January 15th, 2017: the day that everyone had to accept the Minnesota Wild and their dipshit coach as their new overlords. Of course, with the Hawks blowing a two goal lead at home to a team that played the night before, they certainly deserved to lose, even to this team.
Some of these aren’t so complicated. The Hawks would have won this by three or four goals, and certainly deserved to, if not for the heroics of Anders Nilsson. The Sabres quite frankly are an unfortunate hockey team, and the Hawks mauled them all over the ice. They had 20 shots in the first, and it’s not like the 23 they managed from there are bad. Sure, it took Anisimov getting a bounce with two minutes to go and get the right break in the Rugby 7’s after regulation, but it’s two points and those are always welcome when the Wild are right on your ass. If finishing first means anything, which we’ll figure out later.
The Hawks were punished for all their mistakes. Seabrook channeling last year’s version by lazily going to collect a puck and then belching it up the boards right to Foligno. Keith getting his pocket picked by Okposo. Rasmussen and Working Class Kero not getting a puck out and leaving EichelMania to get teed up. The Sabres do come with the top end talent at forward to make you pay if you fuck up against them. Just upped the degree of difficulty, and even an OT loss there would have felt like the luck was out as well as whatever else hasn’t added up during this small streak of futility. But no matter.
Let’s clean it up:
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.
vs. 
RECORDS: Hawks 22-10-5 Predators 15-13-6
PUCK DROP: 7pm Central
TV: CSN
GIMME GIMME THE HONKY TONK BLUES: On The Forecheck
ADJUSTED TEAM CORSI %: Hawks – 49.8 (15th) Preds – 52.2 (8th)
ADJUSTED TEAM xGF%: Hawks – 47.0 (25th) Preds – 52.7 (9th)
POWER PLAY%: Hawks – 18.3 (15th) Preds – 19.5 (13th)
PENALTY KILL%: Hawks – 74.7 (29th) Preds – 81.5 (14th)
TRENDS: Johansen has two goals this month… Rinne has given up 30 goals in his last 10 appearances for a SV% of .867
The Hawks take their three-game losing streak, with one point gained, down south the next two nights to take on the Predators and then the Canes to close out the 2016 portion of the schedule. They’ll find a not quite floundering, not quite surging, just kind of quite there Predators team at the Bridgestone tonight. Why we haven’t been saying, “At that confounded Bridge!” every time the Hawks go to said arena, I don’t have any idea but it starts now, big boy!
At this point in this era of the Hawks, there are no statement games. Ownership on down has given an organizational mandate on the standard to which this team is to be held, and that’s silver and parades. That being said. with this being the third game in four nights after playing a back and forth affair in West East St. Louis last night, it could have been very easy for the Hawks to kind of pack it in tonight without their 2nd line center, but that didn’t happen.
vs.
RECORDS: Sharks 19-11-1 Hawks 21-8-4
PUCK DROP: 6pm Central
TV: WGN, NHL-N outside the 606
CHUM: @ItWasThreeZero
ADJUSTED TEAM CORSI %: Sharks – 52.5 (8th) Hawks – 50.1 (15th)
ADJUSTED TEAM xGF%: Sharks – 53.2 (6th) Hawks – 47.5 (20th)
POWER PLAY: Sharks – 17.8 (14th) Hawks – 18.4 (14th)
PENALTY KILL: Sharks – 81.7 (17th) Hawks – 73.3 (30th)
TRENDS: Joel Ward was a healthy scratch in Montreal… Brent Burns leads the league in shots
After quashing whatever was being vocalized from St. Louis about being a competitor in the West, the Hawks will welcome the San Jose Sharks tonight, and these two look for all the world to be headed toward each other again in deep spring. So while there’s no such thing as statement games, if you want to toss around the phrase “playoff preview” it’s actually somewhat apt.
Let’s try something different tonight. I’m sure you all come here and expect a certain form for the game wrap, as you should. But quite frankly, I’m tired of writing of the same game wrap for games against the Blues. So let’s try prose.
They’re so scripted. It’s so easy. We know what they are, and though they keep screaming that this time will be different, it really never is. Oh sure, they’ll point to last spring as proof that the tide has turned. But seriously? They don’t give you banners for reaching the conference final. They don’t give you banners for beating a seriously flawed team that in previous incarnations has won the trophy your team could only fantasize about three times. So here we are.
vs. 
RECORDS: Hawks – 18-8-4 Rangers – 20-9-1
PUCK DROP: 6pm Central
TV: CSN Locally, NBCSN elsewhere
NEW YORK DOLLS: Blue Shirt Banter
ADJUSTED TEAM CORSI %: Hawks – 50.1 (15th) Rangers – 47.8 (23rd)
ADJUSTED TEAM xGF%: Hawks – 47.8 (21st) Rangers – 51.9 (14th)
POWER PLAY: Hawks – 16.7 (18th) Rangers – 22.6 (5th)
PENALTY KILL: Hawks – 72.7 (30th) Rangers – 85.9 (4th)
Once more, with feeling. Two of the top teams in the NHL will have a passionate discussion for the second time in five days, this time upstairs from the teeming, gross, and poor masses of Penn Station. This time however, the Hawks are a little better armed than they were last Friday when they dropped an overtime decision to the Blueshirts.
vs.
RECORDS: Stars 11-12-6 Hawks 17-8-4
PUCK DROP: 6pm Central
TV: CSN
HOW BOUT DEM COWBOYS?: Defending Big D
ADJUST TEAM xGF%: Stars – 49.5 (17th) Hawks – 47.7 (22nd)
ADJUSTED TEAM Corsi %: Stars – 49.0 (19th) Hawks – 50.0 (15th)
POWER PLAY: Stars – 17.4 (15th) Hawks – 16.1 (19th)
PENALTY KILL: Stars – 76.7 (27th) Hawks – 72.1 (Dead ass last)
For the second game in a row, the Hawks will play an already beat-up team on the back end of a back-to-back. This time instead of blue it will be green. as the Stars coming in licking their wounds after blowing a third period lead to Brayden Schenn yesterday afternoon in the Illa-delph. Not that the Hawks are anywhere near full-strength themselves.
