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The Hawks Were Solid Again So Bring On The Wings

November 10, 2007, 12:37 PM ET [ Comments]

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The Club that played the better game won last night in Chicago as the Hawks outlasted the Blues 4-2. The Hawks deserved the win although they were the recipient of a soft goal and a fortunate score. Lalime was a little better then Legace and in this Division a little bit of difference goes a long way. The Hawks have now played 2 solid games in a row versus tough Divisional opponents and have recorded victories in each and both were well deserved.

Kane scored on a shot Legace should have gotten, and Bourque scored his first goal of the year as a shot deflected in off of his rear end and into the net. In reality for 2/3 of the game the Hawks out chanced the Blues and controlled the play. The Hawks have looked very much like a puck possession team in their last 2 contests. The Blues were dominated in shots on goal and although that stat can sometimes be misleading it wasn’t last night. The Hawks didn’t benefit from a lot of PP chances either as the Blues held a 6-4 advantage in that category. Regardless the Hawks out shot the Blues 25-14 after 2 periods and 31-25 for the game.

If the Hawks can keep averaging close to 30 shots on goal each game and also keep their opponents around 15 shots through 2 periods victories will continue. That part of the effort by Chicago was good, but as usual there were a few things that could have been better. After the Blues scored their 2nd goal the Hawks started to turn the puck over too often. In the 3rd period many plays were stopped at the St. Louis Blueline, which led to scoring chances for them. The Hawks stopped getting the puck in deep and this kept the Blues in the contest. If the Hawks would have been a little tighter they would have gotten a 3-goal advantage and the game would have been over.

Once again this is a work in progress and Savard basically said the same concerning turnovers. The Blues have to be credited with a strong effort as they really out hit the Hawks especially in the 2nd half of the game. The other point for improvement mentioned by Savard was concerning penalties. It is not easy but players have to be conscious of all the little “tells” that the Refs feed off these days. It may help some Hawk players if they were to view the Officials as black and white skating robots. So remember everyone… 2 hands on your stick always and keep those sticks pointed toward the ice and not parallel when checking an opponent and lastly keep moving your feet.

An added piece of advice for Mr. Byfuglien when your hand does come off your stick don’t raise it in the air as if you are requesting a bathroom break in school. Burish as well as Buff have to be wary as they seem to be on the Hot List of Officials as they are new to the NHL. They have to be very careful so as to not stay on that dreaded List for too long.

The NHL penalty of the month for November is Goal Tender Interference…I wonder what December’s will be?

The Wings skate into town looking for a victory to set a new Franchise Record of 10 wins in a row. Our defense will have to be physical down low and whoever plays in goal will have to be at his best. There is a lot of hoopla surrounding Sunday’s game as the 1st home TV telecast is on tap for that night. The Hawks will have to be at their best to beat this Wing team 3 games in a row. A victory would cap off a good homestand and provide some momentum for the upcoming long road trip.

Al’s Shots

I don’t know why the Hawks waited so long to put Richmond on Waivers. Maybe there was a potential deal they were waiting on that fell through?? I am happy he cleared Waivers, as he is still a young guy that does have some skill. The best thing for him will be to play a lot of minutes in Rockford, which will help improve his game.

Havlat will be back when he is at 90% or better and not a day before. For all you Fantasy Players that could mean a week or 2 or another month only Marty's shoulder knows for sure. Havlat with the advice of his doctors will determine when he will return. Marty is not the type of player who rushes back from injury.

I thought putting Perreault on the line with Lang and Williams was a great move by Savard. As long as Yanic goes to the net hard like he did last night he will pick up points.

Sharp and Bourque are doing very well as a PK duo.

Perron is going to be a very good player for the Blues. He seems to love to play against the Hawks as he potted another goal last night.

My guess is Habby will be back in net tomorrow looking for his 3rd victory of the year against the Wings.

I wouldn’t want the Hawks to trade Vandy although he would be the logical choice to go. He would be easier to trade then some others but I would rather see Zyuzin in another uniform. Vandermeer is playing with a scowl once again. A mean Vandy is an effective defenseman. He is hitting the net from the point and has also looked good teaming with Wiz.

Tallon has some options, as there are still 8 defenders here.

I thought Zyuzin was ready to play this week??

When Koci gets back in about 10 days there will be another decision for Savard and Tallon to make.

It’s fun having a competitive situation in Chicago again, just maybe Tallon can figure out a way to get another top 6 forward here for this season.

As much as I want to think differently Havlat can’t be counted on to finish this year.

This team has shown that they are too good now to just write this season off as a learning experience. I think Management feels the same way.
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