at 
Game Time: 6:30PM Central
TV/Radio: CSN, WGN-AM 720
Pete The Puma: Litter Box Cats
Now that the winning streak is a thing of the past, halted at 12 games last night in Tampa, the Hawks have to regroup quickly to complete the road leg of the Florida two-step tonight in Sunrise against the Panthers, who were recent owners of a 12 game win streak that vaulted them to the top of their division as well.
This harkened back to some other games. The tenets of was made the Hawks 12-game win streak were not in evidence tonight. And while it was only a one-goal game, this was as badly as the Hawks have been outplayed in a long while. Other teams had done it for a period or two during this streak, but for a whole game you’d have to go back to the loss to the Canes. The Bolts are basically the realized version of what the Canes would like to be. A high-tempo team with a couple puck-moving d-men, a band of quick, skilled forwards who play with speed at both ends. The Hawks were nowhere near tonight.
What had gotten them to this point? Let’s go through the checklist:
vs. 
PUCK DROP: 6:30pm Central
TV/RADIO: CSN, WGN Radio
CRASH BEFORE MY EYES: Raw Charge
The Hawks return to the scene of the latest crime, where they took Games 1 and 5 of last season’s Final. This would have been circled on the Bolts’ calendar before the season even started. It’s doubly so with this being the two hottest teams in the league, as Tampa has won six in a row to match the back half of the Hawks’ 12-gamer. It had been something of a train wreck of a season for the Lightning until this streak. But the winning hasn’t stopped the drama.
Interesting move this morning, as the Hawks traded CatButt to Anaheim for Jiri Sekac.
There isn’t much to tell about Sekac. I know that Habs fans last season were not pleased that the Canadiens gave up on him so quickly and he looked to be another sacrificed at Michel Therrien’s altar of “GRITSANDPAPERFAAAAART.” But Sekac never quite fit in with the Ducks either, and you sort of start to wonder how many more chances he has left.
He’s got good wheels and decent skill, so he would seem a perfect fit with the Hawks. But then he would have with the Ducks too, though maybe they couldn’t look beyond his size which isn’t much at a mere 6-0 and 185. Sekac put up seven goals and 16 points in 50 games in Montreal last year, and a further seven points in 19 games with the Ducks. He’s certainly capable of providing secondary scoring. He was carrying a 54% share so far this season, +2.9% of the Ducks’ team rate.
While everyone was falling over themselves about CatButt in October, anyone who had watched him play before this year (so basically only a few fans and no Hawks media) knew water would seek its own level. For the most part he’d lost his bowling ball game over the past couple months, though there was something of a revival the past couple games with Dr. Rasmussen and Panik At The Disco. But he is what he is.
Box Score
Sorry for the delayed wrap. My insomnia got the best of me again and I was going to write this last night before my forehead nearly landed on the laptop.
I don’t think there’s much to draw from this one other than how the two goalies are playing. It was a pretty even 1st period, with the Preds certainly having the upper hand in the first 10 minutes and the Hawks the last 10. The Hawks benefitted from a good bounce to get their goal, but you see how the Preds can get caught trying to play at their skin-peeling pace. 1-0 is certainly no huge advantage.
And then Rinne gives up that goal to Panik, and he might have been screened by Barret Jenkem and his terrible gap but it was not a goal that should have gone in. Sure, the Preds quickly got back within one but the way Crawford is playing you’re just not going to make up two goals on him right now. The Preds didn’t, and once Panarin found Kane for a breakaway this one was basically over. And Rinne wasn’t bad for sure, but he’s giving up the goal he can’t right now. Crow isn’t.
Let’s to it:
vs.
FACEOFF: 7pm Central
TV/RADIO: CSN, NBCSN, Sportsnet, WGN 720
WHERE YOU GOIN’, CITY BOY? On The Forecheck
The Hawks hit the home stretch before the All-Star break with a trip down south. It starts in Nashville before doing the Florida swing later in the week. They’ll see a Predators team that last week thought it had solved its biggest problem, and this week may have figured out it has one it can’t do anything about.
This ran in last week’s C.I. program for the Preds’ game.
It’s hard to fathom that for pretty much their entire existence, the Nashville Predators have never had a true #1 center. They drafted David Legwand to be that with their first ever pick. You know how that went. Their highest scoring centers over the years are names like Greg Johnson, Yanic Perrault, aging and one-footed Peter Forsberg, and Rich Peverly. The team that lost to the Hawks in 2010 was trotting out Jason Arnott at 35. Colin Wilson as a rookie was the team’s best center the first time they won a playoff round. Mike Ribeiro was as close as they came last year. So you can see what the attraction is for acquiring Ryan Johansen at this age to finally lock down that spot. When you haven’t had something in so long, you’ll drink the sand.
