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How many times tonight did you see a Hawk player kick a puck into the slot—and no Hawk there to receive it?

Where was the net front presence , until Joel Quenneville sent Bryan Bickell out after pulling Corey Crawford late in the third period?

How much of a factor was the Hawks' secret weapon, the great Viktor Stalberg?

Where was Brandon Saad all game until he was able to beat David Krejci to a loose puck late in the game?

Where was Patrick Kane, a $6.3 million player—other than missing a clear shot in the third period?

How can a power play be that disorganized, chance after chance, game after game?

What we are seeing in this series is that a good, big, physical team is always better than a good, small, "skilled" team—as the Bruins showed in 2011 when they similarly dispatched the Canucks.

The Hawks are too small upfront and probably not steady enough on the back end to withstand a stiff forecheck like the Bruins are sending.

Game 4 is a gigantic gut check for a Hawk team that will likely be without Marian Hossa. I don't know if the Hawk front office is capable of the honest assessment of its own players that Games 4 and 5 should provide. But they should be.

Is the series over? No, if the Hawks can summon the effort they saved for the last five minutes of a pivotal game 3. Otherwise, enjoy the last couple of games and see where the weaknesses are and try to improve for next year.

If jobs aren't on the line—coaches, players and GM—they absolutely should be.

If players, including your $6.3 million a year Marketing Wonder Twins, aren't playing like it, it's time for this organization to make some hard choices.

More tomorrow.



JJ

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