Hawks 5, Senators 4 and a Milestone Big Boy

Where to begin?  On the negative side, how about Andrew Shaw still being hideously miscast as #2 center to the tune of a -9012 Corsi, Bickell's drop pass to no one in his own slot or Rozsival being reduced to standing still and waving his stick?
Forget it, a win is a win and, after playing well enough to win against Anaheim on Tuesday and coming away with nothing, let's just take the two points and get outta town.

On the plus side, Jonny Toews continued to produce chances and points, Versteeg wasn't a complete disaster and, best of all, Marian Hossa shone on a night in which he reached not one but two significant milestones; in his 1100th NHL game Hoss notched a goal and an assist to reach 1000 career points, all in the arena where his career began.

                                                       Don't ever change, baby.

Possibly the Biggest Big Boy (so far)

When Corey Crawford came down with an "illness" early last week that was reexplained as an "Upper Body Injury" it became anyone's guess how long The Hawks would be without him.  All we knew for sure was that Antti Raanta would have to step in and play some minutes.

Maybe it's just as well that Raanta was less than dominant against St. Lewis (cannot even bring myself to type the words properly) and the man who was brought in to back up the young Finn was granted his first NHL start on Sunday.

At 6'6" and 232 lbs Scott Darling is surely the largest Big Boy so far.  The 25-year-old behemoth gets The Belt for his 33-save performance in The Hawks' 2-1 win over the less than dominant Senators.  This fifth-year pro who has fewer than 30 AHL starts under his belt jumped the queue in The Hawks' goalie depth chart, usurping both Mac Carruth and Kent Simpson during training camp and now he has his first big-league victory.  Nice.

                                   There is some net back there; now try to find it.

Catching Up with The Big Boys

Got lazy and missed Saturday's post, so there is the matter of The Big Boy Belt for two games.

First, for Saturday's 2-1 OT win, how could it be anyone but Captain Johnny Toews, with his shorthanded winner off the forecheck.

                                                            Guess again, Hutts.

 So many choices from Tuesday's match against Philly, a 4-0 win for the good guys.  Kane had two goals while Saad and Bickell each had 1G 1A.  For this one, though, I'll go with Antti Raanta for his 32-save shutout in a short-notice appearance after Crawford was declared day-to-day.

                                           Tämä peli on helppoa.

Opening Night Big Boy

The Sabres are no titans but a 6 - 2 win is welcome anytime.  Two games in and most of the guys who need to be racking up points are doing just that.

With a goal, an assist and an effective screen on a third goal, the biggest of last night's Big Boys is Andrew Shaw.

                                                              I'm good, thanks.

In Case Anyone was Wondering

Yeah, Carcillo played less than five minutes.  That was totally worth doing.  At least he didn't get punched out.  I guess.

Saving it Up for the End: Opening Night Big Boy

Remember this?

Happily, there were several Hawks to choose from in this come-from-behind victory over Dallas, but by virtue of netting the tying goal plus a helpie, earlier, the Sharp-dressed Man is the first Big Boy this season.

                                                  My friends call me "Shooter".

Hawks Hilarity: Opening Night Roster Notes

File Under "I told you so". 

Kris Versteeg and Michal Rozsival are injured, or possibly "injured", heading into tomorrow's season-opener in Dallas.  This could all be legit, but I kinda wonder if there are other things going on, such as Versteeg being on the cusp of being traded.  Back on defense, sure, Rozsie is in all likelihood actually nursing something, but I suspect Stan Bowman and/or Coach Q really just want to play the younger guys, anyway.

And The Hawks are starting the year with eight defensemen, at least until Rozsival can play  -- check last week's post to confirm that even when I'm wrong, I'm right!

The Old Switcheroo

Niklas Hjalmarsson and Johnny Oduya have been separated, with Hjalmarsson practicing with Trevor Van Riemsdyk and the third pairing being Kyle Cumiskey and David Rundblad alternating alongside Oduya.  The change necessitated Hjarmarsson switching to playing on the left side, which I don't remember him doing much since Brent Sopel departed.  It seems all but certain that TVR will play on Thursday and I kind of hope Cumiskey gets the nod on the third pair so that Ales Hemsky can burn him so badly that they conclude the Cumiskey experiment early.

Three Lines Forward, One Line Back

With no disrespect intended toward Kruger & Smith, the forward lines are projected to be:

Sharp -- Toews -- Hossa
Saad -- Shaw -- Kane
Morin -- Richards -- Bickell
Smith -- Kruger -- Carcillo

...unless Versteeg is good to go, in which case Morin sits and moron stays.