Toews: "Blah blah blah...embarrassed...blah blah...stay positive....blah blah...small mistakes....blah blah...." Essentially the same post-game interview he gave after the WASH and TB games.
The Hawks should be embarrassed, yet they don't give any indication of that when they're on the ice, 'cos they keep making the same damn, preventable errors, making things ridiculously easy for their opponents.
Pick Up A Guy, Any Guy: Once again, the forwards were situationally oblivious, unaware of what's happening around them. Watch Eakin's goal - Toews makes a failed attempt to check Pacioretty, which is fair enough, but Saad and Kane are just coasting into the zone, never bothering to cover anyone. Again. By the time Eakin made his move and scored Kane was, for some reason, already heading back towards the Vegas end. WTF?
Take a Second, Make The Pass Stick: The Hawks have been way too impatient with their passes, just getting the damn thing off their sticks as quickly as they can. At the start of the second period The Hawks "controlled" the puck for the first four minutes yet only entered the VGK zone briefly, because their passes were flat-out bad and those four minutes were largely spent recovering the puck, regrouping and starting again.
The players claim to be dissatisfied with their performance and the results of same, yet I see zero effort to improve matters. Just a lot of talk, so far.
New Guys: Hardly noticed Perlini, seems quick if haphazard. Strome picked up 1G 1A in his debut and had a couple of good looks that didn't go. First impression is that he's got the speed, some moves and a very good shot, but that he's imprecise. Tough to say after a single game, but Strome scored as many goals tonight as the guy he's ostensibly replacing did in the last five weeks.
And What Of Nick Schmaltz? I was just saying that, if Stan Bowman was going to make a trade to shake things up it was going to be Schmaltz that goes, being as he was the most expendable asset that a) would fetch anything in return and b) didn't have a no-move clause in his contract. The occasional excellent game did not offset the frequency of games that left me saying "what does he do, exactly?"
Next: Winnipeg on Thursday and Nashville on Saturday, the two best teams in The Western Conference, so the guys had better conjure up some give-a-damn. I'm losing interest almost as fast as The Hawks are....
Dwight Yoakum - Things Change
The Hawks almost played a complete game tonight but, as Da used to say, "almost only counts in shit fights and hand grenades". But for an abysmal first ten minutes and a mistake here, a defensive lapse there, The Hawks more than had the measure of The Capitals. Alas, they once again sucked just enough and at the least opportune times. Onward to the post mortem, then.
Lazy Defensive Coverage killed The Hawks tonight. This has been a problem for the last 10 games or so (or two years, arguably, but nevermind) but this evening's failings are even harder to accept than usual 'cos they had this one and gave it away. On the first goal it was Schmaltz who had a chance to take out Backstrom or Wilson but could only be arsed to wave his stick meekly at the former and glance at the latter as he coasted into The Hawks' zone when, really, he should have been watching for the trailer, Ovechkin. On Washington's fourth goal it was both Kane and Saad who gave up on the play, picking up absolutely no one and barely moving, really. Hell, it was Anisimov that made a desperate attempt to cover Smith - Pelly, and he had hustled back from The Caps blue line, twice the distance that 88 and 20 had to cover. Unacceptable.
The Hawks Failed to Make Much Out of A Lot of Hard Work. They actually controlled the game, for the most part, comprehensively crushing WASH in shots, chances and possession (to the tune of 62-38 at evens, 59-41 overall). But, for all the time they held the puck they too often made weak passes, no passes or sent a pass off target, forcing them to start all over again. Schmaltz carried the puck a lot tonight but, unfortunately, was the worst offender where gacking passes is concerned.
The Hawks Second Line Needs To Get Going. While Anisimov wasn't bad tonight and Schmaltz was trying stuff but failing, DeBrincat was once again invisible. These three have combined for a mere 2G and 5A in the last ten games, and Large Arthur collected two of those assists playing with different wingers. DeBrincat and Schmaltz, particularly, are supposed to be our secondary scorers but are barely putting up bottom-six numbers. Entirely unacceptable.
Our Old Friend Comes Back To Haunt Us. Michal Kempny played a gem of a game, scoring the game winner and making a ridiculous defensive play that not only prevented a Hawks breakaway but led to a WASH goal. My schadenfreude is diminished somewhat with Quenneville not being there to witness the event but I assure you that I still gleaned some sick satisfaction from this.
Next: Off to Florida where, in recent years, we've been sent back to The 312 with healthy glows but no points in hand. Still, if they can find it within themselves to tighten things up they could, based on the good parts of tonight's game, return with 3 or 4 points.
Gang Of Four - At Home He's A Tourist
Not great, not even very good for much of the game, but The Hawks were good enough, at least when it mattered most.
Despite being outshot badly, more than 2:1 in the last 40 minutes, and being manhandled in possession, The Good Guys managed to make the most of the opportunities they created and got another all-universe performance from Corey Crawford. Let's get this done.
Saad WasA Beast Tonight, constantly barging into The Wild zone which, in addition to resulting in one goal, gave The Wild D something to think about: when Saad was on the ice in the latter half of the game The Wild had at least one D-man hanging back. On the goal, he not only outfoxed Dumba but somehow jinked around Stalock's poke check. Equal parts will and skill, my friends.
Crow Was Phenomenal, full-stop. When he's playing like this a little goal support will go a long way. Imagine what a shit-show this would have been with Wardo or Bergie in net. Still, The Hawks mustn't expect to be bailed out by Crow night-in, night-out -- the skaters really have to get back to scoring and take the pressure off the guy.
On that tack, Schmaltz and DeBrincat have to get going. One fumbled chance between the two of them tonight and a total of 3 points between them in the last ten games is not remotely good enough. Still, I hope Colliton keeps them with Anisimov a little longer 'cos I think there's some potential there.
I Have A Hard Time Congratulating The Hawks' Defence when they let the bad guys land 40 shots but, only a few mishaps aside, they weren't too bad. Gustafsson's form was more like in October and Forsling had another good game. Gus and Hank Jokiharju were the only Hawks north of 50% Corsi which looks pretty good on them on a night when The Wild just never stopped coming at them.
Next: In Maryland to face the also-not-in-a-playoff-position Capitals. Let's see who wants it more.
The Who - You Better You Bet
I don't know what it's going to take for this team to score some goals.
Two half-throttle periods followed by a kind of frantic third just isn't going to get the job done.
In the first two frames The Hawks had ZERO primo chances. Not a one. No traffic in front of the net, really, until the third power play and they never looked like scoring at all.
Well, there's yer headline: yet another lacklustre attempt at hockey, far beneath what this lineup should be capable of.
Crawford was excellent, yet again, beaten only (in regulation) by a puck deflected off his own guy. In all but one or two games that Crow has lost there's been some "circumstance" that prevented a victory, be it a bad bounce or a terrible mistake in front of him. He deserves better than his teammates have been able provide.
The Hawks' D was okay, apart from a few conspicuous giveaways - Keith, Forsling and Seabrook all committed unforced errors - and Gustafsson's unfortunate tumble wasn't so great but were overall solid. Manning, though....if he has this much trouble simply getting the puck out of The Hawks' zone how does he manage to cross the street without being killed?
Forsling came to play, though. Yes, he's defensively anemic but boy did he push the play tonight. He was credited with only two shots on net but he was launching bombs on practically every shift in the last half of the game, and had a near-miss on a tip-in attempt in OT. I'll take that trade off.
Adjustments To The Forward Lines in the third period perked things up considerably. Schmaltz had been invisible on L1 and slotting Saad in there brought at least some urgency to that trio. Anisimov - DeBrincat - Schmaltz had a couple of good shifts in that frame, as well, and is probably worth further investigation. Schmaltz and DeBrincat have been MIA for almost the entirety of The Hawks' slide down the standings and I see kicking their asses back into gear as Priority #1 to getting back on track. Kampf, I fear, has been miscast at 2C. He does what he does pretty well, but keying offense isn't something he does well, at least not yet.
Next: Two more sleeps until The Hawks get pummelled by Minnesota. Can't wait.
Flat Eric - Flat Beat
This was the first game in which head coach Jeremy Colliton attempted to make any significant changes to not only The Hawks lineup but also to their approach. While they still lost, and really only played a half-game, having lost their focus somewhat around the middle of the second period,they earned a consolation point, which is better than nothing and hopefully something to build on. Behold!
Big Line Shuffles: To summarize, Toews found himself between Schmaltz and Kane, Kampf centered DeBrincat and Kahun and Anisimov anchored a "what do we do with these guys" trio with Hayden and Fortin. On the back end, Keith and Seabrook were reunited while Gustafsson and Jokiharju were a new duo.
So how did that go? Mostly ok. The first line had a lot of zone time and some dominant shifts, so it was a little surprising to me that the only offence they generated was a tip-in goal, but it's one game, early days yet. Each of the other three lines had their moments and, unexpectedly, the fourth line of Johnson, Martinsen and Kunitz were the most dynamic of the other three trios, undone only by a general lack of finish. I'll circle back to the D in a bit.
I suspect that Schmaltz was not the first choice to join Toews & Kane but, with Saad ailing, he got the call. He was good, impressing with his puck pursuit and willingness to hang around in front of The 'Canes net. Maybe not a statement game, as such, but he's sure given the coaches to think about once Saad returns.
Andreas Martinsen impressed me by not trying to be something he is not. He charged around, laid some big hits, took a lot of shots and kept his feet moving all the time. That's about all we can realistically hope for from him and, in that sense, he delivered the goods. Of note, his line sported the best possession stats of any line tonight on both teams, with Martinsen ticking along at a gaudy 68% Corsi. Kind of on this tack, The Hawks were a lot more physical than usual, allegedly making 27 hits. Now, I'm with ya when you say "HITTING ISN'T AS IMPORTANT AS IT USED TO BE" but, given that there have been many a night in recent years in which The Hawks have had zero physical presence, I don't mind this directive. Just keep it clean, boys.
As BAD as Keith was on Saturday, and it was very bad, he was that good tonight, one spectacular whiff notwithstanding.
Gustafsson with Jokiharju: I expected disaster but it was okay, mainly because Jokiharju is so responsible in his positioning. I wondered if he'd be left to chase down Raleigh forwards when Gus went walkabout, as he does, but he managed to cover really well. Some mistakes were made but let's remember that the kid is still 19 years old with fewer than 20 NHL games under his belt. He's remarkably poised, I think, and quite confident in his ability to skate or pass his way out of danger. It doesn't always work out but, given his relative experience, he's doing well.
Overtime, Deployment and Hunches: Well, inserting Kampf in the second unit there didn't pay off, but I can see why Colliton went that way. Kampf had a strong game, overall, and is far quicker than Anisimov, the only other realistic choice to "center" a unit in OT. Maybe too much, too soon for Baby Huey, as he gambled and lost (as did Colliton, I guess) but what ya gonna do...? I'm not pleased with the result but I like that they're trying new things, especially being as the same-old hasn't been getting results these days.
Cam Ward was good in his "homecoming" game, but a little soft on the game winner, I thought, perhaps because of Seabrook being more of a distraction than anything.
DeBrincat had his best game in about two weeks, and it wasn't only about the goal. He hasn't looked fully invested lately but, apart from a pair of weak plays, was far more engaged than he's been of late. I liked how he worked with his linemates and what about that pass from Kahun? He seems to have a supernatural sense of what's going on behind him, sometimes.
Next: The Blues on Wednesday. Stick with the plan, I say, with Saad drawing in for Hayden or Fortin, should he be ready to go. We're due, but we have to get a full 60-minutes of concentration, something we've not had since the Edmonton game over a week ago.
Thomas Dolby - Close But No Cigar
#105: Don't Cost Your Team a Chance At a Win By Doing Thoughtless Things That You Know Better Than to Do
What an utterly disappointing attempt at hockey that was today. Despite making the worst giveaway in recent memory, gambling and failing on an all or nothing pinch against a much faster opponent and failing to make any passes today, it wasn't all on Keith.
The Hawks outshot Philly, slayed them on faceoffs and, apparently, crushed them in Corsi....yet they never looked like winning this game after the first period. Lots of shots, lots of zone time, but we can count the number of true quality chances they earned on one hand. Even then, the best looks they did get were each compromised in some way. Seabrook charges hard into the slot but is off balance just as he sets to shoot. Manning (!) is unable to snare a skipping puck as he too barges in on the rush. Toews loses the handle momentarily when in primo position. Schmaltz hits a post... and that's about it.
There Were No Second Chances. I don't believe a single rebound was collected & converted by The Hawks in this game. Nobody apart from the puck carrier was driving the net.
The Power Play is Complete Garbage. We saw some light at the end of a long, dark tunnel back in early-mid October, but what happened to the quick puck movement, the brisk one-timers and always having a guy there for tip-ins or rebounds. How has this all been forgotten? They even trotted Kunitz out on the PP, he of 0 G, 2A on the season, presumably to provide some presence in front of The Flyers' net....yet he was never there.
That's about all I have the stomach for. It's still the early days of the Colliton administration but he'd better get busy kickstarting this crew, 'cos they're free-falling right now, and Colliton's first two games were no different than Quenneville's last five. Last season's excuse was not having the goaltending to compete night-in, night-out. Well, the goalie is back, and playing pretty well, so what's that leave? Colliton had better prepare himself for some extreme remedial work with these guys 'cos, right now, the culture on this team is terrible.
QotSA: The Fun Machine Took a Shit & Died
An interesting, entertaining if somewhat frustrating game, in which The Hawks did some very good and some very bad things, ultimately making enough mistakes and poor decisions to gift The Hurricanes a win, despite carrying the play for much of the game. Let's break it down, with the bad stuff first.
Too Many Giveaways. First goal, Rutta's outlet pass was way too soft and easily picked off, while Davidson chased the wrong guy in front and Anisimov was lazy picking up his man. Third goal, Gustafsson does essentially nothing and loses the puck while Jokiharju chooses to cover a guy with two Hawks already on him, leaving DiGuiseppe wide open.
Gustafsson got away with another couple of terrible turnovers due to what I can only guess is impatience, in which he chose to take the first action that came to mind rather than take a look and take a better, smarter path, which he is fully capable of. Just mentally lazy.
Crap Coverage: Beside the botched decisions described above, the 'Canes' fourth goal was made possible by neither Fortin nor Kampf bothering to get after DeHaan. Baby Huey was a little deep, maybe, to respond, but Fortin was floating in the high slot, something he'd best stop doing if he wants to stay in the lineup. Breakaways are great and fun and all that, but first things first, son - this ain't beer league hockey.
Generally Weak Defence: While Seabrook did make a pair of clutch defensive plays he couldn't make a pass all night. Keith and Jokiharju started well but gave up their gaps an awful lot, collapsing into Crawford's crease far too much. I already spoke of Gus' giveaways but that wasn't all, 'cos far too many of his passes were much too soft, either being picked off or causing the intended recipient to have to break stride to corral the puck. Finally, Rutta and Davidson flailed pretty hard a lot of the time. I liked Davidson joining the rush and getting a couple of good looks for his trouble, but he and Rutes spent too much time chasing Hurricanes forwards around.
No Deception: Each of The Hawks' goals were scored by either driving or crashing the net, which is great I guess, but there were virtually no shots on net off a quick pass, no one-timers to speak of and no plays in which you could say that they took The 'Canes by surprise. On the flip of that, the Carolina forwards were coming back diligently and plugging up the middle of the ice, cutting off passing lanes.
But it wasn't ALL Bad....
Kane played a ridiculous 27+ minutes and looked quite comfortable with that. Hopefully double-shifting Kaner isn't the only item in Jeremy Colliton's playbook, and it was partly down to Kruger's injury, but it almost kinda sorta worked tonight.
Nick Schmaltz was tremendous. He had a shift midway through the first period in which he just kept ending up with the puck, digging, scrapping and making "small" plays to try to create a chance that just astounded me.
Crow was excellent, again, complicit on only one of the four goals against, really. He deserved better.
The Hawks didn't quit. Down four goals early on they DID battle back, which they don't always do. Sure, they fell short, but they competed and left with something to build on.
Trevor Van Riemsdyk played just as stupid a game as any he'd played when he was a Hawk. Is it wrong that this pleases me to no end?
And What Of Jeremy Colliton? Too soon to say. I cannot point to any deployment issues that pissed me off and it was players' decisions/failings that led to any CAR goals. It'll take more than two practices and one game for the new guy to even begin to figure out how to bring the best out of what he's got. Let's see what happens.
Next: an afternoon delight in Philly on Saturday, which sounds like something vile on urbandictionary.com. It might be, actually.
iwrestledabearonce - Gift Of Death
When was the last time one of these Western Canadian swings went well? 2015? 2014? It's become ridiculous.
It's looking as if not even Corey Crawford is going to get this team where they need to be. Crow was excellent - maybe he'd like either of Monahan's goals back but it's hard to fault him on the others and, given the terrible coverage in front of him, 4 GA doesn't look that bad. Too often the D were backing in too far before even thinking about closing their gaps and the forwards weren't picking up their guys very often at all. Just a bad, bad effort in which the final score actually suggests that The Hawks were in this game. The Hawks were outshot nearly 3:1 fer goodness' sakes.
Only Three Hawks were north of 50% Corsi: Toews, Kruger and Fortin, and we have to take Fortin's stat, here, with a grain of salt 'cos he spent much of the game cruising the neutral zone looking for the stretch pass. Despite appalling possession stats I thought Schmaltz was good, trying stuff, at least, but Anisimov was downright awful and Kane kinda came & went, still not feeling his normal self, I suspect.
The Third Line accomplished nothing.
DeBrincat put us through a third consecutive game in which he was painful to watch. His pass to send Saad in to score was the first he'd made this week.
Seabrook was excellent. His Corsi line tells a different story but, with Keith "unavailable" he was out almost every second shift, always against The Flames top six.
And Then There's Maude. I know I said I'd just pass on slagging Manning but I can't let this crap pass without comment. He has no idea what he's doing. His positioning is dogshit and his decision making is terrible. I'd like to see what would happen if, given two opposing players to contend with, he chooses to check one of them, y'know, instead of pissing around between the two guys, accomplishing nothing. Edzo continues to talk about "the element" that Manning brings which is, presumably some snarl, but all we've seen in that vein is some slashing and the occasional cross-check to the back of a player who's just scored on us. He's had one meaningless fight in which he fought a middleweight to a draw and the only hits he's made have been on stationary players along the boards, so I don't wanna hear about "the time and space" he creates for his teammates. Yeah, Hard Pass on this idiot.
I Didn't Mind Martinsen and, if Q doesn't get any ideas about expanding Marty's role I'm quite fine with him doing what he does for the amount of time he's being allotted to do it. He hasn't hurt the team in his last couple of games and his puck retrieval has been impressive.
Anyway, this wretched road trip is mercifully done and, now The Hawks have a few days in which to focus on either continuing to do all that stuff that failed to work over the last six or so games OR they can start making some passes and not allowing their opponents' third forwards unlimited access to primo shooting zones. Y'know, good hockey...
Illyus & Barrientos - Just Bad Shit
Thought we had a good one going, for 35 minutes anyway. Even then I was confident that The Hawks would regroup after those few rough minutes at the end of the second period and resume having their way with The Canucks. Alas, The Canucks stormed the gates right off the trot in the third, while The Hawks failed to respond.
These west coasties always have me a day late so let's not muck about.
No Kane looked like No Problem for awhile. Kunitz was an odd choice to fill 88's boots but Saad was so good that it could have been anyone on the left wing. Saad was a beast all evening with a goal, a shot off the post and an optimistic kick-in that was called back. All his game seems to lack, when he's switched on like this, is precision - he could stand to be slightly more patient and choose his shot locations more carefully rather than just shotgunning the puck.
The Hawks Third Line was a nightmare. Schmaltz's errant pass led directly to VAN's first goal, annoyingly scored by a guy who, had he not stumbled onto that interception, would have been hollered at for lazy-dogging it back to The Canuck's zone. Fortin did little more than chug up and down the wing, rarely involved, probably just hoping for a long pass and a scoring chance. I didn't mind Johnson on the PP, actually. He'd got some poise and he appears to know what to do and where to do it, even if he lacks any finish (which is still left to be seen).
Brandon Manning: I'll partially violate my standing order to not discuss this lump unless he's anything except bad, but only because he was well beyond merely bad last night. As usual, his first pass was rotten all night and, on Virtanen's second goal, he was absolutely pantsed by Granlund. Why was he standing still at his own blue line with three Canucks entering The Hawks' zone? Tipping Roussel's shot past Crawford was just the icing on Manning's shit cake. He might have gotten away with fucking up the Granlund thing had Davidson not been paralyzed by indecision. Maybe if Davidson had committed to Virtanen he could have closed the gap and prevented the shot, or maybe the shooter was always gonna be out of reach. We'll never know.
Crawford had a so-so game, mighty in many ways but three of the four VAN goals were nothing special. That's partly on the guys in front of him, allowing so many mano-a-mano chances, but Crow did lose all of those duels.
DeBrincat wasn't super sharp, either, whiffing on passes and having the puck bounce off his stick a bit. He's going to have off nights like anybody else but his timing kinda sucked, what with Kane being ill and half of his teammates not showing up for the third period.
Dominik Kahun is in a precarious spot right now. That line has been great, generally, but his contributions have been infrequent. If that trio fails to get going in EDM and CAL I expect Kahun to find himself in the bottom six next week.
Trooper - 3 Dressed Up as A 9
Allllright, just quick some remarks tonight as I'm catching up on the end of the game as I'm typing this thing.
The Straws That Have Been Stirring The Hawks' Drinks all showed up tonight. Toews, Kane, DeBrincat, Crawford and Gustafsson....all excellent. I'm slightly worried that when one, two or all of these guys go off their boil we'll be lacking much secondary scoring, but let's maybe cross that bridge when we come to it.
Additionally, we got a great game from Nick Schmaltz, who had been a little wishy-washy in the last couple of affairs. His puck protection and the pass to Fortin for goal #2 was terrific.
Take Note: Erik Gustafsson led all Hawks in icetime, as it bloody should be the way he's been performing. I'm still pessimistically waiting for the huge regression but enjoying watching this kid play out of his mind in the meantime.
Anything Here That Was Not So Good?
Sure. Brandon Saad kinda failed to maintain his momentum after two very good games. He wasn't awful, by any means, just not as good. And where Brandon Manning is concerned, unless I indicate otherwise, let's just assume that he played another garbage game in which he failed simple plays in both zones. Without his shambling giveaway followed by no attempt to pick up a man, any man, Crow coulda had a no-no tonight.
Let's not forget that The Rangers are in the midst of a major rebuild. They have some good pieces in Zuccarello and Zibinejad, and that Nick Pionk might be an actual thing, but their roster is bulked up with old dudes and role players at the moment. Brendan Smith played nineteen minutes, fer goodness' sakes, and he's even worse than Manning. This was a should-win, a must-win, and The Hawks executed very well.
So it's off to Shit City for another tilt against the Purina-fed Blues, where their slack-jawed fans will blow the importance of the game all out of proportion. Still, it took overtime to subdue those jackasses in each of the two games already in the books, but Cam Ward was still finding his feet at that time. If The Hawks do what they've been doing the last two games we'll be in good shape.
Clutch - Sink Em Low
TFW your goalie allows five goals and his save percentage improves....
Okay, not Cam Ward's fault. He kinda made a mess of that side of the net stuff-in and a couple of his puck exchanges were sketchy but, otherwise, he played a fine game. It's a pity that the rest of The Hawks only showed up for, what....fifteen minutes?
Not going to pick this one apart because this was a failure on practically the entire team's part, although some surely did fail more than others.
The Hawks' defence was simply awful. Slow, hesitant, out of position and too often just standing around. Check the tape on Cirelli's goal, with Gustafsson leaning on the back of the net and Jokiharju pushing Cam Ward off the post - what the hell was all that about? Meanwhile, NO Hawks forwards had picked up anyone, instead just standing by, waiting for what, I do not know. I saw Schmaltz' and Anisimov's backs more than once while a TB shot scooted past Ward.
Each of the TB goals, except maybe Hedman's, displayed a similar level of ain't-give-a-damn.
Breakouts were sloppy and subsequently exploited by The Lightning. That'll happen sometimes but, when it does, you have to try something different. The Hawks did not try something different, apparently content to keep sailing against the same rocks, again and again.
The Hawks even set a modern record by allowing a whopping 33 shots in the second period alone.
As ridiculous as all that is it's frustrating to note that The Hawks dominated the last half of the first period and the final few minutes of the game. Why just then? Isn't anyone putting these guys' feet to the fire, at least in some way that they'll respond to?
Anything good? Sure, Saad had his best shifts of the season thus far, although he seemed to lose interest in the latter stages (who can blame him?) and, having hit the post twice in one period, one fears that it'll be another one of those years for him. I thought Rutta was quite good, and Davidson was at least okay, far more than I can say for the rest of them.
Kane was trying and started some interesting plays but his linemates were nowhere to be seen much of the time. He fared better while double-shifting with Kruger & Fortin, fer goodness' sakes. Yet, his only reward was a team-low -3, not at all indicative of his effort.
Hole - Awful
Yes indeed, The Hawks got away with one tonight, with an "effort" that was 80% vintage Corey Crawford and 20% opportunism. But sure, we'll have that, 'cos it makes up for being on the wrong end of it against The 'Yotes on Thursday, right?
This should be rather concise, as the headlines are quite broad & simple.
It looks like Crow needed all of one warm up game to find his feet. Great positioning, few juicy rebounds and outstanding puck-tracking made it appear as if he's fully prepared to go as long this year as his teammates allow him to. Hopefully not a mirage.
The Possession Game was a near mirror image to Thursday's loss in which PHX hardly touched the puck yet walked away with a kinda easy win. Tonight it was The Hawks who struggled to gain any traction but, given a few plum chances, were able to beat a team that largely outplayed them. It helped that CBJ's typically all-world netminder Sergei Bobrovsky struggled.
Nick Schmaltz had his grittiest game that I can recall in some time. Why he even took a few shots! If Nicky-Boy continues to suggest that he's willing to do something other than defer, defer, defer Kane's going to find the going a little easier in the offensive zone.
Passing was a big problem for The Hawks tonight. In the skates, out of reach or, most often and most annoying, too soft and easily picked off by alert Blue Jackets. All but one of the many CBJ solo rushes were made possible by a guy attempting a lateral pass that simply lacked the oomph to make it to its destination. Could have been bad ice but more likely a collective failure to apply oneself (oneselves?).
Brandon Davidson made his Hawks debut in lieu of B. Manning tonight. Ehhh...he's slow, he flails a bit and he was demolished in possession but, on the few occasions he found the puck he made calm, safe outlet passes which I see as a slight upgrade from Manning. Worth another look, I guess.
So, with karmic balance restored, we reset for a back-to-back at home vs. Tampa. Cam Ward is likely getting the start, so The Hawks' D had best get their house in order.
Jane's Addiction, Been Caught Stealing
Okay, so The Hawks were a bit unlucky in this one, but not to the tune of three goals. I have questions!
1) Did no one involved in coaching or decision making notice those couple of power plays last week in which The Hawks moved the puck and moved their feet and they scored some goals?
If so, why are we being forced to endure the same old get-the-zone (eventually, if at all) and play-catch-while-we-all-stand-still? This is ridiculous.
2) Has the so-called Push-em-Back power play breakout scheme ever worked? This is such a huge waste of time and, almost hilariously, they mess it up half the time, anyway (I'm lookin' at you, Gustafsson). Yeah, I understand that they want to have Kane, primarily, enter the o-zone with speed, but what's the rush? IF they manage to gain the zone everyone just takes their positions and stands there, anyway. It might be smarter to decline power plays, going forward.
3) When was the last time Keith completed a pass?
Otherwise...
The Hawks crushed VAN in Corsi and chances. Only one Hawks player was south of 50% Corsi, most were 60-70%, yet....
The Hawks' goaltending is garbage, full stop.
Sharp was stymied once and hit a crossbar.
Hinnie had a sure thing tipped away.
Seabrook maybe should have a penalty shot? (which he would have gacked, but that's not for now)
Schmaltz was excellent, so there's that.
But, wow, The Hawks have allowed 26 goals against in the last five games and were -14 in that run. I need a drink.
There wasn't much to choose in this one but, given that The Hawks have made a habit of losing close games, or even games in which they had 60%+ of the chances, I'll gratefully take the win. It's just nice to be on the right side of it for a change. Let's get after it.
Toews + Kane + Saad took the handful of good shifts they had in the Anaheim game and spun it into an almost complete effort. We even heard Foley say something he hasn't had occasion to utter in a long time, something about "Saad" and "power move". I like these eggs in this particular basket so, more of that, please.
Schmaltz + DeBrincat + Hinostroza were not so far behind in chances and general effectiveness but they did barely survive being penned-in The Hawks' zone on two far-too-long and fraught with peril shifts. While those couple of panicky shifts are not ideal I still really like this trio together. What they lack in size and strength is mostly made up for by their speed and fitness. Schmaltz and DeBrincat are obviously the greater scoring threats on this line but, lately, Hinnie has been the straw stirring the drink. His lightning-fast zone entries, demonic backchecking and surprisingly adept passing have been a most welcome surprise. The kid is playing like his life depends on it because IT DOES (it doesn't).
It's a Good Thing the top two lines were so good 'cos the Anisimov and Kampf lines had a rough night. There are a couple of guys there that are dragging things down: Jurco knows what he wants to do but can't pull it off 'cos he gets knocked off the puck so easily, while Duclair has ample size and skill but no plan whatsoever.
Defensively, it was a mixed bag. The Hawks got a quality start from JF Berubé and okay efforts from the D-corps, with no one being especially great nor especially awful. At least Oesterle was better than in ANA, even if he was still way too soft in his own end.
Okay, it was a good result from an uneven effort against a team that is battling for a playoff berth, and we get to see another team in that position on Thursday when Carolina visits. Let's hope The Hawks can be miserable, contrary pains in the ass again.
Yeah, big trouble. Never mind losing the game because, really, does that even matter now? Even worse is that too many Hawks players are simply no longer invested in the season, the team or each other.
Dumb, dumb plays abounded.
The so-called first line failed to hit a pass longer than 10ft until late the second period. The worst of the three was Kane, floating passes not feet but yards off their mark.
Seabrook was absolutely awful, his lowlight being that old chestnut, the drop pass to no one, this time completely defusing a power play.
Keith had more poor shifts than good shifts and Oesterle was flat out brutal, with a shiny -4 next to his name to show for it.
You know things are grim when Connor Murphy was the best Hawks d-man, hands down.
And Anthony Duclair - does anyone know what the hell he's trying to accomplish, ever? The decisions he makes are just baffling. Please, Stan, don't even think about re-signing the lad.
The goalies gave it a good shot. Forsberg, naturally, allowed his customary unforgivable soft goal and he really should take more care to keep his stick on the ice, but even with the clutch of good saves they made, neither he nor JF Berube belong in The NHL. But, that's who we have, right?
Not All Bad?
Of course not. The Schmaltz line had a pretty good second half of the game, although I have to say that Schmaltz was invisible to me until he scored. If this season doesn't utterly crush the spirits of Schmaltz, DeBrincat and Hinostroza there's a slim ray of light on the horizon.
And Kampf's trio did well, with the caveat that they have so little ability to score that the effort hardly seems worthwhile, but they sure tried. Not sure what to say about Matthew "Charlie Bucket" Highmore as he's not done anything dazzling, yet, but he's not giving the puck away, at least. Until he shows some offensive acumen, though, he may as well be Tanner Kero.
The neanderthals in the post-game show had a lot to say about The Hawks' non-reaction to Toews' dust up with arch-nemesis Ryan Kesler. The notion that Toews needed to respond to Kesler's invitation to drop the gloves is incredibly stupid, but I get it, and maybe it served as a release of sorts for Toews. The studio goons harped about Toews' teammates' lack of acknowledgement when the captain emerged from the penalty box and Jamal Mayers asserted many times that The Hawks "should be embarrassed". I think they were embarrassed to have let in two more goals while Toews was indisposed, and I imagine their enthusiasm for the game in general had just about bottomed out. Sure, a few stick taps would have been appropriate, for whatever little that is actually worth, but I'm also guessing that this team is simply emotionally drained and they cannot wait for the season to end. The hands and feet go through the motions but the head & hearts aren't there, really.
It's true that all three CBJ goals were made possible by breakdowns on the part of The Hawks, and that Chicago once again got stuck on two goals-for...but I can't even get mad about it anymore. At this point I'm looking for silver lining moments, just to ward off the disappointment.
So let's look at those bright spots.
Take away Toews' poor clearing attempt, Hinnie's horrible pass and Forsberg allowing his obligatory softie and The Hawks actually played a pretty solid game. True, only two goals-for, yet again, but they had the shots and the chances, plus a couple of goalposts. Mere inches away from flipping this one to a W, but that's the way it's been this season.
It's a small sample but the current forward lines are actually working not too badly. Each line had their share of dominant shifts, particularly the Kampf line (!) and the Schmaltz trio enjoyed a scorcher in which they penned the Jackets in their own end for over a minute. Despite Tomas Jurco finding twine for the first time in forever, I thought L2 was the weakest unit, and that's mainly on Jurco. Kane is kinda being wasted while Q fools around with this combination, whether they're showcasing Jurco or simply because Q is a dope.
Regardless, all four lines have scoring potential and I would think that's making it a little harder for the opposition to deploy adequate checking.
I still think Wingels on L1 is silly at this point but I'll say this: when he's on the power play at least The Hawks are less predictable than usual. He's a wild card! An X-factor! He doesn't know what he's doing!
Ryan Hartman: took a really bad, poorly timed penalty and then spent the remainder of the match sitting in front of Coach Q. It was an idiotic thing for Harts to do but, thinking back, this is the kind of crap that Andrew Shaw pulled on a regular basis and, at worst, missed a shift or two. For whatever reason, Q just does not seem to like Hartman, which is a tough, tough thing to overcome in this organization.
The NBCSNCH (I think?) post game show poll asked "Which player do The Hawks miss the most?" The consensus was that Hossa's absence has been the hardest to make up for, but they didn't even mention Corey Crawford. I know that Crow could not have done a thing about The Hawks' offense going in the pooper but, damn, you know he would have eked out more than a few wins just by not letting in one or more soft goals, night in and night out. Review The Hawks' record since Crow went on the DL and tell me it's not true...
* That's probably The Hawks' season done & dusted. Maybe they were out of it earlier, maybe not, but this half-assed effort underlines how far off the plot they are. If you're only willing, or only able to play 20 - 25 minutes of half decent hockey this is the result you can expect.
* Oesterle, despite his qualities as an okay puck-mover, is a shitty, shitty defender. He has no business being anywhere near the ice during 3-on-3 overtime 'cos he hasn't got anyone to back him up, which he needs. A lot.
* Three goals against were caused by turnovers, one of which was inexcusably stupid, and the fourth saw Oesterle get absolutely pantsed. Too much responsibility is being placed on so-so players and it probably seems necessary to the coaching staff because many of the players who should be carrying a heavier load have been making a mess of things far too often
* Tonight's lineup "featured" four skaters who failed to make The Hawks out of training camp. This is not to slag on those players; Kampf and Jurco have had good moments and Hinostroza's been a pleasant surprise, but what the hell can one expect if a team that hopes to contend is leaning on Guys that are mostly marginal?
* BUT the reason those Guys are up from Rockford is because too many players are underachieving mightily. Toews works hard every game but, especially lately, accomplishes little. Saad has been a disaster. Anisimov, albeit recently back from injury, has been out of step. I'm not sure what to expect from Duclair but it would sure be nice to see him win a puck battle someday or not lose the handle while trying to stickhandle around defenders. After a promising rookie season Hartman has been a disappointment. Kane has been good for the most part and Schmaltz & DeBrincat have been outstanding given where they're at in their careers, but how much can one line's worth of players accomplish?
* That so many Hawks are somewhere between struggling and pissing the bed makes me wonder....how much of this is on the players and how much is on the coaching staff. It just seems so odd, so improbable, that so many players that The Hawks are counting on to produce, cannot. Is it a lack of skill or a lack of motivation?
If this season ends badly, and all signs point to that being the case, expect a major housecleaning, top-to-bottom.
Tonight we were treated to The Hawks putting together a near-complete game, much like the best parts of the EDM and CAL games but sustained for almost the entire game. It wasn't a perfect effort, as The Hawks' D had some moments in which they flailed, but it was quite enough to handle 'dose Ranger bums.
Those Rangers had been mighty at home too, having lost in regulation only once in over a month, but Coach Q and Co. were much quicker on the draw than The Rangers' staff, getting preferred matchups more often than not with The Hawks' top six rarely seeing the NYR shut-down line.
* The Hawks' best trio in the first period was the Toews line, with Hinostroza starting the scoring off a bang-bang set off by a blind back-pass from Toews. Along with Saad they dominated every shift in the early going. Saad's effort flagged a bit later on and Vinnie Hinnie became a bit unfocused, but Toews was mighty for the entire game. I was furious to see that Vinnie Hinnie had drawn in on Toews' wing while DeBrincat remained on the fourth line, but I guess things worked out okay...
* The second period was all about Hartman - Schmaltz - Kane. Schmaltz did some some wonderful forechecking, Kane was strong on the puck, as usual and Hartman was an absolute beast. Not talking about Harts drilling Staal into The Rangers' net, either, although I suppose that was indicative of the kind of fire Hartman brought to the rink tonight.
* Jeff Glass was generally solid in his third straight start. As was also the case in Alberta he was guilty of over-committing a couple of times and found himself waaaay out of his net yet, somehow, The Rangers could not close the deal. He showed great concentration during The Rangers' several full court presses, especially in the third, and I saw no fault in the two goals against, one being a total screen job, the other on a five-on-three. The only mistake he had to pay for was that puck he goosed into the stands.
VGK on Friday. Let's hope The Hawks can keep the ball rolling and bring those goldenrods back to earth. Hey, somebody has to.
Yup, missed he entire thing & had only highlights to soothe and entertain me when I rose this AM, so no breakdown, just a couple of notes.
* The Stat Line was practically a dead heat in this one, although WPG pushed their Corsi up in the last ten minutes, doubling up The Hawks on shot attempts after the game was well out of reach. The one large and interesting disparity, I think, was in Hits, where The Jets allegedly outhit The Hawks 25-2. This suggests one of two things, the first being a bit of stat inflation on the part of the WPG statisticians, Manitoba being a bit of a lunkheaded "if you can't beat 'em on the ice beat 'em in the alley" sort of environment. The second possibility that comes to mind is that The Hawks simply paid little attention to that part of the game, choosing instead to hold the puck, move the puck and shoot the puck. I only have the highlights package to go on, so I'd love to hear someone else's impression.
* Michal Kempny doesn't dress for a month but draws in to notch a goal and a team-high +3 on the night. He's done his bit, so it's up to Coach Q to conjure up some excuse why Kemps doesn't deserve to play.
* It's gonna be tough for Richard Panik to find his way back into the lineup.
* Highlight of Highlights: the usually stone-faced Patrick Kane, unable to suppress his surprise and delight over Nick Schmaltz' dirrrrty pass in the second period.
Back home on Sunday vs. The Wild, with whom The Hawks are tied on points but behind in the standings, for a so-called four point game. Gotta get that one.
There's no way that a game between The Hawks and those chicken-stealing miscreants from AZ should ever be this close. It was a largely crap effort on the part of The Blackhawks and they were fortunate to get the W as, with the number of chances they were giving up, they were just a deflection or an eephus away from The Coyotes getting back in the game.
Now that I've gotten that out of the way, some really quick Bits.
* The majority of The Blackhawks had a pretty indifferent game, top to bottom. Only one guy was truly bad, but only one or two played a complete game. I'm pretty sure that the only pass that led directly to a shot on net before Hayden hit Wingels there, almost halfway through the final period, was Panik to Hinostroza in the second frame. That's pretty bad. Kane had numerous "ehh" plays that he appeared disinterested in before he even executed them. Saad was stepping on the puck all night. Keith fought the puck for the entire first half of the game. Etc.
* At least the third line had some fire in their bellies, with only small factors like no hands (Vinnie Hinnie), no luck (Panik) and not much left (Sharp) preventing them from accomplishing much. Still, they spent the majority of their time on the ice in the AZ zone, so that's something.
* Crawford was outstanding and, though I'm sad to reiterate it, No Crow = No Win tonight.
* Forsling had another good game. Not perfect, but very good and superior to all of his fellow D-men. Murphy had a quietly solid night, as well.
* Jordan Oesterle was very much on the other end of the stick, completely awful in all regards. His poor passing was eclipsed only by his terrible positioning. Given that he hadn't played in twelve games this hot mess was as much on the guys that gifted him 20 minutes of ice time as it was on him. The Coyotes were clearly aware of this, as their forecheckers were on him like poop on a blanket, and Oesterle wilted under the pressure at almost every opportunity. Crow was extremely diplomatic when fielding questions about Oz after the game, probably biting his tongue, actually, as he had a good view of #82 falling all over the place.
* Schmaltz was another forward who put forth a solid effort for the full sixty minutes, compromised by Kane's indifference until the last ten minutes and Anisimov being a step behind most of the night.
The difficulty level gets pushed from "Beginner" to "Novice" for Tuesday's game vs. FLA. With a full game's effort from Kane, more of the same from the Hinnie line and Oesterle punted back to the press box The Hawks should be okay. Probably.
