All You Can Do Is Laugh: Hawks End It Like It Started

 

The Chicago Blackhawks closed out the regular season with appropriately, yet another loss, this time to the Buffalo Sabres. The Sabres are a team that has hit rock bottom and is on the rise with a bright future with 2 number one (overall) draft picks in the lineup on defense. The Hawks are close to hitting rock bottom and a rebuild will be in the works for the next couple of seasons. The Hawks habit of not protecting leads came into play as they had one goal leads twice in the game with the Sabres tying the game both times before scoring the overtime winner. A frustrating season for Hawks fans that has finally come to an end and hopefully their fortunes take an upward turn next season. Fingers crossed!

Takeaways:

• I missed watching the game on Friday, so I had to resort to watching the replay on Saturday afternoon, which is okay because where I live it's solidly rained all day. I don't know what's wrong with NHL Live, but the stream froze with 40 seconds left in the third and when I switched to the Sabres broadcast it stopped with the exact time left in the game. What the hell! If I was watching this live I would have been going crazy! I couldn't access the overtime so I had to resort to the highlights on the NHL website. Disappointing finish!
• For whatever reason, the Hawks wore their home red jerseys and as usual there was a lot of red in the crowd. Despite a losing season, it was a good crowd in Buffalo.
• Speaking of, "for whatever reason", Sabres goalie (and former Blackhawk), Malcolm Subban sang the American anthem. Smiles from both teams, Subban did a commendable job, though he had a little trouble with some of the high notes and some other notes...😄 Well done Malcolm!

• Goals: Dominik Kubalik opened the scored about midway through the second period with his 15th goal of the season from a sneaky feed from Alex Vlasic for his 2nd point of the season. Dom's had rough season, but he's shown good compete level for the past month or so, maybe he can carry that into next year. Dylan Strome broke a 1-1 tie with a nice deflection about midway through the third with his 22nd. A good bounce back second half of the season for Dylan who has been a good fit with Kane and the Cat. Unfortunately, the lead didn't hold up with Owen Power tying it up to force OT about five minutes later.

• Quick notes: The Hawks resigned Sam Lafferty to two more seasons. Good move by the Hawks, it's an affordable deal for a player that has shown what a lot of hard work and hustle can do. He is the polar opposite of Alex Nylander the player they traded to acquire Laffy. Interestingly, the player they traded to get Nylander from the Sabres, Henri Jokiharju, who was a top Hawks prospect a couple of years ago, is now a solid top-4 D for Buffalo. Collin Delia played a good game, though Power's goal was stoppable. The future of Delia is as uncertain as the whole goaltending situation with the Hawks. It will be an interesting off-season.
• Patrick Kane finished the season with 93 points, his third highest total. For such a losing season, this really reflects the importance and reliance of scoring placed on Kane who had 14 more points than Alex DeBrincat. To put in perspective how top heavy the scoring is with the top line, the points drop with the next highest scorer after Kane/Cat/Strome and Seth Jones to Jonathan Toews with 37 points. Hard to imagine if the rebuild includes dealing some or all of these players. I cringe to think about it.

Up next: Well, the regular season is over for the Blackhawks and it'll be a time now to evaluate what went wrong. As a fan of the team I can only hope this "rebuild" will be quick and less painful than this season. We need some optimism and I really hope the team's management and ownership is in the right hands. What do I know, I don't even live in Chicago. The same could be said for my hometown, Winnipeg Jets who also are wrapping up a disappointing season. Unlike the Hawks, they have a solid core of players that just need a fine tune and add a couple key positions. The Hawks may have to tear it down!

Wake Me Up When It's Over: Zzzzzzz....Looooose!

Despite out-shooting the San Jose Sharks 28-19, the Blackhawks mainly shot blanks, while the Sharks capitalized on their chances. It took both teams six minutes into the opening period to register the first shot and it was the Sharks that took the first, then scored on the rebound. It got worse from there as the Sharks scored two more before the Hawks scored late in the second period. The Sharks added another in the third on the PP, but for the most part the period was filled with pointless penalties and boring "action". Yes, there were periods of time in the second and third I felt drowsy and it wasn't from the half beer I was nursing. Another uneventful and uninspired effort from the Hawks that generated some harmless chances and when it was 3-1 early in the third, I was thinking, "if they can get the next goal, we have a hockey game (I love hockey cliches!)", but on cue the Sharks scored the fourth...oh well, one week left.

Highlights?

• To be honest, from a Hawks standpoint there wasn't much highlights. Let's see...Tyler Johnson scored his 3rd of the season and you know this team has trouble scoring goals when the "2nd" line has scored a majority of goals recently. The Strome/Cat/Kane line had the most opportunities and definitely were the biggest threat, but there are times you can feel that Kane just wants this season to end soon.

• Lankinen was so-so in the game with his rebound control still an issue. The first goal was a perfect example. He did make a couple highlight reel-type saves, as he has his last couple starts, but his defense didn't help with giveaways-a-plenty.

• If it wasn't obvious already, Henrik Borgstrom doesn't get much love from his coach, Derek King. Going from a frequent healthy-scratch to playing barely over 5 minutes (5:39), you have to wonder if he'll be back next season. Believe it or not he has more than twice as many penalty minutes (20) than points (7) this season and for a supposedly young skilled player that isn't physical, this won't help his playing time. I truly think he has some untapped potential, but his confidence level couldn't be very high right now.
  

Up next: The Blackhawks final week of the regular season begins on Monday back at home against the Philadelphia Flyers at 7:00 pm. A nice little three game winning streak to end the season would be a nice way to close out a horrible season. Unlikely, but not impossible...😏

Playing Out The String: Winning Streak Ends

I guess we shouldn't be surprised, not that the Blackhawks lost again, but the fact it'll get increasingly painful to watch this team for the rest of the season. It's a team that has absolutely nothing to play for the season so why bother trying, tight?. It's one thing if they wanted to play spoilers and want to end the season on a high note, but judging by the lack of intensity or pushing to gain zone time is reflected in their lack of actual chances to score. There have been moments when the team is playing the right way and there are some players that have something to prove (perhaps to get re-signed?) and it is an opportunity for players such as Vlasic and Regula to gain more pro-level experience. On the positive side there is only one more week to the regular season, so hang in there Hawks fans.

Quick takeaways:

• Need shots! The Hawks finished the game out-shot by LA 36-16, which is flattering considering at the halfway point of the game it was 23-6. The score was flattering as well as, Collin Delia kept the Hawks in the game especially in the first period when it seemed like the puck was in the Hawks end most of the period (which it was). Despite the lack of chances, the Hawks hung in there and were within a goal until around the 12 minute mark of the third. The Kings scored two goals in 15 seconds to take a 4-1 lead and it was game over. How many times this season have they given up goals in quick succession?

• Goal?: The Hawks only goal almost didn't happen. Patrick Kane's goal was challenged by the Kings for offside, as Kane was trying to tag up to the blue line before DeBrincat entered the zone (Kane had to get his skate to the blue line from inside the zone, before the Cat could fully cross the blue line into the zone). The replay angles revealed it was too close to call and fortunately the call on the ice was a good goal. This made it 2-1, plus the Hawks went on the PP, which went nowhere and they were lucky to get out of the period down by one. Jonathan Toews and Dominik Kubalik were stuck on the ice for the final 3 1/3 minutes of the second period. Toews was a little...well, a lot frustrated after the period (see photo above).
  

• After the the Kings 4th goal, Collin Delia left the game after laying on the ice in pain following the goal. He stretched across side to side and I suspect he must of pulled something. It's too bad because he played well and if not for the two quick goals, he almost stole one from the Kings.

Up next: The road trip concludes in San Jose on Saturday at 7:00 pm. Another meaningless match between two non-playoff teams. I'll watch anyways, of course.

Closer Than They Appear: Hawks Still Lose

It wasn't the start the Blackhawks wanted, as they game up a goal 22 seconds into the game and that was followed by another goal six minutes later to give the Calgary Flames the early lead. The Hawks responded less than a minute later, but the Flames added one more before the end of the first period. Mid-way through the game, the Hawks were being out-shot by the Flames 24-8, if it wasn't for a solid effort from Kevin Lankinen, this game could have got out of hand quickly. The Hawks scored the only goal in the second period to make it 3-2. The Hawks hung in with the Flames and carried much of the play in the third, but couldn't tie, with Calgary adding two empty net goals to end the threat. All in all, despite a slow start, the Blackhawks kept up with one of the league's elite teams and it was actually closer than the score indicated.

Takeaways:

• Goals: Tyler Johnson scored only his second goal of the season after a hard fore-checking shift with linemates, Jonathan Toews and Dominik Kubalik. They were the Hawks most effective line. The other goal was scored by Alec Regula who scored his first career NHL goal on a wrist shot from the point. Clearly, the weakest goal of the game given up by Jacob Markstrom, a candidate this season for the Vezina.

• Injuries: It didn't look good for MacKenzie Entwistle when he left in the first period with a suspected shoulder injury. He took a solid check and immediately left the ice holding his shoulder and didn't return. I would guess he's done for the season. Jonathan Toews left the game momentarily when he took a high stick above his mouth, no penalty on the play, but he did return.
• (Lack of) Communication: Johnny Gaudreau is having a career season and he played a great game, but one of his two could have been prevented. As Gaudreau was "circling the wagons" in the Hawks zone, Hawks forward, Taylor Raddysh skated away from Johnny to allow him a clear path to the goal.. On the replay, it was clear there was a lack of communication on the ice from the defenders, but it looked bad. Gaudreau's second goal was a garbage empty netter.

"You got him, no, you got him", Raddysh (#11) loses his man.

• Young Eddie: During the broadcast, Eddie Olczyk shared a photo from 1984, three weeks before he was a member of the U.S. Olympic hockey team, dropping a ceremonial puck. Facing off was Philadelphia Flyer, Bobby Clarke (who Eddie said was his favorite player) and Hawks captain (and Calgary head coach), Darryl Sutter. That summer, Olczyk was drafted by the Hawks and became teammates with Sutter. Eddie said he showed Sutter the photo before the game and got him to sign it. Oh, those fond memories!

Up next: Hawks are on the road for one more trip to the desert to play the Coyotes on Wednesday at 9:00 pm. Come on, they can't lose to them again!!

It's Not The Team I Hate, It's Their Fans

Patrick Kane scores the Hawks first goal, but who the hell is this guy?

 

It was an early game in Nashville, a rare 11:30 am Saturday start time. There are few teams that annoy me in the NHL, there is of course, the Leafs, who for most fans in Canada, outside of Ontario despise and wish the worse for. Most of other teams are rivals of the Blackhawks, the Blues have always had an intense relationship and the Nashville Predators for the past several seasons have been a thorn in the side of the Hawks. Since that first round series loss to the the Preds in 2017, when the Hawks were the top seed in the West and Nashville 15 points behind in the standings, Nashville easily sweep the Hawks 4-0 and outscored them 13-3 in the series. since then the Hawks were on a downward spiral, while the Preds got better. The Hawks did beat Nashville earlier in the season, but Nashville is desperate to keep pace with Dallas (tied with before the game), Vegas and Vancouver. I would love nothing more than if the Preds missed the playoffs. Sometimes it's not necessarily the team I hate, it's their fans, Nashville is the perfect example. With their fake country music, loving-hockey "fans" and the Trashville fans chanting that stupid goalie shaming, "you suck, you suck..." after every Nashville goal, it's enough to forever hate those idiots!

Takeaways:

• Patrick Kane hit another milestone this game as he played his 1,100th game. Even Patrick Sr. was in the crowd. Kaner scored the Hawks first goal and added an assist, but what's the deal with the guy in the front row along the glass, that Kane stared down after he scored the 1-1- goal in the first period? Anyone?
  
• Domink Kubalik who was a healthy scratch last game, scored the Hawks second goal with an assist from rookie Lukas Reichel. It was Reichel's first point in his NHL career. It was in his 10th game this season which means he has burned the first year of his entry level contract. Looking forward to see what type of role he plays next season and I expect he will be given the opportunity to succeed offensively, something the Hawks desperately need.

• Riley Stillman scored the third Hawks goal from a beautiful pass from Kane with just over 5 minutes left in the third, to close the gap to 4-3. the Hawks would pull, but wouldn't get any closer and for once they didn't give up an empty netter. So much for the Hawks one game winning streak!
  
• Nashville appeared to score a goal in the second that would have made it 3-2 (they did later), but it was disallowed after a coaches challenge from Chicago. It was one of the most obvious off-sides I've seen in while. I've been noticing more and more there are a lot of missed off-side calls this season. Even in this game there were several times it was missed and the only time the officials get called on it is when a goal is scored. I think a team should be able to challenge an off-side (or goalie interference) even when a goal isn't scored. I know it'll disrupt the game flow and the game will take forever if we do that, but I'm getting sick of the apathy of the officiating and if you're going to use instant replay for everything else, use it. The end result would be re-setting the clock back to when the infraction happened, that could benefit a team late in the game.
  

• Does it seem like Roman Josi has the puck a lot? The puck is like a magnet on his stick and it's amazing how many scoring chances he gets in a game. He's always up on the play and he's not only Nashville's best defenseman (and the league's?), but he's also their best forward. I haven't seen a season like this from a defenseman in many years. He now has 20 goals, 68 assists and 88 points, he has 6 more points than Makar and I wouldn't be surprised if he tops the 100 mark this season with 7 games left. Norris winner , for sure! Amazing!

Up next:  Hawks back home Monday against the Calgary Flames 7:00 pm. Meanwhile, the Winnipeg Jets are sinking fast!

It's Not Funny Anymore: Eight Straight

 ...Make that eight straight losses in a row! The Blackhawks can't stop the bleeding and with a hungry desperate team trying to make the playoffs, it doesn't get any easier. Getting more painful to watch and I feel sorry for the fans in attendance at the United Center that have to pay good money to watch it.

First period: 

• Delia starts. C. Jones and Regula in, Gus and deHaan out. Borgstrom, Kubalik and T. Johnson scratched again.
• Kings first goal, Trevor Moore has an open net. A couple minutes later, former-Hawk Danault banks a shot off Caleb Jones skate to make it 2-0.
• Hawks barely have any zone time, as the kings dominate the period. I am getting very sleepy...definitely nodding off.

Second period:

• Halfway through the period the Hawks have only 8 shots and 4 of them are from defensemen. Absolutely no intensity or urgency. Still very sleepy, can this game get any more boring?
• I am awoken with tree-tirty-tree left in the period because the Hawks score! Taylor Raddysh scores his 8th of the season and third as a Hawk. Maybe the Hawks can come back? We have the momentum, right?
  
• No, we don't. The Kings score 33 seconds later and maintain their two goal lead, Ugh!

Third period:

• Hawks have a power-play early in the period and have numerous opportunities including a grade A chance from rookie, Lukas Reichel, instead the Kings score seconds after the penalty expires. 4-1 Kings.
• For the first half of the period, the Hawks have plenty of offensive zone time and some good chances, but it's all an illusion because the Kings take three penalties in a row. The Hawks finish 0/5 on the power-play.
  
• With just over three minutes left, Patrick Kane scores to make it 4-2. Maybe the Hawks have a chance? We have the momentum, right?
• More false hope dashed as the customary empty net goal is scored by the Kings. Does anyone keep track of how many empty net goals a team gives up in a season? The Hawks seem to give up a lot and since they've lost so many games this season by more than a goal, we should look this up. At least, they can lead the league in something!

Takeaways:

• From a Hawks fan standpoint, this was such a uneventful boring game, especially playing at home, this has to be yet another major letdown. The past few weeks, the organization has been relying on nostalgic, past glory celebrations/milestones (Hossa, Hjalmasson, Toews etc.) gimmicky nights to keep the interest of their fan base. There better be some major changes next season or else interest in the team will tank and continue to slide to early 2000 levels.
• Reichel had a number of opportunities to score, which is a positive sign since at least now he's getting the chances. Philipp Kurachev made a couple of nifty passes to set up both goals and he's proving he has the skills to be more than a part-time player. Eddie said, Jake McCabe was the best Blackhawk on the ice, who can argue with that.
  
• Make sure to tune in to the Blackhawks TV broadcast on Thursday, as it will be Pat Foley's last call. He and Eddie are sure to share stories o'plenty on Pat Foley night! Should be a fun/sad time and hopefully the team can put in a little more effort on this special evening.

•  Where I live we're hunkering down for a huge blizzard. The airport is closed, schools are closed, highways are closed and everyone is urged to stay home. They've even postponed the Jets game tonight against the Kraken until May 1st. Instead, the Jet players will "vacation" in hot, sunny Florida for a pair of matches in the sunshine state later this week. A well earned holiday, right? Their playoff hopes continue to slip away as the Dallas Stars won last night, widening the gap to 7 points, which should mean that May 1 game will be meaningless, much like recent Blackhawks games.
  

Up next: (see above) Can the Hawks make it 9 in a row, oh god, no! Thursday night at 7 pm against the Sharks.

There Is Something To Play For...Really

With the Blackhawks playing out the string of games they have left in the regular season schedule, is there really anything to play for? Though it won't improve their chances of the post-season, the final couple weeks of the season is important for many in the organization. Starting with the coaching staff, Derek King is the interim coach of this team he inherited from Jeremy Colliton after he was fired earlier in the season. Since the Hawks made it known they wouldn't make a decision on a permanent head coach until the off-season, the rest of this regular season is King's audition of "real" life/game situations. He has to prove to the management he can guide this team away from it's losing ways to build and teach the present and future roster. Same goes with Marc Crawford who has been the co-coach with both King and Colliton. If Crawford is in charge of the defense (and penalty kill?), he's not doing a good job. Even though the Hawks made some personnel changes on the back-end (Jones, Jones, McCabe...), the defense and their defensive system is still a very weak spot. When King took over, the Hawks seemed slightly better, at first, but since the trade deadline they have sunk to the level of their play of the opening weeks of the season. The win-less streak is now at seven games and with only ten more games left, they might be lucky to win one or two of those. 

For the players, there are a lot of players on the current roster, which means each night there have been a number of healthy scratches. Last night, Dominik Kubalik, Henrik Borgstrom, Caleb Jones and Tyler Johnson took their turn in the press box and I can't help but think we won't be seeing a number of these players next season. Not sure why Gus still plays in the lineup with so many young defense prospects in the minors, considering he definitely won't be back. This team has too many third and fourth line players, so it's their opportunity to show management they want to be back. Lafferty, Entwistle, R. Johnson, Katchouk, as well as the previously mentioned players will be competing for a limited amount of positions, not to mention free agent signings, trades and prospects that could replace them. I'll go more in depth after the regular season is done.

Thoughts:

• Goals: The Hawks got a pair of goals from Esa Lindell in the first period. Actually, he deflected the puck into his own net for both goals, but the scoresheet credited, Philipp Kurashev and Jonathan Toews with the goals. Boris Katchouk got the "monkey off his back", literally (he even mimed it after the goal) when he scored his first goal/point with the Hawks since the trade. Kirby Dach scored a nice goal on the rush late in the game moments after Sam Laffery skated the same route around the Stars zone.

• Noticeable: Three of the goal scorers (Kurashev, Katchouk, Dach), caught my attention, at least through some of the game. Kurashev, who has been a healthy scratch often, got a chance to play with Kane and Toews and he carried the puck more than I've seen him all season. I guess it helps to play with skilled players instead of fourth lineers. Katchouk stood out, because it's sad to say, the fourth line seemed to be the only line that was engaged. they did what they have to do...hit, hit and hit. Effective! Dach's giveaway earlier in the game led to a goal for the Stars, but offensively Dach was carrying the puck with confidence and playing alongside Lafferty helps, because Lafferty digs out the puck and drives a lot of the play for the line.
• Not so good: Surprisingly, I barely noticed Patrick Kane for much of the game. Of course, during the power-play he's out there, but maybe his drive and intensity are waning due to so much losing. Not playing with the Cat and Strome definitely didn't help. Kevin Lankinen didn't help his cause for a job next season with the Hawks with an uneven performance in goal. He was replaced to start the third for Collin Delia, after giving up five goals.
  
• Erie Line: King reunited the Eric Otters junior line of Alex DeBrincat, Dylan Strome and Taylor Raddysh for the whole game. Though they didn't do much, it would be worth it to keep them together for more games, this could be exciting. Also it would give management a better idea of Strome's value, seeing if he can still be effective not playing with Kane. I know the Cat can do it, but what about Dylan?
• Foley/Tallon: It was a treat to hear Pat Foley reunited with his former partner from Hawks broadcast from an evening of nostalgia and remembrance. I never had a chance to see/hear the Hawks TV broadcasts before the 2020's, so it was a joy to watch and listen to their stories of the old days. Dale Tallon has an unique perspective of the game, as a former player and as a NHL GM who built the Hawks championship team that won the cups and he also built the present day Florida Panthers, who are now a serious cup contender.

• The Blackhawks didn't do the Winnipeg Jets any favours. The Stars who led the Jets by 7 points before the night, maintained the lead as both the Stars and Jets won their games. Sorry Jets!
  

Up next: Hawks play again on Tuesday against the Kings.

A Very Special Night: But, Not On The Ice!

Yes, it was very special indeed as the Chicago Blackhawks and their fans welcomed back Hockey Hall of Famer and ex-Blackhawk, Marian Hossa to the United Center. Before the game in the atrium, Hossa signed a one day contract with the Blackhawks, so he can officially retire as a member of the organization. The Hawks had traded Hossa and his contract to the Arizona Coyotes in 2018 to clear cap space, so technically he was with the Coyotes until his contract expired at the end of the 2020-21 season. Classy move by Hossa and the organization. Yes, Marian Hossa was a free agent and the Hawks sure could have have used him on the ice.

Highlights:

• The only highlight during the game was the announcement during a TV timeout break during the first period that Marian Hossa's number 81 would be retired and hung from the rafters. There will be a banner raising ceremony next season, another excuse to bring Hossa back to Chicago. The timing was perfect since Hossa flew in for Toews 1000 game ceremony on Sunday, so I guess Hoss spent the week in the windy city. During a TV interview between periods, Hossa indicated he would be interested in being involved in the organization in some way. Here's hoping they can work something out. Enjoy the Marian Hossa highlight video that was played last night at the UC!
  

Lowlights:

• Pretty much everything that took place on the ice for the Hawks, there were so many, where to start? 
• They were soundly outplayed and out-shot in the first period 17-3 and the Hawks were very fortunate to be tied after the first. Seattle was on the second game of a back-to-back (last night in St. Louis) and for some reason they had way more energy and were engaged early. I'm starting to believe back-to-backs are overrated. Last night, I was at the Jets game in yet another "must-win" game against the Detroit Red Wings who won the night before against the Bruins (and lost their previous 6 games). The Wings out-shot the Jets 13-5 in the first period and scored a shorthanded goal. Tired and jet-lagged in the second game of a back-to-back, myth!
• The power-play was brutal! Towards the end of the second period the Hawks had a 5 on 3 man advantage for two full minutes as well as an additional two minutes from a four minute double minor for high-sticking. The Hawks had zero shots on the 5 on 3, while the Kraken almost scored if not for a great save by Kevin Lankinen. The Hawks had a power-play with less than eight minutes in the third with an opportunity to tie it, but again the power-play failed to produce. This was against one of the worst penalty kill teams in the league. The Blackhawks finished the game 0/4 on the PP.

• The Blackhawks called up top prospect, Lukas Reichel to play in his 6th game of the season. Apparently, the Hawks say they aren't concerned about burning the first year of his entry level contract if he plays 4 more games. So far, he looks like he can play at this level, but he hasn't shown he can contribute offensively and has yet to get a point. He's quick, skilled, but a little slight in size and I'm not sure if he can physically keep up the pace for a whole season. His time in Rockford is a good experience and has allowed him to play in all situations and play the pro game. These small sample sizes are good to see his progress and since the season is a lost cause, why not?
  
• On Seattle's first goal from Alex Wennberg, he blew by Jake McCabe then pulled a beautiful deke on Lankinen. It was if McCabe was standing still (yes, he was flat footed) and it was shades of ex-Hawks defenseman, Michal Rozsival, who by coincidence was in attendance seated with Marian Hossa in the private box. Hey Rozy!
• And lastly, I guess you might have heard, the Blackhawks are officially eliminated from the playoffs. It was obvious early on when they won only one of their first 12 games, so it was only a matter of time because it was a too steep a hill to climb to stay in the hunt. With that in mind, since there's nothing at stake anymore (kind of how they've been playing), I will restrain myself from ranting too heavily about how frustrating it is when they lose games against awfully bad teams, such as the Kraken and the Coyotes. They are now win-less in the last 7 games...yay.
  

Up next: Sunday at 6:00 pm, against a team that still has a chance to make the playoffs, the Dallas Stars. This begins the stretch drive of at least a game every second day for the next three weeks. Buckle up, there's still a lot of hockey before the Hawks hit the links or the beaches.

 

A Perfect Night At The UC? Far From It!

The stage was set for a memorable evening at the United Center in Chicago on an April Sunday night. 

1.  The Blackhawks honoring Jonathan Toews with an on-ice ceremony alongside his parents, his brother, former and present assistant captains and the silver stick commemorating 1000 games played.
2. Lots of former Blackhawks in the building.
3. Playing one of the worst teams in the league, the Arizona Coyotes.
4. Hawks start fast, scoring their quickest goal of the season from the start of the game.

But, from there it went downhill. The game could have gone the Hawks way, the team was able to tie the game in third after Arizona took a 2-1 lead in the second and in overtime, if not for a Patrick Kane penalty in the last minute and a bad bounce off of Jonathan Toews skate into his own net, it could have gone to a shootout. It very easily could have gone off Toews skate into the Coyotes net, but it didn't...those are the breaks. For me, the lasting memory of this forgettable game was they still lost to that so-called worst team (forget the loser point!), so really, who's the worst team in the league? We could get confirmation if they lose again on Thursday night. 

Quick Thoughts:

• The aforementioned alternative captains on the ice before the game were Patrick Kane, Alex DeBrincat, Andrew Shaw, Brent Seabrook, Patrick Sharp and Marian Hossa...Hossa was there?!!!  As well, Adam Burish and Corey Crawford were in attendance.

• Between the first and second periods, Pat and Eddie announced Pat's replacement for next season as Chris Vosters, who will be the new television play-by-play announcer for Blackhawks hockey. He's done a bunch of games already this season and he's done a good job, so congratulations Chris, those are big shoes (or should we say mouth) that you are filling. Pat Foley's last game in the Blackhawks booth will be April 14th against the San Jose Sharks. The evening will feature memories of Pat's through his 39-year career. Must see TV! Get your soft serve ready!
  

• The Hawks are currently on a five game losing streak, and in the last 15 games, the only teams they have beaten are Anaheim (2x), Ottawa and LA Kings. During this time they have also lost to fellow bottom feeders, Arizona, Buffalo and Philadelphia. It's infuriating because on-paper the Blackhawks should be so much better than they've shown. Even against Arizona, they are clearly the better team, but they allowed the Coyotes to stay in the game before giving up two quick goals and not capitalizing on their many first period opportunities. Almost every time the Strome/Cat/Kane line was out there, they continually cycled and carried the play in the Yotes zone. Aaargh!

• Kevin Lankinen's luck in overtime is unbelievably bad. He now has lost 6 games in extra time and his overall record this season is now a putrid 4-10-6 or straight up wins/loses 4-16!! I like Lankinen, I really do, he's a good goalie, but those numbers are insane. Not sure what the Hawks are going to do going forward with their goalies, but the way they have mis-managed the goalies they had (Crawford, Lehner, Subban, Fleury), who knows? This is something we'll discuss thoroughly when the season ends...Aaaagh!!
  

Up next: Hawks don't play until Thursday for another battle for the basement against an equally bad team as the Yoties, Seattle Kraken.

Burned In the Sunshine State: Hagel's Revenge?

Despite being out-shot 43-23, the effort looked better than the night before on the back end of the back-to-back against the Stanley Cup champion, Tampa Bay Lightning. The Lightning struck twice in the first half of the first period, but the Hawks fought back to even the game, scoring two goals before the end of the period. Tampa Bay's, Ross Colton scored a pair of goals in the second for a 4-2 lead and former Hawk, Brandon Hagel put the game out of reach with an empty net goal in the final minute to make it a 5-2 Tampa Bay win.

Random Thoughts:

• Hawks goals: I was ragging on him last game, but Calvin de Haan is on a bit of a hot streak. He scored to give him 2 goals in the last three games. His "seeing eye" shot made it's way through traffic on the Hawks first goal. The Cat now has 5 goals in his last six games after scoring a PP goal tonight. He now has 39 goals and with only 13 games left on the schedule, he should set a personal high (41) and has a crack at 50. What a season for the Cat, despite playing for a bad team and he just might be the Blackhawk's MVP this season!

• Lanky: Kevin Lankinen had a strong game to follow-up his not-so-good outing in his last two games. You can't complain about the Hawks goaltending during this Florida trip, both he and Delia faced over 40 shots in each game and played well against two of the best teams in the league. The Hawks are relying way too much on their goalies as they haven't out-shot an opponent in the last six games.

• Jonesy: Another guy you can't complain about is the play of Seth Jones. I know there are fans that are grumbling about what the Hawks gave up and the size of his contract, but he's been a monster this season and has been everything I expected and more. As the season has rolled on, he has gotten better, more confident and joins the rushes constantly. His offensive contributions will continue to improve especially if they can surround him with more skilled players, he is to Chicago, what Hedman is to TB. He played a game high 31:58 in regulation time!

• Undefeated: Not to rub it in any further, but Andrei Vasilevskiy undefeated streak against the Blackhawks continues. He is now 13-0 in regular season games against Chicago. Blah!
  

 

• Bagel: Nice to see Brandon Hagel fitting in on Tampa's third line. On a deep team like Tampa, Hagel played just over 12 minutes, but he'll find his role on the team and they're hoping it'll payoff in the playoffs. We'll see...

Up next: Hawks home to the Coyotes on Sunday, then a break until Thursday when the Seattle Kraken make their first visit to Chicago. I'll also be checking in on the Winnipeg Jets this week and see how their fight for the playoffs is working out.