like a vintage Keith-to-Kane-to-Toews-to-Hossa kind of play, doesn't it?  Well, part of that is right, as this play began with Michal Kempny pinching off Frank Vatrano and chipping the puck ahead to Vinnie Hinostroza who made The Bruins blue line in about a second, swerved around a Bruin or two as well as his linemate, Kero, who somehow ended up ahead of Vinnie Hinnie to the right of the net.  Hinostroza hits Kero with a short pass and Kero quickly goes cross-crease to Hossa.  Bingo.
Of course this is not suggesting that Kero & Hino are the next Kane & Toews - it just pleases me immensely that, in a game in which the Old Boys couldn't get much done, it was the young fellas putting on a tribute act that got them the win.  They're not always going to be able to pull that off so let's just take it when we can get it.
Da Bits:
Tanner Kero has had three pretty good games in a row.  I'm not ready to say he's The Answer, but he may be better than I had at first envisioned, and certainly greater than the sum of his parts.  Overall, he didn't have the best night, as his line was trounced possession-wise, but he still managed to do some good things.
The Bruins appear to be in a similar position as The Hawks in that they have a handful of dependable veterans, a couple of very fine Young Fellas and a bunch of Guys.  On this night our Guys were better than their guys and almost everyone else was incidental.
Kane & The Arthurs were an utter non-event for the second game running. They held the puck a lot, actually, but didn't create much in the way of quality chances.  Apart from on the power plays they weren't hitting their passes very well and, even then, they weren't great in that department.  It felt like a lot of cycling, cycling, cycling and then no one open or in position for a pass.  One more game like this and I'll bet we see this line shaken up.
Michal Kempny had an eventful evening, with a roughly equal amount of solid plays and WTF plays. About once each week, it seems, he floats a pass to absolutely no one.  Happily, that and a couple of other goofy things, did not get him stapled to the bench, as he had a very solid second half of the game and, as mentioned, started the play that resulted in the goal.
Ryan Hartman is doing just fine, in general, but he HAS to stop it with the shots from on or behind the goal line.

Hossa was there when he was most needed and Vinnie Hinnie and Kero did some neat stuff to set him up, but a handful of decent shifts is not enough to impress our Swedish friend.  Think back to the first period when Boston was chucking like mad and The Hawks D couldn't clear a rebound to save their lives....Scott Darling kept The Hawks in it with a chance to win it.

A Couple of Young Men, Running Wild In The Mountains: Hawks 6, Avalanche 4

Oh, good gosh, that shouldn't have been so difficult.  LUCKILY, Coach Q tinkered with his forward lines a little and found THE ANSWER.
Well, that's probably not true, but it worked tonight, barely.
Real Quick BITS:
Corey Crawford made a few very good saves and, I believe, played better than his stat line suggests.  No chance there on Duchene's tip-in, maybe a bit too deep in the net for Comeau's and Duchene's second (although he had a recovering Kempny confusing matters) and, although Nieto's tally was probably savable, if Seabrook doesn't cough the puck up in the first place....
The Second Period continues to be The Hawks' nap time as, yet again, a strong first was followed by an indifferent effort in the middle frame.  As frustrating as it is for viewers to behold it's probably causing Q ulcers, spastic colon, etc.
The Avalanche made what appeared at first to be some odd deployment decisions, pitting their top two lines against The Hawks top two units whenever possible, it seemed.  Mistakes and power plays aside, Colorado only really saw those lines get their chances when they were not facing the Toews or Anisimov lines.  Meanwhile, however, The Hawks' bottom six absolutely kicked in the teeth of their Avs' counterparts, with the Moose - Dez - Schmaltz trio dominating to the tune of 80%+ Corsi.  I guess, then, that this is all Colorado has; if their bottom six are gonna get pummeled like this by The Hawks' "Guys" it's sure to be even more of a mess if it's left to them to try to shut down Chicago's scoring lines.  They did what they could with what they have.
That said, Kane and The Arthurs could only put together intermittent bursts of pressure and Toews' line was rather haphazard, creating occasional chances on mainly individual efforts, yet not really working as a unit.
Hossa only seemed to warm up to his new linemates in the second half of the game, just kind of doing his own thing until then, and he managed to tally three secondary assists, but...

...the heavy lifting was done by Tanner Kero and Vinnie Hinostroza.  Kero scored his first on merit of good positioning and being quicker on the rebound than Iginla (who was brutal in every way tonight - take note, Stan Bowman) and, later, made an outstanding pass to Vinnie Hinnie to give The Hawks the lead for good.  For his part, Hinostroza was at his charging, darting best, and managed to combine that with some great finish.  In a dead heat for St. Stormare's affection, Vinnie edges out Kero.

Area Man's Single-handed Effort Comes to Nought: Wild 3, Hawks 2

                                    Patrick Kane after logging 27 minutes tonight

It certainly feels like January now, does it not?
After a pretty decent first period it all kind of slipped away.  The Hawks continued to roll up the shot count but, apart from a few quality chances (Hinnie, Hoss, Kane, Kane and Kane) there was often no support, no screen, or no one around for rebounds.
Individually, a few Hawks looked troubled: Hoss appeared tired, Keith was yippy again and even Panarin, though he kept his feet moving, was just slightly on the wrong side of it all night.  Crawford looked like he was putting together a nice bounce-back game, particularly after the bang-bang by Granlund & Zucker, but that goal by Stewart...not so great.
The coulda won it, but were just 10 or 15% off their Max Potential, and that's what made the difference.
Coach Q got a bit bold, dressing only eleven forwards (THANKS NBC TEAM FOR SO SUBTLY INFORMING US OF THAT 38 TIMES) and filling that blank spot up front almost exclusively with P. Kane.  It ain't the worst idea in the world - certainly preferable to Tootoo or even Dez - but if this is going to be a thing, now, he's gotta spread those extra few minutes out between Kane, Panarin, maybe Hoss....or Kane is going to be ruined by the time playoffs roll around.

Midwinter blahs.  We'll get 'em next time.  Probably.

Weathering The Storm: Hawks 2, Hurricanes 1

Once again, The Hawks pulled out a win that they didn't really deserve but, despite their gaudy shot count, The Hurricanes didn't deserve it any more.  Does that even make sense?  How about this: The Hawks gave up far too many chances and a combination of Scott Darling's exceptional effort and Carolina's lack of finish allowed them the victory.  On the flip, when your best idea is to simply hack and slash at loose pucks, you can take all the "shots" you want but, most of the time, that ain't gonna get it done.  Both teams had their moments, and The Hurricanes did a fine job of getting and keeping the puck, but neither team exactly shone in this one.
The Hawks scored the only goal of the first period, an absolute gem by Toews after some fine passing by Vinnie Hinnie and Hossa.  Carolina outshot Chicago 19-9 but, to be fair, 23 of those shots came on a single power play, and half of those were desperate whacks into Darling's pads.
Chicago went up 2-1 on a PPG by Small Arthur, who rifled a wrister from his Special Place during an otherwise uninspiring power play.  The Hurricanes closed the gap to a single goal with 4 seconds remaining in the period, a tap-in by Viktor Rask  to conclude a sequence that had The Hawks spinning to try to find the puck.
The Hawks endured a full court press throughout much of the third, but did a good job of limiting quality chances, hanging on for the win.
A Promising Start to the game was undone by several mistakes and poor choices that let momentum slip away.  Hartman ruined a 4-on-2 with a sloppy pass that resulted in a Carolina rush, Tootoo and Campbell made messes of what should have been easy clearing attempts and Panik wasted a fast breakout with yet another selfish shot from a ridiculous angle that soon had the puck heading back to Chicago's end.
Toews, however, was well and truly dialed in, opening the scoring and just missing on several other high quality chances.

Kempny was mostly fine but a little less on point than in the last four games.  He helped create a great chance midway through the first and, a little later, sprawled to intercept a pass on a 2-on-1.  Unfortunately, the play that may have stuck in Coach Q's memory was a bizarre pass to no one late in the frame.  He didn't play a lot more after that.

Vin Hinostroza had what is becoming a pretty typical but quite acceptable game at this stage of his career, highlighted by his quick, short pass to Hossa that soon led to Toews' goal, as well as a determined charge to beat out an icing call, come away with the puck and create a scoring chance. The rest of the game...pretty much up and down the wing.

I'm Not Convinced that Campbell and van Riemsdyk should be paired together, as I'm unsure if Soupy feels he can wheel the puck through the neutral zone when he's unsure if TVR is where he's supposed to be.  Even IF TVR is in position, can he cope with the pressure on his own if Soup gets caught up-ice?  Kempny and TVR were, unbelievably, both better when paired up, and I've liked Soupy with Seabrook whenever they've played together.

Spencer Abbott and Gustav Forsling were both dispatched to Rockford earlier today.  I don't mind these moves, actually, in which Schmaltz, Motte and now Forsling have been demoted, presumably to play more.  They've each had a taste of what it's like to play in The NHL and should have a sense of what they need to do to get back there and stay there.  Results may vary depending on how well each of these players accept this challenge.

Toews was really quite excellent tonight, if a little bit unlucky but, once again, without some fine netminding this W doesn't happen.  Stormare's Star is Scott Darling.

Excuses, Excuses: Senators 4, Hawks 3

Another late one, so short & sweet it shall be.
The Hawks stuck to their script....start slow and pour it on in the third period but, this time, it didn't quite go according to plan.  Here's why:
Puck Luck: Only the bounce to Motte leading to The Hawks' second goal went their way.  Two goalposts for Panik, another for Kane and a couple of pretty sketchy penalty calls had the home side up against it for much of the game.
Hossa Out: Never a good thing.  Not only did Hoss play only a few shifts before retreating to the room, but the necessary line-shuffling and the chaos that always brings didn't help, either.
No Go-To Guys:  Missing Hoss and Artem Anisimov, The Hawks were without the guys that have together scored half of the team's game-winning goals.

Aw, well, sometimes it just goes that way.
Forward to Friday, then, when Crow is expected to start and perhaps Hoss & Large Arthur will be feeling better, as well.

Take It When You Can Get It: Hawks 3, Stars 1

It wasn't always pretty but The Hawks managed to overcome injuries and dopey roster decisions to dominate The Dallas Stars and earn two points against their division.....well, they're in the same division.
After a first period which both teams spent feeling out the other with no results, Dallas opened the scoring early in the second when Devin Shore swatted in a goal on The Stars' third try on the play.  It was the only time The Stars would lead as, 43 seconds later, Marian Hossa's hard shot oozed through Kari Lehtonen to tie the match.  Midway through the second The Hawks would take the lead as Ryan Hartman, having just left the penalty box, drove hard to the net and, though Hartman's attempt was foiled, Stars defenceman Stephen John's clearing attempt bounced off Artem Anisimov's shinpad and into the cage. Artemi Panarin would provide an insurance goal at the midpoint of the third period, a power play marker from a ridiculous angle made possible by a smart, hard pass from Keith.

Finally, The Hawks won a game in which they won the possession game and outshot their opponent. The world makes sense, for tonight, at least.  The Arthurs Line ran amok for much of the game and, while they were not always completely smooth, were inches away from another couple of goals.  
Kruger, Hossa and Hartman did not have as consistently dominant a game as they had in the previous few games but were still very good, especially considering that this trio played the last half of the game opposite Benn and Seguin.  This assignment was likely the catalyst for Dallas swapping Spezza out for Eaves as they sought to spread out their attack and try for the equalizer.  
Gustav Forsling had a night to forget, coughing up the puck a few times and making a mess of his coverage leading up to the Dallas goal.  It's frustrating but I recall the same stuff happening to Nick Leddy some years back, and he didn't turn out too bad.
TVR wasn't a complete nightmare but he sure doesn't belong on the power play.  I just about plotzed when Edzo praised the goof to the moon for heading off a Dallas forward at the boards when, let's face it, lacking the great stick that Keith or Hjalmarsson possess, the play could just as easily have resulted in a breakaway for Dallas.  I had been wondering if Kempny is slightly on the limp after missing some shifts late against Phoenix (I think) but the way Coach Q has been deploying TVR has me thinking otherwise; it's probably just business as usual, unfortunately.
Scott Darling has delivered exceptionally in Corey Crawford's absence, playing his four best games in the last five starts, even though he has only two wins to show for it.
I took the piss on the post-game report the other night, not because The Hawks didn't deserve some kind words, but more out of disappointment and fatigue.  Being without three of their most vital players when the lineup is already somewhat thin, they're hanging in alright.

Peter The Great and I are going a bit off-script tonight.  Darling was great, Panarin was darty and exciting and Hossa was vintage Hossa, but Ryan Hartman gets smoke in his eyes for his pinpoint pass to Hoss and his dash-deke-shot that led to Anisimov's goal.  Hartman is still kind of a blunt instrument in many ways, with inconsistent finishing skills and an annoying habit of shooting from stupid places but, of the four Young Fellas, he's been by far the best.

Now, Let's Not Get Too Excited:Hawks 4, Coyotes 0

I don't want to be a guy that types long breakdowns after a loss and has little to say after a win, but I find myself in a position, tonight, in which only a few words will do.
The Coyotes are horrible.  They are somehow far less than the sum of their parts. Having this feckless group over for the evening was perhaps just the thing The Hawks needed right now.
After a not-great start, which has become an irritating trend as late, The Hawks struck first on the power play with a neat redirect by Large Arthur.  While they were outshot in the first frame The Hawks seemed to carry most of the play in the latter part of the period.
Hard out of the gate to start the second, The Hawks first found twine after Hossa reeled in a slightly askew pass from Hartman, kicked the puck to his stick, backhand-forehand and past Mike Smith.  On the next play it was Dennis Rasmussen shoveling some trash after Panik made amends for a completely gacked breakaway with a rather determined one-handed takeaway and pass into the slot.
After that, it was all over but the cryin' for PHX, and Marian Hossa capped things off with a single-handed drive to the net made possible by a long bomb from Hjalmarsson.
The Hawks were rarely troubled and never for long. Yep, the quality of their opponent was not high, but perhaps this win will put a little wind in their sails, going forward.  Hey, scoring more than A GOAL is a victory unto itself.

                      What is this, a Devo or Kraftwerk album cover photo shoot?

The Line Blender was set on "Mush" with all but The Arthurs + Kane being shuffled somewhat. The Kruger - Hossa - Hartman line created several chances and Hartman looked as inspired as he's been in four or five games.  Rasmussen - Panik - Motte...not so much, despite producing an entertaining goal, as they struggled with getting and then keeping the puck.  The fourth line were a non-factor, although it was encouraging to see Hinostroza actually pause to look for a play THREE TIMES. Unfortunately, each time it was Desjardins who received the puck, and we know how that usually goes.  All I'll say is that if Coach Q goes with these combinations on Friday vs.The Rangers he'll be pressing "Purée" soon enough.
On defense I was pleased to see Seabrook & Campbell back together but far less sure about Forsling with van Riemsdyk.  No disasters, though, and not even any particularly glaring errors.  Seabrook, of course, left the game halfway through after an awkward fall into the boards so, hopefully, him not playing was purely precautionary with The Hawks being up 3-0 at the time of his mishap.

Scott Darling earned a shutout, yes, but was only truly tested a couple of time, so the Somber Swede must then acknowledge Marian Hossa for his two goals and a superior effort up and down the ice.

You...are de engine....what drives dis foim.

Clash of The Titans: Hawks 4, Devils 3

                      Don't lose that.  It's the only restroom key we have.

Yeah, right.  Sloppy, chaotic, mistake-ridden and half of the goals scored in this one were not "good" goals.  It's all right, though, because neither team was especially switched on last night; The Hawks were fortunate to get a win on a quite ordinary shot.

Boy, that first seven or eight minutes had to be the worst three weeks of hockey The Hawks have put us through since about 2007.  They couldn't even clear the zone and The Devils looked like the Red Army Team of the 70s, just playing keep away for what seemed like forever, before Travis Zajac finally shuffled the puck past Corey Crawford.
To their credit, The Hawks picked things up slightly to close out the period, before storming out for a mostly-dominant second frame, in which each team traded errors and goals.  Kruger potted his second of the season on a fine shot from high in the slot, before Nik Hjalmarsson made an uncharacteristic mistake, gift-wrapping the go-ahead goal for Zajac.  Large Arthur nailed a right-place-right-time goal to tie the game once again, before Hjalmarsson made amends by capitalizing on a Devils turnover and wristing a soft shot through a screen and past Cory Schneider.
A fairly even third period yielded only one goal, Zajac, to tie the game AGAIN, and we were off to yet another OT.  Seconds after Mike Cammilleri hit iron, Marian Hossa cruised through the high slot and floated a speculative shot past Schneider, who was once again screened by his own guy.

                                                Who's next?

Momentum was swinging all over the place in this match, with both sides enjoying periods of sustained pressure. Both teams hit goalposts, both goalies were beaten by some pretty savable shots and each side made a few colossal errors.  This was a game to simply endure, with the luckier team "earning" the extra point.
Marcus Kruger had himself another fine outing, with a whopping 65% Corsi at even-strength and a goal to boot.  He and his linemates have been terrific the last few games.
Dennis Rasmussen made another sneaky-good feed to start the play leading to Kruger's score, two nights after making a diabolical between-the-legs pass to start a fast break.  Does this suggest better hands than he's been given credit for or merely dumb-ass luck.  Let's see!
Wide Open Hockey was the order of the day, once again and, for the second game running, The Hawks came out on top.  Is this worth noting, or pursuing?  How long could they hope to get away with squeaking out these kinda haphazard things, leaving it until the end to get the win.  Not that long, I'll wager, but I don't think that'll stop them from trying.

Well, duh. You don't have to be St. Stormare to know that Hossa has been the king of the last minute men so far this season.  Hoss leads The Hawks in goals, game-winning goals and utterances of "unbeliebable"

Back To Plan A, Then? Hawks 3, Ducks 2

Yes, Plan A, in which The Hawks get outshot, outhustled and walloped in possession, yet still win.
I can't explain it, but after coming up empty in the last two games, which were decent efforts in many ways, I'll take it.  How about some Bits?

With Toews out The Hawks' lines hit the blender before the game even started and we saw two completely new units.  The Hinostroza - Hartman - Hossa trio was quite unexpected and were a lot of fun to watch.  They were disorganized, slightly out of control and The Vin Man cannot win a draw to save his life, but all that storming around amused me to no end. Hartman actually potted his goal while skating with Kruger and Rasmussen, as Jordin Tootoo had exceeded his alloted 4 minutes of ice time, but I liked the TRIPLE H line just fine. They had pretty soft assignments, but Hino and Hartman were the only Hawks forwards north of 50% possession.
On the other end of the stick, Schmaltz - Motte - Panik were, apart from a couple of isolated looks, pretty bleh.
Patrick Kane rejoined The Arthurs, of course, and they were The Hawks most dangerous line, naturally, accounting for most of the offense during The Hawks one truly dominant stretch, the middle of the second period.
Corey Crawford bounced back with a convincing performance, just as expected.

With two points and a superior effort in Toews' absence, Saint Stomare has agreed to spare Patrick Kane from any imminent apocalyptic situations.

Good thing you didn't blow THIS kid off there, Kaner.

One Out of Three is Quite Enough (If You're In Vancouver): Hawks 4, Canucks 3

              I do this for all the little people.  And also that guy behind me.

These recaps during the Circus Trip are all going to be late 'cos, once The Hawks went full-left coast, it's all happening way past my bedtime. I'll try to be brief since this is old news to everyone except me, apparently.

Vancouver has been awful and only the even-worse Flames and Coyotes separate The Canucks from the bottom of the West Standings.  Their scorers aren't scoring, their defense has been a mess while Chris Tanev has been hurt (file that under "You Know It's Bad When...") and their goaltenders have been feckless by committee.  The Creepy Twins are showing signs of winding down and there's not a lot below them to supplement what little scoring they are providing. Also, their fourth line have awkward names.
Yet, these Canucks played a pretty even first period against The Hawks and even took the early lead on a typical Loui Eriksson goal, one in which he won a Swipe Madly at The Puck duel with M. Kempny.  Emboldened, perhaps, Vancouver buried The Hawks in the second, particularly late in the frame, and popped another two goals, the first with considerable assistance by a too-lazy Brian Campbell and another off a diabolical pass and a shot that probably should have been stopped. It should have been in the bag for The Canucks, right?

Nope. Suddenly, The Hawks, who actually hadn't been that bad, just not very good, got serious, while The Canucks....well, they went back to being The Canucks.
Small Arthur began the comeback with a typical quick-release from the left circle, followed moments later by Vinnie Hinostroza, netting his first NHL goal on a nice individual effort.  Then in the last five minutes, Panik knocked Alex Edler off the puck, leaving a loose puck for Hinostroza.  It looked as if Hino was going to get the puck back to Panik, charging downrange, but instead spotted Hartman trailing the play, and laid a perfect pass for his linemate to one-time a blast past Jacob Markstrom. The Hawks continued to pressure Markstrom and Co. but this one was concluded in OT.

It was in extra time that Scott Darling earned this win, as all but the Horvat goal looked quite savable. Five saves in OT, including a stunner off Eriksson, kept The Hawks in it after their own apparent winning goal was called back after a Coaches' Challenge.  After another minute of exciting end-to-end play the man of the moment, Marian Hossa, potted yet another game winner, this time off a hard shot through a screening Alex Edler.
The Bits
The Roster had me pumped up right from the get-go, with Motte back in and no sign of Tootoo The Incredible Five Minute Man. The third and fourth lines looked promising and, as good as he's been generally, Forsling sitting in favour of Rozsival felt like a good call after Forsling's rough outing in Calgary.  It took over 40 minutes for them to make good on this promise, but whatever.
Schmaltz had his finest game as a Hawk and it's a shame he didn't manage to get something for the back of his hockey card in the bargain. More of that, please.
Keith had a series of miscues, once again.  What's going on with him, lately?
Kruger took no draws, which could mean nothing, as we know that Coach Q likes his centers pulling the puck backhand to the boards-side, but it could also indicate issues with Krug's hands or wrists.
The Fourth Line played only about ten minutes and started no shifts in their own end, but they absolutely slayed their opposition.  Speaking of...

Nine out of ten Stormares agree that Vinnie Hinostroza is deserving of recognition for this game.  He not only scored his first NHL goal but tallied two helpies, as well.  Didn't I say that Hino would start clicking once he got that first goal over with?  Well, I never get tired of being right, 'cos it so rarely happens....

Didn't Deserve to Win, But Didn't Deserve to Lose:Hawks 3, Flames 2

It was a game in which both teams played well enough to win and also badly enough to lose.  Both sides had stretches in which they couldn't do much right, and then it would flip-flop, with their opponent making a mess of things for awhile.  That said, The Hawks took more of these "turns" than they should have.

The Hawks kicked off the scoring with a wonderful goal that began with Anisimov hitting Ryan Hartman with a 100-foot pass just as Hartman had come on the ice, springing the rookie on a rush in which he shrugged off Dennis Wideman, expertly corralled a hopping puck and fired a hard shot over Chad Johnson's glove hand.
The Flames actually held the balance of play for much of the first period and rode that momentum into the second frame, scoring twice to take the lead, before Brent Seabrook threaded a point shot past Johnson to even things up.  A fairly even third period followed, typified by what I mentioned earlier - several minutes of Flames domination followed by a superior shift or two by The Hawks.  It's a new spin on end-to-end hockey!
Late in the third Artemi Panarin launched a hard shot, that Johnson merely struck with his glove rather than catching it, and Marian Hossa outfumbled Johnson and Flames d-man TJ Brodie, shoveling in his 10th goal and putting The Hawks ahead for good.

Dismal Night: A few Hawks had forgettable performances in this match, namely Forsling, Kane and Panik. Forsling was guilty multiple times standing between two Flames forwards but not covering either of them at all.  Kane had some nightmare shifts, with a bobble that first led to a Flames rush followed by a confused attempt to make amends which only amounted to getting in Corey Crawford's way while Sam Bennett scored for The Flames.  Later, Kane would tap a puck out of the air and toward the gaping net, only to accidentally strike it a second time and away from the twine. Probably just one of those nights, for Kane.  As for Panik...he was just everywhere yet nowhere that he needed to be, and his non-contribution did not not go unnoticed by Coach Q, as Panik played less than ten minutes and bounced through three different lines as the game progressed.
Possession is Nine-tenths of The Law and The Flames earned the legal high ground in this match, with Sean Monahan's line soundly putting the boots to Toews' line.  The Hawks' bottom six struggled as well, although I'd hang on asterisk on Kruger & Rasmussen, which I'll get to in a sec.
Outstanding Efforts by Large Arthur's Line as well as the duo of Seabrook and Kempny helped immensely.  Sadly, these were the only five Hawks players with possession stats north of 50.  That was Kempny's best game, thus far, and he even picked up his first NHL point in the bargain.
Special Teams That Were Actually Special were key to The Hawks, as well, with the PP and PK units both being perfect on the night.  Kruger and Rasmussen did the lion's share of PK duty, with both of them logging season-high minutes and Moose logging more time than all Hawks forwards, save Toews and Kane.  So there's the asterisk for Krugs and Moose: of course they got their usual helping of tough assignments, but they also spent a load of time on the PK.  At even strength these two broke even in possession, which is about as much as one can ask for from your shut down guys.

                                       Wonder Twins Power...activate!

So, really, half the forwards had pretty great games and the rest were anywhere from meh to awful. The Hawks were denied two near-goals, one by Mark Giardano's quick stick and other by Kane's double-tap so, despite being outshot and out-chanced, this could easily have been a 5-2 laugher.  It didn't hurt that Chad Johnson, after two great games for Calgary, went back to being Chad Johnson, with rebounds a-poppin' all over the place.

Hartman's tally was a beaut and you gotta love Hoss being Hoss when it mattered most, but with Old Number 50 making save after save while most of his D in front of him kinda flailed, Corey Crawford once again receives the steely gaze of Stormare.