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Bring the Rain
November 2, 2021, 3:24 AM ET [138 Comments]
Theo Fox
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November Rain brought raining hats and enough drops to water the garden.

Patrick Kane returned after a 10-day hiatus on COVID protocol to register his 7th-career hat trick to propel the Blackhawks to their first win of the 2021-22 season after dropping the previous 9 games.

Both of the Wonder Twins exploded last night with an offensive deluge: Kane and Jonathan Toews collaborated on the team's first 2 goals, Kane notched 3 goals and an assist, and Toews collected 3 assists.

The Hawks brought the rain early in the 3rd period with 2 goals in 55 seconds giving the opposition -- in a general sense, not the Senators specifically -- a taste of their own medicine with rapid markers.

Not to be outdone was Brandon Hagel who deposited a deuce into the net. Dominik Kubalik may not be potting a lot of his own goals this season but he's still contributing offensively picking up a pair of apples.

And last but certainly not least, the garden finally got watered to amp up Flower Power as Marc-Andre Fleury made 29 saves on 30 shots and capped his solid performance with a highlight-reel windmill save.

Last night's game was the first time the Hawks scored more than 3 goals this season netting 5 and was also the second straight game where they kept the opponent to a single goal (albeit the last game was a 1-0 loss).



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Game Summary

Starting Lineup

Kubalik - Dach - Kane
DeBrincat - Kurashev - Hardman
Hagel - Toews - Carpenter
Strome - Entwistle - R Johnson

de Haan - S Jones
Gustafsson - Murphy
Phillips - McCabe

Fleury
Lankinen

Scratches:
Gaudette, T Johnson

Scoring Recap

1st Goal (1-0): Hagel (Kane, Toews)
2nd Goal (2-0): Kane (Carpenter, Toews) PP
3rd Goal (3-0): Hagel (Toews, S Jones)
4th Goal (4-0): Kane (Gustafsson, Kubalik)
5th Goal (4-1): Formenton (Mete, Ennis)
6th Goal (5-1): Kane (Kubalik)

SOG For/Against: 31/30
PP: 1-for-2
PK: 4-for-4
Faceoffs Won: 63%


Thoughts & Notes

* The Blackhawks generated more sustained offensive zone pressure and less one-and-dones en route to a 5-goal output.

* Isaak Phillips provided great defensive support of his teammates and was quick to skate the puck to a safe area then make an outlet pass to clear the zone or escape up ice on his own.

* When he committed to defense, Erik Gustafsson was actually not too bad as he kept a tight gap, battled for positioning, played the body, and exhibited a mean streak.

* Even though he didn't help himself by getting beat to pucks and outmuscled on plays, it doesn't make sense for Dylan Strome to be playing on the 4th line; his skill set needs to be maximized by playing with other skilled players.

* Similarly, Ryan Carpenter should be on the 4th line with other role players; the simplest solution would be to swap Strome and Carpenter in the lineup.

* Kirby Dach wasn't too dissimilar of Strome in terms of being easy to knock off the puck and having an inability to sustain drives by himself.

Highlights

Goal by Brandon Hagel

Goal by Patrick Kane (1st of 3)

Goal by Patrick Kane (3rd of 3)

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COVID Protocol

Newly entered into protocol:
* None

Still in protocol:
* Henrik Borgstrom, Center
* Jujhar Khaira, Left Wing
* Riley Stillman, Defenseman
* Marc Crawford, Assistant Coach
* Jimmy Waite, Goaltending Coach

Out of protocol:
* Patrick Kane, Right Wing
* Matt Meacham, Video Coach
* Tomas Mitell, Assistant Coach

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Marian Hossa Night




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Investigation & Lawsuit Updates

Update on Kyle Beach Lawsuit vs Blackhawks

Comments from Patrick Kane

Commentary on the Gary Bettman Interview

Update on Kevin Cheveldayoff

Update on Donald Fehr & Call for Independent Investigation


Commentary on the Call for Independent Investigation

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See you on the boards!

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