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
That's more like it.
It was "only" two goals and one was an empty-netter but the potential effect Brandon Saad's busting out could well be huge. The expected joy and relief of having finally scored was plainly evident but, almost as good, Saad played with fury, purpose and swagger from there on. It's not as if he'd been playing so badly up until last night but, when that first goal went in, it's like a switch was flipped.
I'd thought he was lost, perhaps he is found.
Yes, there's more
I don't know what to do about Anisimov. It felt like he was dragging Kane & Saad down a bit yet, he's pretty good in front of the net, being as he's large and has okay hands. Is it worth putting up with his lack of speed and his defensive indifference for awhile to see what these three can accomplish?
Toews and Gustafsson had fantastic games apart from one gacked play....and it was the same play for both of them and Toews very nearly undid his end of the mistake, barely failing to lift Rakell's stick as they bore down on Crawford. Gus has been a revelation, having upped every aspect of his game to unforeseen levels. Two months ago I'd written that the roster could only support either Gustafsson or Forsling and not both and, at this point, Forsling will be lucky if Stan Bowman doesn't delete him from his contacts list. Gus could still use a bit of improvement defensively but he is already ridiculously better than he'd been last year.
Marcus Kruger - penalty minute leader. Okay, that has to stop.
Luke Johnson - does anyone know what he does? Schmaltz and Fortin had a few interesting moments last night but Johnson was nowhere around. Coach Q seems really enthusiastic about Johnson so maybe there's something there and I just haven't spotted it yet. As it is, he appears to be a downgrade from super-steady David Kampf.
Corey Crawford is The Man.
That is all.
NEXT: The Rangers on Thursday. Get ready for The Attack of The Killer Zees....or possibly Zeds, with Zuccarello and Zibanejad leading "the charge" in the midst of an icky rebuild.
Left Boy The Return of...
TFW your goalie allows five goals and his save percentage improves....
Okay, not Cam Ward's fault. He kinda made a mess of that side of the net stuff-in and a couple of his puck exchanges were sketchy but, otherwise, he played a fine game. It's a pity that the rest of The Hawks only showed up for, what....fifteen minutes?
Not going to pick this one apart because this was a failure on practically the entire team's part, although some surely did fail more than others.
The Hawks' defence was simply awful. Slow, hesitant, out of position and too often just standing around. Check the tape on Cirelli's goal, with Gustafsson leaning on the back of the net and Jokiharju pushing Cam Ward off the post - what the hell was all that about? Meanwhile, NO Hawks forwards had picked up anyone, instead just standing by, waiting for what, I do not know. I saw Schmaltz' and Anisimov's backs more than once while a TB shot scooted past Ward.
Each of the TB goals, except maybe Hedman's, displayed a similar level of ain't-give-a-damn.
Breakouts were sloppy and subsequently exploited by The Lightning. That'll happen sometimes but, when it does, you have to try something different. The Hawks did not try something different, apparently content to keep sailing against the same rocks, again and again.
The Hawks even set a modern record by allowing a whopping 33 shots in the second period alone.
As ridiculous as all that is it's frustrating to note that The Hawks dominated the last half of the first period and the final few minutes of the game. Why just then? Isn't anyone putting these guys' feet to the fire, at least in some way that they'll respond to?
Anything good? Sure, Saad had his best shifts of the season thus far, although he seemed to lose interest in the latter stages (who can blame him?) and, having hit the post twice in one period, one fears that it'll be another one of those years for him. I thought Rutta was quite good, and Davidson was at least okay, far more than I can say for the rest of them.
Kane was trying and started some interesting plays but his linemates were nowhere to be seen much of the time. He fared better while double-shifting with Kruger & Fortin, fer goodness' sakes. Yet, his only reward was a team-low -3, not at all indicative of his effort.
Hole - Awful
Yes indeed, The Hawks got away with one tonight, with an "effort" that was 80% vintage Corey Crawford and 20% opportunism. But sure, we'll have that, 'cos it makes up for being on the wrong end of it against The 'Yotes on Thursday, right?
This should be rather concise, as the headlines are quite broad & simple.
It looks like Crow needed all of one warm up game to find his feet. Great positioning, few juicy rebounds and outstanding puck-tracking made it appear as if he's fully prepared to go as long this year as his teammates allow him to. Hopefully not a mirage.
The Possession Game was a near mirror image to Thursday's loss in which PHX hardly touched the puck yet walked away with a kinda easy win. Tonight it was The Hawks who struggled to gain any traction but, given a few plum chances, were able to beat a team that largely outplayed them. It helped that CBJ's typically all-world netminder Sergei Bobrovsky struggled.
Nick Schmaltz had his grittiest game that I can recall in some time. Why he even took a few shots! If Nicky-Boy continues to suggest that he's willing to do something other than defer, defer, defer Kane's going to find the going a little easier in the offensive zone.
Passing was a big problem for The Hawks tonight. In the skates, out of reach or, most often and most annoying, too soft and easily picked off by alert Blue Jackets. All but one of the many CBJ solo rushes were made possible by a guy attempting a lateral pass that simply lacked the oomph to make it to its destination. Could have been bad ice but more likely a collective failure to apply oneself (oneselves?).
Brandon Davidson made his Hawks debut in lieu of B. Manning tonight. Ehhh...he's slow, he flails a bit and he was demolished in possession but, on the few occasions he found the puck he made calm, safe outlet passes which I see as a slight upgrade from Manning. Worth another look, I guess.
So, with karmic balance restored, we reset for a back-to-back at home vs. Tampa. Cam Ward is likely getting the start, so The Hawks' D had best get their house in order.
Jane's Addiction, Been Caught Stealing
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
After the game Steve Konroyd stated "they seem to find ways to win". Sure, I guess, but they're also finding ways to lose or, in this case, almost lose. I mean, they chucked 50 shots at STL tonight and absolutely pantsed them in Corsi, yet it took until OT to seal the deal.
Nevermind that The Blues took almost half the game to find their gear because, once they got rolling, they largely outplayed The Hawks and, yet again, that determined effort was helped by The Hawks easing off the pressure. As in the last game, though, that wouldn't be such a sin if it weren't coupled with defensive gaffes and sloppiness. This team can and should be killing it, yet they're just getting by.
Alex DeBrincat is not the best Hawks forward, but he will be, someday.
Cam Ward was okay. Well, maybe a little better than okay but he did not help his cause with a poor pass to Manning, which I'll return to shortly.
Alexandre Fortin might be okay, as well. He's decently quick and has enough size & reach to protect the puck somewhat, but he's kinda stepping on the puck a lot and not getting it from his feet to his stick a lot of the time. It's early days though and, if he's meant to be part of the team, he'll figure it out.
Eric Gustafsson made his first nasty turnover of the season, which amazes me.
Kruger & Kampf were barely acknowledged yet led all players in possession stats, which is an utterly perfect night for a couple of 4th line guys.
John Hayden played the least of all Hawks tonight despite having no truly bad shifts. Meanwhile, Kunitz huffed and puffed, a half-step behind whoever he was vainly chasing....
Brandon Manning, it would appear, is just dumb as hell. Am I offside with this? Yes, Ward's exchange to him was poor, but why'd Manning lift his foot? Play the puck, man. Manning remains the sole Blackhawk d-man who routinely messes up his breakouts, often making a bad first pass or, even more often, simply sending the puck downrange as fast as he can with no discernable purpose nor plan.
Kane didn't have his best night, his timing looking a little off and he fumbled the puck a few times, but the patience he displayed leading to his goal was certainly admirable. 100% of the other Hawks would just have shot the puck ASAP 90% of the time.
The Power Play is backsliding already, with too much standing around and not enough net presence + shooting. The first couple of PPs weren't bad but beyond that, and I hesitate to repeat myself, it was all so predictable. I mean, I could anticipate all of The Hawks' actions on the PP and I'm an idiot, so even mayonnaise-slurping morons like The Blues could figure them out, too. But it's not far off, 'cos we've seen some wonderful PP efforts already this season, they've just got to bring that more often than they've been doing.
Queen - It's Late
A day late due to a late night beer league game, so this will be quickish.
The talking heads remain positive, asserting that The Hawks have yet to lose in regulation. That's not the same as "unbeaten" however and I believe they can count themselves lucky to not be 2-and-2 right now. If not for Kane's heroics vs. TOR and DeBrincat having a bit of a time in MIN last night that's exactly how things would stand.
While I'm loving the fast starts to each game thus far, I've been unimpressed with The Hawks taking their foot off the gas before the games are half over. In Toronto they faced a team that struggles to prevent goals but, given the space, will cheerfully run up the score. Yet, even after leaping to an early lead, The Hawks stopped pressing the matter and, even more frustrating, it's not because they tightened up defensively. Last evening they met a team that hasn't been able to score at all, again took an early lead and, facing a determined attack by The Wild, largely collapsed defensively, allowing far too many chances and only mounting sporadic offense of their own. While Cam Ward did play his best game in his four starts, he's been weak, and the guys in front of him haven't helped his cause a whole lot.
So let's mention the defense. Breakouts have been undeniably outstanding, better than they've been for two or three years, and that has certainly keyed the offense, giving them the head start they've lacked for some time. Simple defense in their own end, however, has been lacking, with missed assignments, soft play in front of and behind their net and, most aggravating, d-men needlessly chasing opposing forwards, taking themselves out of position.
The forwards could be doing more to help, as well. On the tying goal last night, Keith had a man, Jokiharju sort of had a man (he escaped, but that'll happen sometimes) but none of the forwards had picked anyone up at all. This is elementary stuff that they can and must pay more attention to.
However, based on this morning's practice, the response has been to shuffle the bottom three lines, the highlight there being Fortin being slotted in the 2nd line and Saad moving to the 4th alongside Kruger & Kampf. Saad has not been great, granted, but I doubt that inserting A Guy in the top six after only one not especially notable game is the solution.
You know those Purina-crunching mouth breathers from Missouri are going to be gunning for a "statement game" tomorrow - The Hawks had better sort themselves out.
The Step And The Walk
