You wouldn’t like the Hawks when they’re angry. At least not if you have to play them.
While the worry of a malaise setting in is still very much real, at least the Hawks care enough to respond to a truly dogshit effort, like the one they put up on Friday. Even on their third game in four nights, the Hawks came out looking to prove something, and basically had this one dead and buried by the end of the 1st. They could have been up four or five after 20 with a couple different bounces. The Red Wedding Line was on another planet. They were certainly playing a different sport than the Wild had ever seen. Kane’s line wasn’t that far behind, and Shaw-Teuvo-Sharp may have been better than both of those but didn’t scratch. Total team effort. And Oduya and Hjalmarsson only got scorched once!
Let’s get to it after the jump.
Considering the way the Flames play, considering both teams were on their third game in four nights in three cities, and considering the Hawks looked leggy last night, this one was never going to be shipped off to the Smithsonian as a great display of sport. And it wasn’t. This one was about perseverance, as the Flames concentrated on jamming things up in the defensive and neutral zone and just took what they could find at the other.
Thankfully, the Hawks really didn’t give them all that much after Hudler’s goal. They had to wait and wait for a crack, and they got one when Johnny Gaudreau (who was a threat all night) blew a tire at the blue line and Hjalmarsson was able to shove forward for Toews and Saad to have something of a 2-on-0. Saad didn’t make any mistakes. Two points gained. Move on.
Considering the way the Flames play, considering both teams were on their third game in four nights in three cities, and considering the Hawks looked leggy last night, this one was never going to be shipped off to the Smithsonian as a great display of sport. And it wasn’t. This one was about perseverance, as the Flames concentrated on jamming things up in the defensive and neutral zone and just took what they could find at the other.
Thankfully, the Hawks really didn’t give them all that much after Hudler’s goal. They had to wait and wait for a crack, and they got one when Johnny Gaudreau (who was a threat all night) blew a tire at the blue line and Hjalmarsson was able to shove forward for Toews and Saad to have something of a 2-on-0. Saad didn’t make any mistakes. Two points gained. Move on.
vs. 
FACEOFF: 6pm
TV/RADIO: WGN for those ’round these parts, Sportsnet for those around the moose, WGN Radio
Robert Moses’s Wet Dream: Lighthouse Hockey
The world tour-de-force continues tonight out past the bright lights of New York and on Lon’ Gisland, where the Hawks will be another test for an Islanders squad that fancies itself party crashers into the NHL’s penthouse. They’ve had a few of those lately, and they haven’t gone so well for the Blue and Orange.
