Take Two (mike hardman)

Despite plenty of work left to do to improve at both ends of the ice, the Hawks are playing with a new-found energy and passion after making a coaching change over the weekend. This momentum creates a second wind that could prove to turn the tide on the outcome of the season.

In full transparency, I wasn't able to watch the full game and only caught the 9-minute condensed version plus additional highlights on social media. Today's game summary is brief compared to other games. More space is devoted to updates on several players and prospects.

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Game Summary

Starting Lineup

DeBrincat - Dach - Kane Kubalik - Toews - Khaira Hardman - Strome - Gaudette Kurashev - Carpenter - R Johnson

Stillman - S Jones McCabe - Murphy de Haan - Gustafsson

Fleury Lankinen

Scratches: Borgstrom, Hagel, Kalynuk

Scoring Recap

1st Goal (1-0): Khaira (Toews, Kubalik) 2nd Goal (2-0): S Jones (Kane, DeBrincat) 3rd Goal (2-1): Carter (Guentzel, Friedman) 4th Goal (2-2): Carter (Guentzel, Rust) Shootout (3-2): DeBrincat

Blackhawks: * Toews (goal) * Kane (miss) * DeBrincat (goal)

Penguins: * Guentzel (miss) * Letang (miss)

SOG For/Against: 32/44 PP: 0-for-2 PK: 3-for-3 Faceoffs Won: 53%

Thoughts & Notes

* While it's great that Jones has the endurance to log over a half hour of ice time (31:24), it shouldn't be a habit to lean on any particular player that much; plus, this begs the question of whether the blueline has enough reliable depth.

* Connor Murphy was a few minutes off the pace with 28:30 TOI while no other defenseman registered more than 20 minutes with Erik Gustafsson earning the least at 8:06.

* It should be noted the TOI for several players included shifts in overtime; for Jones, though, he's still averaging over 25 minutes of ice time per game.

* Even though Dylan Strome was exceedingly strong at the faceoff dot winning 78% of his draws, he didn't get any shots on goal in limited ice time (11:16).

* Adam Gaudette played the least of any Hawks player at 5:18 TOI; Reese Johnson and Mark Hardman were next in line at 6:01 and 7:46, respectively.

* Player development advisor Chris Kunitz was behind the bench last night to support Derek King and Marc Crawford.

Highlights

Goal by Jujhar Khaira

Roster Updates

The non-COVID related illness may be a reason why Henrik Borgstrom has yet to draw back into a game since being activated off of COVID protocol a week ago. His last game played was on October 24 versus the Red Wings where he notched his first goal as a Blackhawk.

Brandon Hagel is being reevaluated today to determine the extent of his shoulder injury but it's hoped that he won't miss significant time like MacKenzie Entwistle will being on the shelf for over a month with a left ankle injury. Both got hurt in Sunday's Predators game.

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IceHogs Updates

Alec Regula has resumed practices with the Hogs after sustaining a lower back injury during Blackhawks training camp and being activated off of IR a few weeks ago. He joins Ian Mitchell and Michael Krutil as the natural right-handed shots in the Rockford D corps.

Below is a tweet set from AHL insider Patrick Williams on Brett Connolly serving as an example of an NHL veteran being a positive influence on an AHL team. Williams is right that the Hogs are lucky to have him as there are some NHL vets who can be minor league cancers.

Taige Harding

See you on the boards!

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