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It's gone from an anomaly or an aberration to an outright and acute problem—the Hawks stink at killing penalties this year.
They gave up two more power play goals last night, dropping back to 29th in the league in an area they dominated last season. And they lost their second game in a row, something that hasn't happened in a long time.
Clearly, the penalty kill personnel have not been right. As the problem is now far past the point where you can say it's just a temporary blip.
Sure, at some point, Joel Quenneville and the coaching staff need to settle on a couple of units and let them go. But at the same time, none of the units have really worked thus far.
The Hawks get the chance tonight to right the ship on home ice, when the Anaheim Ducks come in to the UC. The Ducks sit 4th in the Western Conference with an 18-7-5 record. Maybe the good news for the Hawks is the Ducks' power play is ranked 23rd in the league, while their penalty kill is 5th overall.
Jonas Hiller starts for the Ducks, while tonight's starter for the Hawks has not been announced. After last night's game, Hawks coach Joel Quenneville had this to say about #1 netminder, and newly minted $6 million a year man, Corey Crawford: "he has to be better."
Game time is 8 Eastern, 7 Central and it can be seen on NHL Network and CSN Chicago.
All for now,
JJ
Chicago Blackhawks Blogger • 
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