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DUCKS

Somewhere between the mountains and the ocean in Orange County, the Hawks found their missing mojo, and dealt a pretty decisive 4-1 defeat to the NHL-leading Anaheim Ducks last night.

It was a huge night for the previously missing second line: 8 points between Patrick Kane (2/1), Patrick Sharp (0/4) and Brad Richards (0/1). The Hawks thoroughly outshot the Ducks. Limiting Anaheim to just 22 shots. A relatively easy night for Corey Crawford—who deserved one. The Hawks dialed up their speed and intensity and it showed.

It puts an entirely different feel on this team, now 1-1 on the road trip, going into another tough matchup tonight in San Jose.


SHARKS

Antti meets Antti (Raanta, Niemi) tonight in the goalie matchup. Look for the Hawks' lines and pairings to remain essentially the same.

Game time 9:30 Central. TV on SportsNet in Canada, CSN Chicago and CSN California.


RUMOR

If you can say Nicolas Deslauriers five times fast, you aren't just an accomplished francophone, you've also named the Hawks latest rumored trade target. Five times.

Yay, you.

Big, fast and with a plus shot, Buffalo winger Deslauriers is a converted defenseman who can really light people up with big hits.

Apparently, I'm told, the talks (originally reported here) with Vancouver re: Zack Kassian ultimately led to the Clendening-Forsling deal just consummated, but nothing is happening on the Kassian front, so the Hawks have shifted focus to Deslauriers (perhaps among others).

I'll have a Sharks recap tomorrow.



JJ

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