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I’m Looking Through You: Hawks 1 – Flames 1 (Flames Win Game Of Chicken)

By 1280

Box Score

Event Summary

War On Ice

Natural Stat Trick

Two nights after getting pretty outplayed by one of the worst teams the West has to offer but having Crawford and the second line keep them afloat enough to pick it off in overtime, the Hawks tried the trick again but this time it was Darling who got to keep their putrid effort afloat long enough for a point. But this time they couldn’t grab the extra point in the carnival ride, as Johnny Gaudreau toyed with them for a minute before hornswoggling Seabrook for the winner.

The Hawks can make sure Crow and Darling get the most comfortable chairs on the plane to Vancouver tonight, and get the nicest suites when they stop in Vegas after the game. Because they’re the only two reasons they have three points they almost certainly don’t deserve all of. There’s no way to sugarcoat that in two games against the 25th and 28th ranked possession teams in the NHL, the Hawks have a 43% share. They’ve basically been clocked by the two Alberta teams who probably won’t sniff the playoffs (though don’t rule anything out in that mess of a division). And they can’t claim injuries as a problem.

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I Got The Rock: Hawks 2 – Devils 4

By 1257

Box Score

Event Summary

War On Ice

Natural Stat Trick

Sorry for the delayed wrap. None of us could get to the game live, and after watching it going to bed seems a far more pleasant option than thinking about this slog in any other meaningful way. If such a thing was possible.

The Hawks essentially got Devils-ed last night. At least for 40 minutes, and when you’re then down four you’re just not going to make that up against Corey Schneider no matter how much shelling you do. The Devils snuffed out all the Hawks offensive dash, keeping them to 15 shots through the first two periods and maybe three or four good chances. Maybe. The Hawks couldn’t get through the neutral zone (though not in the normal New Jersey way and we’ll get to that in a second). The Hawks for the second game in a row were the victim of some pretty silly bounces (a blocked shot landing right on Zajac’s forehand), or bad turnovers from the guys they just can’t have them from. And Crawford wasn’t able to bail them out of their biggest mistakes, though that 1st period could have been worse without him.

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Three Steps Forward And Two Steps Back: Hawks 4 – Wild 5

By 1253 0

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Event Summary

War On Ice

Natural Stat Trick

Remember when Paula Abdul was like the center of all your middle school fantasies, which basically amounted to holding a girl’s hand? Ah, the innocence…

Oh right, hockey. It would appear the Hawks are going to try things in reverse this season, if I’m going to make wild conclusions after 11 games because we’ve got nothing else to do. Usually their sloppy, barely bothered effort on the 2nd of a back-to-back on the road comes in February or March. While the Wild did enough to let the Hawks back into this one, the Hawks did more to cost themselves the contest.

It’s rare you see the Hawks so sloppy at both blue lines tonight. So many shifts saw them failing to get the puck out when given the chance and having to cycle back and defend. How many times did they nearly get caught on a change because of misplays at the offensive blue line? Four, five? Maybe more? They just aren’t the most cohesive of units right now.

Zucker’s opener was a result of misplays from a couple Hawks on the boards. Ryan Carter scored off a rush when Kane didn’t quite know what to do when covering for TVR at the point and got caught. The last two goals sprang from Hawks d-men getting caught too far outside, leaving a lane through the middle that either ended in a goal (Spurgeon) or a scramble that did (Niederreiter). It will not make for a happy Q.

To it.

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MTS Syndrome: Hawks at Jets Preview/Pregame Thread/Bada Bing Meeting

By 1319 0

250px-Ozymandias vs. Kenny Smith

PUCK DROP: 7pm

TV/RADIO: CSN, WGN

EVANDER KANE FAN CLUB: Arctic Ice Hockey

Jets Stats

Jets War On Ice

The Hawks will take their Keithers-less act on the road for the first time tonight, and they’ll face a Jets team that was a major headache for them last year (though not at MTS Centre). Winnipeg won all three games at the United Center last year, and a couple of them pretty handily. This will be a major test for the Hawks’ reshaped blue line, and they very well could need Corey Crawford to bail them out again as he did Monday.

Everything Else

Just One Fix: Ducks 0 – Hawks 1

By 1427 0

Boxscore

Event Summary

War On Ice

Natural Stat Trick

I’m actually tempted to apply our normal title policy to these silly overtimes, where we list the score as tied. But more on that later.

Once again, the Hawks couldn’t find a goal during normal time, though unlike Saturday they were outplayed for most of the game instead of surviving an opening barrage and slowly turning the game their way. But they have a second straight shutout, and they can think Corey Crawford for it. By the way, Crow’s now gleaming .943 SV% is good for 4th in the league, as would his 1.57 GAA. Hopefully this time he can avoid any arguments with the H.O.B steps.

Beauty is in the eye of the beholder. You could say a second straight shutout without Keith is highly encouraging (though this is the 5th time the Ducks have been shutout this season, so that accomplishment doesn’t get a bunch of gold stars). Or you could look at the Hawks only having put up one even-strength goal without Keith as something to worry. The answer is probably both.

Let’s do the thing.

Everything Else

Didn’t Notice You Were Gone: Panthers 2 – Hawks 3

By 1399 0

Boxscore

Event Summary

War On Ice

Natural Stat Trick

There probably isn’t a more gentle way to start the first stretch without Duncan Keith than playing a young team that puts on a display that looks reminiscent to a group of teenagers having their first weekend with the parents out of town (which most of the Panthers aren’t that far removed from, either the teenagers or the parents depending on the player). They were sloppy and disjointed, and the Hawks stable enough that they could basically step back and let the roof cave in on the Cats just enough to walk away with a 3-2 win. Also helps when you spend nearly half of the last 40 minutes on the power play.

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Ground On Down: Hawks 0 – Flyers 3

By 1391

Boxscore

Event Summary

War On Ice

Natural Stat Trick

In an opening week that has seen the Kings get absolutely rolled by the Sharks, Coyotes, and Canucks and see the Sharks roll through DC, it’s best to not make too much of  a 2-2 start. Throw in the fact that the last time the Hawks won a regular season game in Philadelphia, the Chili Peppers were on tour supporting One Hot Minute and Dave Navarro was the guitarist. Fuck, Dave Navarro was doing anything! It’s a testament to generally how focused the Hawks are to starting their season well that these sort of clunkers are a rarity in the season’s opening throes. But that’s what it was tonight for sure, where the Hawks were pretty much in “Eh, you fucking do it,” mode for the first two periods and found Michael Neuvirth up to their 3rd period rally. Obviously wouldn’t be complete if the Hawks didn’t fuck their own face on a 3rd period power play that could have gotten them back into the game. So let’s get to it all:

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Nachos For Everyone!

By 1833

Isn’t it always odd when a national reporter like Elliote Friedman is breaking stories about the Hawks while the local media watches as the traffic goes by? Anyway, that’s another discussion for another time but according to the Big E Brent Seabrook is about to sign an extension, for eight years at an AAV of $6.85 per. That comes out to $54.8 million total. Good gig if you can get it, but thankfully for Seabrook there are only a few people in the world who can.

So, the first thing that jumps out at you is the length. It doesn’t even kick in until next year, when Seabrook will be 31. Which means this deal will take him through his age 39 season. Yeah… that’s not going to look all that good.

Everything Else

Something In The Way: C.I.’s ’15-’16 Season Preview – Brent Seabrook

By 1143 0

It’s funny on this blog, because there are certain players who we have spent as much time defending as we have criticizing. Brent Seabrook may top the list. After he signed his extension, it felt like once a week we had to explain to people why having two Canadian Olympic defensemen on the team for the long haul was a good idea. Then, when Seabrook was carrying around three pounds of nachos in his upper intestine, or at least sure skated like it, we kept having to point out just how sluggish he looked and how much Keith was bailing his overstuffed ass out (in particular to one certain Hawks blogger).

And then Seabrook had last season, where he looked better, skated better, played better, cemented himself as something of the heartbeat of the whole dressing room, and no one said anything. Which is preferable. Of course, with Biscuit heading into a free agent season and every Hawks fan having Cap Paranoia (Self-Destroyah’!…AND IT GOES LIKE THIS!), he’s probably headed in for a season of everyone looking at him quite intensely, trying to figure out if he’s worth paying what he very well might ask (which could be somewhere between $7-8 million per).