Put last night's win versus the Senators in the ugly category.
The Hawks struggled much of the night to get through the Sens' tight (some might say, ehhh, "conservative") defensive structure, and they finally benefited from a late slashing call that led to a Richard Panik game-winner.
It was in many ways a tougher age than the previous outing versus the Canadiens, who really tried to skate wight he hawks, where Ottawa, in classic Guy Boucher style, tried to ground the Hawks to a halt—looking for odd opportunities to blitz Chicago in their end.
You tip your cap to a tough team and move on, grateful to the hockey Gods (if not the refereeing) for the win. Calls are missed in every game and typically both teams are the "recipient," but Sens fans have a legit beef on a missed high stick call that should have gone to Marcus Kruger.
Big positives in last night's game—continued mastery between the pipes by Scott Darling, and an overall good game for Nick Schmaltz—even if he still has some areas for improvement, mostly in traffic and along the wall.
Right now, the defense pairings, especially the top 4, look pretty good, although I still get the heebie jeebies sometimes when Trevor van Riemsdyk and Brian Campbell are out there. Oh well, you just need to remind yourself how much better that is than Viktor Svedberg and Michal Rozsival.
Ok then.
Speaking of Panik, he continues to improve, and clearly, he plays well with Jonathan Toews. His return to Toronto, a team that banished him to the minors before trading him for the late, great Jeremy Morin (who actually isn't dead but also isn't . . . ehhhh . . . very good either), should be fun to watch.
And speaking of that, I will have a preview tomorrow.
JJ