A Day Late, A Dollar Short: Predators 4, Hawks 3 (OT)

Full disclosure - my broadcast was interrupted many, many times, so I missed large chunks of this one, so all I'll do is note a few observations.
Track Meet Trick.  As they did vs. CAL The Hawks were lured into playing a bit more wide open than they should or can do.  Witness Arvidsson's frequent bolts from the NASH zone one of which was executed perfectly, not only resulting in a goal but, coming mere seconds after The Hawks had tied the affair at ones, set back our momentum for a spell. He got a bit greedy, though, and was caught well out of position on the sequence leading up to Large Arthur's late goal.  Nevertheless, The Hawks might have been wiser to play it more cautiously and hope for a bounce, as they spent far too much time chasing down Arvidsson & Forsberg et al.
Better Off Without Seabrook?  Scratched due to illness, Seabrook was replaced by Davidson, who had another decent outing, his last shift being his best  as he made things very tough on The Preds forwards.  I'd hoped we'd see the second PP unit a little more just to get a sense of what that would look like without Mr. Ponderous slowing things down to a crawl but it was not to be.  I'd love to see Jokiharju get a crack at that gig, a low-risk proposition given Seab's zero contribution in that role, lately.
Newish Line Combos were trotted out and I mostly approved.  DeBrincat moving up the order makes perfect sense, since all of his recent points have been gleaned on the PP and I was pleasantly surprised by the Saad - Kampf - Caggiula trio.  I'm not sure that line has the hands to really shine but they were the only Hawks line entirely at or above 50% Corsi and, at the very least, The Preds failed to generate much against those three.
Duncan Keith had his best game in a month or more.
Dylan Strome, meanwhile, remains frustrating.  For all the offense that he eventually provides the missed opportunities due to gacked passes that should be easy is pissing me off.  With just a little more care he could be doubling his and his linemates' opportunities.

Next: At home vs. Vegas on Saturday and a shot at some redemption after being comprehensively roughed up when they last met.

Hanoi Rocks - A Day Late & A Dollar Short

Keep Hanging On - Hawks 2, Predators 1

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

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

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

The Supremes - You Keep Me Hanging On

No Good: Predators Plenty, Hawks Who Cares?

Plenty of times in the last month+ one could easily say "take away that first period and we'd have been okay."  How about even the first five minutes, like tonight?  Without that stupefying five minutes maybe The Hawks do win this one 2-1.  Okay, maybe not but, holy shit, how long is this going to last, this giving the game away in the first period? 

And give it away they did with, guess what - a complete lack of defensive awareness, letting Predators forwards come and go as they pleased in the danger zone™ in front of The Hawks' net.  Other teams must look forward to playing The Hawks these days, like some naughty kids who are left in the care of their deaf granny.  We get to do ANYTHING we want!

And if the lack of defensive give-a-shit doesn't do them in it's the unforced errors and straight-up giveaways, like Seabrook flinging the puck right onto Johansen's stick, or any number of weak and/or dumbass pass attempts by Forsling and Gustafsson.  Hell, Toews didn't make a pass stick until late in the third period.

They're not paying attention to anything.

Not to what the other team is doing.

Not to what their teammates are doing.

Not to what they themselves are doing.  Or trying to do.

And because of this The Hawks suck.  They're a bad hockey team.

I wonder how much of this has to do with the culture within the team.  They sure talk a good talk about correcting what was wrong after a loss (so, obviously, there's been quite a lot of this kind of chatter) but nothing changes. They trot out for the next game and do exactly the same shit that lost them the last game and the one before that, and the one before that.....

No one's feet have been put to the fire for this, not seriously, anyway.  Scratch Chris Kunitz or Jan Rutta all you like but what's that?  Nothing.  Let's try sitting Toews or Keith or Seabrook - they've been as bad as anyone but apparently immune to any consequences.  Even Kane, who has single-handedly won a few games for The Hawks this year, has just seemed listless the last few games. I don't know that I'd have the stones to scratch Kaner but something has to happen to shake these guys out of their vegetable torpor.  

Before I wrap this up I want to mention Keith.  Sure, he got a rough ride and a response was not unreasonable.  However, the extent to which he responded was a bit ridiculous, though I expect there was a lot of pent up frustration that came out there.  Whatever, the game was over for The Hawks by then anyway and, wouldn't you know it, they actually played better without Keith, for awhile, anyway.  Chew on that bit of truth.  Keith has been dogshit since mid-October.

There have to be consequences for this shit show that The Hawks have been putting on.  Sit the fuckers that keep coughing up the puck, that fail to backcheck and that take zero care in passing.  Get a shuttle bus running to and from Rockford if that's what it takes, 'cos they're clearly not understanding why they keep losing.  I have no idea what Jeremy Colliton's coaching style entails, really, but he'd best get into a skull cracking frame of mind or the whole thing is just going to spiral downward even further.  Otherwise, what are we going to do....just wait until some of these long term no-movement contracts expire and hope for better things after that?  I sure hope not, 'cos Seabrook, for example, is practically worthless right now and we're stuck with him for another FIVE years.

Linda Ronstadt - You're No Good

Early Birds: Hawks 2, Predators 1

I watched a hockey game yesterday and this is what I thought I saw.  Yeah, yesterday, and I still have the stones to pop "Early Birds" in the header.  What nerve.

Three Critical Elements
* The Hawks Woke Up Earlier than The Preds.  While they didn't set the world on fire The Hawks did manage to outskate NSH in the first period and made a lot less mistakes than those yellow bastards.  This, of course, flies in the face of every single other time in recent memory that The Hawks have stumbled into a random arena after more than two days off and didn't suuuccckkkkk.  I cannot explain but I will certainly take it.  Let's be honest, too: The Preds are better than The Hawks, so getting the early drop on them was instrumental in this win.  If NSH arrived ready the game could well have been over in 20 minutes.
The Predators gained some momentum at the end of the first period, carried that over into the second only to see The Hawks become interested again after the game was tied.  The third period, however, was all about...

* Anton Forsberg, who played his best game as a Hawk, marred only by his own dreadful puck-handling.  His athleticism has never been questioned and he's very good when the action is close up and frantic but, as we've seen in every game he's played until now, he always lets in a soft goal.  I guess he put a slightly new spin on the obligatory softie in this one but, seriously, Fors was terrific and just the thing The Hawks needed.

* Vinnie Hinostroza continues to shine.  A lot of the time he looks slightly out of control and he's still prone to zooming around with no apparent plan, but he's bringing constructive energy to the team and is beginning to make heads-up plays more consistently.  He started things off in this game with a subtle little forecheck-chip that, fortunately, landed right on Baby Huey's stick.  Later, whilst moonlighting in Saad's spot alongside Schmaltz & Kane, he managed to thread a one-timer through Matt Irwin's pins and just beyond Jusse Saros' blocker.  Maybe a little lucky on both plays but you create your own luck, just as his strong play earlier got him bumped up from the fourth line to the second.
Not going to type anything about who didn't show up or who has been basically invisible for three weeks 'cos it doesn't really matter until the next game starts.  Speaking of, better plan a nap tomorrow...those West Coast games kill me.

What Happened?: Predators 3, Hawks 2

Not *really*.  I was just too tired and filled with ennui to type last evening.
So, briefly, this one could have gone either way, as The Hawks outshot NSH and had their measure in the possession dept., yet no joy.
Here's How:
* First Goal against - Seabrook had three opportunities to break up the play that ended with the puck behind Anton Forsberg, and he gacked all three chances.  Seabs subsequently played a mere 14:48, undoubtedly the least he's played when not injured, ill or tossed out in a decade.
* Pekke Rinne was masterful.  He robbed Kane three times in the first period, alone.
* Hawks Offense became inverted - when your two least score-y forwards are the ones that get your goals t'is a strange night, indeed.
* High Weirdness with Coach Q: just when you think he's got it kinda figured out (i.e. finally sparing us 20+ minutes of Seabrook) he ends up leaning on Wingels and Sharp whilst trying to get the equalizer late in the game.  Really, Q?
* HOWEVER, Q was sufficiently unimpressed with Richard Panik that he earned only 8:14 playing time.  This gives me no satisfaction as I'm a bit of a Panik fan BUT, if Q follows through on this partial benching it could pave the way for Alex DeBrincat to join the Top Six.  That would be exciting and maybe even worth having wasted a game.

"Despite The Outcome": Predators 2, Hawks 1

I have so much to say about this game I've actually been typing all night!  Okay, of course I haven't and, in fact, I missed half of the third period because of a sick puppers, but let me have a go, anyway.

* All Change: all four lines and each D-pairing were altered going into this game. It's tough to judge whether or not this gambit worked or not based on a single game.  A casual observer might remark "they lost - there's your answer", but of course it's not as simple as that.  Also, Coach Q shuffled his lines more or less back to how they were on Wednesday for most special-teams and in the late going when they were trying to net the equalizer, so there's that.  Despite the result, though, I saw some interesting things, some of which might be the result of the new line combos.  More on that in a bit.
* Shots!  The Hawks outshot NSH 44-30, which is possibly the first game in which they outshot anyone in weeks.  While that's quite encouraging, how come only one goal for?   How about...
1) Pekka Rinne was outstanding.  It's probably safe to say that his hip isn't bugging him any longer
2) More chucking by The Hawks, which I'm not entirely opposed to but, if that's the plan, you have to take a lot of shots to make it work, and...
3) Rebounds - Rinne did not yield many and The Hawks failed to pounce on more than a handful of the few he allowed

* Nick Schmaltz finally returned from his injury (despite "playing" the last four games) and was the best Blackhawk on the ice.  I don't know what changed, as I doubt Schmaltz' resurgence had much to do with Panik drawing in on his left, but it was terrific to see him moving with urgency and being so creative.  He should have notched his first point since Game One after flat-out taking the puck away from Subban.

* Kane's Penalty - okay, that was 100% a screw up by the referees.  It happens and we'll all move on but, man, that call could not have been more poorly timed, as The Hawks had put together a short string of great shifts and having to endure another PK really messed up their momentum.
* Defense Not All There Yet - it was generally a better effort than in recent games, and I see the six guys that played last night as the "ideal" group at the moment, but there were still a handful of ghastly things that went on.  Early on it appeared that the Seabrook - Forsling duo might be okay, as Seabrook took a more conservative role as Goose was more often the one to carry the puck forward.  That kinda fell apart with all the penalties, though, as Q chose to reunite Forsling and Rutta again for PK duty.  Kempny & Murphy were alright, which I can accept, and Rutta with Keith was mostly good; Keith was fairly solid defensively but, hoo boy, did he struggle with his passes, the worst of which arguably costing The Hawks the game, in which he threw Calle Jarnkrok a rose right in front of Corey Crawford.  Meanwhile, Seabrook only performed his signature bellyflop "move" once last night, which is an improvement over recent games.
There were still a worrying number of odd-man rushes by The Predators, though, but some of these guys might need a game or two to establish how they're going to position themselves alongside a new D-partner.  It's a work in progress.

                                     I don't want to know what was going on here.

* At Forward....I dunno.  The Hawks were buzzing the NSH zone for much of the game, crushing The Preds in the possession dept., but only one of the tweaks among the forward lines really caught my eye.  DeBrincat looked perfectly at home with Saad & Toews and could, in time, be the guy who can dart into the gaps to take a pass from the aforementioned corner-men.  That said, my dog could pot 10 goals playing with Toews & Saad, but I thought DBC looked good there.
Panik with Schmaltz & Kane...also fine, but I kinda think Panik is going to do the same stuff, good or bad, no matter what line he's on.  He could maybe have kept his feet moving a bit more to make more of his rather deceptive linemates, as he was often content to simply park it up in front of Rinne.  Another work in progress, I suppose.
Hayden was alright on the third line but it wasn't a large sample as they actually didn't play together a whole lot with all the penalties to both teams.  That's probably worth another look.
And finally, Hartman.  I assume his placement on the fourth line is equally punishment and "he has to go somewhere". He hardly played and I hardly noticed him.  With only a single point in his last six games and, to be honest, far too much goofy histrionics, lately, he needed a change, too.

Press on, I say, give these lines and pairings another game or three.  Q persevered with the previous groups so long while they were accomplishing nothing one hopes he'll have the patience to see this experiment through.
Colorado tonight, with both teams having played and lost last night, although The Hawks' can take heart that they coulda shoulda got at least a point vs. NSH, whereas The Avs were tuned up 7-0 by VGK.  Two teams with lots to prove AND NOTHING TO LOSE, ho ho.

Two Halves of The Coin: Hawks 2, Predators 1

How can a team dominate for half of a game and be completely out-to-lunch for the other half?  It drives me nuts, but it is what it is, right, because we're stuck with Seabrook.

The Hawks came out in the first with a little fire and generated a few almost-chances, but then tripped all over themselves for the remainder of the period and all of the second.  And that second period was an absolute horror show, in which no one could make a pass and the puck was turned over countless times, all while Coach Q fiddled with the second and third lines.  Seabrook was the worst offender with several passes to no one, including a drop pass to....Corey Crawford while his teammates were poised to break out.  I expect he has "33" burned into his retinas as he was left huffing and puffing while Mags Arvidsson streaked away from him at seemingly every opportunity.
Yet, they hung in and hung on, and a timely keep-in by Franson followed by some fine board work by Hayden set up Sharp's backhand goal.  The momentum had swung in The Hawks' favour enough that, by the time they reached overtime, only a bad bounce or a gack of the highest order would deny them the win.  The four shifts in the OT period were their best all night, epitomized by the excellent give-and-go between Saad and Kane.
Here, have these bits.

* No Crow = No Chance:  Crawford was outstanding, once again, especially in close.  Maybe he'll finally get some credit for being one of a handful of truly elite goaltenders without the tiresome disclaimers about "the great defense in front of him" 'cos in recent years it hasn't been that great at all.
* Anisimov wasn't super but he was better than in recent games, getting a few looks whilst stationed in Pekka Rinne's kitchen, and his breakout pass to Panik was superb.  He was actually better when he slid down the order to join Sharp and Hayden.
* Hartman is no center-man but he did alright in the late going and, with DeBrincat alongside he and Kane, the second line put together a string of solid shifts in the third.  The indication is that Schmaltz will be back for the next game but, if not, I wouldn't mind seeing this trio again, or even DeBrincat in Hartman's spot.
* While Franson was caught flat-footed once or twice his offensive acumen was welcome in the late-going, as well.  He made several nice keep-ins and kept the puck heading toward the Nashville goal.  That oughta earn him another game, I'd say.
* Kero's fish-out-of-water state was never more evident than when he goofed up the three-on-two late in the second period.  He does what he does pretty well, but an offensive threat he is not, so to expect more than what he can realistically deliver is just unfair to everyone.
* Toews' line seemed on the wrong side of it for most of the night.  Toews looked creative on the power play with Kane, as well as in OT, but he and his usual linemates generated precious little.  That's just going to happen, sometimes, and I refuse to believe that their honeymoon is over.

Alright, job done, and a wee break before venturing to The Midwest's worst city.  Hey, at least David Backes won't be there to re-injure Schmaltz, right?

Tee-off on Saturday, 10 am: Predators 4, Hawks 1

Post Mortem to follow in a day or two.

About Last Night: Predators 3, Hawks 2

Just a few notes today since I just watched the thing this afternoon and it's probably all been said already.
Apologists could well point at both of Nashville's goals in regulation time as suspect, but that's the way that cookie crumbles.  Yes, the first one was off a goofy bounce that had Crawford spinning in place, but Keith has to pick up Forsberg.  He has to, after standing still waiting for Crow's behind-the-net pass and seeing it scooped up by Johansson.  On the second goal, I thought it odd that the concern was whether or not Crow was inside or outside of his crease & not that Arvidsson struck him in the head as he passed in front of him. Maybe that puck goes in, regardless of any contact with Crow, I don't know, but I'm sure that Mike Smith was amused, wherever he may be.
Whatever one concludes regarding those goals against, the fact remains that The Hawks were outshot & outhustled by The Predators.
Oduya + van Riemsdyk = begging for trouble.  At this stage in Oduya's career he should never be the better guy in his pairing.  Thrust into having to shepherd TVR when he's already struggling to cope with The Predator's speed was always going to end in tears. Could Kempny have done a better job than either Johnny or TVR? With his confidence likely torn to hell, maybe, maybe not. I can guarantee you, though, Kempny would not have casually observed two Preds enter the hot zone, hesitate and then check neither.
The Hawks' most consistent forward line was, frustratingly, Panik, Kruger & Rasmussen.  They at least played like they gave a damn, but even the maximum we can expect from them isn't enough; even if all four lines were exactly like these guys we still lose 2-1 or 3-2. Throw Kero into this group, as well, with even the best they can offer still being short of what's needed.  Kane played well but without much support from out-of-sync Anisimov and Panarin just not making himself useful.

The Predators have gotten faster and hungrier with each game and can taste blood, now. I don't know if The Hawks have it in them, anymore, but we'll see, we'll see....

Are We Doing This Or Not? Predators 5, Hawks 0

Was that the worst game The Hawks have played in eight years?  Maybe not, but it may have been the worst playoff game they've fumbled through.
It's not like the team was universally bad, although several Hawks were, indeed, outright awful.  It's more that enough Hawks players were bad enough, often enough, for things to get out of control pretty quickly.  Infuriatingly, when they needed to step things up, they actually played worse, even when Nashville were content to let The Hawks come at them and just tried to limit their chances.
By the midpoint of the third period our guys were squeezing their sticks so hard they looked like Del Griffith's steering wheel in Planes Trains & Automobiles.
Panarin appeared indifferent for much of the game.
Hjalmarsson couldn't complete a pass for love nor money.
Every defenseman, for that matter, made at least one pass to nowhere.  That said, oftentimes the forwards were so far up-ice and heading the wrong way it certainly made it more difficult to break out than it needed to be.
Toews and Schmaltz, I thought, put forth a good effort, anyway, but rarely at the same time.
Rasmussen had a mostly good game....for Dennis Rasmussen, but even that was undone by his failure to knock Sissons on his ass, 'cos he was the only guy in a position to do so.
Don't even get me started on T-V-fucking-R.  This team will never meet their potential as long as that waste of skin is in the lineup, let alone soaking up 15+ precious minutes of ice time.
And then....

This idiot posted what must be a team record 5% Corsi.  How is that even possible?  I guess we'll be treated to seven minutes of Tomas Jurco in Game Three, but even that would be better than Hartman's stupidity tonight.  Another game like that and he'll be a Las Vegas Golden-whatever soon enough.

Gotta get the first goal on Monday.  If these guys get down early again, even by a goal, it could be lights out.

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.

Read One, Get One Free: Hawks Sweep Weekend

Since I watched both tonight's game and last night's game today I'm rolling this all into one post.  It's sort of handy, then, that both games felt sort of similar to me, with The Hawks performing well in spurts, not so great other times and, even when they were controlling the play, often just slightly out of sync.

It's not surprising, though, what with the chaos written all over their lineup cards, with injuries and illness forcing some guys to draw in and others to be bumped up in the lines. The solutions were not perfect, really, but good enough, which indicates something about the depth The Hawks enjoy.  I'm going to struggle to separate my thoughts for each game so it'll be straight to The Bits.
- Scott Darling hurt himself during practice, evidently, and will be out for approximately three weeks. One hopes, then, that Coach Q is willing to give Crawford a break now and again as, with playoffs starting in just over a month, he'll be playing a lot of hockey from here on in.  Jeff Glass is ostensibly the backup at the moment but, unless he is outstanding, I expect that Lars Johansson will be summoned at some point in the coming weeks.
- Anisimov missed Friday's game but was back for Saturday's.  He needn't have bothered, as he was slow and not at all sharp around the puck.
- After four games with Tomas Jurco I've seen enough.  He's the most brittle 6'2" 188lb I think I've observed.  Maybe it's a center of gravity thing, but it's remarkable how many times per game he is sent spinning after incidental contact.  I see now why he washed out in Detroit.
- Not to get after Ryan Hartman, 'cos I mostly like what he brings, but Toews & Panik missed the creativity and finesse that Nick Schmaltz has been providing, lately.  They played well enough, but would have been better served with Schmaltz rather than Harts.
- Despite somehow finishing the weekend at +1, TVR always seemed to be standing around whenever The Hawks were scored upon.  I swear, if hockey pants had pockets in them TVR's hands would be in them all the time.
- Never mind cherry-picked zone starts and favourable match-ups, Rozsival and Kempny were the possession kings of the weekend.
- Crawford was mostly very good after missing a couple of games with a jippy tummy or something, with only the third Nashville goal being a softy.  
- On that tack, I really hate, hate HATE when The Hawks cough up a goal in the final minute of a period, which is something they've done alarmingly often this year.  In motorsports they say "race back to the line" and "the race ain't over until the last lap is run." Yes, do that.

It was about time that Artemi Panarin got back to business, as he seemed to forget to come back to work after their week off.  On Friday we saw Panarin shooting more, although he still struggled to reliably hit the net from his usual shooting area, as even his goal was not exactly from his Happy Place.  It's starting to come together, though.

Every dog has his day and, tonight, Jordin Tootoo was a doberman.  His seemingly pointless tilt with Cody McLeod actually kicked The Hawks into gear after they were thoroughly dominated for the early part of the first period, and he drew the penalty that led to Kane's PPG ten minutes later.  He drove to the net consistently, very nearly orchestrated a goal by Kruger and, finally, potted his first goal as a Hawk when he scooped up some loose trash in the Nashville slot.  It pleased me that his teammates were so excited for him, and even the Nashville crowd seemed briefly happy that Tootoo scored again in the building where he played the first zillion years of his career.

The Hawks get another mini-break, not playing again until Thursday, which gives Hjalmarsson, Oduya, Anisimov and Schmaltz ample time to get healthy, as well as an opportunity for Crawford and Keith to get some rest.  Hopefully these days off don't set Panarin back like the last break appeared to.

There, But For a Slew of Goalposts, Go I: Hawks 5, Predators 2

Well, that was kind of strange.  I've become rather accustomed to The Hawks having to come from behind in the third period, in a close game, anyway, so what happened tonight was off-script to say the least.  The third period was not without its challenges, however, and was concluded in a pretty unusual way.
Panarin got things going for The Hawks after each team had a few feeling-out chances, with a laser from squarely within the NOBODY SCORES FROM THERE zone.  Hawks fans barely had time to enjoy the goal as The Preds stormed back on the next shift with Ekholm snapping a shot that actually looked pretty savable, made possible by a nifty give-and-go with Mike Fisher.  Later in the period, after several strong shifts by The Hawks, Duncan Keith cocked to shoot and, thankfully, instead chose to dish a few feet to Hjalmarsson ('cos you know Keith's shot was gonna hit legs). Hammer double pumped before shooting, as well, which gave Large Arthur another second to establish a Large Screen in front of Pekka Rinne, and boom, Hjalmarsson pots his career-best 5th goal.
On to the third period when, early on, Nashville tied things up with an annoying goal, one that began with a slapper leaking past Crawford and then shuffled in by some guy called Austin Watson. Nashville really took over in the middle of the final frame, hitting the post a total of four times, by my count, so it was a relief when Ryan Hartman "scored" to give The Hawks the lead once more. Richard Panik received a pass in the low slot from Kero, attempted a tweener and then smashed at the puck a few times before it finally deflected in off Hartman's hip.  Or Yannick Weber.  Or Hartman's hand.  Who knows?
After enduring more intense pressure late in the period, Hartman and Panik teamed up once again for an empty-netter that, at first, appeared to have been helped across the goal line by Panik but, apparently, Panik only prevented Nashville's Forsberg from reaching the puck.  Hartman finished off one of the oddest hat tricks I've seen when he lobbed a second empty-netter in from center ice

Wait!  I've got Bits:

Despite being hemmed in several times during the game, particularly in the third period, The Hawks played alright.  Lately, I've felt the need to call out this player or that player but, apart from occasional slip-ups, no one really stood out as having had a weak game.  Crawford was perhaps fortunate with all the goalposts the Preds clanked but, hey, those aren't even shots on net.
Toews fought the puck all night, just being on the wrong side of the inch whether he was shooting, passing or receiving a pass.  With a good bounce here or there he could have salted this thing away at the midway point.
Tanner Kero's best game thus far.  I still regard the kid as marginal, at best, but tonight he racked up a helpie on the game winner and had a few excellent shifts on the PK.
Patrick Kane quietly notched three helpies of his own in what looked to me like a low-key game for him.  
The Fourth Line put together three quite good shifts in which they either a) flipped the ice immediately, b) penned the Predators in their own end, and/or c) created some good scoring chances, which is about as much as we can expect given that only one of those three guys have any finishing skills whatsoever.  And even that's debatable.

Yessir, it was the most peculiar hat trick I've yet to see, as Hartman didn't have to beat a goalie on any of his three markers, but there's nothing like the first time, even if it is a little weird.

Back to Plan A: Hawks 3, Predators 2

That is, get outshot, have the boots put to you in the possession game and fall back on star power to make the crucial difference.
The Hawks dented the twine first, on a tip-in by Anisimov, only for The Preds to knot things up on the next shift, a slapper by Forsberg beating Corey Crawford that was made possible by a lazy clearing attempt by Dennis Rasmussen.  The early part of the first period featured entire shifts with intense pressure by both teams.  The Hawks' bottom six struggled mightily as Nashville seemed to get the line matchups they wanted a lot of the time.  Meanwhile, The Arthurs and Kane ran wild on practically all of their shifts.
Fast-forward to the third period and a tip-in by Mike Fisher to push The Preds ahead.  The Hawks received a bit of a gift when Craig Smith was called for interference when Corey Crawford made sure that he and Smith made contact in Crow's crease and, on the ensuing PP, Jonathan Toews  redirected a Seabrook blast to tie the game once again.  Moments later, while double-shifting in lieu of Tootoo on the fourth line, Patrick Kane scored a dandy, selling the pass right to end before firing a no-look laser under Pekke Rinne's glove.  The Predators pressed hard in the late going but Crawford was up to the task, making several crucial saves in the dying moments.  Once again, timely goals and superior goaltending prevailed, despite The Preds dominating for 3/4 of the game.

                                         A Haiku for Tanner Kero:
                                        No hands, too slow, and
                                        We're Holding Out For a Hero
                                        Not sure you're that guy

Coach Q was aware of the mess that his D threw up in the last game, but chose to scratch two guys who were not even remotely The Hawks' largest problems in that area. Nonetheless, a change is as good as a rest, I guess, as we got the win.  TVR and Keith were not especially great tonight, but not nearly as bad as they were on Tuesday.
Kempny did well, I thought, in what must have been a nerve wracking game for him, knowing that the smallest error would have him rubbing elbows with Bobby Hull in the press box for another two weeks.  I doubt that this game will have changed Q's mind on Kempny, but you can be damn sure that had Kemps not swept that loose puck out of the crease early in the first his fate would have been sealed, for sure.
Hinostroza remains very much a work in progress, of course, and he still has work to do on his vision, but there's a move that he's been trying that impresses me a lot; he begins what appears to be a toe drag but he stops half way through and fires a shot while the puck is still close to his body, which gives him a small element of surprise and usually includes an opposing d-man acting as a screen.  It's not easy to get a hard shot off with the puck so tight to the body, and sometimes it fails altogether, but I'm looking forward to it working out for him soon.

Well, Crawford was excellent and Anisimov was very good, both scoring and with some fine defensive work, but every time Patrick Kane was on the ice, it seemed, The Hawks were moving the puck well and creating chances.  

Two's The Charm: Hawks 5, Predators 3 and Saturday's (really late) Big Boy

Late again.  Just finished watching the game today, so this will be short & sweet.

More Line Shuffles
Coach Q and Co. made a few more tweaks for the rematch vs. Nashville, notably with Schmaltz centering Motte and Hossa, and Vinnie Hinostroza higher up the chain with Toews and Panik. I expect that, until someone truly distinguishes themselves, we'll see a variety of wingers slot in with Toews and Panik while everyone gets "their turn".

Scott Darling
Generally solid, although he appeared mesmerized by a flurry of skates and sticks on Arvidsson's goal.  His first period, though, was the best of the nine The Hawks have played thus far.

Schmaltz Waltz
Nick Schmaltz hasn't been bad, he really hasn't been....anything. His steal along the boards, dash to the slot and a decisive, accurate shot for his first NHL goal, though, may be a preview of what's in store when he's better adjusted to the tempo of the NHL.

What's The Angle?
Never have I seen so many ill-advised shots taken from ridiculously poor positions. Panarin continues to be the most frequent offender but the worst example was Seabrook's "blast" from about seven feet from the boards, even with the face off dot.  I expect this from the New Boys but I wonder if the team is being asked to shoot, shoot, shoot.

Hartman Out, Rasmussen In
While I was unexpectedly encouraged by Hartman's work late in the preseason right up to his injury, I sure didn't mind Moose's effort last night.  As I stated a week or two ago, he seems to have found an extra bit of speed plus he never stops moving.  Being constantly in motion and with his long reach I'll bet he's a real nuisance to play against.

Hey, it took three games but here we are.  I'm kind of a Richard Panik apologist but, even so, even I picture his true role somewhere on the third or fourth lines, banging, harrying and using his speed to chase down loose pucks.  Any offense he provides would just be a bonus.
Well, maybe he has the hands to play in the Top Six.
Probably not, as his shooting % is currently a gaudy 67%, obviously unsustainable for a career 13% shooter, but hey, he's leading the NHL in goals at the moment, so let's just join him in enjoying the moment. I wrote about Coach Q exercising unusual amounts of patience with his rookies, thus far, and I assume he'll extend the same courtesy to Panik, at least until Kane, Panarin et al see fit to get their collective act together.  

                                    There's a smile!

Too Little, Too Late and On To Tonight

                                          What the hell, Johnny?

Better. 
It was far from perfect, but The Hawks were actually in this game, especially as they got as close as they did with basically three lines.  Their late, frantic effort to even the score was fun to watch, even if it came to nought.
Anyway, enough time has passed since the final horn, so it's seagull-dropping-style observations, today.

The PK
Two games is not a representative sample but, holy crap guys, if you can't kill penalties don't take them.  Apart from the PK forwards laying back a little more than I would like I can't really say what's wrong with this "special" team.  Their Nashville counterparts applied a lot more pressure on the Hawks' point men, but The Hawks kind of make that easy because their power play is still too static and utterly predictable.  It would help, again, if Toews could stay out the box; after Kruger who else is going to win a face off?

The Hawks' leading scorers 
Panik
Hartman
Kruger
Hossa
which helps explain why they've got a mere 4 goals-for in two games.
The scorers will score, but it's been hard to watch Kane and Panarin try to do it all themselves, with Panarin being ridiculously shooty and Kane holding onto the puck a little too long.  They'll get it together but, until they do, we're going to see a lot more two-goals-for games.

The Line Shuffles appeared to help matters but we're not quite there yet.  Hands up, everyone, who would like to see Schmaltz and Motte flanking Toews tonight. 
And speaking of the lineup, Christmas came early with TVR being a healthy scratch.  Has that ever happened?  There may be hope for this crew, yet.
Regarding Schmaltz, that was a far better effort last night and the best game he's played in The Indian Head, preseason games included.  I'm still waiting for him to actually do something, but I like his patience and his willingness to slow things down when he's able.

Patience & Trust
Last, in addition to Coach Q finally getting the memo on TVR, I'm so pleased to see the amount of trust he's placing in the new players.  Kempny and Forsling have been getting more-or-less regular spins and have mostly acquitted themselves well. Things have not been quite as steady with the new forwards, but Q is at least allowing them the chance to succeed, or fail, at which time he'll have a clearer view of who is going to benefit the team in the long term, which is really the only way he's going to learn this, right?  Yes, he's kind of in a position where it's either give the new players some rope or continue to lean on the six or seven guys that played waaay too many minutes over the last three+ seasons.
If Q continues to exercise patience with his lineup, I'm prepared to be patient, too.

That said, let's get Panik off Toews' wing, please.

Tonight
Ryan Hartman will be "out for a bit" which, in Q-speak, means he's actually hurt-hurt, so I assume we'll see Dennis RasMOOSEn make an appearance tonight, and probably Scott Darling in net.  If they can pick up where they left off on Friday, things'll be just fine.

                                       I wanna get physical, physical...

Catching Up: Hawks Invade Canada, Win 10th Straight, some Big Boys

Okay, I've been a bit lazy, so let's get in some quick remarks to bring this thing up to date.

- I watched the game vs. Nashville but, beyond the result, cannot remember much about it except for being gobsmacked that Crawford made 200 saves and got no love when they were handing out gold stars at the end.  Okay then, he'll just have to make 300 saves next time, right?
- The Toews line continued to look revitalized.  I know I bitch about Shaw but not so much when he's playing as he has been the last week or more.  I'm still not convinced that he's the best fit on Toews' left side but he may be the best option available at this time and, again, with the way he's been playing lately, he'll do just fine.  Let's just remember that Shawzer is always one shiny object away from losing his shit and regressing to the mess we witnessed in October/November.

On to Montréal, then, and the slumping Habs. The hacks can blame their horrible slide from dominance to irrelevance on Carey Price's injury, but those jokers have scored one or fewer goals in nine of their last nineteen games.  Mike Condon is no Carey Price, but he's not received the goal support that Price enjoyed at the beginning of the season.  How much of that is tied to the absence of Brendan Gallagher, I wonder.
- So, Crawford did make 300 saves, stole another win and won a sticker. Finally. 
- The Hawks' fourth line (Razmatazz, Garbutt and Panik, this time) all played north of ten minutes after playing 5-7 minutes most nights for the last several weeks. What was different about this game that caused Q to get all free & easy with the ice time?  All I can think is that he was limiting the icetime for the Toews & Anisimov lines to save a little for Toronto on Friday, which doesn't sound like a Q thing to do at all, but why else...?  He wasn't even deploying the Ras line in a shut down role, as they most often lined up against The Habs' fourth line.  Odd.

Finally, it was off to Toronto where, in only two years, The Leafs can "celebrate" 25 consecutive Rebuilding Years.  That's a Diamond Jubilee, folks, and I look forward to seeing the commemorative coin that The Canadian Mint will produce.  
- I always appreciate a Hawks game in which they get better as the game wears on.  Yes, the level of competition may flatter to deceive, but let me enjoy it, please.
- Not a bad effort from Scott Darling, although I'm sure he had no clue where his posts were on the Rielly goal and he looked a little scrambly on a few plays, but I'll take it.
- Roman Polak is a menace, but only if you're looking the other way. Not sure why he was shuffling around with his palms up after cross-checking Shaw firmly in the numbers.  On the back of his pair of similar nasty shoves in CA last week the league should probably take a squint at this dude.
- Apart from Scuderi I cannot complain about anyone on The Hawks' roster in this one. Kane & Panarin had their psychic connection working properly, Shaw had a strong game apart from a bit of a meander-y stage in the third and Teravainen looked game to get some things going but was undone by his linemates not always picking up what he was laying down.  On the D side of things, the "Big Three" were excellent, with Hjalmarsson playing an especially solid game.  Also, Ryan Garbutt had five shots.  What the?
- Betcha didn't know that Joffrey Lupul played almost twelve minutes in this match.  When did this occur, during the intermissions?  Okay, there were four or five other Leafs players that I also failed to notice, but Lupul is the only one of that bunch earning $5mil/yr to be invisible.

                           Guys falling over and wide open nets?  We must be in Toronto.

Little Big Boy: Waaay Late but I'm Doing This Anyway

Last night's encouraging 4 - 1 win over Nashville is old news by now, so I'll just briefly mention a few things.
- That Shaw kid had himself quite a game there.  It's pretty rare for Shaw to register shots from further than a few feet from the crease but, on this night, he scored one from 20+ feet and took the shot that Rasmussen tipped in, that one from closer to 40 feet out.  I'm not sure if there's a connection between last night's successes and his atypical shot choices but I feel like I want to pay closer attention to where he shoots from, going forward.  Shaw has a well-deserved reputation as a "net-front-presence" guy, a label he probably takes pride in, being as it's worked reasonably well for him and, as a smallish guy, the swagger factor plays into it, too.  Anyway, he probably won't want to change his style much, even though I think it might be fun to see him try.
- That power play that led to The Hawks' second goal was pretty special and I really enjoyed watching Shaw, Teravainen and Rundblad  moving the puck so crisply and accurately.  Shaw's shot was outstanding but TT's pass was a thing of beauty.
- On Rundblad and his first game in what seems like months; not a disaster, but The Preds are so thin up front right now and his zone starts were so carefully selected he was set up to succeed.  Which I'm all for, BTW.  He was right at home on the power play but I guess that's where he had better be great, with the extra time and space that the man advantage allows.  It's when he's forced to make quick decisions that things go off the rails for him.  It just breaks my heart to know that his wonderful, wonderful shot is stuck to this guy who is prone to becoming paralyzed when the pressure mounts.
- Crawford's best game in weeks.  'Nuff said.
- The Art Line wasn't The Hawk's best line last night.  That's not to say they were bad, just that the Toews trio was a little better, and that pleases me to no end.

Three games is a small sample, I know, but I'm so encouraged by the Toews-Hossa-Teravainen reunion.  The truth is, if they didn't achieve results in a hurry they would be disbanded, so I'm extra grateful that Teravainen has been getting to do good stuff with good linemates.  He's actually got a pretty quick release, there, far moreso than I gave him credit for since, before this week, the last goals I remember him scoring were of the knuckle puck variety in the playoffs last spring.  He lacks the snap that Panarin possesses but it's better than I'd thought. Last week, Teravainen wouldn't have had those kind of chances, skating 10 minutes with Kero and Mashinter, because the bad guys could pounce on him straight away; if Teuvo passed the puck off what's the worst that would happen? You really do get a lot more space to work with when your linemates are Toews and Hossa.

                                                    Viihdyn taalla ja haluan pysya.