Box Score
Game Summary
War On Ice
It’s Trevor Van Riemsdyk’s world, we’re all just living in it.
vs. 
PUCK DROP: 7:30 Central
TV/RADIO: NBCSN, WGN Radio
GOIN’ CRAZY OUT BY DA LAKE DERE: Hockey Wilderness
The Hawks get to round out their tour of Central Division jobbers tonight with a home date against the Green and Red from the Twin Cities. Even though the Wild are going to have scrape and claw to just get the last playoff spot over the Avalanche, that doesn’t mean they haven’t been a total headache for the Hawks this season. It’s something you’d think the Hawks want to set straight, but at this time of year we’re never certain where the Hawks focus is.
It’s clear that Joel Quenneville recognizes what his team’s problems are. Defensive depth, trouble scoring at even-strength, some mismatched lines. He attempted to address them tonight, rightly or wrongly. It didn’t quite work and the Hawks dropped their 4th straight game. If it wasn’t for Panarin’s buzzer-beater in St. Louis, they wouldn’t even have a point in that stretch.
This one started a lot like the Kings’ game, but for a longer stretch where the Hawks had the upper hand. They actually took the lead this time when Ghost Bear broke his stick and fell over, giving Hossa a runway that he didn’t turn down. Once again, they hit a post or two or Neuvirth made a couple big saves that kept them from extending the lead. The bugaboo of a PK reared it’s ugly head again at the end of the 1st.
at 
Game Time: 7:30PM Central
TV/Radio: CSN, NHLN (US), SportsNet, WGN-AM 720
Ernest Givins’ Electric Glide: Defending Big D
From one BIGGEST GAME OF THE YEAR to the next, the Hawks now travel to Dallas to face the Stars, with whom they are currently tied for the top seed in both the division and conference, but hold the tiebreaker in regulation wins.
vs. 
PUCK DROP: 6pm Central
TV/RADIO: WGN for both
ROCKY MOUNTAIN WAY: Mile High Hockey
It’s the sound of the Avalanche coming to the United Center. Because they’ve won five of the last six here, even though by any measure the Hawks should be painting the walls of their new dressing room with the brains and innards of the Avs. But they don’t seem to here. Certainly not last time, when Semyon “Kiss With A Fist Is Better Than None” Varlamov walked out with his 73rd shutout of the Hawks, or at least that’s how it feels.
Box Score
Event Summary
War on Ice
Well that looks a bit more familiar. While some of the components of the roster are odd fits in their given lineup spots at best or not NHL players at worst, the Hawks were at least able to do something that they weren’t able to last year, and that’s beat Michael Hutchinson in regulation, who gave the Jets what they needed last year with a 3-0-1 record against the Hawks.
vs. 
PUCK DROP: 9pm Central
TV/RADIO: WGN, CBC, Sportsnet, WGN Radio 720
GARBAGE THROWERS: Nucks Misconduct
However it might have looked, most teams will take three of four points on the road and call it job done. While it came against two of the worst teams in the West, and the performances were borderline abject, the haul was not. The degree of difficulty gets turned up starting tonight. I mean I guess it does. The standings say it does, except I can’t figure out what it is the Canucks do well.
Two nights after getting pretty outplayed by one of the worst teams the West has to offer but having Crawford and the second line keep them afloat enough to pick it off in overtime, the Hawks tried the trick again but this time it was Darling who got to keep their putrid effort afloat long enough for a point. But this time they couldn’t grab the extra point in the carnival ride, as Johnny Gaudreau toyed with them for a minute before hornswoggling Seabrook for the winner.
The Hawks can make sure Crow and Darling get the most comfortable chairs on the plane to Vancouver tonight, and get the nicest suites when they stop in Vegas after the game. Because they’re the only two reasons they have three points they almost certainly don’t deserve all of. There’s no way to sugarcoat that in two games against the 25th and 28th ranked possession teams in the NHL, the Hawks have a 43% share. They’ve basically been clocked by the two Alberta teams who probably won’t sniff the playoffs (though don’t rule anything out in that mess of a division). And they can’t claim injuries as a problem.
For what feels like the first time this season, things have died down a bit with the Hawks news-wise. No injuries, no roster decisions, no turmoil-inducing losses, and just heading off on a roadtrip. Probably also helps calm things down now that the Bears are at least somewhat interesting, shifting attention (even if they’re not actually good). With two weeks on the road, a couple things to look for and watch.
-First, while no one on the main beat ever wants to say it, we haven’t shied from pointing out that some of the Hawks even-strength woes are a result of Jonathan Toews’s “struggles.” The Hawks are still a negative team overall at 5-on-5, which is a weird thing to say about them even at this point in the season. And then you realize the Hawks’ power play has been bailing them out at time and you nearly pass out.
at 
Game Time: 6:30PM CST
TV/Radio: CSN, NHLN, WGN-AM 720
Drones Over BKLYN: Lighthouse Hockey
The Hawks may have believed that Wednesday night was ripping the band aid on their horrendous offseason, but the true test of mettle begins tonight. This will be the first time Garbage Dick will have to face not only an audience who isn’t outwardly and wrongly sympathetic to his “plight”, but one that could very well be baying for blood every time he’s on the ice. There will be no banner ceremonies and coddling emcees to hide behind.
Add to the mix tonight being the home opener in a new building for a team with expectations of its own, in a city not exactly known for being subtle, and things could go sideways in a hurry.
