by Gatekeeper
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The Blackhawks began their last circus trip ever, Tuesday night in Winnipeg Alberta, facing the Jets part Deux. They came in carrying a pretty warm streak, after beating the Eastern conference leading Canadiens, Sunday night. This, of course, means that we were all in for a big let down, and let down is what we were given.
The Blackhawks laid a dodo bird sized egg for fans, which should have been expected, just not against the Jets. Clearly the Jets are a team trending upwards because, honestly, could they be any worse than last year? That said, they have rookie sensation Patrick Laine eating up opponents and young promising players like Mark Scheifele, Jacob Trouba, Nikolaj Ehlers, and Connor Hellebuyck contributing, but they were also shorthanded because of injuries. Tyler Myers, Bryan Little, Drew Stafford, and Mathieu Perreault were all missing from the lineup for this one.
The Hawks, sort of, showed their faced for the first period, but that didn't last long. There was a lot of running around in their own end, and the Jets finally took advantage with about 7 minutes gone in the period. Basically, that was all the Jets needed. It was that rough of a night. On paper, the Blackhawks held the shot advantage 8-6, but there weren't many legit threats either way.
The second period started with the Blackhawks powerplay and then a short time later, they had a two man advantage. This didn't end up turning out well for the Hawks and this rolled into a third period melt down. Again, on paper, it looks like the Blackhawks played better than they actually did, because of the shots generated on the power play. 12-7 looks like a very good shot advantage, when you're not factoring in the powerplays. Outside of those 5-odd minutes, there wasn't much more to "Crow" about.
The third period was just a complete collapse from the team in white. The Hawks gave up a goal 4 minutes in and then the back breakers were the two goals in 11 seconds roughly midway through. After that, the game was just a mere formality. Off to Calgary...
- There isn't much good. The Hawks came out flat and never really got engaged. They hit a slightly warm goalie, and just folded.
- Honestly, The only redeemable thing about this boring game was the Hockey Fights Cancer theme, so there ya go.
- The first Jets goal was actually a pretty nice play by Mark Scheifele. He was, kind of, thrown a hand grenade and was able to tow drag around Hjalmarsson, while finding rookie Josh Morrissey in the slot. Morrissey let a pretty good shot go, that Crawford saw, but it had just enough juice to sneak through Corey and into the net.
- Chris Thorburn really took most of the wind out of the Blackhawks with his first goal of the year, in the third period. His shot was long enough, and not all that hard at all. Thorburn just spun around and one timed the puck from the far wall. I don't think anyone, including Thorburn, expected that to be anything but a garbage rebound. Crawford should have been able to track it, but it ended up up being perfectly placed in the top far corner. You could just tell that this was not Crawford's night.
- Patrik Laine became the first player since Evgeni Malkin in 2006-07 to score 12 goals in his first 18 career NHL games, with the Jets 3rd goal of the night. It was nothing fancy, almost a Hossa type goal. A rebound laid loose in the slot are and Laine chipped it top cheddar. I like this kid, and the Blackhawks should be concerned that he's in their division. His big frame and speed make him a potential nightmare for years to come. I'd take him on my team in a heartbeat.
- Eleven fucking seconds after the Laine goal, Nic Petan (who just makes me think of Chris Kattan when they say his name) gave the knife a final twist for good measure. Not only that, but former Hawk Marko Dano had the assist.
- Not Corey Crawford's best performance. The first goal snuck through, and giving up 2 goals in 11 seconds is never acceptable. He wasn't exactly given much to work with, either, but four goals on 24 shots, is not ideal. Mulligan. Scott Darling came in and pulled the "utility infielder thrown in to pitch" duty, because the game was over already.
- I'm not really sure what Vince Hinostroza was doing, but he god fucking rocked by Josh Morrissey. He looks to have had his head up, but continued to skate right at Morrissey, and Morrissey completely ragdolled him. The Department of Player Safety will look at the hit because of the violence and injury, but I don't see much wrong with the hit. Morrissey hit him in the chest, and Hinostroza went helicoptering into the boards. If Morrissey got him in the chin just a shade, it's because Hinostroza is a hobbit. No one wants to see a player get hurt, but this one is on Hinostroza. He had a rough time getting up and gathering his wits, and never returned. If he wasn't concussed then I'm Fabio.
- The Blackhawks had a long 2 man advantage in the second period and accomplished dick-all. So, now that the penalty kill is functional, we get the Clown Shoes powerplay back. I don't remember agreeing to that swap.
- Jacob Trouba actually carried an overall -12 Corsi for the night, but a great deal of that had to do with the PK time.
- Brent Seabrook had a great night possession-wise towing a plus 14 Corsi.
- Again, the Blackhawks team possession numbers look pretty good because they out shot the Jets and held them to a low shot total.
Left Wing - Center - Right Wing
Hinostroza - Toews - Kane
Panarin - Anisimov - Hossa
Desjardins - Kruger - Panik
Schmaltz - Rasmussen - Tootoo
Keith - Campbell
Kempny - Seabrook
Forsling - Hjalmarsson
