Not Good Enough: Jets 4, Hawks 3 (OT)

So close....
The truth is, though, The Hawks needn't have been on the wrong side of this one.  Shots were close, chances were closer, but The Hawks made too many bobbles to seal the deal.
Too Much Meh.  Only a few Hawks had truly bad nights (Strome, Martinsen, DeBrincat, maybe) but even fewer had a great night (maybe only Toews and Crawford).  There were just a lot of seemingly insignificant things that did or didn't happen that added up to an overall weak effort.  Saad was flying all night, made a brilliant pass to Toews to put The Hawks up 2-1, but was awkward around the net.  DeBrincat was stepping on the puck and lazy on the backcheck.  Murphy wasn't terrible but had his weakest game of his short season.  Strome couldn't hit water if he fell out of a fuckin' boat.  Perlini took a lot of shots, all indiscriminate without a thought to where his linemates were.  None of these shortcomings sunk The Hawks on their own but they added up to enough weak, failed or thoughtless plays that led to goals against or opportunities missed. The small plays matter, and The Hawks blew a lot of these details.
Signs Of Life: I thought we exited our zone and moved north as well we've done all year.  They're persisting with that silly push-'em-back stuff but at least they were brisk on on-target tonight, actually hitting Kane with a pass when he was already at speed, allowing him a greater chance of barging into The Jets' zone.
Carl Dahlstrom might be alright.  
Could We Try Someone Other Than Keith to start OT?  I know Gustafsson has his defensive issues but, good lord, so does Keith these days. We're 4-and-5 in OT games and Duncs has been on the ice in only one of those wins but in 4 of the 5 losses.  Change it up.

Next: Sunday at home vs. The Sharks.  With a little fine-tuning we'll be alright.

Blood Orange - You're Not Good Enough

No Expectations: Jets 6, Hawks 3

I can't even get angry anymore.  I expect little and The Hawks deliver exactly that.  At this point I think I'm just hoping to be surprised.

The Same Old Same-Same.  Another slow start, possibly the worst first period The Hawks have played this season.  The Jets had three goals on fourteen shots before The Hawks recorded their first shot on net.  This is after a lot of chat after Monday's practice about coming out of the gates hard, matching The Jets' intensity.  Just shut up, guys.  Do something, then talk about it.
The Middle 30 Minutes looked pretty good on The Hawks, although it was about 50% CHI bearing down and 50% WPG not giving a damn until The Hawks scored a few.  Once Perreault put WPG up 5-3 The Hawks kept skating but began missing passes, making poor decisions....all the stuff they do in the third period when they're still within a goal or two.
And that's it.  Nothing we haven't already seen over a dozen times this season.

The Rockford Shuffle has begun, with Alex Fortin going north while Dylan Sikura and Carl Dahlstrom will be the next young ones to have spirits crushed in the 312.  Not sorry to see Fortin's tail lights as he remains far from ready for The NHL.  Dahlstrom replaces Forsling, who was placed on IR a day or two ago, while Sikura The Younger fills Arthur The Large's roster spot as he is sidelined with "concussion protocol" (which is seriously how they articulate this now).
Can We Call Time on Chris Kunitz Now?  He's accomplishing nothing except embarrassing himself.  Just end it, now.

Next: Penguins, I think.  Does it matter?  Right now, what I look forward to the most where The Hawks are concerned is Trade Deadline Day, our last best hope to unload Seabrook and/or Keith, providing a contending team or two need a second-pairing guy and have some money to spend AND either of those guys are willing to leave.  That's a lot of Ifs but, hey, I'm an optimist...

Johnny Cash - No Expectations

Catching Up, Getting Down: Jets and Sabres Many, Hawks Few

Due to mandatory attendance at a Bilderburg Meeting I only managed to watch Thursday's hot mess on Friday and today's game tonight.  Emboldened by said Bilderburg get together and inspired by their unofficial slogan "don't mail it in, bro" I'll make an effort to make some sense of The Hawks' latest disasters.  Which is more than I can say for The Hawks.

The high point of Thursday's match in Winnipeg, Canada's Worst City™, came at the 11 second mark when Saad barged into The Jets' zone and rifled a smart shot past Connor Hellebuyck.  It was all downhill from there, however, as Hawks starter Anton Forsberg allowed a rather dodgy goal that he failed to recover from, subsequently coughing up two more soft goals before being dispatched.  Middle-inning sponge JF Berubé fared little better even if he actually played reasonably well, as the rest of The Hawks had lost whatever little wind was in their sails, eventually falling 6 - 2.
And that was the essence of that game: Forsberg comprehensively shat the bed and the rest of them simply packed it in.  There was nothing encouraging about that game, no brightsides nor positive takeaways.

Surely a trip to Buffalo, home of the NHL's last-place team, would be exactly the tonic for a demoralized squad.  Well, not if every damn mistake The Hawks would make, and there were plenty of those, ended up in their net
Outshot, outskated and well behind in the Corsi game, Buffalo nevertheless made their A+ and even B- chances count thanks to The Hawks' inability to win a faceoff in their own end, as well as the worst defensive coverage they'd put forth all season.  Spicing up this mélange of futility was The Hawks' failure to get out of their zone reliably; this went on all day but, in one five or six minute span, late in the third period with the game tied, The Hawks had nine missed or intercepted breakout passes...before I stopped counting.
The Hawks' broadcasters keep pitching these last few weeks as an opportunity for the team to put some miles on the younger Hawks, some of whom may or not be required next season, but I'm not sure about how they're going about it.  With the roster as it is there's little competition for ice time with a single "healthy" scratch and all indications are that Duclair is day-to-day with an ankle injury.  So we have the same four or five Guys out there, game after game, competing for next year's roster spots that had better not include four or five Guys.  With Keith and Seabrook winding down (despite being under contract until forever and Keith's assertion that he think he can play until he's 40) our best prospects on the back end are Jan Rutta and Erik Gustafsson, which is a scary reality.  Rutta, I think, will be fine if Coach Q doesn't destroy his psyche, but Gustafsson is another story.  For all his offensive acumen he's not really very good at playing defense.  Coach's pet Jordan Oesterle is even worse in that vein; how can a player log a team-best Corsi and still be -3  for the night and fail to make any passes?  The stats, they lie...

At this point the likes of Jurco, Hayden, Highmore, Kampf, Oesterle, Dahlstrom, Gustafsson and even Murphy are practically interchangeable and, if The Hawks are forced to lean on these Guys (or Guys like them) next season we'll be in for another long year, again.  I know that affordable, quality depth players are pretty much unicorns, now, but if The Hawks go to war with this kind of lineup again I can tell you how that movie ends without even buying a ticket.

Happy Birthday, Baby Huey: Hawks 2, Jets 1

For the past two or three years I've slated The Jets organization for doing....nothing.  Apart from jettisoning Evander Kane in exchange for what amounted to Guys they chose to stand pat and not tinker with their lineup a whole lot.  It seemed like lunacy at the time, sticking with the horses that failed to get you in the race, but here they are, leading The Central Division and flirting with first place in The Western Conference.  Blake Wheeler has matured into an all-round leader and must be a massive nuisance to try to defend against.  Patrik Laine is no Auston Matthews but remains a thoroughbred (check the shot he zinged past Jeff Glass) and if Mark Scheifele could manage to walk to his car without injuring himself his name would be 'pon the lips of all hockey reporters, all the time.  Even their Guys are decent, with Man Bun Perreault, Kyle Connor and Joel Armia putting up good numbers.  Add to all this an okay D-corps and Connor Hellebucyk emerging as a bona-fide NHL starter after a bunch of seasons in which The Jets' goaltending was "awful by committee" and you've got a team that improved ridiculously by virtue of simply being patient.  And maybe a little bit lucky, but you kinda need a bit of that, dontcha?  One could even argue that The Jets improved by subtracting non-helpful elements like the aforementioned E. Kane and Andrew Ladd, which at least created the opportunity for their young fellas to get some minutes in.  All respeck to GM Tim Cheveldayoff for not allowing the media and assholes like me to cause him to deviate from his Master Plan.  Stick that in yer pipe, Marc Bergevin.

So, since I'm a full day late on this recap and I just spent 15 minutes praising the team that lost the game, lemme get a few things down and you can get back to your families, alcohol, whatever.
* Jeff Glass had his best game so far.  None of those "accidental" saves, no moments sliding across the crease & out the other side and beaten only by a perfectly-placed laser beam.  Between Glasser and Forsberg we've enjoyed three quality starts in a row from the backup guys.  Can't ask for much more than that.

* David Kampf broke through with a two-point night, including his first NHL goal and the Third Star of the game....all on his 23rd birthday.
* Anthony Duclair was alright.  Picked up a helpie, had a few looks even if he seemed a bit yippy around The Jet's crease.  He may have been responsible for the almost-an-own-goal (although that may well have been Goose missing the attempted pass - could not tell from the replay) but no harm, no foul, and a decent enough debut.

It was a close-run game and one could argue that either team deserved to win, and I'll note that both of The Hawks' goals were a bit fortunate, Baby Huey's being a tip-in and Rutta scoring on an eephus that 99% of NHL goalies save 99.9% of the time.  However, they were good enough to be in it to win it and, they way things have been going, I'll take that.  I still feel like there are three or four forwards underachieving mightily and, if I happen to be right on that count and they get themselves sorted out, we'll be okay in the end.  Until that happens, though, wins like these are precious gifts.

One more game against the inconsequential but still-irritating Red Wings and then it'll be the mandatory five days off for The Hawks, during which time our closest rivals could well leapfrog or gap the idle Hawks.  Gotta get the two points tomorrow.

Sorry for all the late posts, lately.  Work and "stuff".  Gonna be quicker on the draw after the break.

Of All The Games To Miss: Hawks 5, Jets 1

Yup, missed he entire thing & had only highlights to soothe and entertain me when I rose this AM, so no breakdown, just a couple of notes.
* The Stat Line was practically a dead heat in this one, although WPG pushed their Corsi up in the last ten minutes, doubling up The Hawks on shot attempts after the game was well out of reach.  The one large and interesting disparity, I think, was in Hits, where The Jets allegedly outhit The Hawks 25-2.  This suggests one of two things, the first being a bit of stat inflation on the part of the WPG statisticians, Manitoba being a bit of a lunkheaded "if you can't beat 'em on the ice beat 'em in the alley" sort of environment.  The second possibility that comes to mind is that The Hawks simply paid little attention to that part of the game, choosing instead to hold the puck, move the puck and shoot the puck.  I only have the highlights package to go on, so I'd love to hear someone else's impression.
* Michal Kempny doesn't dress for a month but draws in to notch a goal and a team-high +3 on the night.  He's done his bit, so it's up to Coach Q to conjure up some excuse why Kemps doesn't deserve to play.  
* It's gonna be tough for Richard Panik to find his way back into the lineup.
* Highlight of Highlights: the usually stone-faced Patrick Kane, unable to suppress his surprise and delight over Nick Schmaltz' dirrrrty pass in the second period.

Back home on Sunday vs. The Wild, with whom The Hawks are tied on points but behind in the standings, for a so-called four point game.  Gotta get that one.

Seabrook Says No: Hawks 5, Jets 2

Well, it took five tries to nail a win against these under-.500 goofballs from Canada's Worst City*, but here we are, basking in the warming basking glow of two more points and a modest four-game winning streak.  A terrific first period was followed by a less-good-but-not-disastrous second and, finally, the third period, in which the teams traded chances until The Jets mounted a serious attempt to tie the thing.  It didn't feel like a let-down by The Hawks but, let's be real and note that this was a 3-2 game with a couple of gimmes.  Given the trouble The Jets have caused so far this season, though, I'm okay with that.
It's past my bedtime so it'll be straight to The Bits.

Kane and The Arthurs had themselves a bit of a time, finishing up with a goal apiece and a bag of assists.  Kane and Panarin have been reasonably good as late with Anisimov just sort of there a lot of the time; not so tonight, as Arthur The Larger was positionally solid, had a great stick and just appeared more active than he's been for the last week +.
The Toews line was okay, but that was 84% on Toews.  Panik is Panik, and he did his Panik things and that's fine, but you're almost always left wanting something more. Schmaltz had a few decent shifts, all in the Jets' zone, but was haphazard on breakouts and defensively inconsistent.  Toews, again, was a dynamo, but like Wednesday night, just couldn't quite keep the handle, get the shot or find a hole. He's had some good games recently, and I think he's on the verge of breaking out in a big way very soon.
A little less good for the fourth line after three pretty good games leading up to tonight. Not terrible, not at all, but Jets coach Paul Maurice was tossing the Little-Ehlers-Laine trio out against them for much of the game which put them on the defensive more than they've been lately and unable to cobble together much offense.
Crow played well enough, with both goals against being honest ones.  He did spend a LOT of time on his knees, peering through legs, though, which I'm putting down to The Jets often having no better plan than to storm the slot and crease with everyone at hand.
The Hawks' defence were generally solid apart from a couple of glaringly yippy moments: TVR being absolutely pantsed early in the second period, his head still spinning when Little scored on The Jets' next rush.  Hjalmarsson had two uncharacteristically lazy clearing attempts fail in the third period, and Kempny needs to hold onto his stick a little tighter. Campbell had a great game, easily his best since the New Year.

Despite getting no love from the Winnipeg media, I thought Seabrook was outstanding tonight, with confident breakouts, six blocked shots and a vital save on a puck that had squeezed through Crawford's gear.  

* Truro and Merritt are actually worse than Winnipeg.  Are they cities?  They have no NHL teams - do they even matter?

About Last Night: Jets 3, Hawks 1

                                          You mean to say he's a pro?

Just watched this disaster of a game a few hours ago.  Wow.
Since this is so late I'll skip right to what really needs to be expressed.

TVR is dogshit.  He had two or three games where he was a non-factor which, I believe, is the best anyone can reasonably hope for, but he's turned in two stinkers in a row, with this loss to The Jets likely his worst game ever.
Somehow, he managed to finish the night at +1, which his apologists will love, along with a 69% Corsi.  What stat, though, measures the number of times a players' efforts, or lack thereof, short circuit their team when they're just beginning to mount some pressure?  When did he find time to participate in all these scoring attempts between his shit passes, missed assignments and bungled breakouts.  He single-handedly ruined a power play all by himself, which is doubly infuriating 'cos he shouldn't have been on the PP in the first place.  I seriously don't know how much more of this jackass I can bear.
Keith wasn't much better.  Okay, that's hyperbole, but these things are relative; I expected little from TVR and received even less than that, while I expected far more from Keith and received somewhat less.  Something is up with El Dunco, whether it's a nagging semi-injury, or something off-ice...the boy ain't right.

On The Plus, though, The Hawks re-upped Small Arthur for another two years at an average of $6mil per.  I haven't inspected the ins and outs of the deal yet, but it looks like something's gotta give and the only way they're going to scrape up that kind of cap space is if one of The Old Boys goes.
I think.  More about this later.

The Gang That Couldn't Shoot Straight: Jets 2, Hawks 1

I don't even know what to say about this.
Oh, wait, maybe I do, a little bit.

Sportsnet colour man Garry Galley praised The Hawks' confidence in their ability to nail the stretch pass, pointing out how the Hawks forwards would bolt out of the zone as soon as their D gained possession, looking for the long bomb.  Yeah, sometimes that works but tonight, and on many other nights, the D found themselves with no one to pass to, forcing them to backpedal, regroup and, IF they aren't checked off the puck or have a desperation pass intercepted, start all over again.  Do that a dozen or more times each game and you're spending way too much time doing nothing, really. Do they all have to run to the endzone every time? Could one guy not hang back for a short, safe pass if the lanes to the other two forwards are covered? I'm just sayin'...
Shooting was a problem, too, with many Hawks falling into indiscriminate chucking mode, again.  "Pucks to the net", Edzo always says, and it's a nice idea, but let's try to look for a play if there's no one around the net for tip-ins or rebounds. I expect and can accept the less skilled guys to fall back on a shoot-first-and-see-what-happens dealio, but the good guys have to strive for more than that, because they can actually pull it off a lot of the time.
Scott Darling was fine; both goals against were tough, tough ones to stop.  No blame there.
Hey, Jordin Tootoo, thanks for showing up, ya used up goof.  20% Corsi and punched out, again.  Hey, at least Thorburn didn't score.
The Defense pairings didn't seem as slick as they were, lately.  I quite liked Campbell and Seabrook together and was disappointed that Coach Q chose to pair up Soupy and Keith, once again. I mentioned before that Campbell and Keith often look hesitant when they're together and that appeared to be true tonight.  That said, Campbell made a few nice defensive plays.
Is Kempny hurt or was it just short-bench-time late in the game?  He hardly played in the third period. 
Nick Schmaltz wasn't mentioned here yesterday as a candidate for demotion because I felt that any of the other fellas I did cover were more deserving of a time out, AHL-style.  The move kind of makes sense, though, as Schmaltz did go straight from college hockey to The Show, so perhaps some time in Rockford will allow him a greater opportunity to do the things that worked for him as a student-athlete and, hopefully, find a way to apply that at the NHL level. At this time, Schmaltz isn't quick or confident enough to pull off whatever his schtick is.
Finally, there's less than three seconds left in regulation and you've got a faceoff in enemy territory: you're gonna want your best available faceoff man out there, right? Apparently not...

     If The Jets are garbage, and they mostly are, then The Hawks must be...

About Last Night: Jets Many, Hawks None

Yeah, a crap effort, but the real story here is below, waaaay at the bottom.
But first, The Summary, and then The Bits.

The Hawks didn't make Connor Hellebuyck work very much for his first shutout of the season, not testing him very hard at all by managing to strike him within inches of his Jets crest with virtually all of their shots.
They failed to get to the gaps didn't bother making any adjustments after being closed off and shut down by an aggressive forecheck.  The five-on-three power play was a wasted effort as The Hawks chose to stage a revival of their impotent, stationary power play of years past.
There was also a lack of finish, and not only around the net, but all over the ice; if something didn't work right away they often simply gave up.

The Big Call Out: Kempny was on the wrong side of the inch all game, out of position or in position but in the way.  Rasmussen had an awful time of it and had certainly the worst shift of his NHL career midway through the second.  Finally, Schmaltz infuriated me on three occasions in which he made a nice keep or a steal, and then stood around admiring his work instead of getting to a gap or even just being ready for a return pass.  I see the skill, now and again, but I question whether the lad is ready to play at this level just yet.  I realize I've been bringing this guy up in nearly every post, so I think I'll pump the brakes on that until something changes.
Chris Thorburn: Am I imagining this or does score every time The Hawks and Jets play each other?  Does he only score against The Hawks?  WTF is happening, here?
Four Lines Good, Three Lines Bad: Every highlights package included Hollywood of Hinostroza being devastated by Morrissey late in the first while the broadcasters were apparently oblivious to the fact that Marcus Kruger did not play the last half of the game, either.  Yet, the first question at the post-game interview with Coach Q is whether or not a guy with ZERO points EVER is going to be okay.  Kruger's health, folks, is our greatest concern in the wake of this nightmare voyage to Canada's worst city.

Enough. On to Calgary on Friday.  Get well soon, Krugs.

Off-Day Shenanigans

It's time once again to enjoy the manufactured hockey "news" that somehow keep dozens of otherwise unemployable people afloat!

Little Mistakes Plague The Canucks

But why sweat the small stuff, though, when there's ONE big mistake that really matters: their lineup.

Teams Around the League Aren't Surprised by The Habs' Start

Of course they're not surprised, and nor will they be surprised when The Habs drop sixteen straight games immediately following Carey Price's next inevitable injury.

Will Trouba's Teammates Welcome Him Back with Open Arms?

Of course they won't; The Jets like being a -7 team.  Seriously, though, rumour has it that if this Trouba contract thing dragged on any longer The Jets would have activated Jim Kyte.

One Hundred Greatest Leafs

Hey, this list only goes to 63!

Tortorella: "I'm Going to Protect My Players"

"Because it's MY job to publicly demean them and throw them under the bus."

Hawks Newses and Noteses

Trouba Requests Trade From Jets
(http://www.tsn.ca/agent-trouba-requests-trade-from-jets-1.573171)
Okay, here's where Stan Bowman has a chance to make up for some things by doing one simple thing that would satisfy many needs:
Van Riemsdyk for Trouba.  Or, at least, a deal that involves those two players and possibly some "guys".
The Hawks get Trouba, a young, actually versatile D-man.  Win.
The Hawks jettison the not-at-all-versatile TVR.  Win!
Stan puts one over on The Jets' "braintrust" (I had to pause while typing that because I was laughing so hard my laptop fell on the floor) which isn't so much a win as just amusing as hell.

                         Not that The Hawks could pay Trouba but, y'know, a girl can dream.

TSN is Nearly Devoid of Ideas or Talent
This is not news.  Expect this to persevere as TSN will continue to broadcast only regional games for teams that don't matter, and the gents who shoulda woulda been working game broadcasts will instead attempt to write about hockey, hockey related stuff...and things.
There are a couple of writers/presenters at TSN who craft a good article and another fella or two who produce informative but not insightful reports.  And then there's Maude.
Jeff O'Neill is described as an "analyst".  Okay.  Has there been an analysis of how it is that Mr. O'Neill appears to be dumber, fatter and somehow less interesting each time he appears on-air?
Gary Lawless, banished to WPG to cover The Jets, so the  low man on the TSN totem pole, we must presume. Mr. Lawless reliably points out the obvious in long-winded articles that state and then re-state stuff we already know, which makes me wonder if he won his job in a raffle, or something along those lines.  Almost makes me wish I had purchased a ticket for that draw but, let's face it, if I had to live in Winnipeg I'd never stop vomiting.
Anyway, big G.L. did write a couple of interesting paragraphs this week.  Here's a taste:
If Russia fails to win the World Cup, marking an 11th straight best-on-best (or almost best-on-best) tournament without a championship, Russia has to do something bold – hire a Canadian to coach the team.
Hey, now that's actually a topic worthy of discussion, but maybe not on a day when said Russian team had an opportunity to eliminate Canada from the World Cup of Hockey.  Of course they didn't but, sweet jeebus, that's the kind of piece you run after the team in question loses.
Bob McKenzie: A-hah-hah-hah-hah-haaaaah. This dude has been around so long that one must expect that he has myriad reliable contacts and sources throughout the NHL...yet he continues to talk almost exclusively out of his ass.  How is this even possible?  
Finally, a general wish / request: until The Maple Leafs are relevant again, if that ever occurs, ease up on the relentless barrage of worthless articles concerning said garbage fire of a franchise.  Where else does a last-place team attract so much attention?  Today's gem was a bit discussing Brandon Prust's desire to prove he's "still got it."  Still got what, no business being in The NHL?  If so, yes, he's still got that.  Not to pick on B. Prust (but yes, totally picking on Prust), is it just not entirely ridiculous to spend so much effort covering something that does not matter one iota?
Hey, if The Leafs ever recover from being The Leafs, go nuts...write about 'em all day.  Until then, though, I wish TSN would aim higher.

World Cup of Hockey Update
I still don't care.

Hawks Training Cup Update
I know only three things:
1) Lots of Hawks are at The World Cup.
2) Duncan Keith has been skating, so that's good.
3) Luke Johnson was impressive at the rookie tournament, apparently.  Is he a Real Thing or this year's Roy Radke (who, oddly, failed to be this year's Roy Radke despite, y'know, being Roy Radke)? Is there any reason to be optimistic about Johnson or is he merely part of another cruel trick, such as the Kyle Baun prank of last season?  Remember, Kyle Baun, who unexpectedly made The Hawks to start the season, played a whole two games and then managed to score a goal in Rockford?  Yes, that.

                                                            The 2017 models are in!

Ray of Hope (But Let's Not Get Too Excited): Hawks 4, Jets 0 and Friday's Big Boy

Let's preface this by stating that The Jets aren't very good at hockey right now.
A visit to The 'Peg was perhaps exactly what The Hawks needed to break their four-game losing streak, facing a Jets club that is looking a bit thin in all areas.  But hey, this isn't all about how bad The Jets are, some other stuff happened too.
- The big story tonight is that Coach Q gave his head a shake and restored order to his forward lines, reverting almost entirely to the combos we had seen a week+ ago.  Only the Kane/Hossa flip-flop remained from his major retooling earlier this week.  It takes a man with a ridiculously large moustache to....oh, never mind.
- That said, as long as Q continues to persevere with TVR as he has, he remains on my shit list.
- Three of the four Hawks' goals were highlight-reel quality; Fleischmann received a barely onside pass after a sneaky lift by Teravainen before pulling off some greasy moves to cash in. Similarly, Large Arthur swiped a puck in The Jets' zone, busted a few sweet moves of his own and got a shot on net, the rebound ending up on the fat part of Hossa's stick.  Finally, Kane dashing down the wing and depositing yet another backhand laser behind Ondrej Pavelich...can anyone else in the league place a backhand shot, and a hard one at that, like Kane does?
- Caveat: some of these plays were made possible by the Jets being bad at hockey.
- On that note, it was sure refreshing to see a Jets goalie play a representative game against The Hawks, rather than pull a rabbit out of their hat as they've seemed to do for the last two years.
- It's worth noting that the top guys all played 15-16 minutes tonight, this made possible by The Jets being bad at hockey and by a fourth line that can be trusted for more than 7 minutes of sheltered starts. Richard Panik may not be excellent in any regard but he's competent in most ways, which is far more than anyone can say about B. Mashinter.

Tough one tonight with no standout, really, but several very good efforts, regardless.  Because he had a strong game on the road and was there for a very important win I shall go with Scott Darling.

                           One year to the day since his first NHL shutout.  Spooky.

TSN = Comedy Gold

Against my better judgement I logged on to the hockey page at TSN.ca today, but I'm sure glad I did. Without clicking a single link I laughed until I stopped laughing.  
Check this trio of headlines:

• Ducks Horcoff banned 20 games for PEDS: Wow, imagine how awful he would have been without the use of banned substances.  Scary to even consider.
• Blues Seek Arena Upgrades in St. Louis: Easy - build a new arena in some other city.
• Hamhuis Most Important Player to Canucks:  I heard it was bad in Vancouver but this news is stick-your-head-in-the-oven bad.

I can't wait until tomorrow, when Gary Lawless (probably) writes Jets Are Bad at Hockey and Should Probably Move Back to Atlanta.

The Killers: Hawks 2, Jets 0 and Friday's Big Boy

That was a shockingly good effort given the hot mess The Hawks served just last evening.  Pull up a chair.
- Pairing TVR with Keith makes a great deal of sense, actually, with Keith's superior speed and savvy being a better means of covering TVR's lack of footspeed and still-developing positional game.  At least I hope it's still developing.  This is no knock on Seabrook, I just believe that Keith is the better firehose of the two.  We'll see, I guess, if having to mind TVR blunts Keith's sword at all, so to speak.
- All credit to Crawford and the penalty killers tonight.  The Jets, miserable as they can often be, managed only a single shot on the man advantage.  There was also the matter of Byfuglien cutting short one of The Jets' five PPs when he couldn't contain Hossa.  Good sticks, nice work at the dot by Toews and Kruger and some brave shot blocks; that's how it's done, son.
- Outstanding puck movement, once again, on The Hawks' PP, and I love Rundblad's shot.  Those pinpoint passes by Kane and Teravainen were beautiful to behold.
- I may have to refrain from talking shit about Shaw, as he's had three very good games in a row.

He did it all tonight.  His goal wasn't particularly pretty, but any goal is a good goal when they're tough to come by.  Toews was a demon on the PK and, as already mentioned, slayed on faceoffs.

                           Would you mind delivering some Pizano's to my mom?

Two is Better Than One: Hawks 3, Jets 1 and Sunday's Big Boy

Well, that wasn't perfect but it wasn't bad, either.
Here's what I saw or possibly hallucinated.
- It was a decent enough first game back for Bryan Bickell, in which he played the way Bryan Bickell is "supposed" to play, with 7 hits in 7 minutes of work,  I've always found his rep for being a hard-hitting player a bit odd 'cos there have been long stretches throughout his career in which he didn't, wouldn't or couldn't play all that fiercely.  If that's what it takes for him to stay in the lineup I hope he remembers what seems to be expected of him.
- How nice to resolve a game, with a win no less, in regulation and equally encouraging that The Hawks saved their best for the final period.  The Jets looked a little dangerous on their third period PP (but I'm not sure they actually hit the net) and had a pair of good looks before that, but they didn't really trouble The Hawks that much in the final frame.  I was surprised to learn that The Jets put up 31 shots, too, as it sure didn't feel that way to me.
- It was doubly nice that Coach Q saw fit to keep Toews-Hossa-Teravainen together, 'cos I half expected he would stick Bickell in TT's spot, and they ended up generating the most chances of The Hawks' forward lines and scored both of the goals that mattered.  See what happens when you ice two skilled lines?  
- After the game Patrick Kane admitted that he was probably thinking about his points streak a little too much.  He and his linemates weren't bad, exactly - his second period pass through Anisimov's feet and onto his stick was pretty cool - but Kane wasn't as consistently commanding as he's been the last several weeks.  Ah, but we have two scoring lines, right?
- Ryan Garbutt had a good game going until he took that idiotic penalty in the third.
- Had a brief moment of terror and disbelief when I realized it was TVR and Rozsie working the points on The Hawks' last PP.  Get well soon, Trevor Daley.
- Speaking of Rozsie, it almost looked like he was going to join a rush there midway through the third period, but I guess he would have had to leave yesterday to get that done.
- Crawford, as it turns out, had a good crack at a shutout until Kero lost interest in Chris Thorburn.  Yeah, it was kind of a goofy goal, but if Kero kept the check on it never happens.

Hossa looked a little tight early on, I thought, failing on a stuff attempt and losing the handle on the puck a couple of time.  He got better as the game wore on, exercising great patience on his goal and keeping the puck moving on the last Hawks PP as well as during many of his even strength shifts in the third.  I'm encouraged.

                                                        Unbeliebabal perogies.

Don't Blink: Hawks 2, Jets 1 and Friday's Big Boy

Boy, that was...tentative.
Nonetheless, two more points in the bag.  I won't say that The Hawks don't deserve the win but they looked as if they were more interested in not losing than they were in winning.  I know it sounds like the same thing but it's totally not.  For whatever reason (probably high school style drama) The Jets appeared to have the same mindset tonight.  
3:50 icetime for Rundblad and he wasn't as sloppy as Keith was on Saturday.  Yeah, he made the turnover leading to The Jets' goal but, in his defence, the pass from Crawford was crap.  I guess Stan may as well start shopping the guy 'cos Q isn't going to use him.

In a game in which no one stuck their necks out, particularly, this guy stood out, creating several chances and notching two more points, placing him atop the NHL scoring ladder.  I also just realized that he has taken only one penalty all season, y'know, just in case anyone cares about The Lady Byng Trophy.

                                                   Lookin' sorta steely, there.