Bad Day At The Office: Knights Of Gold 4, Hawks 3 (OT)

Once again we have borne witness to The Hawks barely hanging in there against a superior team, getting the consolation point but, at the heart of it, being kinda fortunate to glean even that. Here's why!
As Kane and DeBrincat Go, So Go The Hawks.  Mostly, anyway, and even with the hot streak these two little fellas are enjoying it's often not quite enough.  When, not if, those guys hit a cold spell it'll be very, very tough for The Hawks to earn points.  The team has improved but they're not yet ready for prime time.
Apart from some occasional defensive ambivalence Kane is playing as well as he's ever done.  As good has he's been, DeBrincat is still rounding into shape, suggesting a brighter future for both he and the team, yet I worry about how he's getting all these goals lately.  I mean, if he's gonna score on half the shots he takes from the left circle I'm all-in for that, but we've seen this episode before with Panarin and, before him, Sharp.  Once other teams devise means of blocking DBC out of that position or reliably preventing Kane/Gustafsson ('cos it's always them, isn't it?) from getting him the puck DeBrincat's scoring rate will tumble.
Bad Day At The Office.  Dahlstrom endured his worst game since rejoining The Hawks, his first stinkeroo, really.  Minus three and inadvertently shovelling the winning goal into your own net makes for an evening he'd prefer to forget, I'm sure.  Wrong place, wrong time, wrong circumstance....whatever.  It was bad.
Even Worse but without the stats to back it up were Seabrook and Jokiharju, with Seabs huffing and puffing his way to three giveaways and Hank failing to contain any Vegas forward, ever.
The Stat Line was not kind to Kampf, Saad & Caggiula either, but I feel the need to qualify their apparent failure as tonight's shut-down line.  Their primary assignment was to box out VGK's ostensive top line, Marchessault, Karlsson and Pirri and, while they had their hands full with those guys, they gave up nothing.  Oddly, it was always the next Vegas line that burned them. Unlucky, unaware, definitely unfortunate.
Colliton's OT Deployment has been strange, too.  Coaches play hunches as much as they go with the horses that got them in the race, but I question him trotting out Kampf - Kahun - Dahlstrom, particularly after the rough night Baby Huey and Big Carl suffered.  I dunno much about anything, really but, in that position in a game that you've been a bit lucky to get to OT in the first place, I'd probably go back to Toews, Kane & Gus.  Just sayin'.

Next: Monday vs. the improving Devils, more of a "better win" than a "must win", I'd say.

Posts may be sporadic going forward, lumping two or more games together or just me popping in with vital observations.  Vital!

Bad Day At The Office

Snow Blind: Two Games, A Mighty Blizzard and a Single Post

Another catch-up post as I only sort of watched Sunday's game, otherwise occupied with snow removal and related bullshit, and racked out seconds after Monday's non-result.

Hawks 5, Penguins 3
A Close Game, but for weird reasons.  The Hawks gifted PITT all three goals, with Toews trancing out instead of taking out Hornqvist, everybody being non-committal on Guentzel's tally (but especially Anisimov, who was simply terrible in this game) and Cam Ward, who was otherwise okay, getting leaky on Brassard's one-timer. Even Kane was a bit topsy-turvy inasmuch as his three helpies erased some defensive laziness and a heart-in-mouth drop pass to no one.
Meanwhile, The Pens suffered stretches in which they couldn't seem to find their legs, their defence were occasionally bewildered and their keeper, Casey DeSmith, struggled with some long shots eluding him.  The Penguins' general sluggishness was compounded by them trying but failing to skate with The Hawks rather than plug up the middle and slow things down.  If either team had their shit only slightly more together they could have run off with this one.  
The Hawks' Special Teams were looking good, the PP just missing out on going 3-for-3 by mere seconds.  The PK was perfect on the night with Seabrook and Dahlstrom pulling the most minutes there.  Notably, Gustafsson was left OFF the PK entirely which was wise, I think.  He can do a lot of things but straight-up defence...not so much.
Drake Caggiula finally debuted and I liked what I saw.  We'd seen him when he was with EDM, of course, and all I could recall is his speed and hustle, which is pretty much what he brought in this game.  The fourth line, along with Kruger and Kunitz, was energetic all night, laying hits and being nuisances.
Goals From Unlikely Sources sure helped as Keith and Kunitz scored their first goals of the season, both on long shots that probably should have been stopped (see DeSmith, Casey, above) but nevermind...

Flames 4, Hawks 3
In a bizarre reverso of the previous night it was The Hawks who were lured into a wide-open affair with similar results as, on the second of a back-to-back, they simply hadn't the necessary jump to pull it off.  They came close and, but for a cocktail of dumb stuff in the final minute, very nearly got away with it.
Collin Delia was again impressive, and this is with him still figuring out positioning, rebound control and puck handling.  His reflexes and athleticism are incredible so, if/when he comes to grips with the other details of netminding, he's going to be tough to beat.  He did allow his first bad goal of the season when he let Gaudreau's second goal trickle through him but, hey, just one of those in five starts....I'll take that.
Dylan Strome's Timing isn't great.  I was actually going to type some stuff about Strome's passing being just a tad off a lot of he time, either slightly late or slightly early, but in light of his taking three dumbass penalties last night I'd say the timing of that rubbish is somewhat worse.  They were all needless, lazy, selfish acts.
Quietly Excellent: I thought Perlini (!) and Kahun each had strong games despite having nothing to show for it and Brandon Davidson has surprised me these last two games.  Every stride he takes looks as if it's a massive effort but, unlike his smooth-skating colleague Forsling, he's getting the job done.  He didn't commit any turnovers, was even for the two games and was quick to defend his teammates without being stupid about it. If you can get that from a depth Guy that's a win, every time.
That Final Minute: A shambles.  The first and worst sin was Anisimov shooting from where he did because he's not Patrick Kane and of course he missed the net and when you miss the net from that angle it is always coming back your way in a hurry.  Empty net, there, Artie...
And Gustafsson's seemingly half-hearted attempt to track down Hathaway bearing down on the empty net was disappointing, getting turned inside-out and settling for a final desperate swipe with his stick rather than skating.  Caggiula came from a lot farther back and had a better go than Gus did.  Maybe dead legs, maybe overconfidence, maybe just a poor decision, but not at all good.

Next: At home Wednesday vs. NSH who shut out TOR on Monday.
Roster Stuff: Sikura and Martinsen were quietly dispatched to Rockford while Hank Jokiharju was activated after his gold-medal winning stint on the Finnish Junior team.

Steal Away: Islanders 3, Hawks 2 (OT)

Aw, man, that was awful to watch.  The Hawks just looked tired and going through the motions most of the time.  Couldn't win a draw, vainly chasing The Isles and out of sync with each other all night long.  So this is gonna be quick.
Only The Toews Line looked kinda half decent throughout the match and, even then, those three had a lot of pucks behind them, were arriving where the puck was rather than where it was going.  As for the other, Kampf's line had one, maybe two good spins.  Kruger's group had a pair of fine shifts including an utterly dominant one in which they somehow managed to not record a shot on goal.  Apart from that one in which Kane clanked one off the post in the second Strome's trio was invisible until the third period, during which they had a few good looks, and this line was -2 on the night.  Not even remotely enough.
Despite Combining For Six Giveaways I thought Murphy and Dahlstrom had a very good game, playing almost exclusively against The Islanders' lethal Bailey - Beauvillier - Barzal line.  Even against these Killer Bees they notched the highest Corsi-for ratings among Hawks d-men, and by a large margin, too. 
Forsling Was The Worst Hawk, by far, bobbling the puck, losing practically every battle and sending panicky "passes" to empty space.  His lazy penalty late in the second set the stage for Barzal's second tally of the night.  Hurry back, Hank Jokiharju....
Collin Delia, however, single-handedly stole a point for The Hawks tonight, making a whopping 48 saves, directing his rebounds somewhat better than he has been able up 'til now and done in on a couple of oddball goals - one that was bunted in out of the air and another after he'd had his stick knocked out of his grasp.  My only nit-pick where Delia is concerned is that he was not handling the puck well behind the net with several iffy and/or unpredictable passes.

So, really, to leave Long Island with a consolation point is a fortunate result.

Next: Sunday vs. the Penguins who are riding a seven-game win streak.  What a perfect opportunity to be the assholes who mess that up.

Robbie Dupree - Steal Away

Slain In South Bend: Bruins 3½, Hawks 2

Well, it was mostly fun to watch and a game that could have gone either way, but The Hawks never really looked willing to take control of this one.  We know from experience that when The Hawks are the least bit noncommittal things generally end badly.

Stuff I Liked
Cam Ward was mostly great, a little lucky on a couple of saves, a little unlucky on Bergeron's goal, but also outsmarted comprehensively by Pastrnak.
David Kampf played a near-perfect game....for David Kampf, of course.  His takeaway and subsequent pass to Perlini was Baby Huey at his best.  It's just a shame he didn't have the legs to outrace Bergeron on his breakaway.
Eric Gustafsson was very good offensively and good enough defensively, and that's a win any day.
Brendan Perlini had his best game as a Hawk and all in a mere 7:26.  Sure, his goal was kind of a gimme but HE PASSED THE PUCK....TWICE.  That's real growth.

Stuff I Liked Less
DeBrincat was a no-show, looked distracted or something, failing to generate anything.
Strome's "Touch Pass" in the last 30 sec.  Really?  In what reality is that play a good idea?  I know he had his back to the two Bruins that bum rushed the subsequent loose puck that Strome directed to no one, but he knows they're coming....they always will.

Stuff I Hated
Patrick Kane was either sick or hungover or heartbroken or some damn thing that prevented him from doing his job.  23 minutes TOI and not one good look, no sweet set ups and dragging his arse reluctantly back to The Hawks' zone after his playmaking fell short.  A blip, I expect, but one that underlines Kane's impact - when he's bad it's like The Hawks are playing one one foot in a bucket.
Gustav Forsling was dogshit that garbage scrapes off it's shoe.  Couldn't make a pass while a Bruin was within 20 feet and was outmuscled/outhustled countless times behind our net and along the half-wall.  And then there was Goose turning his back on Kuraly who, of course, scored the game winner.  Not at all a good game for him and the sooner Hank Jokiharju returns, the better.

What Else?
No debut for Drake Caggiula due to his US Visa not yet being squared away.  I'm not expecting much but we currently have a few forwards accomplishing far less than "much" and he should be able to exceed that, at least.  If we're lucky Caggiula could perhaps evolve into an Andrew Shaw-type Guy who isn't an asshole (I hope).  As much as anything I'm just happy to see Brandon Manning somewhere else, doesn't matter where...

The South Bend Shovel Slayer

Rocky Mountain High: Hawks 3, Avalanche 2 (OT)

First off, I completely missed the Thursday match between The Hawks and The Wild.  Between guests and a pain in the ass snowstorm I couldn't get it done.

Alright then, to the matter currently at hand.

The Hawks are finally starting to look like the team I thought they could be.  Not everything was perfectly executed tonight but, refreshingly, there were no catastrophic unforced errors that cost them.  Their puck movement was more swift and crisp than it's been in ages, forwards are getting back more regularly and passes were on the mark for the most part.
After a sterling first period there appeared to be a slight letup in the second frame.  Much of that was due to COL getting it together, especially their forecheck, and The Hawks took awhile to up their intensity accordingly.
Patrick Kane Had a Big Night, figuring on all three CHI goals and just looked good all night.  He's been far more engaged than say, three or four weeks ago, when he was often just going through the motions with no joy, no impetus to excel.  Kaner has often connected well with Gustafsson since Gus was called up late last season and, now, Strome is getting in that action.  More than any other Hawks, perhaps other than Toews, those two get what Kane is up to and can either get the puck to where he's going to be or get themselves where they know Kane will find them.
DeBrincat Cashed Yet Again and had several other good looks, yet I worry that he's putting all of his chips on the one-timer from the left circle.  If and when that gambit fails to work I hope he changes his approach accordingly, lest he fall into the doldrums that befell the previous residents of that patch of ice, Panarin and Sharp.
Collin Delia Was Sublime.  My only issue with Delia's play is rebound control as he often pops those straight out into the slot.  That, apparently, is the last thing that goalies get right, if they ever get it right, and with a mere five NHL starts under his belt he's barely even started his apprenticeship.  That's fair enough.
I Hardly Noticed Seabrook and Dahlstrom tonight and that's just perfect.  Big Carl and Murphy played a lot of hard minutes against MacKinnon & Co. and were even on plus/minus which is a big win.  As for Seabs, his memorable games in recent months have been riddled with giveaways and other calamities and there was none of that tonight.
Special Teams Were Actually Special again, hitting for two PPG out of five tries and killing two of three PK.  The PPG against, scored by Rantanen, was a ridiculously well-placed shot through a screen, so I'm not gonna pin that one on the PK or Delia - some shots are just always going to go in. Puck movement and positioning on the PP started off great but lost momentum as the game progressed, but at least we're getting more zone time, more shots and more goals, generally.
Hilariously, Foley Twice Praised Perlini for not touching the puck and avoiding a too many men penalty, rather than calling him out for jumping the boards way too soon.
John Hayden's Hold on a Roster Spot is precarious right now.  His ice time is dwindling and he's one of the few minus players in the last several games.  At the moment I'm failing see what he does apart from protect the puck pretty well, but then do nothing productive with it.

Next: The Winter Classic vs. Boston on Tuesday.  The Hawks have not fared well in these affairs in recent years but, if they can replicate tonight's first period somewhat they'll be just fine.

John Denver - Rocky Mountain High

The Good, The Bad and The Ugly Vol. VII: Habs 3, Hawks 2

Straight to it, then.

The Good
Patrick Kane scored twice, his first goals since Nov. 24th and just his second and third in the last month.  I don't think it's hyperbolic to suggest that as Kane goes so go the Hawks, so this is kind of a big deal.  Kaner also cracked a smile for the first time in ten days.
Connor Murphy played his first game this season after back surgery in September and was arguably The Hawks' best D-man tonight.
The Hawks outshot MTL handily and the shot attempts were even more lopsided.  HOWEVER....

The Bad
...The Hawks "enjoyed" a whopping 15 minutes of Power Play time which is when they managed to run up the shot clock.  At evens The Habs were outshot by a mere 23-21 and Corsi was dead even.  This signals two issues: first, when your opponent plays shorthanded for almost an entire period and that massive advantage nets you only one goal something is terribly, terribly wrong.  By the time MTL took their 5th or 6th penalty The Hawks, one would think, should have had those guys on the ropes, exhausted and easy to exploit.  Nope, didn't happen.
Second, had Les Canadiens not been short for so long one can only imagine what would have occurred.  
Anisimov left the game after being given a rough ride by Habs captain Shea Weber early in the third period.  I expect we'll have to wait until at least tomorrow to learn the extent of his aches & pains.  His early exit coincided unfortunately with Strome's trip to The Room to be stitched up after being sliced open by Jordie Benn, leaving Toews and Kampf as the only available centers for the ensuing four minute PP.

The Ugly
Well, The Hawks lost.  In a game that, at a glance, looks like they dominated but, in reality, was practically handed to them they managed to find a way to lose anyway.  One could argue they were goalie'd by Carey Price but, with the opportunities given to them, The Hawks should have closed the deal.  Weber's goal was legit but Domi's and Tatar's were made possible by GUESS WHAT - shite defensive coverage, Kruger giving up on Domi for the first goal against and Keith failing to bother Tatar on the third GA.  He was right there, too, but was content to just kinda hang out behind Tatar.  Maybe Tatar tips that one in regardless of any pressure Keith applies but ol' Duncs didn't make life hard for the guy whatsoever.
The Power Play Failed Again.  One PPG out of eight tries, while actually an improvement, is still rubbish.  The main problem tonight, in my view, was that Seabrook was absolute garbage, generating little, letting pucks slip by him at the point and taking too long to tee up shots that either sailed wide or were easily blocked.  With Seabs at the point there's no movement, the entire effort is entirely predictable and any goals The Hawks glean with that unit are going to be despite him rather than because of him.  Seabrook soaked up 10 minutes of power play ice time too and, even with that massive advantage, still rocked 26% Corsi!  Could someone please point out to Coach Colliton that Henri Jokiharju was not only available for this detail but that he gets his shot away far quicker than Seabrook, hits the net more frequently and has excellent mobility, as opposed to Seabs' two settings, "Dead Slow" and "Stopped".  It pisses me off that a better option is right there, sitting on the bench, but Colliton doesn't seem convinced that Jokiharju is up to the task.

Next: Another well-deserved beat-down by Winnipeg, Tuesday night.  Count on it.

The Danish Symphony Orchestra - The Good, The Bad and The Ugly

The Big Come Down: Six Losses And Counting

At this point I have no real idea of what's going on or what to say about it all.
In three of these six abject failures The Hawks were in the thing, had a chance to win or at least get to the coin-toss round, but managed to find a way to screw it all up.
And after each loss we see this:

Lookit that face, that defeated, bewildered expression.  He has no more idea why The Hawks are failing so hard than I do.  There's not a lot of pride or will left in this group.  They only show urgency in brief spasms of realization that they can and should be winning some hockey games.  Then one of them makes an ungodly, unforced error, promptly ending any thoughts that can actually compete.

Sick of seeing & hearing this guy, too.

Keith's assessments of goings-on are even worse, maybe because it's more frequently him making the back-breaking gaffe.  Who does he think he's kidding, jawing about "a full 60-minute effort"?  Any team is allowed to have lulls and it's only sometimes been these lulls that have done them in. The greater sin has been crap like Seabrook sending a pass straight onto an opposing player's stick right in the goddamn Danger Zone™, or Rutta not putting any snot on his outlet passes.  Or forwards drifting lazily into The Hawks' zone, oblivious to opposing players sneaking in behind them.  Or Gus, or Manning or Forsling, standing idly around The Hawks' net, often with their back to the guy who's about to score.
And with every mistake that results in a goal against you can sense the energy leaving these guys, any momentum gained just cast aside.
Kane is losing his desire.  Despite playing almost 28 minutes in Vegas he was only occasionally a factor, just kind of going through the motions a lot of the time.  Even with his soul half-sucked out of him he's been good enough to notch some helpies but has netted only one goal in the last month.  Yeah, he's not "feeling it" as the kids say these days.
Crawford has been so-so.  He's made some incredible saves in recent games but he's also allowed one or more goals in each of those games that he simply whiffed on.  His reaction to the Engelland goal on Thursday was encouraging, at least.  He hasn't given up, yet.
And even leaving out his spectacular giveaway vs. VGK, Seabrook has been garbage in his own end, struggling to even get the puck up the boards reliably.  Yeah, five more years of this horror show.

What else?
Connor Murphy is poised to return which will require another D-man make way.  It's a three-way tie for last, there, as Forsling, Rutta and Manning should all be in the conversation regarding who is demoted, waived, traded or placed on an ice floe.  I like Forsling's offensive side but, going back to a preseason post in which I asserted that there isn't room for Goose AND Gustafsson on the roster, Gus is clearly the one to keep of these two.  The decision makers seem to like Manning despite his general lack of any ability, so his long con will likely continue.  Henri Jokiharju has not, it seems, endeared himself to coach Colliton, so maybe HE ends up in Rockford, fer gawd's sake.....
Dylan Strome might be a real thing but Brendan Perlini definitely is not.

NEXT: Back to The UC on Sunday against not-terrible Montréal.  Someday I hope to refer to The Hawks as "not terrible" but today is not that day.

Nine Inch Nails - The Big Come Down

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

Why You Make It So Hard?: Hawks 5, Panthers 4 (OT)

Nevermind that The Hawks once again failed to log a complete game tonight.
Nevermind that a couple of their goals were pretty lucky.
And Nevermind that The Panthers have a ton of holes in their lineup and it's no wonder that they're dead last in The East.
It's more than just the two points, 'cos The Hawks finally, FINALLY showed some resolve, some will to win, and managed to execute.  To it, then.

Things Looked Irritatingly Familiar Right Off The Trot.  The Hawks had a hard-charging first shift only for FLA gather themselves and then utterly dominate the first period.  I won't say that Manning's penalty was the sole cause of the momentum shift, as The Hawks had already begun to fold, but it was certainly inopportune.  Worse, though, was the all-too-familiar defensive obliviousness that we've become sadly accustomed to, epitomized by three Hawks players chasing after one Panthers forward, leaving J. McCann to go mano-a-mano with Cam Ward.  Just like that and we were down 2-0, like some cruel Groundhog Day sequel.
The Hawks Showed Some Signs of Life early in the second when, first, David Kampf executed a textbook power move through no less a man than Aaron Ekblad and then around James Reimer to bring The Hawks within one.  Minutes later, in a role reversal, Kane redirected a Saad pass to tie the score.  Then the wheels fell off again.
For The Second Night In A Row Kane missed a defensive assignment, failing to pick up Ekblad who one-timed a crisp pass past Ward.  Minutes later, after a power play in which The Hawks held the puck for virtually the entire two minutes yet generated zero legit scoring chances, The Panthers pounced (because that's what panthers do) on a tired group of Hawks who had been unable to change and put the home side up 4-2.  FLA managed to spend most of the remainder of the second period in the CHI zone and it was starting to look like the sun had gone down for The Hawks, yet again.
Then Two Things Happened.  First, The Hawks finally got the bit in their teeth, outshooting the suddenly passive Panthers 9-0 in the first half of the period, which is nothing new, really, as we've seen these guys wait until it was too late to get their motors running.  HOWEVER, fortune smiled upon The Hawks on this night.  Sometimes you make your own luck through hard work, etc, and sometimes you just fall ass-backwards into it, and I think Fortin's shorty was a little bit of both and I am 100% okay with that.  On the game-tying goal.....well, anytime you tie a game in the final second it kind of smacks of dumb-ass luck but, again, Saad's pass to DeBrincat was pretty special.  We won't overstate that James Reimer was soft as hell on that goal....
Overtime.  What I've become used to is The Hawks getting one or two good looks, changing all three skaters and getting scored on immediately.  Tonight it took 4 or 5 shifts to settle matters, providing not only a much needed victory for The Hawks, but also some redemption for a couple of guys.
Erik Gustafsson has been bad, lately, his play going from sublime in October to terrible in November. Prior to this fall the expectation with Gus had been that he'd be an okay puck-lugger but, when it came to being defensively aware, he was nowhere to be seen.  The last month we were treated to Gus being defensively ambivalent AND he couldn't make a breakout pass no way, no how.  His OT goal tonight was nothing special, just a well-placed shot but, if we're lucky, it might be the confidence booster Gus desperately needs.
David Kampf had his first taste of NHL Overtime about two weeks ago vs. Carolina, and that didn't go super well.  Tonight, though, he dominated at the dot, winning 70% of his faceoffs including the final draw of the night.  That and his impressive goal to start the second period highlight Baby Huey's best NHL game thus far.
Other Good Stuff: Gustav Forsling has been given a lot of icetime and a lot of responsibility for a lad who kinda curled up & died last winter.  Quite right though, on this night anyway, as he was the best Hawks D-man in this match.  John Hayden finally got to play more than five shifts and, while nothing came of his efforts, he was creating opportunities.  
Meanwhile, this is what I suspect goes through Brandon Manning's head when he's out on the ice, doing whatever the hell he thinks he's doing.

Next: The strangely erratic Golden Knights who seem to either win big or lose big.  Here's hoping they've shot their bolt with their 6-0 drubbing of The Sharks tonight.

(Be sure to listen to the song.  The horns really complement the emotional release....)

Boz Scaggs - Why You Make It So Hard?

One Step Forward Two Steps Back: Capital 4, Hawks 2

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

Gift Of Death: Hurricanes 4, Hawks 3

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

Got To Get Better: Oilers 4, Hawks 0

Too many times in recent years have I typed one of these in which the message is this: The Hawks carried the play, yet still lose.  Here's another one.

Costly Errors: After a head-turning start to the season Erik Gustafsson has been ordinary or worse in the last few games.  Twice he messed up keep-ins, one of which ended up costing The Hawks a goal.  We've seen what he can do....now he has to get back to doing that.
And then there's Manning, getting the puck the hell away from him as fast as possible as is his custom, this time right onto Draisaitl's stick.  I guess the difference here is that Gus can do better but I'm not sure Manning has it in him.  If Schmaltz was scratched for, essentially, one horrible pass, so should Manning, but we'll see, we'll see.
Cam Ward wasn't bad but he failed to make any phenomenal saves on a night when The Hawks could have used a few.  Maybe he could have been sharper on Chaisson' s goal but, by then, it was already all over but the crying.
Kane was merely at half-speed, which is fair enough given that he was sick enough a day earlier to miss a game. Maybe he gave whatever he's had to DeBrincat, 'cos The Cat turned in another poor effort in which his passes were trash and his decision making dubious.
Anything Good Here? Well, take those four goals against out of it and maybe most of the third period while we're at it and The Hawks played a pretty sound road game.  I wasn't pumped to see Martinsen in for Kampf but the big fella actually played pretty well, credited with five hits, which is probably a conservative estimate.  Yeah, yeah, big deal, but on this night it actually created some opportunities as Martinsen had frightened Klefbom sufficiently that he straight up gave the puck away rather than be crushed again, and he made a nice chance out of basically nothing just through force of will.  It's just a shame that the one hit he shouldn't have made (and really, he was just out of control) became an Oilers PP and, of course, a goal against.  Davidson was actually decent - not perfect but far better than expected.  Once again he found himself crossed up during a fast break but, otherwise, a surprisingly good two-way effort.

Big game tomorrow, The Hawks' last chance to salvage something from this so-far quite disappointing road trip.  There are a handful of Hawks who, if they don't deliver something, anything, are going to be sliding down the order, some into the press box.

Clapton - Got To Get Better

A Three Dressed Up As A Nine: Canucks 4, Hawks 2

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

Such A Shame: Oilers 2, Hawks 1 (OT)

Tough one, tonight.  Once we'd reached The Coin Toss Round I felt that The Hawks were in with a shout given that they'd largely dominated The Oilers in the third period and had some wind in their sails.  However, one ill-timed and extremely rare gaffe by Patrick Kane spelled doom in the end.

Matchups Were Vital and, with last change, The Hawks did a good job with this.  When Coach Q was able to get Toews' line out vs. McDavid & Friends The Hawks typically had their measure.  Meanwhile, the Anisimov - Kane - Saad trio were able to neutralize Draisaitl's line for much of the game simply by not letting them touch the puck.  Where things broke down badly was when Kruger's line was opposite McDavid and were trounced soundly.  It wasn't even close.  Even after Q abandoned that idea and went to a Toews vs. McDavid tactic Kruger's line was overmatched even by EDM's third and fourth units.  This was largely down to one guy: Andreas Martinsen, he of the 0.00 Corsi rating on the night.  I know that Q loves to have a Guy around that can intimidate a bit and crush the odd open-ice hit, but Martinsen is simply too poor a skater to play that role, unable to catch anyone to actually lay that inspiring hit.  I don't know what Q's beef is with John Hayden, 'cos it seems to me that he could ably fill that role with his vastly superior skating, and he's at least able to hang onto the puck, somewhat.
The Duelling Cams was a fun sideshow, what with Cam Talbot turning in a near-perfect performance for EDM while, at the other end, our own Cam Ward played his best game so far as a Hawk.  Wardo was blameless on both Oilers goals, really.
Brandon Saad - back to earth?  The effort was certainly there but the results were not, with a couple of good looks fired wide or right into Talbot's center-mass.  Of course I have no idea why this is happening but I wonder....what if Saad were to take an extra fraction of a second to aim his shots?  Maybe he's been snakebitten so long that he's resigned himself to just bashing away and chucking, hoping for the best.
Kaner's Mistake.  Hard to say if he topped the puck while trying to hit Gustafsson, creeping in from the point, or if he just failed to put enough gas on it.  Once Draisaitl had the puck, and with Gus already moving north and suddenly needing to head south, a quality chance for The Oilers was inevitable.  If Kane had made the pass The Hawks would have had an equally good look, with Gus having a fairly clear shot on Talbot, or maybe a sneaky shot-pass to Saad to the right side of the EDM net. Well, errors like that are about as rare as Pope shit where Kane is concerned, which is remarkable considering the number of high-danger and low-percentage plays he successfully executes.  This is just gonna happen once in a long while.

Next: the meatgrinder that is the Western Canada swing, with three games in four nights including a rematch with The Oilers.  Worse even, those games are on late, so look for my wise observations that are so vital to your lives on the following day.  I needs my sleep.

Talk Talk - Such A Shame

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

Almost entirely disappointing, that one, especially being that this flat effort took place in Garbagetown, whose inbred denizens will get a shit-ton of mileage out of their massive victory.  Hell, they'll probably hang a banner or some damn thing.

Only Patrick Kane had a truly good game.  Even Anisimov, with three points on the night, bookended his great middle part of the game with some pretty shoddy passing and failing to transition to defence in time.  Kahun and DeBrincat both played lazy games. Jokiharju was decent, overall, but made a bad/weird choice abandoning O'Reilly on that first goal.  Kunitz was a disaster.  Keith had one of those nights when the simplest pass was beyond his capacity and his decision to stand idly by while Maroon screened Crawford, unopposed, was a poor choice.  And so on...
Crawford was not sharp, even if a couple of The Blues' goals were simple tap-ins, or made possible by defensive shortcomings in front of him.  He got himself ridiculously out of position before Bozak scored, but we'll spread the blame a bit by mentioning that a) that goal was moments after The Hawks committed an unforced icing and b) Manning was, as usual, being worthless.
I saw Rutta commit one obvious giveaway but was there more than that?  Is that why he was benched for half of the game?  If so, I'd be happy to gin up a lowlights tape of Manning, one that will make Coach Q never stop vomiting.
Passing Was Poor in general.  Breakouts were not crisp and O-zone passes were largely off target.  Even Gustafsson, who has been on-point nearly all the time thus far, was passing behind guys and not putting enough muscle on his passes.  They can be better, they just chose not to, tonight.
I'm Still Not Sure What Luke Johnson does, exactly, but he somehow reeled off 72% Corsi tonight, so I guess he did it properly, whatever "it" is.

Edmonton tomorrow, with The Oilers emboldened after defeating The first-place Predators earlier today.  With last change, I wonder who Q will match up against McDavid.  Can he afford to "waste" Toews to try to cover McD?  What about Draisaitl's line, then?  Some tough decisions are in order and, no matter what direction The Hawks choose, it's likely going to come down to them needed Kane & Co. to score a few.

Joe Jackson: You Can't Get What You Want (Til' You Know What You Want)

Sink Em Low: Hawks 4, Rangers 1

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

Awful: Lightning 6, Hawks 3

TFW your goalie allows five goals and his save percentage improves....
Okay, not Cam Ward's fault.  He kinda made a mess of that side of the net stuff-in and a couple of his puck exchanges were sketchy but, otherwise, he played a fine game.  It's a pity that the rest of The Hawks only showed up for, what....fifteen minutes?

Not going to pick this one apart because this was a failure on practically the entire team's part, although some surely did fail more than others.
The Hawks' defence was simply awful.  Slow, hesitant, out of position and too often just standing around.  Check the tape on Cirelli's goal, with Gustafsson leaning on the back of the net and Jokiharju pushing Cam Ward off the post - what the hell was all that about?  Meanwhile, NO Hawks forwards had picked up anyone, instead just standing by, waiting for what, I do not know.  I saw Schmaltz' and Anisimov's backs more than once while a TB shot scooted past Ward.
Each of the TB goals, except maybe Hedman's, displayed a similar level of ain't-give-a-damn.
Breakouts were sloppy and subsequently exploited by The Lightning.  That'll happen sometimes but, when it does, you have to try something different.  The Hawks did not try something different, apparently content to keep sailing against the same rocks, again and again.
The Hawks even set a modern record by allowing a whopping 33 shots in the second period alone.
As ridiculous as all that is it's frustrating to note that The Hawks dominated the last half of the first period and the final few minutes of the game.  Why just then?  Isn't anyone putting these guys' feet to the fire, at least in some way that they'll respond to?

Anything good?  Sure, Saad had his best shifts of the season thus far, although he seemed to lose interest in the latter stages (who can blame him?) and, having hit the post twice in one period, one fears that it'll be another one of those years for him.  I thought Rutta was quite good, and Davidson was at least okay, far more than I can say for the rest of them.  
Kane was trying and started some interesting plays but his linemates were nowhere to be seen much of the time.  He fared better while double-shifting with Kruger & Fortin, fer goodness' sakes. Yet, his only reward was a team-low -3, not at all indicative of his effort.

Hole - Awful

(When This Is Over I Will) Sleep: Coyotes 4, Hawks 1

I guess it was always going to happen, tendencies that The Hawks had been leaning toward more and more over the last couple of games coupled with the lack of a last-moment bailout by Toews or Kane.  What looked like, on paper, to be a potential slam dunk was instead a disjointed effort versus a team that was desperate to accomplish something, anything really.
I gotta get up for work in 20 minutes, so let's go.

Corey Crawford Returned.  That's the big news, all results aside, and he looked okay.  Maybe not at the tippy-top of his game but that wasn't gonna happen.  He'd probably like to have Hinostroza's goal back and was perhaps a little soft on Keller's (which he gets a pass on, anyway, 'cos what was Kunitz thinking there?) but, overall, a good effort given he's been dizzy since last Christmas.
Some Good Moments from several players, but no complete game from anyone, really. Kahun had a great first period but was nowhere to be seen in the last half of the game.  Gustafsson, who's been shockingly good and arguably The Hawks' best defender en toto thus far, made some excellent defensive and offensive plays but also committed a couple of needless turnovers.  Only Kane appeared to put in a near-complete game, but even that was hamstrung by his linemates, which I'll mention shortly.
The Coyotes: before I go off complaining about people and things let me acknowledge that The 'Yotes hung in there and made The Hawks pay for their sins.  Really, only Hinnie's goal was a result of purely their own efforts, the others made possible by botched plays by The Hawks, but they're a quick team and their forecheck was the toughest The Hawks have had to deal with so far this season, as they harried Chicago's D relentlessly all evening.  They weren't as pretty in their own end, but their fall-back of simply plugging up the danger zone in front of their own net worked well enough, as The Hawks, especially the D, failed to get many shots through.  Antti Raanta was excellent, as well.
So, let the bitching and picking apart commence.
Nick Schmaltz did a few good things but it was the opportunities he passed on that irritated me.  He seems loathe to drive the net or to shoot, unless the puck is on a tee for him.  Schmaltz exemplified The Hawks' offensive problems, tonight: there were precious few second chances because the first shot either didn't get through the wall of Coyotes or, just as often, wasn't taken at all.  Soon enough, other teams will realize that his strong preference is to look to pass, first, and he's going to find teams ceding his route to the net in order to take away his passing lanes, and it'll work unless Schmaltz changes his mindset.
Alexandre Fortin does not appear ready for the top six.  He has eyes only for Kane, rarely involving Schmaltz or his D, always looking to find or be found by Kane, alone.  Maybe if he hits for a goal soon he'll be able to settle into a headspace where he's more aware of non-Kane-related opportunities but, based on what he's shown so far, it might take awhile for that to occur.
Keith and Jokiharju were not good, with young Henri cracking a little under the Coyotes' forecheck.  Keith just seemed slightly off with his timing, especially while passing, and positioning.
Chris Kunitz has contributed something between very little and nothing.  He actually had a couple of near-looks tonight but was either too slow to the puck or mishandled the puck when it came down to it.  And again, what was he thinking with that cross-ice pass that was so easily plucked away by Keller?
Brandon Manning has been terrible.  It's probably not a good idea to call for a pass and then promptly give the puck away while under zero pressure but, of course, that's what he did.  And he made a shambles of defending The Coyotes' two-on-one leading to Crouse's goal - he's gotta take the pass away and let Crow worry about a shot from the puck carrier but, in an apparent homage to his spiritual brother TVR, he chose to linger in between, taking neither the pass nor the shooter.  Just brutal.

Off to Columbus on Saturday, then, when I reckon we'll see Cam Ward get the start and perhaps Brandon Davidson draw in on the third pairing.  But Q being Q, you know it'll be Rutta that'll sit.

Roster Stuff: The Hawks dispatched Luke Johnson to Rockford to make room for Crawford as they quite rightly need a third line of defense in case Crow pulls up lame after a start or three.  If Crawford proves to be Good To Go I expect The Hawks will attempt to trade Anton Forsberg rather than merely expose him on waivers.

Big Black Sleep