Everything Else

Hit The Reset Button

By 1319 0

So the break is over, I’m back from vacation (NOLA!!!), and I think it’s a good time to reset and see where we are and what we should be watching for.

-The Hawks sit three points back of the Preds, though having played two more games. And making up ground this week is not looking all that likely. While the Hawks are doing the California swing (not as daunting as it could be but certainly not easy), the Preds get the Avs twice around one game with the Blues, which you know is going to overtime or a shootout.

If ground is going to be made up, it’s probably after that. During the second leg of the Hawks’ trip, the Preds see the Ducks and Rangers, though also the Maple Leafs. And then when the Hawks hit that eight-game homestand (which actually serves up a fair amount of hanging curves), the Preds see both Florida teams, the Jets, the Sharks, and the Islanders before their schedule softens up.

If the Hawks can stay where they are with the Predators through this road trip, which shouldn’t be that hard without Pekka Rinne, and then collect 13 of a possible 16 points on that homestand (look at the schedule, not unreasonable), the Preds would have to go just 5-4 through the same stretch to stay even. And by then they’ll have Rinne back. So yeah, it’s going to be tough.

Everything Else

It’s Hard To Leave When You Can’t Find The Door: Hawks 2 – Pens 2 (Hawks win paper football)

By 1121 0

Box Score

Event Summary

War On Ice

Natural Stat Trick

So I guess closing with a flourish isn’t on the cards, huh?

The Hawks got the two points, and that’s probably all that matters with the Hawks in something of a rut this month (though I don’t know if all teams would consider a 5-5 record this month a rut, but such are the standards round these parts). But against a Pens team stripped of Letang, Malkin, Hornqvist and Maatta, you’d like something a little better than pinned back for at least the last 30 of the game, coughing up a two-goal lead that really should have been the platform to close this one out easily. That’s how it’s going right now.

Everything Else

It's Hard To Leave When You Can't Find The Door: Hawks 2 – Pens 2 (Hawks win paper football)

By 1268 0

Box Score

Event Summary

War On Ice

Natural Stat Trick

So I guess closing with a flourish isn’t on the cards, huh?

The Hawks got the two points, and that’s probably all that matters with the Hawks in something of a rut this month (though I don’t know if all teams would consider a 5-5 record this month a rut, but such are the standards round these parts). But against a Pens team stripped of Letang, Malkin, Hornqvist and Maatta, you’d like something a little better than pinned back for at least the last 30 of the game, coughing up a two-goal lead that really should have been the platform to close this one out easily. That’s how it’s going right now.

Everything Else

One More Special Message To Go: Hawks at Penguins Preview/Pregame Thread/Square Dance

By 1173 0

Hawk Wrestler vs. download

FACEOFF: 7pm Central

TV/RADIO: NBCSN, WGN Radio 720

IRON CITY BEER SUCKS: The Pensblog, Pensburgh

After getting to recalibrate the sights against the Coyotes, the Hawks will descend on Pittsburgh, PA to wrap up the pre-break schedule. Normally, this would feel like a pretty big game with about as much star power as any one NHL game can manufacture. But given that it’s on the second of a back-to-back, and the game before a break that everyone seems desperate to get to, this feels more like something to just get out of the way.

Everything Else

This Is A Jetsetter Music Letter: Jets at Hawks Preview/Pregame Thread/Dog Grooming

By 1254 0

Kenny Smith vs. Hawk Wrestler

FACEOFF: 7:30pm Central

TV/RADIO: CSN, WGN Radio

SO COLD, SO COLD: Arctic Ice Hockey

Nothing like a rare four-day break to illustrate how empty our lives are without Hawks hockey. So I’m pretty primed for this one, if only to have purpose again. I doubt I’m alone. And the Hawks return from this mini-sabbatical to what is something of a big game, at least in trying to set things right from earlier in the year and maintain the heat on the now understaffed Preds. A lot going on in one night, no?

Everything Else

The Window Opens

By 1503 0

So I was going to do a Sugar Pile today, and we didn’t really mean to stop doing it. We simply forgot. However, at this point you know who would go where so we’ll save it for the All-Star Break and then pick it up regularly from there. And there’s other news that concerns the Hawks.

Pekka Rinne is going to be out 3-5 weeks, and that’s a very big deal for the Hawks.