It’s been obvious to anyone that’s been paying attention that the Hawks’ game has been off since the turn of the calendar, if not a little before. Sure, Sharp and Hossa and Toews covered it up in New Jersey, and have at other times. But they certainly weren’t near their best on Long Island, or in New Jersey, the Sharks kind of dictated play on Sunday, and here we are tonight.
The Hawks had their spurts. The 2nd period, or most of it, was one-way traffic. But they didn’t start well, Crow gave up a couple goals he’d like back, and the 3rd was just kind of… meh. They thought about winning it, they didn’t really look like they wanted to until it was too late.
I don’t think it’s anything other than a midseason malaise. You knew there’d be a dip somewhere. The Hawks used to make it in March. Maybe it’s now. But some factors that we’ve been talking about were once again on show.
