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Happy Thanksgiving to my US friends! Here are my top 10 observations (in no particular order) from last night's 3-2 OT loss to the Lightning:

1) The Blackhawks overall team game appears to be taking form. Although they lost last night, they still went toe-to-toe with one of the league's best.

Their passing was better which was in correlation to the movement during their breakouts and support throughout the neutral zone. They were giving the D options to pass to and it really showed in their transition game.

A strong possession game now has the Hawks 7th in the league in Corsi at 51.5%; all positive signs to be thankful for.

2) Speaking of things to be thankful for, both the Hawks and Lightning are lucky to have such outstanding men between the pipes. What a great display of tending those nets last night by Corey Crawford and Andrei Vasilevskiy.

3) The Blackhawks special teams were not special enough by the end of this one, as it was a power play marker that secured the win for Tampa Bay.

Still, though, the Hawks weathered the storm early with some fantastic penalty killing, finishing up 5/6 on the kill.

Another very exciting trend is to see a power play by the good guys that looked as good as we've seen all year (they were 1/4 on the night). They were moving bodies through the middle of the offensive zone and moving the puck quickly that was resulting in lanes opening up for shots.

It was an interesting comment last night by Pat Foley, that he's overhead on the plane rides and being around the teams that not only is Franson's shot a welcomed sight on the PP but so is his brain.

It's no secret that the Hawks have lacked that level of dominance with the man advantage over the years, which baffles experts considering the level of talent.

Bringing in a player like Cody Franson, who has seen a lot of PP time with multiple teams, might be the most helpful piece to turning those units around. Players and coaches have clearly been picking his brain and he's been a staple back there when he's in the lineup.

#11 is shaping up to be a solid signing by Stan.

4) Sticking with defencemen on the power play, Gustav Forsling should also be a staple back there. The guy can flat out shoot hard, and more importantly, get his point shots through.

On a PP in the 2nd period, he hit the post and zipped a shot through 2-3 bodies right after that Vasilevskiy had to glove about knee high.

I would be lying to you if I said I had Forsling pegged as a top 4 potential. He's always been very raw with his game since coming to Chicago. This is normal for a young defender, of course, but his progression over the last year has been amazing.

We can complain about the old Detroit model of leaving their players in the minors to marinate, when us, as fans believe they're ready for primetime, but it's a proven developmental path.

Forsling started the season in Chicago and played 38 games when the 2016-17 season was all said and done. It was with that experience, coupled with his big minutes in Rockford that have shaped him into a top 4 role this season in Chicago.

He played 24+ minutes last night (2nd on the backend), and you can expect that trend to continue.

5) He only played 13:57, but Connor Murphy played well. He's played 9 straight games now and is looking more confident. His Corsi was one of the highest it's been all year at 61.3% at 5-on-5.

6) It was worth a shot, but Patrick Sharp at this point should be nothing more than a 12-13th forward on this team. I wouldn't deem his play as "terrible", more like "not effective".

He came out with a lot of fire at the start of the season, but I would wager that was fueled by adrenaline more than anything.

The key to the Hawks attacking in waves and rolling 4 lines is to get the 3rd line going.

7) The Hartman at centre experiment can end for me anytime, Q. He's not a terrible option in the middle, but he's clearly better on the wing, using his skill set to fore-check, disrupt and get to the front of the net.

8) This leads me to reiterate what I've mentioned on the boards/twitter a few times. The second the Hawks deemed Schmaltz not ready for full-time action at centre (not saying they won't try him again), Stan should have been on the look for a 3rd line pivot.

I'm envisioning a player in the Cedric Paquette, William Karlsson, Jay Beagle type.

9) I was very impressed by Tampa's forward depth last night. Ryan Callahan, Paquette and Chris Kunitz is exactly what a 4th line should look like. They caused issues for the Hawks all night.

How about that Callahan? The once captain of the New York Rangers is finally healthy and playing great hockey.

If that's their 4ith line heading into the playoffs, I would be terrified of that depth if I was their unlucky foe.

10) Rockford IceHogs took down the Iowa Wild 3-1 last night. Matthew Highmore with a hat-trick. Highmore now leads the team in goals (9) and is 2nd on the IceHogs in points (15). He's been playing centre all year and of late has been on a line with Forton (LW) and Luke Johnson (RW).

The Rockford/Iowa rematch is on Friday at 7 pm.


There you have it. In this roller coaster of a season, I think as of today, there is more to like than dislike about this team.

Next up is Dale Tallon's Florida Panthers on Saturday.

Everyone has a happy and safe Thanksgiving.


JL - @JustinLoweHB

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