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The walls are crumbling in on the Blackhawks of 2017-18.

Another loss to a struggling Canucks team puts the Hawks at 0-3 on this 6 game road trip.

I would love to say I see the rainbow past the rain, but my spidey sense is telling me that this team just doesn't have the horse to make the playoffs, let alone make it past the 1st round (like management was banking on).

Here are 10 quick thoughts in my brain:

1) I thought Joel Quenneville had the lines in good shape after Wednesday's skate, but for whatever reason switched them up inserting Sharp and Hartman. I'm not sure what he's seeing in Sharp, maybe he likes his veteran presence in the lineup surrounding so many young guys? Whatever the case may be, Hinostroza or Panik need to be in there in lieu of #10. C'mon Q!

2) I watched the Sportnets Vancouver feed last night and as annoying as it was at times, they mentioned multiple times that "this Hawks team has really been up and down this season." Boy, are they right about that; even the homer Canucks broadcaster sounded confused about what this team "is"?

The Hawks appear to be caught between not having enough skilled players and a new insertion of role players trying to make a difference in the same "skilled system" that Q has been running for a decade on Chicago. There are just too many passengers on this team, the personnel or tactics on the ice need to change.

3) Offense? What offense?

Over the course of the season, Joel Quenneville has cautioned the media not to just look at shot totals. The amount of shots of goal doesn't always indicate dangerous scoring chances.

Bogie posted something on the last thread from Charlie Roumeliotis (NHL/NBA Chicago):

@CRoumeliotis

#Blackhawks shot attempts: 58 (44 at 5-on-5, 32 on goal total).

Canucks shot attempts: 45 (31 at 5-on-5, 31 on goal total).

5-on-5 scoring chances were 25-22 Chicago. Heat map: (check out Charlie's twitter for the picture of the heat map)

Looking like familiar struggles where the Hawks are shooting a lot from afar and not a lot of traffic in front.

4) I'm trying to figure out whether Saad is injured or not. He's really struggling and maybe Coach Q should use the Mike Babcock strategy of tossing him on the 4th line for a couple games to give him a spark.

5) David Kampf made his debut last night. He was neither amazing nor terrible, but I did like that he seems to use his body and has a heavy stick. I even spotted #64 out there on the PK. He looks to be the exact mold that Coach Q is drawn to in a bottom 6 role. Looks like Kampf can get a little more comfortable with Anisimov

6) Elephant in the room, Q said Artem Anisimov could "miss some time", so give that conveniently written Center of Attention blog I published this week another read. Or not, it may scare you. As it stands, it looks like Toews-Schmaltz-Kampf-Wingels are your C depth for the foreseeable future.

7) Will Jeff Glass get into his first ever NHL game? I'm thinking no, but it if Q is really looking to shake things up and give Forsberg a rest, maybe he sends the 32-year old out to face Connor McDavid and Co.

8) Gustav Forsling, everyone's darling this year, started hot and showed a lot of promise but is really looking lost these days. I thought he would have had a strong showing last night against his former team, but that didn't happen. He was -3 and played 15+ mins (which would have been lowest on the team if Murphy didn't leave for a bit to attend the quiet room).

Don't be surprised to see #42 take a seat in the next few weeks if this play continues.

9) On the other end, Connor Murphy is showing that he has a long-term place in Chicago. His strong play (on both sides) has been very encouraging and I can see him as a consistent top 4 defencemen for the coming years as he gets even more comfortable with his teammates and the system.

10) The Edmonton McDavid's were probably licking their chops after watching the Hawks last night. The Oilers have underachieved this year and look to be getting back on track now that Talbot and the rest of the team (excluding Klefbom) are healthy.

Don't let the 17-18-2 record fool you, the Hawks will have to put forth a much, much better effort tonight.



Will you be watching or are you giving up on this road trip?

Discuss.

See you out there!

JL

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