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Hawk Coach Joel Quenneville said it best, in the wake of the Blackhawks' embarrassing 7-3 loss to the Leafs last night:
"We were probably looking for an easy game, thinking we were going to score six goals and that's not going to happen in this league. We had a lot of fortunate goals over that stretch and I think we let our guard down tonight and got what we deserved."
When you are as good and high-powered a team as the Hawks clearly are, your toughest opponent can be complacency.
Full marks to the Leafs who skated hard and made the most of opportunities.
Antti Raanta had his first really bad outing as a Hawk, giving up 5 goals before being pulled for Kent Simpson. Anyone left wondering why the Hawks acquired veteran netminder Jason LaBarbera from the Oilers yesterday should just stop wondering.
It's not that Raanta's a bad option as a temporary replacement for Corey Crawford. he isn't. Even the best NHL gales, Hall of Famers, give up a 5-spot now and then. It's that the backup option at present is Simpson, a guy with a GAA of 3.37 in the AHL.
And this, look for Raanta back between the pipes when the Kings roll into the UC tonight (7 Eastern, 6 Central). Martin Jones looks to be the goalie for the Kings.
I would look for basically the same lines and pairs as last night.
The Hawks are 6-3-1 in their last ten games, the Kings 7-1-2. The Hawks are back to 29th in the league on the penalty kill (the first of the Leafs' 7 goals was on the man advantage last night), the Kings are 5th.
On the power play, the Hawks remain 5th in the league, the Kings are 20th.
Whatever the cause of last night's collapse in Toronto, the Hawks have very little time to right the ship before facing an always tough Kings team, no doubt motivated by their Western Conference Final defeat at the hands of Chicago this past June.
The Hawks not only fact he Kings for the first time this season, but also old friend Dan Carcillo. I would virtually guarantee some hijinks there.
I'll be back tomorrow with a recap and more news as I have it.
JJ