Partial Effort, Full Result: Hawks 3, Senators 2

Wouldn't it be cool is The Hawks could, or would, play a complete 60-minute game more than once a month?  Tonight, The Hawks started off with an utterly dominant first period but, as is so often the case, took their foot off the gas for much of the rest of the game.  That's a simplistic view, of course, as the Senators upped their game for the second and third, but that's when a good team responds rather than accepts, y'know?
The Hawks were a bit lucky, then, to pick up two points, being unable to maintain a lead but sucking slightly less in the shootout.  Anton Forsberg was instrumental in both of these aspects, as he made several tough saves in the five minute overtime, yet was also guilty of allowing a couple of dribblers into the net.  Whatever, he's doing the best he can, I assume.

The last time these teams met I typed a lot of stuff about The Senators, which I won't do today except to add that they are in tough, tough shape, even more than usual with the trade deadline rushing up and The Sens organization saying nothing to deflect or dispel the legion of trade rumours surrounding them.  The only notable Senator that I have not heard mentioned is Mark Stone and, perhaps by omission rather than action, it appears that every other player is potentially up for negotiation, even Erik Karlsson.  Apart from Stone, maybe Craig Anderson and the handful of "I'm just happy to be here" Guys, the message is that they're all mere commodities at this point.  That knowledge is sure to inspire a will to succeed.
I'm actually surprised that this isn't happening in Chicago, too, 'cos there are plenty of guys who should be worried about their gig.

Back to the game, I was aggravated by some odd deployment choices.
Oesterle played, on the back of possibly the worst game I've seen a Hawks defender foist since, well, I was gonna say David Koci, but you could also pick almost any outing by TVR in the last two years.  Oz was slightly less bad last night but he did demonstrate precisely how not to respond in a one-on-one shooting situation on Matt Duchene's goal.
Jurco on the second line.  At least there was the fun of counting the seconds every time Jurcs carried the puck and never getting past "three" before he surrendered the damn thing.
This Wingels on the top line thing is a bit ridiculous.  Sure, sticking him in there to shake things up and maybe make a point is all well and good, but to persist with that well after the shaking up and point making is done with, well that's dumb.
Meanwhile, Hinostroza has been ripping the arse out of everyone, all while dragging the likes of Baby Huey Kampf and Bouma along behind him.  But no, let's move a couple of plodders from the fourth line and the damned press box to the top six...

Anyway
The next few days will be interesting and I am preparing my wish list of players I hope The Hawks successfully rid themselves of.  I don't even care what they get in return, anything to shake this group out of their vegetable torpor will be welcome.
Oh, and who wants to take wagers on whether Stan, Q or both Stan AND Q get the old heave ho when this merry-go-round stops?

Went to Ottawa and Poured Gasoline on a Dumpster Fire: Hawks 8, Senators 2

Super-quick up too late & too long post here, with nothin' but The Bits:
* Save some goals for tomorrow, maybe?  Wow, that was something, and not to diminish The Hawks' dominant effort, but The Senators have been dead in the water for a month or more.  Not unlike The Hawks, they have many excellent pieces, up front anyway, but somehow fail to deliver consistently.  One familiar problem is that they rarely seem to get more than one guy producing at any given time.  Second, their defense is suspect with not a whole lot past Karlsson & Ceci, and Karlsson is hobbling these days.  Finally, if Craig Anderson falters in goal it's Lights Out.  I feel your pain, Sens fans.
* Brent Seabrook was scratched, probably for the first time in his career.  I'd be curious if Coach Q tried to frame this as "let's rest you for Wednesday" which would, I think, be kind of insulting.
Anyway, the guys that did play were mostly fine but I fully expect Kempny to make way for Seabs tomorrow.
* Astonishing Fact - Patrick Kane had never had a 4-assist game until tonight.
* The Stats DO Lie: Kane, Schmaltz and Hartman were each around 25% Corsi at even strength.  It just so happened that nearly every shot they generated went in the net.
* Richard Panik scored.  I was about to check the yard for locusts but the window was frosted up...

Kinda luckily, The Senators have a back-to-back tomorrow as do The Hawks and, once the game was truly out of reach, appeared to dial back their effort in the third period to save themselves a bit for the next one.  Accordingly, The Hawks didn't exert themselves much either, but it's still gonna be a big ask to come out with a sharp effort vs. The Wild.

Oh No...

So, Chris Neil will soon be available, unfortunately.  Here's the news: Senators to cut Neil loose, says he still wants to play.  Why is this bad?  Because Quenneville.

                                                   "Hmmmm...."

Whatever Works: Hawks 2, Senators 1

Okay, so it was another game in which The Hawks were outshot, albeit not as badly as the last couple of games, and were batted around like a cat toy in the possession department.  While that's a little worrisome, they're getting away with it, by dint of superior goaltending and the guys who need to be great being great at just the right time.  I doubt that this model is sustainable on the long-term but, for now, it's working. I guess that, even though The Hawks have failed to play to their potential this week, there's always the fact that this is The Hawks underachieving and still winning.  When and if they get their asses and heads back into gear they could be a steamroller.
If the goaltending holds up.
Buckle up for ya Bits.

Meet John Hayden, who The Hawks signed this week, presumably on the proviso that he get into some games this season, thus using up one season of his entry-level status.  He's sure big, not terribly quick but not a slug, either.  Could be just A Guy but that's what I thought of Hartman during his first audition, so who the hell knows?
I'm happy to say that no Hawks player was especially bad tonight, although Seabrook's two unforced giveaways late in the match were not ideal and Panarin struggled to complete a pass for the first half of the game .  On the flip, though, none of the skaters really shone, either.  It was kind of a beige effort, overall, as they played just well enough to win and not an iota more.  Sure, a few guys had some great shifts, but even the usual go-to guys had extended quiet periods.  Just another Thursday night in Ottawa...
Have we seen the end of Tomas Jurco?  More to the point, does anyone care?
The forward lines were in constant flux tonight, with Toews skating with almost every other forward at one time or another.  That's going to happen when the coaches are cherry-picking zone starts for Hayden and Tootoo.  Kruger & Kero started a lot of shifts and beetled off the ice right after the face off which scrambled things up even more.
Schmaltz played mainly 2C in Anisimov's absence and was fine, I thought, except for his faceoffs. All of the Chicago centers struggled at the dot tonight but Schmaltz was glaringly ineffective and clearly needs to spend some time with Yanic Perrault, ASAP.

I'm still not sure what I think of the swapping around of the top four D.  I cannot point to any instance in which Seabrook/Oduya failed in any significant way, and the Keith/Hjalmarsson duo is a known quantity, but I kind of envisioned Oduya and Hjalmarsson assuming the shut-down role that they performed so well in days of yore, allowing Keith & Seabrook to face weaker opposition and maybe run a bit wild.  I expect we'll see more experimentation in this area but, for now, this feels like a missed opportunity.
I don't care how nice a guy Jamal Mayers may be - he has to stop saying "Jarmalson".

One Hawks player was not beige tonight.  Scott Darling wasn't tested much in the first half of the game but he earned his keep and then some in the early part of the third period alone.  No Darling = no win tonight, and the best backup in the league keeps rolling...

Excuses, Excuses: Senators 4, Hawks 3

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

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

Hometown Hockey, News and Stuff, Hawks Win 3-0 and Sunday's Big Boy

Exhausted.  Today, SportsNet descended on my home city, Thunder Bay, and held one of their Hometown Hockey events.  While oozing in sentimentality, cliché and that icky motormouth Ron MacLean, it was actually pretty fun.  I checked out the event site in the afternoon - very nicely done and people looked like they were having a good time - and watched the game in the evening.  Had to watch it on SportsNet, though, so I got to see all the Thunder Bay hockey culture and local lore during the breaks, but I also had to put up with MacLean some more (the Garrison Keillor of hockey?) and HOLY SHIT Glenn Healy is an idiot.  Once again, watching a game on SN makes me realize that Foley and Edzo are not so bad.
Anyway...
- The Hawks hardly seemed troubled in this one.  Crawford possibly did not require a shower after the game, his only tough saves being on a couple of rebounds.  Easy money, baby.
- I'll put this down to "as Erik Karlsson goes, so go The Senators", and Karlsson didn't really get going tonight.  He wasn't terrible, by any means (apart from allowing Desjardins to strip him of the puck in the last moments, but he had clearly had enough by then) but for Ottawa to be anything other than terrible he needs to be brilliant.  Also, The Sens are pretty bad.
- On The Hawks' side, very few standouts, really.  I thought TVR had a strong game, actually and, a few minor yips aside, so did Gustafsson.  Didn't notice Seabrook much and didn't even realize Garbutt played tonight until I saw him leave the ice after the game.  I still like what I see from Danault and I don't mind that Desjardins - Danault - Teravainen trio.  I wouldn't mind it if Danault spent some time with Yanic Perreault, though, 'cos he's not been good at the dot.
- Rozsival cracked me up in the second when it looked as if he might join the rush with Kane.  Then he realized he didn't now what "rush" meant, bailed out and nearly collided with Kane.  It's gold, Jerry, gold.
So, THE NEWS:
- During the game Jeremy Morin was sent packing, yet again, this time to Toronto where he will find himself on their second line within a few weeks, in exchange for something called Richard Panik. I know nothing about this Panik but I can read a stat sheet as well as anyone, and Panik is a 20pt/yr, biggish body kinda guy.  Hey, we happen to have a bunch of 10pt/yr biggish body kinda guys, so this counts as an upgrade.

                                I don't know Ryan Garbutt but, yes, I am better than him.

- David Rundblad was loaned to Zurich Lions in the Swiss A-League.  Now, I had read that The Hawks could bury all of Rundblad's salary if and only if he played in Rockford.  There is, as I recall, some counter-intuitive salary cap manipulation that can be performed in which a GM spends more now to gain cap relief later.  Maybe?  I admit I'm pretty hazy on a lot of the salary cap regulations and have not yet bothered to investigate this but, when I do (I won't) I'll explain it all here (won't do that either).
Back to tonight:

He scored the game winner, blocked four shots and, basically, just did what he always did.  In this sleepwalker of a game, Duncan Keith was the best player.

                                    Four Norris Trophies on a square meter of ice...

About Last Night: Twenty Five Percent

On last night's game, itself:
- Jonathan Toews continues to show signs of life, especially when SURPRISE SURPRISE he's combined with other talented forwards.  Last night he played primarily with Hossa and Teravainen which amounted to The Hawks having two lines that represented an actual threat to score.  Doesn't that sound better than just one line?  More about that in a bit.
- Crawford did not look especially great but his D frequently struggled to clear the zone as well as they are able.  Sometimes that happens.

The Bigger Picture:
- This was going to be a post about how Joel Quenneville needs to do something, anything, to live up to his reputation as a "Top NHL Coach".  I remain mostly unconvinced that this is true; I believe he has been a decent coach and can be an effective strategist but, given the talent he's had at his disposal both in Chicago and in Colorado, the job was half-done for him.  He's had the leeway to make many poor decisions and still find success when the players rise above those circumstances and I'm leaning toward thinking that almost any experienced coach could have "guided" The Hawks teams of the past six or seven years just as ably.
Last night's lineup, though, was a small step in the right direction as Q doubled down with two capable lines and at least gave The Senators some decisions to make as far as matching lines was concerned.  The Hawks' best line, among the best in the league, has been the only consistent threat all season, accounting for 35 goals-for which is about 50% more than all the other Hawks forwards combined.  How this trio has managed to remain effective for so long is mind blowing given that they face the opposition's best shut-down men night-in-night-out, especially on the road.  We've already seen Panarin appear to wear down a bit and opposing coaches keying on the rookie, specifically, so the need to have another line that at least might score a goal, someday, is be essential to get Panarin a little less of that personal attention.  
The Hawks have been somehow getting by with 25% of their lineup doing more than 50% of the scoring.  It's time to exercise some patience with the players that have some chance to contribute and cut bait with those that aren't going to do more than skate up and down the rink.  Last night's lineup was encouraging but let's see how long this lasts.  
- On that tack, I find it puzzling that Q has spent as much time tinkering with his third and fourth lines as he has with the ostensible "first" line (i.e. whichever unsuitable wingers Toews has been burdened with, lately).  It's all the more of a head-scratcher when we consider that he persevered with Shaw-Toews-Garbutt for much of the Circus Trip when, as the road team, they ceded last change to their opposition for six straight games, a stretch in which the aforementioned "first" line found modest success in one game.  
- Where the third and fourth lines are concerned, they are what they are; The Hawks are not blessed with incredible depth in the bottom six or eight right now, and that's just something that they'll have to make the best of.  Perhaps establishing consistent lines down there will at least allow those six guys to develop a little chemistry...I don't know.  I'm pretty sure that having Dano and Mashinter play 5-to-8 minutes apiece is not helping these lines gel; Dano needs to play more, Mashinter needs to be playing in the ECHL or some other place, far, far away.  Quenneville's deployment of Dano has hardly set him up to succeed and the few opportunities Dano has been afforded have been halfhearted, at best.  The kid needs a little more rope than he's been given, as he's paying dearly for each and every mistake.
- Andrew Shaw has been a nightmare.  In the past he has usually been able to bounce around the lineup and be sort of effective but, this season...not so much. He's been undisciplined, out of position more often than not and, whilst skating with Toews the last few weeks, probably more of a hindrance than a help.  But, he's Quenneville's guy and, until some other team decides they need a less capable Steve Downie or whichever goof you like, we're stuck with him.
- One last mini-rant on depth and deployment: looking at what should be The Hawks' bottom six Kruger needs to be there, even though his meager offensive skills have all but departed, and Kero has probably been the best of the rest of the group. Shaw, as discussed, is a made man so he's a lock, and Dano should at least be given a chance to play.  This leaves Garbutt, Desjardins and Mashinter for Quenneville to tinker with.  Hinostroza, Baun and Hartman all had their looks, each failed to accomplish anything in their NHL auditions, and only Hartman has been less than shitty even at the AHL level.  Would reinserting Tikhonov or Bickell or even Morin (ha!) be any worse an idea than carrying on with some of the others? Tikhonov knows how to play positionally and keeps his feet moving, at least.  As it is now he's the highest paid interpreter on The Hawks' staff.