Laughing and crying are almost the same, they just show everyone how much attention you're paying.

Tonight we'll stagger up from the basement or fall to our deaths from above.

Shall we dance, or maybe just limp around?

vs

It's never easy, is it? After watching the series nearly completely fart through Corey Crawford in games 3 and 4 on West Madison, the Hawks managed to keep their season alive in yet another affair that needed overtime in the desert. Game 5 saw some changes made on the Hawks' part, which yielded a positive result, and we will now see if the Yotes can adjust. On Saturday night, the Hawks untethethered their defensemen and allowed them to jump into the play, which helped in some cases and backfired in others. Either way, the Hawks decisively held sway in the puck possession game, with the Corsi numbers requiring SPF 50 to be viewed. Coyotes goalie Mike Smith once again allowed late goals, which is becoming a bit of a trend in the series. But it's the men in front of him who are also starting to show a bit of wilting with the added pressure coming in from the blue line. The Yotes ran around in Game 5 and lost more than their share of board battles they had been accustomed to winning, including one on the decider from the Captain. Perhaps as the series extends and the sample size grows larger, it's becoming more and more difficult for them to sustain that level while surrendering that many shots and attempts, even when their primary objective is to prevent those. As a result, look for the Coyotes to amp up their forecheck in an effort to spend less time in their own zone, especially when 2 and 7 in red are not on the ice.

Once again reinforcements may come in the form of Martin Hanzal, who is a game time decision, though he did skate this morning. Should Hanzal return, even at partial strength, his size and two way game poses puts yet another obstacle in the way of the Hawks' uphill climb. Ray Whitney and Radim Vrbata have not shown the same chemistry with their myriad different linemates as they had to close out the season flanking Hanzal. If he returns to the lineup tonight, it could very well be the death knell for the Hawks' season if he's able to resume where his game was at previously.

As for the Men of Four Feathers, they'll be receiving reinforcements in the form of Andrew Shaw, returning from his three game exile for collding with Smith in Game 2. Shaw figures to slot in either alongside Bolland and Frolik, who are by far and away the Hawks best forwards right now, or down to the fourth line, where his "exuberance" can be put to good use. His presence punts Brandon Saad into the press box, with Jimmy Hayes thankfully staying in the lineup in favor of Brandon Bollig. But while these players being effective does lighten the burden of minutes on the top six, the responsibility to rise to the occasion still ultimately falls on the top lines of the Hawks, especially if your name is Patrick. Messrs Kane and Sharp have been relatively quiet through five games, and the Hawks cannot survive to a seventh with their continued silence. Though Patrick Sharp has been active, he's yet to find the space he needs to sneak into without the puck, and Patrick Kane has been doing too much WITH the puck, particularly at the Yotes' blue line. Simplified, focused efforts from these two should lead to success. And taking advantage of power plays given would make things a lot less stressful too.

On the back end of things, Sami Lepisto remains in the lineup, though he'll likely be used sparingly in the latter half of the game, creating all different types of permutations of defensive pairings. Niklas Hjalmarsson and Johnny Oduya need to quicken up their decision making with the puck, especially if the Coyotes crank up the forecheck to combat the Hawks' added pressure. The leash is off Nick Leddy, and we'll just have to live with the defensive boners if he's green lit to create away from the puck, which yielded some very timely results on Saturday. Marlboro 72 is asked now to only stay the course. Behind them is Corey Crawford, who had a solid if unspectacular outing on Saturday after two nearly season-killing goals last week. Crow didn't have a lot to do, and the one goal he allowed probably could have been had, but he did what has always been asked of him - make the saves you have to, make one big save a period, and control rebounds. The story from the crease does not change tonight.

The position the Hawks find themselves in has changed little from Saturday night as well, as all of the margin for error has been used up in the first 4 games. Patience and station-to-station passes are still paramount, as is waiting out Smith for opportunties to send the puck high.

The Doomsday Clock still reads 11:59.

Let's go Hawks.

When the ship done sinks, and the crew done drowns, where am I gonna do all my hanging around? This cruise is ending, please hang onto your stub. Thank you for coming, and thanks for the love.

We've come a long way just to end up lost.

Seems we're fading kind fast, like the red brake lights rushing past.

@

After what's felt like an interminable 47 hours, it's finally here, the Hawks' last gasp at regaining some footing in this series, lest they be sent home where some uncomfortable off-season questions will need to be asked. The path to redemption fittingly has them going through the desert twice, where they earned a split in the opening two games of the series. Standing in their way will be a Coyotes team which, while playing well enough to win the three games they have, has certainly received its share of breaks, but give credit where it's due, they've maximized every one of them.

That streak may have come to a halt this morning, when the Encyclopedia Brittanica (back when it was still printed) got thrown at Raffi Torres to the tune of a 25 game ban. It's of little solace to Hawks fans as it does nothing to secure the future of Marian Hossa, but at least now there might be some closure on the issue. On the flip side, two of the Coyotes' better defensive forwards in Martin Hanzal and Lauri Korpikoski are both listed as game-time decisions once again, and their presence would make things all the more difficult for the Hawks. The Coyotes have fared just fine results-wise without them, but both have been integral to their success up until the last 2 to 2-and-a-half games, and a continued absence certainly isn't advantageous. As far as game plans are concerned, nothing should change from the Desert Dogs, as their formula for success is simple: clog the neutral zone, prevent entry, forecheck the Hawk D into making mistakes, and rely on Mike Smith to stop a boatload of shots, preferably from the outside. While Smith has come out on the positive side of the ledger, in three of the four games he has coughed up leads late. The numbers might look good, but when it gets down to crunch time, he's been less than inspirational.

As for the Men of Four Feathers, the brief goalie debate has been settled, and Corey Crawford is going to get one last shot at redemption after allowing two inexcusable overtime winners in a row. While those goals are disheartening, this is the right choice, as Ray Emery is a known quantity, and that ceiling is significantly lower than Crawford's. Furthermore, a choice of Razor for tonight was a no-win situation regardless of the result, as the off-season would have to lead to Crawford getting traded or Joel Quenneville getting fired, or both. Quenneville's not had a storied history of developing young goaltending talent in this league with one of the quickest hooks around, and if he had trotted Razor out there tonight, it would be hard to envision a world where either Q would ever have confidence in Crawford, or Crawford would ever have confidence in himself under Q again. But Crawford has to prove him right with a dependable if not sterling performance tonight. Routine saves, rebound control, and a big save a period are all this team has ever asked of Crawford, and tonight may be his last chance to provide that.

Regarding the men in front of Crow, it's time for them to pick things up as well. While Dave Bolland's line has been a force any time they've been on the ice, the Illuminati of the forward corps has yet to be heard from for the most part. With Marian Hossa out, Jonathan Toews, Patrick Kane, and Patrick Sharp have combined for just two goals so far. That has to change in a hurry if the Hawks look to survive the evening. These three have in the past shown themselves to be the true killers on the roster; someone who at any time can be tapped on the shoulder and be told to go out and will the team a goal, and then come through. That has not been present yet, save Sharp's redirect late in Game 2, and there have been now four overtimes in which to re-establish that status. It must be done tonight.

On the blue line, there's not much more that can be asked of the top pair of Keith and Seabrook, so the responsibility lies primarily with Johnny Oduya and Nick Leddy, who had been so stable in the waning games of the regular season, to calm the motherfuck down. This also includes Niklas Hjalmarsson and whoever else he's paired with (hopefully Sami Lepisto, but don't hold your breath). There has to be support from the forwards on breakouts with a much smaller gap to prevent the need for the defensemen to just blindly fire the puck up the wall, where it has had a pretty high probability of getting held in so far. Tape to tape or regroup.

This series has had a microscopically thin margin for error for either team to this point, and the Hawks have come out on the wrong end of it so far. Things have to be cleaned up, but ultimately the talent gap is in favor of the Hawks, and they have one final opportunity (for now, hopefully) to illustrate that. Short passes, neutral zone patience, dumping the puck away from Smith and elevating the puck on him when shooting are all paramount. Oh, and a power play that were less than a parsec or two away from scaring anyone would be nice, too.

The Coyotes/Jets franchise has never made it to the second round. They are 0-12 in opportunities to close series out. The Joel Quenneville led Blues came back on the 1999 Yotes from being down 3-1. The Doomsday Clock might read 11:59, but this can be done.

Let's go Hawks.

Given last night's events, it's appropriate that an exemplar of unrelenting, deluded positivity be placed here today. It's with that we present Mr. David Van Driessen, the only teacher at Highland High that sees any kind of worth whatsoever out his two most misanthropic and well-known students. That level of delusion as well as a wispy, patchy beard Van Driessen wears are all many of us are left with at this point.

Kenny Rogers is nothing if not a renaissance man. Boasting the triple threat capabilities of singer, actor, and fast-food chicken restauranteur, there's almost nothing the man can't do, which includes boasting a fantastic salt and pepper beard he's had since seemingly the late Triassic (read: "the 70's"). Even while musically he's known for songs as country flavored as his chicken, so deep is his well of talent that he was even able to competently dabble in 60's psychedelica, which we now humbly present as our get well soon jam to a certain felled Slovak.

Kenny Rogers & The First Edition - Just Dropped In

Moving right along from the crease out to the blue line, it's now time to take a look at the Coyotes' defensemen, which feature faces both underrated and familar. While #1 d-man Keith Yandle enjoyed a breakout campaign last year, he still landed himself only 5th in Norris Trophy voting and probably deserved better, and even that did little to establish him in the daily conversation of the NHL's premier puck moving rearguards. But there's more to the corps than just Yandle, so take a gander after the jump.

Continue reading this post »

Editor's Note - This post has run the last 3 years as a primer for everyone who grew a playoff beard. We're bringing it back again this year for the benefit of any newbies. - McClure

While some may argue the origins of the tradition, it is now standard practice to abandon any chance of looking like an adult fit for society by not shaving while your team is involved in the playoffs. Some teams have gotten creative in past years, as the Canadiens a few years back all grew Fu Manchus, and the New Jersey Devils, on the brink of elimination, carved their beards into what can only be described as creepy uncle moustaches. There are few sights in this world more humorous than Scott Gomez with a dirt-lip moustache if you've ever had the pleasure of beholding such a sight.

With that being said, here are a few of the guidelines that I follow, and I will be growing a hideous, Orton-esque neck beard during the Blackhawks' playoff run, however long it lasts.

1. Become completely clean shaven before the first game. Give yourself a nice baselilne to work with, tabula rasa, if you want to get all academic. This is metaphorical for the team as well, as everything from the regular season is wiped away with the start of the "real" season. Personally, I will be shaving this evening for what will hopefully be the the last time until June.
   
   
2. Your facial hair is to remain untouched during the duration of the playoff run. No sculpting, no trimming, no anything. No blade to face in any way, shape, or form until the playoffs end, either pleasantly or unpleasantly. I don't care how unkempt it gets, victory has a price that you need to be willing to pay.
   
   
3. To those with pre-existing facial hair, it's recommended that you go clean shaven, but if you're not willing to part with your long standing beard, goatee, or even the vaunted "geard", then it must be trimmed down to the bare minimum. Of the four of us, neither Hack nor I rock consistent facial hair, but Killion will be losing his glorious everyday beard in favor of a freshly grown playoff beard, and though Sam cannot bring himself to fully part with his Scott Ian goatee, he's going to be trimming it down.

And that's that. It's pretty simple, really. So, throw away those razors. It's time to beard up. Now for what everyone's been waiting for......

April 10 - Beard of the Day - Wayne Coyne

It's important to start these sorts of things off on the right note, which is why we're going with Wayne Coyne, lead singer and principle whack job of The Flaming Lips. Much like the 2011-2012 Blackhawks, Coyne is capable of both moments of unsurpassed sublime brilliance (Transmissions From The Satellite Heart, The Soft Bulletin), as well as work that makes one question just how much acid had to be ingested for such a production (Zaireeka). Perhaps most importantly though, Coyne has provided very succinct and prescient words of wisdom for the upcoming weeks; words the Hawks should take to heart with the Captain apparently back in the fold- Turn it on and all the way up.

As everyone is well aware of by now, with their win over the Minnesota Wild (who does that, really?) the Phoenix Coyotes earned their first ever divisional crown, Pacific or otherwise, dating back all the way to their Winnipeg Jets 1.0 days.

In doing so they've now earned a date with our beloved Men of Four Feathers. With the playoff schedule just being released moments ago, it's time for everyone to take a gander.

As we can see, there'll be a nice national TV audience to start the series which will be great for the transplants, though it's unclear if there will still be a CSN broadcast for us locals. The first game on West Madison starts a little later than usual to accommodate the Phoenix audience, but then curiously jumps an hour earlier for game 4. Whatever.

In the next few days we'll have more on the matchups and a breakdown of the opponent. It's the calm before the storm...or something.

Lights that flash in the evening, through a hole in the drapes. I'll be home when I'm sleeping, I can't hardly wait.

Jesus rides beside me, he never buys any smokes.

I'll write you a letter tomorrow, tonight I can't hold a pen.

@

Perhaps more important than any outcome in the standings from today's matinee is that the Hawk special teams actually begin to approach something in the same time zone as competence, as they will come into sharper focus next week, especially so against certain opponents. Whether this game is tanked for the sake of a "lesser" opponent or the Hawks stink-palm Scum to seal a date with the Preds is almost immaterial, as there are no easy paths through the West. Understanding is only reached through confrontation. Let's go Hawks.

Ordinarily, this is where I'd bitch and complain about the Hawks blowing a two goal lead in the third period and needing to go into extra innings in the skills competition to settle things, but given the circumstances of Toews and Keith being out, and pretty much needing points any way they can grab them, I can't be too sour on things.

Much the same as two weeks ago when the Blues were on West Madison, the Hawks were all over them from the word go, being quick to the outside and smart with their station to station passing. Long distance softies at both ends nine seconds apart in the first were the only scores through 40, though the Hawks held a distinct advantage in play, all without the benefit of Brandon Bollig needing to change the momentum for them.

The third period would see the Men of Four Feathers cash in twice in the first half of the frame, first off the tape of Andrew Brunette, who deposited a rebound in a goal mouth scramble after Marian Hossa drove to the net hard from the left wing. Four minutes later, Patrick Sharp would cap off a 2-on-0 with Viktor Stalberg to widen the gap to 2, but that would be short-lived as well. After corralling a failed ring around from Johnny Oduya, Jason Arnott got the Blues within a goal as he was allowed about three or four whacks at the puck from the side of the net, and eventually got it past Corey Crawford. And with a buck and a half left and the Blues pressing, David Perron would continue to do his best Martin Erat impersonation by evening things up in supremely annoying fashion, deflecting a Kris Russel point shot, and the game would need extra time. The 4-on-4 skate saw the Hawks get a whopping 7 shots in 5 minutes on Jaro Halak, but he would be unyeilding. Even the shootout would need extra time, as the first 6 shooters on either side were denied before Dave Bolland patiently waited out Halak on the forehand, and Corey Crawford and the iron made it stand up at the other end. Hawks 4, Blues 3. To the almost-but-not really quite playoff bound bullets:

Observations

• The only reason this game got to overtime was because of the goalies at either end. While yes, the two ridiculously soft goals do even each other out, Crawford has to be more focused coming off getting a lead on a team that isn't designed to be able to come back, though he did make a few key saves early, notably on Steen alone at the right dot. However, Halak was brilliant at the other end, and routinely bailed his wind-burnt defensemen out. Were it not for him, DLR and his assless chaps would have stormed the UC by about midway through the second.
• Oh hey, the Blues lost again when scoring three goals. So much for that stat.
• Sharp and the Swedes were absolutely everywhere all night long, and got robbed blind repeatedly by Halak, so Sharp's emphatic and cathartic celebration after capping off that rush is understandable. Viktor Stalberg once again had himself a hellacious evening, too, using his speed in all three zones to his advantage. Marcus Kruger just continues to go to the right places. His presence can't be solely shown in numbers, The Plan All Along is just flat out a gamer. That line was a combined +54 in Corsi.
  
• By that same token, the shot totals against are still trending downward, with the Blues only getting 20 at Crow tonight. Forty at the other end helps skew that number, but it's an indicator of the possession game returning at just the right time.
• The Kane line was on the ice for all three Blues goals, saddling everyone on it with a -2. Even in spite of that though, he was Marian Hossa and they were not one time enough for them to get on the score sheet at the other end.
• Winning faceoffs also has a fair amount to do with that, with the Hawks winning 31 of 56 tonight.
• The power play is still fucking clown shoes.
• Hey Pacific Division - there's your blue print once again for two weeks from now. Take notes.
• While it's merely a formality at this point after getting the game to overtime, it certainly felt good to not have to watch the Blues clinch the division on UC ice.
• As I opened with, blowing a two goal lead with 10 to go in the third is still something that needs to be tightened up, but with Keith and Toews out, once again putting three up on what's shaping up to be a historically stingy defense and walking away with a win against the likely President's Trophy winner hides a multitude of sins. The Hawks haven't clinched yet, and San Jose isn't doing the Hawks any favors, trailing the Yotes 2-0 with not much time left, but everyone can start to breathe slightly easier.

Sharp led all Hawks with 7 shots on goal, including one that capped off a 2-on-0 with Stalberg, with Vik wisely deferring to his more handsome linemate. When the Captain returns, Sharp and his linemates are making a strong case for being kept together over these last two games.

There's not a whole hell of a lot to say about this one. With Duncan Keith sitting out the first of his five game unpaid vacation and Jonathan Toews still waiting for his own personal Tilt a Whirl to come to a halt, the Hawks ended up doing exactly what they couldn't do against the Predators, who are coached to make them pay. Tonight's game was key in the Hawks' hopes of gaining home ice for the first round of the playoffs, and those hopes took a major hit even with one game left against the Preds down in Nash Vegas. To the bullets, unpleasant as they may be.

Observations

• On Nashville's first goal, it's actually hard to argue with the defensive position of any of the Hawks, but Brendan Morrison flat out got worked over by the much larger Paul Gaustad. While in theory there could have been help from either defenseman, Morrison still had long enough to at least get a stick on the puck. Not to mention that even coming back against the grain, Matt Halischuck's shot had next to nothing on it, and could have been stopped by Crawford.
• Speaking of which, it was a less than stellar performance from Crawford all the way around, with a couple of softies from the outside added on for good measure.
• Brandon Bollig. Yeah, he broke Jordin Tootoo's face, which historically hasn't been all that hard to do. He's still useless. How clownish did these two look trying to drop them on the false start faceoff?
• Who's more useless - Brendan Morrison or Brandon Bollig?. Suit up Hayes, move Sharp to center, and let's just hope that Morrison's not seen or heard from in any meaningful situation in the near future.
• Believe it or not, despite the lopsided score, the Hawks had every opportunity to get back into this game if they had a power play that was even in the same time zone as competence. Yeah, they're hamstrung personnel-wise, but that still doesn't make a complete inability to enter the zone forgivable. And it's not like things were humming along nicely when 19 and 2 were in the lineup.
• While the gap narrowed to 25-24 by the final horn, the Hawks outshot the Predators pretty resoundingly throughout the game, and the Corsi numbers show an even wider gap, even if a lot of shots came from the perimeter. A .750 save percentage from your goalies and a flaccid power play will undermine that kind of control in play pretty quickly.
• Once again the key talking points from the flapping heads of Brian Engblom and Ed Olczyk became the effort or lack thereof on the Hawks' part. The above stats do a pretty good job of pissing all over that notion, not to mention that the Predators' entire game is designed to make things difficult for the opposition in transition. Without two of their key puck moving elements in the lineup on a team it's going to look like that, and it's more lazy analysis on the part of so-called experts.
• Not much to be done from here except gird up and head east to take on Fatso and Co. at The Rock on Tuesday, who aren't going to allow the Hawks much more space than was given tonight. Having one of the two men in masks stand up and grab ahold of a job that's clearly still up for discussion at that point with a timely save or two would go a long way in helping to survive this stretch.

To anyone out there, beat reporters included, who at times bemoan the "effort" and "heart" levels of this Hawks team at times as if it's actual analysis of what's going on, the next time you plan on doing so, please go back and watch this game and observe this incarnation of the Washington Capitals. THAT is what a team that doesn't give a shit looks like. If it's possible to tune out and quit on two different coaches in one season, the Caps are certainly taking a solid run at it.

Since that new thing they tried in Dallas of jumping on a team early worked out so well for them Friday, the Hawks were pretty much all over the Capitals from Jump St. (and apparently that new movie is supposed to be a lot funnier than it has any right to be, but I digress...). With the Hawks controlling pretty much all of the play early, it was a leaping Andrew Shaw who had a puck graze off him and past Michael Neuvirth, ever so slightly redirecting a Duncan Keith shot, which actually got through. Holy shit indeed. Shortly thereafter, Viktor Stalberg absolutely torched Dmitri Orlov up the right wing boards and cut across a down and out Neuvirth and slid the puck past him to give the Hawks a 2-0 lead once again before the opposition even had a shot on goal. Tonight it would take Washington about 13 minutes to register their first shot, and only managed 3 total in the opening frame.

Things didn't change much in the second, until yet another biffed clearance/breakout from Niklas Hjalmarsson ended up on the tape of Keith Aucoin, who slid the puck into the slot to Mike Knuble, whose shot eluded Corey Crawford, suddenly making things a lot dicier. The Hawks responded well, with a beautiful passing sequence from Hossa, Brunette, and Kane, which culminated in Kane having an entire 6 x 4 to shoot at, and Andrew Shaw notching his second to make it a 4-1 game. The Caps would have one last death yawp in the form of Alex Ovechkin pantsing Duncan Keith and beating Crawford, but it was of little import. The Hawks shut things down from there on out, and only allowed 7 shots on goal total in the third, which included a Washington power play. Bryan Bickell would add an empty netter to ice things, capping a three point night for both himself and Shaw. Hawks 5, Caps 2, bullets below.

• Patrick Kane was everywhere tonight, in full on Fuck You Mode. While there were some times he passed up shots in attempts to make a slick play, he was electric on top of being defensively responsible. Somehow he ended up in the red in both +/- and Corsi, which is curious, and certainly belies the eye test.
• Viktor Stalberg only scores against Columbus. Oh hey, look who's next on the schedule.
• Yes, the Ovechkin goal was certainly highlight reel worthy. But Dunc has to poke check that away, and Crow can't cheat to the middle anticipating a cut over by Ovechkin, especially with Seabrook (edit: It was Leddy. Whoops.) back and helping. While the goal wasn't soft per se, it was certainly preventable, with both parties sharing equal amounts of culpability.
  
• And the Knuble goal was pretty soft too. While 2 points is 2 points, that game could and should have been DLR worthy were it not for Crawford having a relatively off night.
• The Capitals outhit the Hawks 26 to 13. Someone let Foley know as soon as he's conscious again after yesterday.
• Once again, only one penalty taken. It seems the Hawks' best option for the penalty kill is just to not have to use it, even if they didn't allow a shot on the Caps' lone advantage tonight.
• Did Alex Semin even play?
• I think Andrew Shaw just attempted another toe drag.
• After the game, it was a very nice gesture from both teams to congratulate retiring linesman Dan Schachte after 30 years in the league. It appeared there were some heartfelt words from a few of the veteran guys on both squads with Schachte, as well. Believe it or not, these guys are co-workers, and relationships do develop over the years, and job well done by all involved in expressing appreciation.
• This game brought back fond memories of this team brushing aside struggling competition with ruthless efficiency of seasons past. There's another opportunity to do so Tuesday night in Columbus, so long as the Hawks don't get caught looking ahead to Wednesday's date with the Nucks on West Madison.

After facing the top 3 defensive teams in the league consecutively in the Rangers, Kings, and then Blues, the Hawks tonight found themselves at the mercy of the schedule makers again, traveling to Dallas to face the Stars. who had only suffered their first regulation loss in 12 games Wednesday night at the hands of the Winnipeg Jets. Not to mention that 364 days ago, the Hawks squeezed out one of the more revolting turds of the 2010-2011 season in Dallas, suffering a 5-0 defeat in a game they absolutely had to have. And oh yeah, Jonathan Toews still isn't playing.

Fortunately, things got started right off the bat, as the Hawks counter-punched beautifully against a very, very aggressive Dallas neutral zone forecheck, where Andrew Shaw batted a lobbed puck out of mid air just inside the blue line, and served it right up with a drop pass for Dave Bolland, who picked his corner and gave the Hawks a 1-0 lead a mere 10 seconds in. Learning their lesson from the last game with the Blues, the Hawks continued to attack, and 90 seconds later, Patrick Sharp wheeled out of the corner to the dot on his forehand, and ripped a shot to the far side to give the Hawks a 2-0 lead before the clock even had clicked off two minutes. Things settled down a bit there in the first, with teams trading a fair amount of chances, though the Hawks were able to steer a fair amount of those off target with bodies and sticks in lanes, making Corey Crawford only make 5 saves in the first, and taking a two goal lead into the second.

The early part of the frame was more of the same from either side, but the Dallas surge came midway through the period, where the Stars' ferocious forecheck hemmed Niklas Hjalmarsson and Dylan Olsen for extended periods of time, and a spastic, flailing Crawford was somehow able to be up to the task, keeping the Hawks ahead when the game was still in question, especially after what transpired the last time these two got together on West Madison.

The final frame looked like a remixed version of the first, with the Hawks pouncing on neutral ice turnovers and once again capitalizing early in the period, this time with Marian Hossa and Patrick Sharp again connecting past Kari Lehtonen, giving the Hawks a comfortable 4-0 cushion to work with. Jamie Benn's goal would serve as the proverbial turd in the punchbowl for those clamoring for the Hawks to get their first shutout of the season with 10 games to go, but a decisive 4-1 victory should be enough to satiate that. Friday night bullets, right here for you.

Observations

• Don't look now, but the Hawks' last 3 victories have come against division winners, and have taken 7 of 8 points from four of the best goalies in the league, all without Toews. This team is reaching down and discovering a handful of rocks on themselves without having to lean on 19. If he ever sees straight, there's reason for optimism.
• Part of the reason that the Hawks have been so successful of late has been getting seriously smarter with the puck, both in their own end and in the neutral zone. Breakouts are getting progressively tighter, save for when 4 and 34 are out there, as they still resort to firing the puck up the boards with nary a look.
  
• Speaking of which, Johnny Oduya's game continues to impress. While it's still a small sample size, he's brought a lot of stability and efficiency to the second pair, which is making a marked difference.
• If indeed the Hawks do end up taking on the Stars in round one, one thing they'll want to take note of from tonight is where the goals scored on Lehtonen came from- all from the outside. It makes sense. Lehtonen is a strong, large man who's able to cover a lot of ground in close. If the Dallas forecheck is going to over pursue and leave shooting lanes open in transition, there are spots to be picked.
• Once again without Toews, the Hawks did not find themselves shorthanded at all during the contest. That's one way to ameliorate not having the best faceoff man in the league available for a penalty kill, where that's sorta crucial.
• Viktor Stalberg had 2 assists. But he only scores against Columbus.
• The power play is still fucking clown shoes, but hey, at least Patrick Sharp floated to the slot for like half a second and thought about getting a shot off when the puck got there. Also, Andrew Shaw and Bryan Bickell on the power play units needs to stop.
• Mike Ribeiro wasn't much of a factor tonight, but that's not going to keep me from calling him a penis in this space, because I'll never pass up any opportunity to do so.
• As impressive as these wins over the heavyweights have been, had the Hawks not screwed the pooch against a few also-rans earlier (Hi, Edmonton), the points wouldn't matter as much right now with Toews out. It feels good, but with a floundering Capitals team meeting up for Sunday brunch at the UC, and another trip to Columbus in the offing, it'd be best not to let any kind of guard down.

Had Corey Crawford actually gotten the whitewashing, he'd be here, but instead, we give it to the man with the "game winner", and another. Fitting, given tomorrow.

It seems as though there's been a recurring theme since the 9-game Freak Out Hell Bus ride with this iteration of the Hawks. Start shitty, claw back, shorten the bench, bombard the opposition for the final frame, and hope to come away with at least a point. Tonight, they walked away with two huge ones, both points and rocks.

The script started at least a little differently this time. with the Hawks taking advantage of what was thought to be prior to tonight scarce space in the neutral zone, as Marian Hossa chipped a pass to a streaking (yes, you read that right) Andrew Brunette, who broke in alone on Jaroslav Halak and roofed it glove side to give the Hawks an early lead for a change. Never ones to deviate from a system, however cockamamie it might be (this team is still coached by Joel Quenneville), the Hawks quickly farted the lead away when Jamie Langenbrunner blew a 50 footer by Ray Emery that Razor should have had, and the Hjalmarsson should have cut off in the first place rather than giving us some Roger Dorn-caliber ole bullshit. A nifty passing play after a Hawk neutral zone turnover gave the Blues the lead on an Andy McDonald goal (who has been treating the Hawks as Viktor Stalberg treats the Jackets), and a Patrik Berglund redirection would give the Blues a two-goal lead, which is exactly what COULDN'T happen. The indignities didn't cease there, as the period ended in a fracas of dumbassitude which resulted in the Hawks being down a man going into the second, but more on that in a bit.

With Corey Crawford now on in relief of Ray Emery, who allowed 3 goals on 6 shots, the Hawks continued to press, and actually exhibit at least a little bit more patience than we're used to at the Blues' line, repeatedly chipping pucks deep and winning races against a for-the-most-part lead footed Blues d-corps. A fortunate bounce found its way to Viktor Stalberg's stick and/or leg from some hard work from Sharp and Kruger to get the puck there, and trickled past Halak and brought the Hawks within one. As sure as the tides and Cheerios going through me like a laser beam, the Blues started a steady march to the penalty box due to their inability to keep up with the Hawk forwards' speed as well as their general idiocy (see Sobotka, Vladimir), it was only a matter of if a clown shoes Hawk power play could finally make the Blues near record setting PK pay.

At long last midway through the third, Brent Seabrook blew one by the low glove side of Halak from the right point (again, take a note Duncs), with an unnecessarily jumping screen from Andrew Shaw in front. Though the Hawks would have several glorious chances in the remainder of the third and overtime, alas, things would get to the skills competition. Patrick Kane slid a backhander through Halak's five hole, and Corey Crawford made it stand up with three solid stops. Hawks 4, Blues 3, here's a ballbag full of bullets.

• I've said it before and I'll say it again, Brandon Bollig's fight with Ryan Reaves at the end of the first after Reaves drilled Jamal Mayers with a borerline hit was stupid and useless, I don't care what the players say in their comments at their stalls after the game. They can only say that because they won, there have already been instances in which that has bitten the Hawks in the ass (Pittsburgh), and points are far too valuable at this time of year at least in part because of things like that putting the Hawks where they are in the standings.
  
  I have been, and forever will be against starting a fight after a clean (or at least unpenalized) hard hit. While the Reaves hit was on the line, there simply was no call made, and in the instigator era, the extra 12 for sticking up for a teammate is an automatic. Not to mention the Hawks were down 2 goddamn goals at the time, and would end up having to work incredibly hard to claw back against literally the best defensive team in the league. With the Blues actually playing a bit of big boy hockey, the plan that's worked this year and years past is to be patient for chances, don't engage when they predictably lose their shit, and make them pay on the power play. Toughness be damned, there's no need to lose the valuable time needed to play that kind of patient offensive game to shorthandedness, especially with the Hawks kill being what it is, and the standings being what they are. Bollig (who didn't see the ice after that, by the way) would have done more good had he given Duncan Keith a lecture about the death pass he laid out for Mayers.
  
  So go ahead and and ask me where I played my hockey, tell me I don't know the game, tell me that the because of the Hawk postgame comments that I couldn't possibly know what I'm talking about because I'm here and they're the players/coaches, call me whatever name you want for deriding a player for "sticking up" for a teammate (a teammate who leads the Hawks in fights himself and had one earlier in the period, by the way), none of it is going to change the fact that it was a stupid thing to do tonight, and will continue to be as long as the instigator penalty exists. The Hawks are only able to call it a spark and a turning point because they didn't dick the dog on the penalty kill as they had before, and it had no tangible effect on the game, as the Hawks were all over the Blues from the word go, and were only failed by piss poor goaltending. Eventually the Hawks did do the right thing, which has been the same gameplan against the Blues as it's been for going on four seasons- take a number, get him clean next time, make the fuckers pay on the scoreboard.
• Back to more pleasant matters - Corsi. Make sure you're wearing sunglasses.
• While the power play continues to need Yakety Sax as its theme music rather than whatever that dubstep-house-whateverthefuck they're playing at the UC, it certainly came through when it needed to, both in time to knot things up, and in time to shut everyone up about the Blues annoying (albeit impressive) PK streak just shy of the record. Fuck knows the Blues gave themselves enough opportunities to keep building on that streak.
• Again, on that power play goal - a low, hard shot, with skaters actually moving with and without the puck. Who knew?
• Niklas Hjalmarsson did not skate in the third period.
• The hits were 29-29. Clearly that's Bollig's doing. Maybe now Foley will shut his drunk mouth about them.
• The only time the Hawks were shorthanded was for the Bollig instigator.
• While Corey Crawford didn't have much to do in relief of Ray Emery, he made the saves he had to, and was a stone motherfucker in the shootout.
• With the win, the Hawks are 5 points up on idle Phoenix who have a game in hand, and 7 clear of the trap door just below the Sharks.
• One of the things we've been beating to death (as is our wont) has been the Hawks' gap between the forwards and defensemen when breaking out and regrouping. While there still were some ill-advised passes from time to time, things were a lot tighter tonight out of necessity, and there was significant support on the strong side from the looping forwards on breakouts, which enabled the Hawks to gain a bit of speed through the neutral zone, and exposing the Blues defenders as a bit sluggish if they have to skate to regain position. I'd like to think it's a blueprint for future success, but Ken Hithcock, for all the boring hockey he provides, is a good enough coach to recognize and correct that.
• Even after comeback wins (albeit at home) to the two conference leaders, things still don't get any easier on Friday for the Hawks, who will travel to Dallas to face the Stars, who after tonight's 1-0 win have taken 21 of the last 22 points available as the league's hottest team. But if the will and brains (at times) on display tonight can be replicated, and a healthy 19 can rejoin the team at some point soon, we're seeing that the ceiling on this team can be a lot higher. But that's always been the caveat- consistency.

By now if you really wanted a game narrative for last night's tilt, you probably would have and did find it elsewhere, so we'll just get right to the meat of it all with the bullets below.

• While the story is going to be the comeback in the final 10 minutes of the third period, from this author's vantage point, it was the Hawks who carried the play for the majority of the evening, as the Corsi numbers bear out, with the exception of the under-appreciated Dan Girardi of the Rangers. However, color me a bit surprised to see Patrick Sharp's total so high, as I felt prior to the goal, his line with the Swedes didn't get much generated.
  
• Speaking of that goal, while it wasn't the apocalyptic breakaway scenario that Sam envisioned in the Indian, it's still probably the handsomest shooter-goalie combination on a goal between Sharp and Henrik Lundqvist in this or any other season, with the edge going to Sharp for obvious reasons. The King is still probably a better dresser, though (wait, what?)
• Regarding Henrik (see what I did there?), while he really could only be faulted for the Oduya go-ahead goal, he looked to be fighting it a bit from the early going, and was saved by some missed nets and posts, as the Hawks did a good job of getting him moving. Far from a signature performance from The King, but it's nights like that where the defense should have bailed him out having a lead with about 12 to go.
• On the Rangers second goal, while Nick Leddy was once again outmuscled in front, my main problem with the sequence was a few seconds prior, where Duncan Keith tried his best Rex Grossman impersonation by trying to thread a 100 foot pass through triple coverage in an attempt to spring Patrick Sharp at the far blue line, which was predictably picked off as the Hawks were attempting to change.
  
• One of the big talking points from Sam over the past stretch has been utilizing the middle of the ice in breakouts more for clean zone clearances, and it actually happened a couple of times, though still not regularly enough. It's more a problem of it not being an option for either the defenseman or winger to come back to the middle, as the weak side forward has long since flown the zone into neutral ice. That gap needs to be shortened, and a more station-to-station breakout while avoiding hero passes needs to be implemented.
• Johnny Oduya's dance and dangle at the blue line to get himself a clear shot on the Shaw goal was truly a thing of beauty.
• Holy shit, a power play worse than the Hawks'.
• Can we all agree that Brandon Bollig has been useless with no foreseeable change in the future?
• Credit Ryan Callahan for gutting it out over the past stretch for the Blueshirts, but his effectiveness is clearly limited by his foot injury. And if he can't crash and bang and disrupt shifts and score greasy goals, well then, that kind of drastically cuts down on his arsenal of tools.
• Big ups to the UC production department for using Andrew W.K.'s "Ready To Die" prior to a Blackhawk penalty kill situation.
• This is the second home game in a row where the empty netter has ended up being the game winner. Whether it's an inability to win a key draw late, or just getting lax, that shit has to stop.
• Whether it was a matter of catching the Rangers on the second of a back-to-back on the road, or an actual case of the Hawks coming to life in the third in a borderline desperate situation, the fact of the matter is they came back and grabbed two points from the top team in the East, a team designed to not let you do that, without the benefit having their best player in uniform. While this can only be called a turning point victory if there isn't a letdown tomorrow, it certainly smells like it has the potential to be.
  

With his first two huge points as a Blackhawk, Johnny Oduya earns his first trip here, and it's been well deserved. His steady play and underrated mobility have allowed Nick Leddy a bit of latitude himself, which has helped to stabilize the defensive corps as a whole. It might be a little early to call the trade an outright win for the Hawks, but the early returns are promising.