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Whatever: Wild 2 – Hawks 2 (Hawks win Cowboys And Indians)

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Well they won’t box up the video of this one and send it off to Toronto for safe keeping. This one looked every bit like two teams missing some key players who really don’t have much on the line just getting through the schedule. But I suppose when you’re missing two of the five best players in the league and then are stripped of one of your top four, you’ll take the points however they get there. So it goes.

And in reality, I liked the Hawks’ structure tonight for the most part. They were hitting the line with five, they were coming all the way back to be available, and when they do that they really keep the other team from getting sustained pressure. The Wild had their moments, but I don’t feel like Crawford ever had to be a poltergeist to keep the puck out of the net. Sure, he still looked behind him twice but those were results of some fluky bounces and deflections.

Of course, a deviation from that structure is what caused the tying goal, but we’ll get to that.

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Dig Up, Stupid: Hawks 3 – Senators 5

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Jonathan Toews: “Everyone seems to be a part of the bad habits that are kind of running contagiously through our lineup.”

DING DING DING. That also applies to the captain himself, though obviously he’s taking it upon himself as well.

Tonight was a perfect microcosm of what’s been this Hawks team lately, and honestly for most of the season at this point. Structurally they are off, not allowing them to play the game they need to, but their star power enables them to have a chance to win. Either Hossa, Sharp, and Toews drag them by the gonads to victory, or they lose. Lately, it’s been the latter more often. It’s disheartening because we all thought after being truly thumped last night due to structural problems there would be a response. There usually is from the Hawks. Tonight, they got worse. WAY WORSE.

And tonight, another layer of simple laziness was added to the mix (or is it lethargy?). The same breakout bullshit we’ve seen all year was still present, with forwards doing a flash mob in the neutral zone instead of breaking in packs and being available for their d-men to easily find. The Hawks then added a simple refusal to get back and pressure the Ottawa forwards from behind, consistently subjecting their d-men to odd-man rushes and open ice.  Even Toews was guilty, as he wasn’t exactly busting it back to help out with Spezza in the middle of the ice for what really was the killer third Sens’ goal.

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Fantasy Killer: Stars 2 – Hawks 4

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When the Stars look back on what will likely be a missed playoff spot, it might be this night that they point to. Before the night they probably counted on the Penguins doing them a favor and perhaps sneak a point or two off a still sleepy Hawks team. The Hawks weren’t all that sleepy, the Pens probably were, and the Hawks walked away with two points and the Starts with a three-point gap to the last wild card.

It’s still kind of startling how the Hawks can exert just enough to not only swing a game but pretty much dominate it. The shot-board says 42-27, and there were definitely stretches where the Hawks pinned the Stars in. But this wasn’t an all-out assault we’ve seen before. It was more pure control, not letting anything get out of the bottle (except for Garbutt’s two goals). Containment rather that domination. It’s still quite effective, and doesn’t take everything out of the legs.

So let’s get to it.

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Get On Down To I-76: Hawks at Flyers Preview/Pregame Thread/All You Can Eat Buffet

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oldschool vs. Radio-Flyer-Classic-Red-Wagon-lg

FACEOFF: 6:30pm Central

TV/RADIO: CSN, NBCSN, WGN Radio 720

GET ALONG, 76ers: Broad Street Hockey (but good God don’t ask about our cheesesteaks)

After getting some things back aligned against the Grand Rapids Griffins on Sunday, the Hawks look to keep it going with a return to the scene of the crime (the first one, not the second. God I love writing that).

News out of the morning skate sees Antti Raanta taking the start. While I fear for how he will deal with Wayne Simmonds, Scott Hartnell, and others in his smallish grill all night, let’s all be relieved that Q wasn’t tempted to try and wheel Crawford out for both halves of this back-to-back (especially as tomorrow night basically constitutes the Hawks Central Division Last Stand). Michal Rozsival and Brandon Saad will both miss out with injuries to various parts. While some will cower in fear at the thought of Brookbank drawing in, by every measure he’s been just about Rozie’s equal this year and whatever problems he’s had could be attributed partially to lack of sharpness.