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No, it's not a must-win game 11 games into the season, but if there was ever a game the Hawks needed to win to shore up their confidence a bit, it would be tonight's home matchup versus Winnipeg.
Interestingly, I heard this morning from a friend in Canada who has not only been watching the Hawks, but the Ice Hogs closely. His comment that the Hogs' third line of Mark McNeill, phiip Danault and Garrett Ross is better "than what the Hawks are throwing out there right now" was telling. Just one opinion. Aside from glowing reviews for the entirety of the Rockford club, my friend also mentioned Ville Pokka, the defenseman acquired in the Nick Leddy deal as looking really strong for Rockford.
But in spite of lop-sided shot totals, which can be highly misleading, the Hawks are hardly impressive right now. They definitely ran into a hot goalie last night in Toronto's James Reimer, but they also could be better at making their own luck.
And I would definitely expect some line-juggling by a dissatisfied Joel Quenneville, either to open the game tonight (8PM Central) or as soon as the Hawks start showing some similar tendencies as they have of late. Quenneville alluded today to reduced ice time for those responsible for turnovers for example.
Whether it's Johnny Oduya's pizzas or no one other than Andrew Shaw showing a gameness for the front of the net, this team is a flat, perimeter-based team at present.
And the Jets, coming off a 1-0 shootout road win over the Eastern conference champ New York Rangers, are not pushovers either. Sure they might not be one of the better teams in the Central Division, but the Jets, led by former Hawks Andrew Ladd and Dustin Byfuglien, can clearly deliver a full 60 minute effort.
If there's some good news in all this for the Hawks it's that Brad Richards is producing some points. And while the line changes instituted by Quenneville might feel punitive, they might also produce some better chemistry, particularly on the lower lines, where Brandon Saad has now been demoted to fourth line LW.
The simple answer is, the Hawks may need to play with a bit more desperation, like their backs are to the wall, and rely a bit less on the cute play to break out of their doldrums. If not, there could be some more significant changes in the offing at some point.
All for now,
JJ