After a nice early Christmas gift in the form of an 8-game losing streak ending win, the Hawks returned to their regular broadcast dropping yet another game 3-0 to the Carolina Hurricanes. Now you can try to make excuses like the Hawks were at a disadvantage because they couldn’t leave until Tuesday morning due to the CBA holiday break rule (which cost Toronto a nice $100,000) but lets be honest this team was never going to have a chance going up against one of the hottest team in the league right now. With this win, the Canes have now won 9 in a row and have a 15-game point streak. A slow start for them has been fixed and they are showing why a lot of people had them as cup favorites going into the season.
As for the game itself, I honestly don’t think Mrazek played all that bad; he was bombarded all night long, facing 49 shots and turning away 46 of them, which gave him a .939 save percentage, which was a career high for him. You know the first goal he would want back after giving up a rebound, and then the second goal was an own goal from Murphy. The team in front of him gave him no help as they allowed a season-high 20 high-danger chances at 5 on 5, 12 of those coming in the first period. Overall, if Mrazek wasn’t on his game this one ends up extremely ugly.
Antti Raanta continues to dominate his former team as he stopped all 24 shots he faced and saw his career record against the Hawks improve to 5-1-1 with a 1.27 GGA and a .959 SV% and two shutouts. Safe to say he enjoys getting his revenge against the Hawks whenever he gets the chance.
While I wasn’t expecting much, I was hoping Toews and Kane would build on their good performances against the Blue Jackets; however they were ghost in this one. Combined, they only managed to get 3 shots on goal, two of which came from Toews, and both of those came with under 3 minutes left to go in the game. Now their resume speaks for itself and their value is known. I just hope they are able to get things going and really perform well as we start to get into trade talk time.
Next up, the St. Louis Blues.
The Blues fall in to the underperforming category and one of those teams that have to be licking their lips to see the Hawks up next on their schedule. They come into tonight's game with a 16-16-3 record, having just dropped their last game 5-4 in overtime against the Toronto Maple Leafs. That actually marks back to back overtime losses as they dropped their last game before the break to the Knights in the shoot out. They are 5-2-3 over their last 10 and have seemed to struggle at home a bit with a 6-7-2 record. The last time these two teams faced off was in the middle of their first 8-game losing streak, and the Blues handed the Hawks a 5-2 loss. I expect more or less the same this time around, but what could make things interesting is that it should be Stalocks turn in net. He has been a nice bright spot for this team this year as he accounts for half of the Hawks 8 victories.
Another interesting thought I had on the lastest episode of WCBPodcast (links below), Stalock has shown a lot of emotion, especially against the Blue Jackets. He was getting into the face of Blue Jacket players when he felt he needed to stand up for his teammates and has shown he has a bit of a crazy side. If Binnignton ends up getting the start tonight, will we finally see someone put Bennington in his place if he tries his antics? Just a little food for thought.
With the way this season has gone for St. Louis, they are a team that might have to decide if they are going to be sellers sooner than later. They have some big names on expiring deals in O’Reilly and Tarasenko that could be difference makers on playoff contenders. If they get to seller mode than they once again become rivals for the Hawks, as teams may see those guys as cheaper rentals than Kane and Toews.
Players to Watch
Jordan Kyrou 17 goals 16 assists 33 points
Robert Thomas 8 goals 24 assists 32 points
Vladimir Tarasenko 10 goals 19 assists 29 points
World Juniors Update
After an embarrassing loss, Team Canada answered back in a big way beating Germany 11-2. Now, if you were unsure if Bedard was worth the tank job, I think you are getting your answer. He tied a Hockey Canada single game record with 7 points (3 goals 4 assists) he has 8 points in two games, and also has every hockey insider praising his game and readiness to make the jump to the NHL next year. There is still a lot that has to happen for the Hawks to land him, but man just watching him has to get you a little excited.
As for prospects already in the system, Kevin Korchinski picked up two assists against Germany and Colton Dach picked up an apple of his own.
If you have NHL Network or have away to stream this tournament, I highly recommend it. These games are always exciting to watch even the blow outs and it is a great palate cleanser from watching bad Hawks hockey every night.
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