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Game #17 – Hawks vs. Hurricanes Preview/Kick For Touch: Though I Know I’ll Never Lose Affection For People And Things That Came Before

By Sam Fels 1641 0

vs.

RECORDS: Hawks 7-7-2   Hurricanes 6-5-3

PUCK DROP: 6pm

TV: WGN

HE HIT THE FUCKIN’ BULL, DIDN’T HE?: Section 328

It’ll be a reunion of sorts tonight down in Raleigh. The Hawks will visit the biggest collection of their alumni in the league, and they’ll see a Hurricanes team that expected to be ahead of where they are currently. There should be some air of desperation at the RBC tonight, but then again there should have been in Philly and it took the Hawks 30 minutes to find the smelling salts.

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Your Friends And Neighbors – ’17-’18 NHL Team Previews: Our Special Boy… And Whoever Else

By 1709

Fitting after doing Toronto yesterday (and boy are our hips and hamstrings sore!), we move to the Metro Division and start with a team that might be Toronto minus one or two years, and somewhat doing it in reverse. The Carolina Hurricanes certainly have the blue line of a true contender. Now they’ve added at worst a representative goalie. The question is do they have the hosses up front to make some noise in the East’s tougher division? And is Teuvo Teravainen the best Hurricane right now? Or the best one ever?

Carolina Hurricanes

’16-’17 Record: 36-31-15  87 points (7th in the Metro)

Team Stats: 51.1 CF% (6th)  50.4 SF% (16th)  50.7 SCF% (13th)  7.3 SH% (2oth) .912 SV% (29th)

Special Teams: 17.7 PP% (21st)  84.2 PK % (6th)

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Canes Q&A With Cory Lavalette

By 2039

We’re tickled to have Cory Lavalette of North State Journal (nsjonline.com, and on Twitter @corylav) to tell us what’s going on with the red and… black? I guess it’s black. 

Let’s get it out of the way first. Are you taking care of Our Special Boy (Teuvo)? Because if you’re not…

I think so. You can tell Teravainen is starting to feel more comfortable both on and off the ice. I think it helps playing with a fellow Finn, 19-year-old rookie Sebastian Aho (more on this in a second), even though the two didn’t really know each other prior to becoming teammates. Teravainen is getting chances in Carolina he didn’t get in Chicago, and recently he’s played a lot of center and proven he can handle the responsibilities that come with that.

 

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It’s The Little Things That Make Up Life: Hawks 2 – Canes 3

By 1376

Box Score

Natural Stat Trick

Shift Chart

Like most every game in the NHL these days, given how little difference there is the talent distribution now, most games come down to a couple moments here and there. Tonight was two of them. The one in the 1st period where the Hawks gave up two goals in 65 seconds (and could have been more in that frame). The second was in the 3rd when Darling couldn’t save McClement’s chance from the slot after a Kane giveaway, and then a minute later when Ward was able to stymie Hartman when Hartman was in the slot all alone. That’s not to be harsh on Darling, who was excellent in the 1st period when he had to be. It’s not a save you’d expect him to make. It really wasn’t a save you’d expect Ward to make, either. But the Hawks success this year is built on Darling and Crawford making saves they shouldn’t make. And then cashing in the limited chances they get. Didn’t work that way tonight.

That is also a bit harsh, because the last 40 minutes were a far more solid effort than the first 20 and far better than anything we saw last night. The Hawks just couldn’t make it count, once again getting scoring from only one line, just not the line that normally does it.

Let’s clean it up and then adjourn for the New Year.

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Hurricanrana Is Hurricanrana In Any Language: Hawks at Canes Preview/Craft Gin Week

By 1513

 vs. 

RECORDS: Hawks 23-10-5  Canes 15-12-7

PUCK DROP: 6:30 pm 

TV: WGN

HE HIT THE FUCKIN’ BULL, DIDN’T HE?: Canes Country

PROJECTED LINEUPS

ADJUSTED TEAM CORSI %: Hawks – 49.5 (16th)  Canes – 52.8 (5th)

ADJUSTED TEAM xGF%: Hawks – 47.0 (26th)  Canes – 53.6 (6th)

POWER PLAY %: Hawks -19.2 (14th)  Canes – 20.4 (10th)

PENALTY KILL %: Hawks – 74.8 (29th)  Canes – 90.6 (1st)

TRENDS: Teuvo and Aho combined for 11 shots against the Penguins on Wednesday… The Canes rang up a 67% Corsi in Pittsburgh last out

The title is something my friend who wrestles in Chikara told me once. I think it applies to most things.

The last game of 2016 and the last of the two-game swing through NASCAR country comes up for the Hawks tonight. They arrested their small skid last night, averting something a little more definitive, and will attempt to head into West East St. Louis with a little momentum (assuming this Winter Classic actually ever gets played, which it might not).

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Tail Lights: Hawks 0 – Canes 5

By 1249

Box Score

Event Summary

War On Ice

If you’ve watched the Hawks for even just a few years, this was not all that hard to see coming. A single road game before the break. A more than solid effort last out over a division rival that put to rest a mini-losing streak, so there wasn’t really anything to “correct” tonight. A motivated opponent that needs every point it can get with the things that the Hawks struggle with when they’re not all there (a good coach and a mobile defense). A sick captain, and it’s hard to keep a sickness restricted to just one player on a team, so it wouldn’t be a surprise if a few guys have rumbling tummies or whatever’s bugging Toews. It all added up to an effort where the Hawks looked like they were watching the clock from the opening faceoff. And that’s exactly what we got.

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Hurricanrana: Canes at Hawks Preview/Belt-Loosening

By 1229

Hurricane Carter vs, 250px-Ozymandias

PUCK DROP: 6pm Central

TV/RADIO: WGN for both

HERE COMES THE STORY: Canes Country

The Hawks come out of the Christmas break, a day after most teams, with a pretty soft landing in catching the Carolina Hurricanes on the second of a back-to-back. They’ll be fully healthy as well, with Marian Hossa coming back from the auto-body shop to buff the dents out of his cyborg exterior and will suit up tonight.

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All We Are Saying… Is Give Us The Puck… : Hawks 3 – Canes 1

By 1265 0

Box Score

Event Summary

War On Ice

Natural Stat Trick

Not exactly how you draw it up, morons.

The Hawks got two points in just about the most unconvincing fashion tonight, giving up 44 shots to the Hurricanes (who to be fair, put up 38 in Minnesota not too long ago). And when the Hawks give up that many shots, you know something is structurally or fundamentally wrong.

Tonight, and for the second night in a row, the Hawks decisions with and management of the puck was a few zip codes away from suck. I lost count of how many times in the neutral zone they chose the wrong pass or option, or how many times they simply whiffed on either making or receiving a pass. And it was everyone. Even Toews looked like he was trying to juggle chainsaws on quaaludes at the other blue line tonight.

When the Hawks are this careless and sloppy with the puck, it basically tears down their whole defensive game. Because that is built on them standing up at their own blue line with furious back pressure forcing teams to make plays and decisions a whole lot quicker than they want to. But when the puck is just turned over, they can’t do that because their forwards get caught and beat up the ice, and hence the defense have to sink back and guard against giving up a 4-on-1 or something. They have no support from the forwards so can’t get aggressive. And that’s how they get trapped in their own zone.