I'll refer to this often, I expect: It's Only The Preseason (IOTP)
As such and as always, it's tough to determine if what you see in one of these games is real or a mirage, what with the uncertainty of the quality of the players assembled on the opposite bench.
Nevertheless, here are a few takeaways after a pair of easy wins over CMB and DET.
1. Brandon Saad is good to go.
2. Patrick Sharp is, as expected, a step slower than I'm used to seeing. His puck protection on his semi-breakaway tells me that he's aware of this, though, and realizes what he needs to do about it.
3. Alex DeBrincat is awfully small but appears to be equally slippery.
Eddie Munster-lookin' mofo.
4. More PTOs: John Mitchell (told ya), Drew Miller and Mark Fucking Stuart quietly arrived and are attempting to hook onto a team that probably has no space and no use for any of them. Mitchell is great at the dot but after observing him on Tuesday I've concluded that his faceoff acumen alone won't open the door nearly wide enough.
5. Cody Franson was steady & unspectacular on Tuesday, although he seemed even slower than I recalled him being. With Stan's latest defense project, Jan Rutta, and Ville Pokka likely having his final shot at making The Hawks, Franson's place on the team is far from assured.
6. It's still way too early to be talking about line combos, but Sharp + Hartman looked fine. I mention this only because those two do seem destined to start the season together.
7. On that tack, I'm seeing forward pairs emerging but not entire forward lines. Will this afford The Hawks flexibility or a lack of cohesion? Given that the missing piece in most cases is the center, I fear that the latter is closer to the truth.
8. I didn't mind Jordan Oesterle at all, but this is a guy who failed to stick with Edmonton and, of course, IOTP.
9. Ugh, Viktor Svedberg again? Give me a break.
10. Vinnie Hinnie certainly made a case for a longer look with his darty yet focused effort on Tuesday.
11. TOO MANY GUYS. Almost all of the forward roster spots are already nailed down, whether those places are entirely deserved or not. Quenneville gonna have his Kero and Tootoo in all likelihood, and Stan will probably insist that Jurco be on the roster and, if those three are slam dunks, that's eleven forwards. That leaves two, possibly three spots remaining for John Hayden, Vinnie Hinostroza, Lance Bouma, Tommy Wingels, Alex DeBrincat and the aforementioned PTOs, Mitchell and Miller. I know which of these fellas I'd prefer to see on opening night, but I fear it'll be Bouma / Wingels / whatever other interchangeable Guy.
And none of these Guys is top-nine center, so Stan's work may not be quite done just yet, as there is still a massive gap at 2C/3C, depending on how ready Nick Schmaltz really is.
IOTP.
In my couple of preseason spitballin' posts I neglected to mention or even think of a player that may well shape The Hawks' defense this season. And not in a good way, oh my, no. How could I have forgotten this?
Yup, I somehow blanked on Viktor Svedberg, but was cheerfully reminded of he of the lanky frame when I read the boxscore from last night's preseason match vs. Pittsburgh (0-2 loss, BTW). Three penalties and little else to show, for the record.
We can only hope that the apparent depth that The Hawks possess on D will keep Ichabod Svedberg elsewhere this season, but I fear that The Braintrust have not quite given up on his 6-foot-8ishness.
Rockford is too close, Sweden not far enough away...
Obligatory photo credit: Bill Smith, Getty Images
Awreet, since I watched both weekend games one after the other I'm sure I'll get some events mixed up, so I'll just pop in some general comments about both games. It helps that both matches had a similar feel, with many things in common, both good and bad.
- The Hawks needed to come out of this weekend with four points and they managed that but, Sweet Mother of Zuul, they didn't exactly cruise to either victory. That this occurred against two utterly feckless teams is somewhat worrisome.
- I say "somewhat" because we all know that The Hawks can be much better. They seem to have this annoying let-up every March, so there's that, but the time to get serious is upon us, as there is still a dim hope of snagging home ice in the first playoff round.
- Both games "featured" a lot of the crap passing, poor timing and weird choices that we've been treated to over the past 3-4 weeks. Too often a player, mostly but not exclusively Panarin, either hangs onto the puck too long, missing a chance to hit a moving linemate, or hits the eject button too early and either launches a pass toward a colleague who's in no position to accept a pass or misses their mark entirely. There were fewer of these instances this weekend, though, and a greater number of sequences in which The Hawks moved the puck kinda well but, again, consider the level of the opposition before declaring this a turning point.
- Scott Darling was very, very good. I'll try not to diminish his efforts by pointing out (multiple times) that the quality of their opposition this weekend flatters to deceive, but the big guy allowed no soft goals, had decent positioning and a quick glove hand in both games. He spent a lot of time in a semi-butterfly (kinda like in the photo above), though, with his stick flat on the ice, jerking his head back and forth trying to get a bead on the puck. He's a large fella and covers a lot of the lower part of the net by doing that, but I have this niggling worry that if this represents his Plan A he's going to get lit up by teams that are more disciplined and accurate with their shooting (i.e. all the other teams in The West).
- The defense wasn't awful in either game but, again, level of opposition. TVR was actually working rather well alongside Ehrhoff, which was weird because I thought it was supposed to be Ehrhoff that would push the play from the back and jump in on the offense. TVR's first assist was a bit lucky as Flasch was fortunate to corral a pass that hot from so close, but the assist on Teravainen's goal was impressive;seriously, did anyone not expect TVR to shoot? Anyway, good for him but let's not forget he was also alone, standing still when Burrows scored, earlier.
- Svedberg was on the ice for that goal, too, and was just as guilty of loitering as TVR. I'm not sure what Svedberg hopes to accomplish by simply camping out in front of The Hawks' net; he hasn't shown any ability to read the play and lacks the quickness to react to any threat beyond his immediate reach, so he mostly just stands there, being in the way. He was able to use that considerable reach to break up some plays along the boards but, really, this guy shouldn't be playing until his game becomes more active than reactive.
- As ridiculous a job Coach Q has done with the defense at least he had the good sense to immediately reunite possibly the finest fourth line in the league, Kruger, Shaw & Desjardins. These three wasted no time getting back to the task of consistently moving the puck north before handing the keys to one of the other lines and even cashing in a couple of times for good measure. The best Hawks line, overall, this weekend.
- Of small concern is the fact that Andrew Shaw took a lot more faceoffs than Marcus Kruger. This could just be a cautious approach with Kruger just returning from wrist surgery, as he took 3x as many draws in his second game back than in his first, or it could just be a matter of which side of the ice these draws were taking place, as Coach Q seems to always want his centers drawing the puck backhand-style. It actually worked out fine on Sunday, as Shaw inexplicably laid waste to his Canuck counterparts, winning 11 of 12 attempts.
- Andrew Ladd had himself a good weekend after two weeks of just pilin' 'er up and down the wing. He didn't have to work especially hard for any of his goals but that's okay; sometimes the gimmes lead to other things in the near-future.
- Teravainen was alright centering the second line. I suspect that having played center the last few weeks had him better-prepared for the task than the last time he was parachuted into that spot. Amazingly, Teravainen led all Hawks forwards in ice time on Sunday.
- Looking ahead we're off to Minny on Tuesday for a chance at redemption against the eighth-placed Wild. I would half expect Coach Q to come back with the same lineup as Sunday's, but that probably depends on whether Large Arthur was, in fact, out on Sunday due to an injury or if his exclusion was a coach's decision. Weise wasn't bad in limited duty on Sunday, so I see him getting the nod over Panik.
As usual, I'm exhausted so it will be points again so as to maintain some degree of coherence.
- While I wouldn't go so far as to describe the first and third periods tonight as "textbook", they were very good, at least. That second period, though...woof. To say that hot mess was all down to The Hawks is disrespectful to The Oilers, as they're only a couple of forwards and...well, a bunch of defensemen away from being a huge nuisance for a long time, but The Hawks just seemed confounded for all but a few minutes of that period.
- It appears that Corey Crawford's couple of recent sub-par outings were just a blip, thank goodness.
- Unfortunately, I noticed Trevor Daley tonight. He did skate his way out of trouble there, once, but he couldn't seem to get rid of the puck fast enough in this game, whether it was "passing" it to no one in particular or turning a scoring chance into a shot that missed by 10 feet.
- Erik Gustafsson, though...I don't mind this guy, He shows remarkable poise for a lad who has played only a dozen or so games in N. America and I've yet to see him make a truly poor play. He's not the quickest guy and he's rather small (6', 176#) for an NHL d-man, but he's shifty and times his actions well enough that he doesn't need to be faster or larger than his opponent. It's a shame that he's buddied up with Daley, because...
- ...Viktor Svedberg doesn't really belong in this lineup. Perhaps he's a slightly better option than Rundblad but it pains me to consider that replacing Mr. 6'8" with Rozsival will be an upgrade. Svedberg has done nothing to merit playing 20+ minutes per game, apart from being partnered with Seabrook. Ideally, Gustafsson should be alongside Seabrook, but then you have Daley and Svedberg which would be enough to cause spontaneous diverticulitis to anyone unlucky enough to behold such a horror.
- Hossa sure fought the puck tonight, but it always seems to take him a few games to get his mojo working after missing some time. His line had only a handful of okay shifts, I thought, which sucks because that probably means Teravainen gets scratched in favour of Garbutt on Thursday.
- That said, maybe the third line could use Teravainen to inject some skill/sense/patience into that group. The Shaw-Kero-Dano combo were not terrible but never appeared to have a plan tonight, with Kero and Dano often just lurking around while Shaw did Shaw things. They had a few good looks but the ratio of effort to scoring chances was not positive.
- I just wish to point out that tonight's fourth line have zero points and are a combined -18 in 40-man games, so far.
- Eddie Olcyck cracks me up. When he droned on about Taylor Hall not keeping his feet moving on a backcheck it made me wonder who told Edzo about backchecking? He certainly didn't bother with it when he was a player.
The Hawk's second line continues to be among the top combos in the league. It's hard to believe that Artemi Panarin has adjusted so quickly to "the N. American game" as well as the smaller rinks. That kid is so fun to watch and it's amazing to see he and Kane work their magic together. Anisimov has been spot-on, as well; he's not nearly as scorey as 72 and 88 but he's deceptively effective, as he's quicker than he looks, has incredible reach and threads a nice pass, as well. Oddly, some of his best moments have come at times when he was separated from Anisimov and Kane, but nevermind. If Quenneville tinkers with this line I will hire Steven Seagal to punch Q in the groin.
The two little guys once again combine for a big game and share the belt tonight.
Missed the game due to my own hockey activities, but here's what looks to be true.
- There were fewer scary moments than I expected in this, the first game that The Hawks will play for a month+ without Duncan Keith. The most obvious example of what can and will go wrong was the ridiculous "effort" of Daley and Rundblad leading up to The Panther's first goal, with Daley deflecting the puck into harm's way and Rundy standing still and just flailing away until the puck was behind Crawford. The other worrisome event was Daley being deployed during The Panther's 5-on-3 in the third period, which is less about Daley and more about the decision to place him in that situation. Still, the bits I did view suggested that Daley is showing signs of actually doing what he was brought in to do - push the play out of The Hawks' zone. I'm not sure what's taking so long with that.
- The result may certainly flatter to deceive; The Panthers are no longer the whipping boys they've been the last several seasons but, any team that manages only 18 shots against a depleted defense like The Hawks' AND chooses to trot Willie Mitchell out for 22 minutes is not setting themselves up for success.
- Clearly, The Hawks' top line right now is the "second line" of Panarin, Anisimov and Kane, and it's their efforts that are keeping The Hawks somewhat competitive, so far. There's no doubt that Toews' line will get on track at some point but, while they figure that out (including who to stick on the left side) it's a good thing that the "Art Line" is among the best in the league, right now. The only negative with that line is Anisimov's dreadful faceoff percentage.
- And then...
In the absence of Duncan Keith, Brent Seabrook responded exactly as I'd hoped, logging a team-high 26 minutes, pushing the play carefully and decisively, making smart, accurate outlet passes. Much of this was achieved while playing alongside a less-than-fleet and sometimes indecisive partner in Viktor Svedberg. Seab's pass to Kane for the eventual game-winner almost makes me think we'll get out of this month okay.
Not really sure how I feel about typing this.
Happy that The Hawks won, somehow, but a little off-balance because of...well, you know.
So it's point form tonight.
- Within moments of the game's end I was reading accounts that stated how much The Hawks sucked tonight. Well, certain players, at certain times were below-par, for sure, but they were no worse than The Isles, really. They played well enough to win, barely.
- Yikes, Viktor Svedberg was a nightmare early on, gift wrapping scoring chances for two of The Isle's most potent weapons. Thankfully, he settled down and, if not for his ridiculously lanky frame, would have been unnoticeable for much of the remainder of the game, as he should be.
- The Two Arts were both fun to watch tonight, with Anisimov deftly stealing a puck from Brock Nelson and then showing an unexpected burst of speed before potting a shortie. Panarin, meanwhile, has been a joy to watch, especially in high-traffic zones; he seems singularly able to get the puck out of the tightest, most congested areas, and moving with speed before his foes even know what's happening. The kid's got some wrists, too, judging by the snot behind his shot that rang the crossbar in the second period.
- 36 shots against seems like an awful lot, but I'm not about to panic just yet. The Islanders are a good hockey team that generates their fair share of chances, it's the second game of the season and The Hawks are still working out their defence pairings. I'm not sure we'll contend for The Jennings this year but things will get better. Probably.
Credit goes where credit is due; neither of Kane's goals were highlight-reel stuff but rather the sort of goals that a top level player gets by knowing where to be.
As in "Ville Pokka and Kyle Cumiskey, go to Rockford".
This is two days after Pokka was summoned from Rockford. Viktor Svedberg, sent down on Tuesday, had been re-summoned to the front. I hope The Hawks are reimbursing those two for the tolls they've been racking up on the I-90.
The important thing here, though, is Cumiskey is in Rockford.
In other news, The Panthers released Martin Havlat yesterday. Hmmm...
It's not the beard on the outside that counts, it's the beard....oh, of course it's the beard on the outside.
The Hawks set free a host of hopefuls today, primarily veterans attempting to latch on to an already crowded lineup. Tomas Kopecky, Daniel Paille, Lubomir Visnovsky join Jan Hejda, released yesterday, on the unemployment line. I guess it's no use pondering how bad Hejda and Visnovsky would have been in comparison to Rozsival.
Brandon Mashinter and Cameron Schilling were assigned to Rockford, as well.
Chillingly, Kyle Cumiskey is now indicated as a roster player rather than a PTO.
So, who's left? Kyle Baun, who's had some success in the preseason, so far, along with Garret Ross, Dennis Rasmussen, Vincent Hinostroza and Ryan Hartman are the remaining forwards not yet assured a spot. One could argue that Panarin belongs in that group but I expect that, if he's healthy enough to play, he'll get every opportunity to fail by receiving 8 minutes per game on the fourth line before bolting for The KHL. On defense we have Viktor Svedberg, Erik Gustafsson and, presumably, Kyle Cumiskey, who has yet to suit up for a pre-season game, I believe. It's possible that one of these three could squeeze out Rundblad or Van Riemsdyk but I don't see that happening.
