Dr. Feelgood
Coming off of bad back to back home losses, the Blackhawks got just what they needed when the Phoenix, sorry, forgot we had to change the name to broaden the fan base, Arizona Coyotes visited The UC. Actually after the shellacking that took place, you can argue the Coyotes didn't even show up.
The Hawks came out flying, clowning the Coyotes and outshooting them 20-9 in the first. El Captain got things started for the Hawks, snapping out of his goal drought just under seven minutes in. The next line will stun you. We had an Andrew Shaw sighting. Yes, after his benching in Sunday night's game, Shaw got on the board after a sweet dish from Turbo. I know I'm stunned at what I just wrote too! After one, the Hawks had the lead 2-0.
From then on, things only got worse for the Coyotes. Goals by Kane and Turbo, opened the game up to 4-0 before the Coyotes were finally able to get on the board. But whatever hope the Coyotes had from that goal was short lived as Mike Smith allowed a soft serve-esk goal to Andrew Shaw late in the second period to give the Hawks a 5-1 lead after two.
Smith drew the short straw tonight, and stayed in the net the entire game. As if allowing goals to Shaw (2), Kane, slump breaking Toews, and Turbo, wasn't bad enough, the sixth goal was yielded to none other than David Rundblad. Ouch. Talk about taking it on the chin. How's that contract extension working for you? It makes Crawford's deal tolerable. So in other words, the Hawks blew out the soon to be either Las Vegas, Seattle, Portland, Kansas City, Houston, or Quebec City Coyotes 6-1. Next up for the Hawks is a trip to Pittsburgh before the All Star break.
The Good
- One game after his awful showing this past weekend, Andrew Shaw bounced back nicely. I'll give him credit for rebounding nicely, and perhaps my assumption of he "sucks" after Sunday's game was a bit harsh, but I'm still not going to anoint him cured. I want to see more consistency.
- Patrick Kane's goal, was his 200th of his career. My how time flies.
- Aside from yielding one goal to the Coyotes, Antti Raanta was solid in net. It cannot be stated enough how difficult it is to be thrown into a game after sporadically playing.
- 51 shots, 6 goals. I don't care who the opponent is, I'll take it.
- Despite being 1 of 5 on the power play, the Hawks were skating circles on the Coyotes on the power play in the second period. Even though they didn't score on it, its a step in the right direction.
- David Rundblad looked comfortable out there night, not just because he scored either. Perhaps the key to this is him playing on the right side finally.
- Credit to Turbo on his goal. He took a high shot on Smith, and didn't stop skating. He followed up his shot, and put home the rebound. Looks like the kid is learning on the fly. But somehow he didn't crack 10 minutes of ice time.
The Bad
- Is there anyone surprised that it was the defense pair of Oduya and Rozsival that was on the ice for the Coyotes loan goal?
- Its starting to get a little concerning, but what's wrong with Marian Hossa?
The Ugly
- For the sake of not leaving this area blank, I'll pick something. Its hard to pick something about the Hawks, so I'll go with this; Mike Smith.