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Joel Quenneville’s Line Juggle-O-Matic is dialed up to 11. Passes going in to skates. The gaps aren’t great. Very little transition.
After looking ready to get into a groove in the second of back-to-back games versus the Islanders this past weekend, the Hawks were reminded last night in Philadelphia of how mortal they have become.
Taking nothing away from the Flyers. They play a brand of hockey that’s hard. And not pretty. It’s the kind of hockey that gets results from a less than stellar lineup. And how a stellar lineup wins in May and June.
And maybe it’s a wake up call the Blackhawks needed. There are Hawk fans who think winning hockey is strictly speed, fancy stickhandling and pretty passes. But there’s a “punch you in the mouth… quality to winning hockey that the Flyers played last night. And until the third period, the Hawks just looked kind of stunned, as if to say, “hey, you just punched me in the mouth.…
Yep, in the third period, the Hawks woke up and put a lot of pressure and pucks on the Flyers defense and Michal Neuvirth. Neuvirth was up to the challenge. Game over. A nice win for the Flyers. Hopefully, a learning experience for the Hawks.
Predictably (it’s gonna be like this) the Flyers targeted Artemi Panarin and Teuvo Teravainen physically. Panarin seems up to the challenge. Teravainen, on the other hand, was pulling up short a lot last night—and he becomes a lot less effective when he does.
It’s gonna be like this. Until the Hawks—as currently composed, or after a move or two—get some things worked out.
And they have a chance to set a better tone, or at least carry over their intensity from last night’s third period, against the Capitals tonight. Viktor Tikhonov, playing very well last night, got bumped up to 1LW in place of Ryan Garbutt and looked good. Tikhonov has the speed, hockey sense and willingness to work that might make him Joel Quenneville’s best choice yet in that slot.
Chicago Blackhawks at Washington Capitals 7PM Eastern CSN (Chicago and Mid-Atlantic)
Projected Chicago Lineup
Tikhonov Toews Hossa Panarin Anisimov Kane Bickell Teravainen Garbutt Desjardins Kruger Shaw
Keith Hjalmarsson Svedberg Seabrook Daley van Riemsdyk
Darling