If you're looking for good news, the Blackhawks played well enough to win last night in San Jose. But they also played poorly enough to lose. And that's what happened.
With a 7-hour drive ahead of me, I don't have much time for a lengthy dissection of last night's game in San Jose. Nor do I have any specific news regarding Jonathan Toews' mystery injury that caused him to exit midway through the game with no return.
There's really almost no good news if Toews is out for any length of time. The Hawks are already arguably down a forward in the top 6 due to the salary cap. Regardless of your opinion of Toews' contribution the year (and opinions vary), it is hard to envision how losing him can do anything but add to the team's current issues.
The Hawks are not playing particularly well right now. Perhaps the biggest issue is they aren't finishing chances. which is often just due to a bounce of the puck, and likely to change, but they also aren't playing as well defensively in their own end.
My personal opinion is Joel Quenneville had some pretty solid pairings when the Hawks were streaking a couple of weeks ago—and he's let the blender get the better of him.
I read a friend's comment on Twitter this morning as to what a "good" game Gustav Forsling had last night. I guess that's valid—if you exclude all his play in the defensive zone. If you don't, he was terrible. I mean, Rundblad terrible.
Some might ascribe that to his being paired with the Three-Wheeled Jewel Shopping Cart known as Michal Rozsival. But Rozsival looked pretty good actually. At least, maybe, in comparison to Forsling.
I've also heard a lot of fan-love for the rookies in general, and overall, I though they were pretty good. But let's be brutally frank here and take a perspective at least above the microscopic level. The Blackhawks are not winning games they can or should win lately, and a nice play here or there by Ryan Hartman or Nick Schmaltz isn't enough to overcome it.
I'm not sure if Schmaltz or Forsling or Quenneville was responsible for a bad too many men penalty, for example. And Vince Hinostroza missed what looked like a fairly easy tap in that would have changed the game.
All that said, Schmaltz otherwise had a nice game and is showing more and more confidence with the puck. Which might be interesting should Toews be out for a while, and if Quenneville chooses to slide Schmaltz over to his more natural center position, where his instincts and playmaking ability seem to be optimized.
At the risk of linemaking, which is no more realistic coming from me than anyone else not named Quenneville, here's a thought should Toews miss a game or a dozen:
Leave the PAK line intact, and try Schmaltz between Marian Hossa and Hartman. Can't hurt and certainly, you don't have many, if any, better options. Because you also want to leave Marcus Kruger's line, which has also been effective, doing its job, together.
Just some thoughts as the hawks head to Anaheim, now 2-3 on the Circus Trip and searching for some consistency, if not just some goals.
I'll preview the Ducks tomorrow.
JJ
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