OK, not one of my more artful blog titles. But it underscores an important observation about the Blackhawks last couple of victories.
Because yet again, the Hawks bucked the conventional wisdom that "possession equals wins" in the NHL, with only a handful of players in positive territory, getting outshot by a wide margin, in a 4-2 victory over the Canadiens in Montreal.
Corey Crawford strung together his second straight stellar outing, and the Hawks got outstanding performances from the AK72 line—even after it became SK72 (for Nick Schmaltz, more than ably subbing for an injured Artem Anisimov, who my fellow blogger Greg Boysen brilliantly dubbed "Biggie Schmaltz" in the last 24 hours).
But I digress.
The truth is, quality of scoring chances matters more so than shot totals, and the Hawks made the most of theirs last night. That, and Crawford's brilliance, even after taking a Shea Weber blast off his mask, propelled the Hawks to the win and back into (sort of) first place in the Central Division, with a one-point lead on the Wild (who have a game in hand).
Speaking of great goaltending, the Hawks next opponent, tomorrow night at the Canadian Tire Centre in Ottawa, is the perennially underrated Craig Anderson, who is quietly having a really strong season.
The Sens made a lot of moves at the deadline and seem serious about making a deeper push in the playoffs this year.
Anisimov is day to day with an ankle injury.
I will have a preview of the Sens game tomorrow.
JJ