The Hawks played in a game to forget last Saturday as they fell to the Canadiens 3-2. Looking at the first three games this season, this was easily the worst effort from the team so far. The Canadiens seemed to control the play easily, as they kept the Hawks in check until the third period, when Tyler Johnson was able to put two away. It was a rough game from the net out, but that’s what’s to be expected from this team for the time being, but it doesn’t make it any easier to watch, especially when it's against a team that they should be more competitive against.
Takaways Special teams are on opposite ends.
The Hawks first power play unit has looked great this season; they move the puck and get some great looks, but they just cannot find the back of the net to save their lives.The team went 0 for 7 against the Habs and is now 0-14 on the season. While it sometimes seems like just bad puck luck, there are times it feels like this team is trying to get too cute with it out there. I'm far from a “shoot the puck” guy, but at some point this team needs to move the puck to the net. It doesn't matter how well you move the puck around the perimeter if you can’t get a decent shot on net. When shorthanded, the Hawks penalty kill has been perfect so far, going 7 for 7.
Faceoffs will be frustrating.
The team continues to put up a poor performance in the face-off dot, only winning 25% of their draws on Saturday night. Bedard continues to have a hard time adjusting, winning only 9 of 34 draws. Lukas Reichel is also struggling as he continues his transition to center, winning only 4 of 16 draws. Take the face-off stat however you want, but when the team is consistently starting each play without the puck, things aren’t going to be easy. I fully expect this to be a trend this season without a roster of true centers. All we can really hope for here is that Bedard and Reichel continue to learn and adjust as the year goes on.
Next Up: Toronto Maple Leafs, 2-0-0
The Hawks continue their season-opening road trip with their third straight game against an original six team when they face off against the Leafs. This is a game that can get ugly and out of hand fast, as it will be the first team they face this year that is considered a true Cup contender. The Leafs are coming in on a two-game winning streak, and what’s even more impressive is that Auston Mathews has opened the season with back-to-back hat tricks and is the only fifth player to accomplish this, with the most recent being the Great 8's Alex Ovechkin. The Leafs are coming into this season with more grit than they have had in recent years, adding Ryan Reaves, Tyler Bertuzzi, and a familiar face in Max Domi. While they have a top-tier offense, they still find themselves with some questions on the backend and on the net. I don’t expect those questions to really be a factor tonight, but hey, I also didn’t expect much from them against the Penguins or the Bruins, and the Hawks seemed to hold their own in those games.
Projected lines
#Blackhawks lines at practice: Hall-Bedard-Donato T. Johnson-Reichel-Raddysh Foligno-Dickinson-Perry Katchouk-Entwistle-Athanasiou
After initially receiving the news that he was going to be out week to week, Taylor Hall is expected to be back in the lineup tonight. That is great news, especially considering the injury history that Hall has. Speaking with reporters, he said he’s not 110%, but he’s healthy enough to play. Let's hope he’s not forcing himself back into the lineup too soon and making things worse.
From the line rushes at Sunday morning skate, it looks like the only other change in the lineup could be Guttman coming out and Entwistle drawing in. I have liked what I have seen from Guttman so far this year, but you have to figure out who will be in and out of the lineup. I am not the biggest fan of Entwistle, so seeing him take Guttman's spot is a bit frustrating for me.
As of this writing, there hasn’t been an announcement on who will be in net, but if you take what Coach Richardson said during camp, I would expect to see Soderblom in net. I think they will keep alternating starts between Mrazek and Soderblom until one of them steals the spot.
That’s going to be it for me from now on; if there are any major roster changes before puck drop, I will update this blog as soon as possible. Puck drop is at 6 p.m. central time. Lets Go Hawks!
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