CHICAGO, IL -- Aw, crap.
I really thought we didn't have to go back down this road.
But, this is starting to look suspiciously like last year, and let me tell you--I hate it.
It's early, and they certainly have time to turn things around, but they need to be quick about it. Wasting too much time playing sloppy hockey early on can ruin a team down the road.
I don't have anything else for this section, aside from the fact that Jonathan Toews is infuriatingly close to 300 goals--sitting at 299 as of last night.
Let's just... start, I guess. Oh, boy.
BLACKHAWKS @ ST. LOUIS BLUES - L, 3-7
I mean, yikes. Have I said that a lot this season? Yeah, but it's been warranted.
Why did the worst loss of the season have to come from one of the few teams in the league that I just can't stand? To make things worse, it's not like the Blues are even that good this year (even though they should be--that's a story for another day)--the Hawks really shouldn't have dropped this one.
Ryan O'Reilly literally scored eighteen seconds into the game. Eighteen.
That was pretty much the moment I knew this game wouldn't end well for the Hawks. Too early? Maybe.
It was a miscue on Henri Jokiharju's part (hey, rookie mistakes happen--better now rather than later), and boom. The Blues are on the board in a game that I thought was a pretty important one for them to win, given all of the stress around Mike Yeo and his job security.
But, as per usual, Patrick Kane turned all Hawks fans' frowns upside-down, scoring just a few moments later--that marked his tenth of the season, and boy, did it feel good.
Yeah, that feeling didn't last too long into the night.
The Hawks gave up another chance on a dumb play and let Zach Sanford basically score an open net--I thought I saw Duncan Keith misread that one, which was surprising as he's usually on top of it. Either way, the Hawks were down again in the first period.
Brent Seabrook took a dumb penalty for delay of game--in the referee's defense (do not ever let me say that again), it was a fair call. Seabrook held the puck instead of dropping it instantly from his glove and that does, well, delay the game. The penalty kill looked alright, so the boys lived to see another day.
Finally, on a Alex Pietrangelo misread-slash-turnover (what was with both defenses in this game, by the way? Awful on both ends, in my opinion), Artem Anisimov fired one home, and boom. Tie-freaking-game. Am I starting to repeat myself?
YES. BECAUSE THIS IS WHAT HAPPENS EVERY GAME.
Sorry. Lost my composure there for a second.
Carry on.
The second period saw two more Blues goals, one from Vladimir Tarasenko on the power play (I can't be too mad on these--the kid's on my fantasy team, so I guess I'll allow it) and the other from Tyler Bozak. Yeah, I wasn't a happy camper, to say the least.
The Hawks got their first power play of the game, and you guessed it--did absolutely nothing with it. They did kill off another penalty, so I guess that's good? Yeah, we'll call it good.
And boom. Again. Kane with the beautiful wrister, right past Jake Allen. How does he do this on a nightly basis? The world may never know.
Allen did get hurt a few plays later--one of his own players (Sanford, I think), hit him at a weird angle and he got knocked to the ground. He didn't move for a few moments, and god, it sucks to see players go down like that. He was helped off the ice by the Blues' medical staff, and backup Chad Johnson came in to replace him.
I thought maybe the Hawks could make a comeback at that point--I really hadn't seen any action from Johnson (not that I watch Blues games that often), so I wasn't sure what to expect.
Yeah, no luck.
The Blues scored three in the third period--does it matter who scored for them? I mean, technically, yes, but I don't do technicalities. This is my blog, and I say that no, it doesn't matter.
Because the Hawks just laid a big, fat egg.
This was easily the worst game of the year thus far, and I really hope that's where it stays.
BLACKHAWKS V. EDMONTON OILERS - L/OT, 1-2
I'll be honest here and say that I wasn't expecting a win here. So a loss in overtime wasn't that bad, comparatively speaking. The Hawks were on the second half of a back-to-back, as were the Oilers, and it was easy to tell early on that both teams were gassed.
The Hawks took a couple of penalties and got a couple of power plays early in the first period, but neither team could really do anything.
Until our prodigal
Yes, folks, from a beautiful pass from Kane, Seabrook scored on the power play and the Hawks have the lead about midway through the first period.
But, the Oilers didn't want to let the period end without giving the Hawks a little run for their money. Zack Kassian fired one past Cam Ward and, yes folks, in a stunning turn of events, we have a tied game.
Can the Hawks keep a lead? Asking for a friend.
Anyways, the second period was absolutely dry and boring. A few power plays here, great scoring chances there, but nothing. The period ended still knotted at one a piece.
I really did think the Hawks would score in the third period--they weren't playing as bad as they had been the night before, so I thought maybe something would go in.
No such luck there.
They did get a power play, drawn by Brandon Saad when Ryan Strome whacked him in the face (yeah, that's not allowed), but again, nothing came from it. Sadly, that was really the highlight of the period.
Aside from Ward literally hitting the puck off Connor McDavid's stick--that was kind of hilarious. He literally reached his goalie stick all the way out to whack the puck off the kid's stick and it was like taking candy from, well, a kid.
Either way, the third period was just as dry as the second.
Oh, overtime. How I have not missed you.
Well. McDavid scored. That's not new.
This loss was decidedly less bad than the one to the Blues the night before--I don't think the Hawks even played that badly here. But, you have to play smart against McDavid--the dude will score on you without a question, and that's exactly what happened in overtime.
I don't completely fault the Hawks on this one--I think it was an okay game for them, and I thought they played pretty well for a team on the second half of a back-to-back.
BLACKHAWKS @ VANCOUVER CANUCKS - L, 2-4
Hm.
I'm sensing a trend that I don't want to sense.
Let me start out by saying I was nervous about this game. Why? Oh, nothing really, just that our star player, Patrick Kane, wasn't playing.
Yeah, you heard me.
Kane missed the game against Vancouver with an undisclosed illness, and that marked the first time he'd missed a game since the 2014-2015 season, when he broke his collarbone. Mr. Iron Man broke his 258-game streak.
Pretty unbelievable.
Either way, I wasn't sure what to expect once they finally came out and said he wasn't playing. He's clearly the top goal-scorer and usually, alongside Corey Crawford, the one that keeps the Hawks in the game.
I think it's safe to say the Hawks felt his absence that night.
Brandon Saad was able to strike first pretty early in the first period, notching his third of the season thus far--it's nice to see him scoring again, but I'm still hoping his production kicks into higher gear. I think a lot of us Hawks fans are, honestly.
But, Jake Virtanen (one of my favorite players in the league--yeah, it's a long story) scored just before the end of the period, and yes, you guessed right again. Tie game.
One of these days, I won't write that in a blog, I swear.
The second period saw a pretty quick start from the Hawks--Jonathan Toews scored just a minute and change into the period (on the power play!), and I thought things were looking up. They kind of were--Toews hit 299 goals with this one, putting him just one away from 300 (yes, Meghan, that's how math works).
It's not often the Hawks play well in the second period, but this looked like a promising start, right?
Yeah, not really. After the Hawks killed a Seabrook penalty, Virtanen scored yet again. It's really not fun to watch one of your favorite players not on your team beat up on your team.
It actually really sucks.
The third period ended without much fanfare, ending again in a tie. Will there ever be a period where the Hawks leave the second period winning? Doesn't seem like it.
Either way, the third period went down a further black hole, with Brendan Gaunce (who the Canucks just called up from Utica, their AHL affiliate) notching a goal and one of my other favorite players, Antoine Roussel, scoring as well (his first of the season!).
Roussel's goal was basically the nail in the coffin, and that my friends, was the game.
Let me repeat: the Hawks felt Patrick Kane's absence.
BLACKHAWKS @ OILERS, - L, 0-4
I'm going to be completely honest here.
We're not going to talk about this game. At least, not a lot. There's not much to say here that I haven't already said about the Hawks in this post alone.
The Hawks played terribly, the Oilers didn't and took advantage of a tired and sloppy Hawks team. They scored four goals unanswered on them, I mean, jeez. We don't need to rehash any of that.
I thought the first period was okay--the Hawks looked especially good in the last five or so minutes of play, but they couldn't seem to carry that momentum past the first period.
And, thus, we have the shelling that the team is just going to have to take in stride and move the hell on.
I think this week was just... a fluke. Yeah, I know I said I thought they'd go 2-1-1 this week but went 0-3-1, but you know what?
I think this team could still have it. If they really put the effort in, if they show up for the full 60 minutes, this team is good.
Whether or not they'll do it the rest of the season I guess depends on the players.
The Hawks only face two opponents in the coming week--in Calgary, playing the Flames, and at home against the Carolina Hurricanes.
Both teams are young(er, compared to the Hawks), so I think if the Hawks want to nab the four points up for grabs this week, they need to hustle, keep shooting on the power play, and start playing that full 60-minute game I know they can.
For now, they sit just outside of a wild card spot, behind the San Jose Sharks. They're actually technically tied for the last wild card spot as of today. They need to take four points this week if they want to stay in this race.
I'll ask again--are you in?
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