I will start off with the good news.
I was asked a couple of days ago if there were any chance of the Hawks not making the Playoffs this season. I said it would be highly unlikely unless Khabibulin was not able to perform at a high level.
Last night Khabibulin came up with some very good stops and flashed the same top form that has been seen for much of this season. He was exposed to many odd man breaks as the Devils counter attacked the Hawks to a tee. If not for some timely big saves the contest would not have had an interesting ending, actually the game was not as close as the score.
Now for the last of the good news from last night.
Although outplayed the Hawks did not quit and provided New Jersey fans with an exciting finish. I realize the second bit of good news might be somewhat of a stretch but a lesser group could have folded early.
Now for reality…
When everything is going great a lot of mistakes go unnoticed and certainly aren’t focused on in the same way as when a team is frequently losing.
Brain cramps, unfinished checks, and poor positioning are not as glaring when a team is winning.
I can’t imagine why the Hawks were not dialed in to start last night’s game.
On the Devils first goal, both Hawk defensemen were caught flat footed and there wasn’t a Chicago forward in the slot area.
On the second New Jersey goal, I don’t know why Matt Walker could not do a better job of fronting Travis Zajac.
The result was another 2-0 deficit to start the game, which does make the task of winning more difficult. Getting an early lead does help a team succeed but mistakes also have to be limited and scoring opportunities must be capitalized on.
Not scoring first and falling behind early are not the real reasons the Hawks are losing.
In their last five losses the Hawks have scored a total of 11 goals.
Seven of the 11 goals have come while on the power play.
Believing the Hawks are losing only because they are falling behind early is somewhat like saying your basement flooded because there was a heavy rain even though your sump pump was broken too. The rain didn’t help matters but the basement would not have flooded if the pump wasn’t broken.
The Blackhawks have scored only four even strength goals in their last five losses. They are losing because they are making mistakes and getting out played.
Averaging barely two goals a game even though pulling out all the stops to score in the 3rd period of many recent losses does say it all.
Back to the Devil loss, the winning goal was a combination of errors by the same player.
On the back breaking third New Jersey score Brian Campbell acted as if he was part of a relay team with Duncan Keith. Keith was almost completely off the ice on a player change before Campbell jumped over the boards; it was as if he was waiting for Keith to hand him a baton.
The late sleepy change could have been over looked but then Campbell compounded that mistake.
Instead of skating in a straight line toward the net he chose to go towards the Devil with the puck who was already being checked on the wing by Toews. The end result was another New Jersey forward left wide open in the slot and a Brian Gionta short handed goal.
It is not difficult to critique from afar.
What needs to be realized is that the Hawks are at the end of a long grueling season. Tired players make mistakes, sometimes it is mostly from mental fatigue. They have played the last month with some significant injuries and they are now making costly errors.
To keep hearing the reason for the recent slump is primarily because of poor starts is not really telling the whole story and somewhat misleading. Almost every team that goes through hard times has one significant similarity, they all have trouble scoring.
The Hawks have to learn from the bad times and fight their way through it.
There really is no good time to go into a scoring slump and that is especially true now. The added pressure of the Playoff race doesn’t help but it is another learning experience for this young team.
The Hawks took 32 shots at the great Brodeur with 15 coming from three players. That wouldn’t be a big issue except Byfuglien, Keith and Brouwer are not among this Club’s top goal scorers.
Havlat and Kane combined for only three shots on goal and Versteeg had none.
Toews like Kane had two shots on Brodeur but that duo had a tough time checking the Devil forwards. They both ended up a -2 on the night and Kane looked frustrated much of the evening. He was also trying to force passes on the power play that were leading to scoring chances against, rather than for the Hawks.
The Hawks are probably leading the NHL in one category of late. I can’t remember seeing more players on the same team crashing into each other as in the last three games.
I suppose that is another sign of being out of sync.
As the saying goes when the going gets tough the tough get going…tonight in Columbus it would be a good time to either get tough or to get going.
Actually it would be best to do both soon.
Al’s Shots
Although it is easy to be down on the Blackhawks now…Who would have thought it would take until St. Patrick’s Day for them to suffer three regulation losses in a row?
The Canucks won their 10th straight at home last night, a Franchise record, and are now tied with the Hawks at 83 points.
The Canucks stay home to play the Blues on Thursday and then will take to the road for a five game swing. They will end their long trip with a game in Chicago on March 29th.
The Hawks will use up their game in hand on Vancouver tonight as they skate against the Blue Jackets.
The Jackets are coming off a home shutout loss to the Wings on Sunday.
Huet will start in goal once again against the Jackets.
A tough turn around for the Hawks, the Jackets have been waiting and resting.
That is the same type of set up that found Columbus coming out on top against the Hawks last week at the UC. This time the Jackets have the scheduling edge.
Right now I wouldn’t bet against the Devils getting to the Cup Finals, or even winning the big prize.
Congratulations go out to Marty Brodeur, 552 wins is a fantastic achievement.
Some will argue he is not the greatest goalie of all time. It is hard to compare players from different eras but no one has been more consistently good than Brodeur.
Seven 40 win seasons is an unbelievable accomplishment.
Last season, I thought Brodeur looked a bit tired during the Playoffs as he let in some uncharacteristic goals. I doubt if that will be the case this time, getting hurt earlier this season could be a blessing in disguise for Brodeur and the Devils.
Could the Stanley Cup race feature a Sutter brother Final…Devils-Flames?
If the Devils can dispose of their early Playoff opponents quickly they may have a distinct advantage over any Western Conference foe.
The Devils will be tough to beat this season; they are built for Playoff hockey and Brodeur will be fresh. Brent Sutter has done a great job.
The strong defensive minded Devils held the desperate Hawks to only five third period shots. The Hawks had more scoring chances but missed the net with regularity.
Pahlsson makes his debut tonight and Coach Q. has some options.
I think the Havlat line will stay together for the most part.
Kane and Toews will stay paired and I am thinking Pahlsson will be coupled with Versteeg.
After that it just could be whatever works best in a given game.
Once Sharp comes back in a week or so things will change again.
With so little goal production lately, Coach Q. won’t hesitate to try many different combos.
Byfuglien looks like he is most effective scoring when he is 25-30 feet away from the net.
Although often criticized Buff does find the open ice to shoot. The problem is he seldom converts from the area where he gets most of his chances to score…close to the net.
Byfuglien had a strong game last night, the effort was there. Now if he could only get a scoring touch from in close.
If he is still here next season, big Buff could go back on the blueline full time.
Byfuglien is not the only Hawk player that needs to improve on scoring from the goal mouth.
Al…
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