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What do you get when you combine a tired team with an uncharacteristically bad outing by your otherwise pretty dependable backup goalie?
A 5-2 loss in Edmonton to a game and likely improving Oilers club.
That's the only thing to see here. Mental mistakes galore, due to a lot of games, too much travel and the recent, untimely and really tragic death of an important part of the team.
Antti Raanta can be blamed for a couple of the goals last night. It wasn't his best outing, but he also didn't have a lot of help.
If there is a "problem" with the Hawks' lineup it's that there's probably 1-2 too many roster players "learning on the job" right now (that would be #5 and #86). And, yes, the Hawks are obviously a tired team. That also is a recipe for trouble.
When your top guys are tired, then a more experienced supporting cast is more likely to be able to step up.
The truth is, most nights, this is possibly the best club in the NHL. But one look at the difference in the Oilers last night tells you how narrow the gap is in the NHL—any team can beat you on any given night.
I'm not here to pick on or blame last night's loss on David Rundblad or Teuvo Teravainen. If you take that from this blog, you obviously can't read or choose not to.
But there are valid reasons—in spite of the endless complaining from over-eager fans—that Joel Quenneville (like Scotty Bowman when he coached) keeps rookies on a very short leash. There is more to playing (and playing responsibly) in the NHL than can be seen on tv broadcasts.
Play away from the puck is every bit as important as play with it. And tentative decision-making can be a backbreaker. Especially when your top guys are having an off night.
The Hawks might need to acquire another veteran defenseman before the trade deadline, or hope Tim Erixon can prove steady enough, or that Rundblad can keep progressing.
And when it starts to really matter, in mid-April, you probably won't see any more experiments or auditions at forward either.
The Hawks don't get too much rest now either, with Minnesota coming in to the UC tomorrow night.
I'll have a preview tomorrow.
All for now,
JJ