The Hawks took the ice for two games this weekend and wouldn’t you know the outcome was pretty much the exact same.
The first game was Saturday against the hated Red Wings and the team dropped that one 3-0. It was a tight game up through the first two periods as neither team could find the back of the net. Things fell apart fast for the Hawks in the third as they let up a quick goal less than two minutes in to the period, and then two more less than 2 minutes apart mid-way through the period and that was all she wrote for this one.
A few takeaways from this game:
Alex Stalock:
Stalock has had an interesting last few years of his career, after catching Covid and then, suffering from a Covid related heart condition, there were questions if he would ever play again. He only would play. In 17 AHL games and 1 NHL game last season, his signing was a bit of a head scratcher, but given the goal of this season, it wasn’t the worst move. Tonight he showed flashes of promise stopping 32 of the 35 shots he faced and even on the 3 goals he had little help from his defensemen. Expectations are low for him, but if he can put in this kind of effort when he gets the call, I won’t complain.
Lukas Reichel:
Again, the biggest question facing the final roster of this team is does he have a spot or not? Even though it didn’t show up on the score sheet, I think he has shown enough to earn a spot on this roster. However, the goal is to ease the younger players into NHL action so all bets are off until opening night.
Penalty Kill:
The PK system was much better in this game and it seemed like Coach Richardson’s system is starting to set in. I really like that they are playing a more aggressive PK but they are going to really need to perfect this because shutting down Detroit is one thing, when you face the top power play units in the league, it's a completely different game.
Sunday night's game was a part of the Home Away Form Home Series in Milwaukee. This game saw the Hawks drop yet another game, 3-0, this time to the Minnesota Wild. This was an extremely tough game to watch as the Hawks could only muster 12 shots on goal. Special teams was again an issue for this team, but this time they let up 2 shorthanded goals and like Saturday they let up 2 goals less than 2 minutes apart midway through the 3rd period.
A few takeaways from this game:
Depth Problems:
Now let's give this team the benefit of the doubt, most of this roster again was played with guys who have a one-way ticket to either the AHL or their Junior teams. With that being said the bottom 6 for this team offensively is up for grabs and to be honest, no one has really stood out. This team is going to rely heavily on the 89/13/88 line and this is where things get extremely ugly.
Petr Mrazek:
Mrazek looked pretty good out there, stopping 30 of the 33 shots he faced. I think that he is going to have a decent season as he is playing with a chip on his shoulder and trying to prove he still belongs in this league. If he puts up numbers like this throughout the season, we might just have another trade piece to bring in some more assets at the TDL.
Roster Moves and Injuries
After the game on Saturday, the team announced that goaltender Jaxson Stauber has been assigned to Rockford. Defensemen Nolan Allan and Ethan Del Mastro have been returned to their Junior teams. Also, defenseman Adam Clendening and goaltender Dylan Wells have been released from their PTOs.
The team also announced a series of injuries. Boris Katchouk will be out for 4-6 weeks with an ankle sprain. Jujhar Khaira is day to day with an ankle injury, and Connor Murphy is still considered day to day with back soreness. Caleb Jones also left Sundays game in the 3rd period with an apparent shoulder injury and would be further evaluated Monday.
The Hawks take the ice for their next preseason game this Thursday against the Wild in Minnesota.
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