Staying Up Late With The Hawks And The Ducks: Worth It!

The Blackhawks kicked off a West coast road trip in Anaheim with a close win against the struggling Ducks. This is the first game for both teams since the trade deadline on Monday and though the Hawks didn't add any new players from the deadline, it saw the return of Reese Johnson from injury. Johnson took the place of Ryan Carpenter on the 4th line, who was dealt to the Calgary Flames and Kevin Lankinen returned to the net after Marc Andre Fleury went to Minnesota.  It'll be up to Lankinen to carry the load for the rest of the season and hopefully he can improve on his 3 wins this season. 

Positives:

•  A win: is a win and any wins the Hawks get between now and the end of the regular season will only help the confidence of this fragile organization. With so many players (Kubalik, Strome, Kurachev, Lafferty, de Haan, C.Jones, Gustafsson, Lankinen) becoming free agents (UFA/RFA) this summer, this will be an opportunity for those players to show they want to stay, so I expect the team won't be coasting to the golf course just yet. The Hawks actually have more cap space than they've had in years, so they can afford to sign some of these players, so let's see who plays their way back and who plays themself off the team. Looking elsewhere is another option.

Dylan Strome's beautiful deflection was the game winning goal.

• Power-play: The Hawks PP went 2/3 and it has looked strong the last couple games. Brandon Hagel's spot on the PP has been replaced by Taylor Raddysh who has scored 2 goals (one last night) since he's joined the Hawks. When Strome, Kane, DeBrincat and Jones are on, the power-play can be lethal. You can't deny there is chemistry with the addition of Raddysh.
  

• Kevin Lankinen: As mentioned above, Lankinen isn't enjoying a good season, though he's played good at times, his inconsistent play (and bad bounces) has only given him 3 wins to show for it. Make that 4 wins after last night's win. He played extremely well, especially in the first period and maybe with more starts his confidence will bring him back to the level he was playing earlier last season. He will get the majority of starts, with Colin Delia called up from Rockford to back him up. The Blackhawks only have Arvid Soderblom signed to play goal next season, so it'll be up the Lankinen to prove he is worthy of a re-sign.

• Sam Lafferty: What can you say about Lafferty? Since he arrived in Chicago from the Pens, in a trade for Alex Nylander, he has been a major surprise, for not only dressing every night for the Hawks, but for his energetic, hard nose play. He has been noticeable and last night he had several grade A chances created from his speed and aggressive style, he seemed to be everywhere. His line with Kurachev and Dach actually had the second most ice time besides the Strome line. He reminds me of Hagel last season, who worked his ass off and created many of his own opportunities, but didn't have a scoring touch. Hagel found it this season and if Lafferty can finish more plays, he can be a very efficient player for the Hawks going forward. Definitely should be re-signed this summer.

Quick notes:

• It was 70 years ago (1952), when Bill Mosienko scored the three fastest goals in league history with 3 in 21 seconds. Blackhawks coach, Derek King scored 3 in 78 seconds when he played with the Islanders in 1991 which is the third fastest.
• Speaking of King, he and Ducks coach, Dallas Eakins were roommates when they both played for the Leafs back in 1998-99 and coached together with the Toronto Marlies starting in 2009. Just saying...
  

Up next: another late one against the LA Kings tonight at 9:00 pm CST. The Jets host the Sens at 7.