Exciting win last night.
Plus-

A win!

Love what Shaw brings and Smith adds some much needed sandpaper. Also liked how DeHaan pushed people around the net.

Minus-

Still not liking how Nylander plays weak on the board and floats. But he’s young and he scored the GWG.
You guys are correct, Toews doesn’t seem completely OK. Loses puck battles too easily and passes are being broken up.

Since the start of the 2017 season, first game I've watched where this team owned center ice.

Irony is the Oil played like the Blackhawks in the past 2 seasons, fast break hockey and many one and done's

The fact that we ended up 4 on 4 instead of on the PP when DeHaan love tapped McDavid is a joke. Perfectly clean hit...but no one is allowed to touch McDavid, which is bull poop.
- Ogilthorpe2

No doubt hey, nice clean hit directly in the chest. good hockey hit and we end up getting a penalty?

Exciting win last night.
Plus-

A win!

Love what Shaw brings and Smith adds some much needed sandpaper. Also liked how DeHaan pushed people around the net.

Minus-

Still not liking how Nylander plays weak on the board and floats. But he’s young and he scored the GWG.
You guys are correct, Toews doesn’t seem completely OK. Loses puck battles too easily and passes are being broken up.
- Popsghostly

I'm a big Shaw fan, while he does have his down-side I think this positves outweigh any negatives he brings the team.

Nylander will just need to do some on-the-job learning. I know the NHL isn't a developmental league, but Nylander needs to play in the NHL to show if he can fit in or not.

The de Haan trade is a home run, 2 AHLers for an NHL calibre d-man, even if he plays on the third pairing is awesome.

Maatta was a good deal too, although the cost was slightly higher. But Kubalik has appeared to have replaced Kahun nicely.
- DarthKane

Agreed and even better when Carolina had to waive both of those chumps will we gained de Haan AND another forward that to me is almost equivalent to Nylander as far as skill/shot/speed.

Kubalik > Kahun and I liked Kahun quite a bit.

Was it just me or did the Hawks have a guy glued to McDavid for most of the night. Looked like they were shadowing him. He wasn't able to break out and use his speed except on a few occasions.

I thoroughly enjoyed watching Dcat hounding him in the middle of the 3rd on a few shifts.

I actually don't mind Nylander on the 4th line for now. He can dominate the puck and try and create. 4th line was solid last night.

Agreed and even better when Carolina had to waive both of those chumps will we gained de Haan AND another forward that to me is almost equivalent to Nylander as far as skill/shot/speed.

Kubalik > Kahun and I liked Kahun quite a bit.
- Assman22

I'd like to see Kubalik on a line with a playmaker who can get him the puck in prime scoring spots.

That 3rd line looks good but Kubalik doesn't have a guy who can get him the puck. He can drift it. Maybe Dach is that guy eventually.

Was it just me or did the Hawks have a guy glued to McDavid for most of the night. Looked like they were shadowing him. He wasn't able to break out and use his speed except on a few occasions.

I thoroughly enjoyed watching Dcat hounding him in the middle of the 3rd on a few shifts.

I actually don't mind Nylander on the 4th line for now. He can dominate the puck and try and create. 4th line was solid last night.
- bhawks2241

Too bad Perlini doesn't give the effort Smith does, a 4th line of Carptenter, Perlini, Nylander (with constant effort by Perlini and Nylander), would be the most talented 4th line the Hawks have had since 13 (Kreuger,Bolland,Frolik)

I'm a big Shaw fan, while he does have his down-side I think this positves outweigh any negatives he brings the team.

Nylander will just need to do some on-the-job learning. I know the NHL isn't a developmental league, but Nylander needs to play in the NHL to show if he can fit in or not.
- DarthKane

Yep leave Nylander on the top line for 15+ games to see what he has. Hell Saad took 30+ games before he really started clicking in his first full NHL season. Let Perlini/Caggs take 4th line mins and swap out with Smith or Carp for press box cleaning duties.

With all of the talk about how bad Gus is on defense - and he actually is - the other 5 defensemen currently skating range from pretty good to good to ok - especially considering the current pairings.

And my question is: how many teams in the league have a 6th defenseman that is appreciably (if at all) better than Gus?

In a hard cap league, the are no teams out there without weaknesses, and I would expect very few who don't have weaknesses among the blue liners.
- StLBravesFan

My guess is that there are not too many defensemen (6th or 7th) in the entire NHL worse than Gus at playing defense. (Now if you consider offense and defense there are probably many 6th and 7th defenders that are worse than Gus.)

Crow was outstanding. .94 save % vs closer to or under .90 kind of makes a difference.

JC decided to coach this game and match lines. Kamf, Saad and the new guy had their way with the McDavid line which has been on fire all year. Keith didnt suck which was cool.

Still a lot of sloppy play and not having a play maker with Toews and Debrincat is probably going to mean not a lot of goals from them.

Nylander, for the goal, also crapped 3 away in the D zone that led to quality chances for the Oilers and it was fortunate the McDavid one was pulled back and that he couldn't avoid Crow.

Good chance to get to .500 Friday. Hopefully this is something to build on and not just an off night for the Oilers.

Was it just me or did the Hawks have a guy glued to McDavid for most of the night. Looked like they were shadowing him. He wasn't able to break out and use his speed except on a few occasions.

I thoroughly enjoyed watching Dcat hounding him in the middle of the 3rd on a few shifts.

I actually don't mind Nylander on the 4th line for now. He can dominate the puck and try and create. 4th line was solid last night.
- bhawks2241

Game puck from last night deserves to go to David Kampf for the work he did on McD. COMPLETELY shut him down and made him a non-factor on the ice all night.

57% FO won; 1 assist and a +1 (vs -2 McDavid) and I think he actually outshot him too.

Yep leave Nylander on the top line for 15+ games to see what he has. Hell Saad took 30+ games before he really started clicking in his first full NHL season. Let Perlini/Caggs take 4th line mins and swap out with Smith or Carp for press box cleaning duties.
- Assman22

He has a million dollar arm and a 10 cent head...

Obviously high skill level but gosh does he do some dumb poop with the puck and looks lost or disengaged a lot of the time.

Was it just me or did the Hawks have a guy glued to McDavid for most of the night. Looked like they were shadowing him. He wasn't able to break out and use his speed except on a few occasions.

I thoroughly enjoyed watching Dcat hounding him in the middle of the 3rd on a few shifts
- bhawks2241

Kampf was that guy most of the night. Cat’s line played horrendous vs McDavid’s line and was caught out there twice when the Oil were able to change and we couldn’t.

Was it just me or did the Hawks have a guy glued to McDavid for most of the night. Looked like they were shadowing him. He wasn't able to break out and use his speed except on a few occasions.

I thoroughly enjoyed watching Dcat hounding him in the middle of the 3rd on a few shifts.

I actually don't mind Nylander on the 4th line for now. He can dominate the puck and try and create. 4th line was solid last night.
- bhawks2241

Kamf is an outstanding skater and very good defensively and position wise. Saad is an outstanding skater and excellent defensively and position wise. Kubalik is an excellent skater and compliments the other two well.

JC matched lines and had those three + Keith and Murphy out against the Oilers top line which made a difference. Amazing what actually coaching does and not messing with your best line.

Exciting win last night.
Plus-

A win!

Love what Shaw brings and Smith adds some much needed sandpaper. Also liked how DeHaan pushed people around the net.

Minus-

Still not liking how Nylander plays weak on the board and floats. But he’s young and he scored the GWG.
You guys are correct, Toews doesn’t seem completely OK. Loses puck battles too easily and passes are being broken up.
- Popsghostly

He passed off quite a few faceoffs as well.

I'd like to see Kubalik on a line with a playmaker who can get him the puck in prime scoring spots.

That 3rd line looks good but Kubalik doesn't have a guy who can get him the puck. He can drift it. Maybe Dach is that guy eventually.
- bhawks2241

While I like what Kampf is doing so far on the 3rd line, Saad and Kubalik could thrive even more with a playmaker who can skate well, create space, and play defense.

Dach eventually as you pointed out and what many expect. Sikura is an option, too, IMO.

This allows Shaw to play with DeBrincat and Strome. Caggiula for now with Toews and Kane then gradually Nylander. The top 2 lines would have a physical grinder who gets at the 50/50 pucks in 65 and 91.

Kamf is an outstanding skater and very good defensively and position wise. Saad is an outstanding skater and excellent defensively and position wise. Kubalik is an excellent skater and compliments the other two well.

JC matched lines and had those three + Keith and Murphy out against the Oilers top line which made a difference. Amazing what actually coaching does and not messing with your best line.
- fattybeef

I thought Murphy was very strong against the Oil. Definitely looked like a top 4 defenseman.

Obviously last night was a great effort win, but it’s undeniable how deep this team is when it’s clicking on all cylinders.

Our top two lines struggled for much of the night, but thanks to guys like Shaw, Caggiula, and Smith playing like the pests we know they’re capable of being/the sandpaper this team needs; Saad and Kubalik dominating opposition; and finally having de Haan, Murphy, and Maatta healthy and playing “solid” hockey really patches things up on the backend (with two great goalies).

I surprisingly really liked Nylander driving the fourth line, and think he might be better suited in a role that emphasizes him rather than having him play off of Kane/Toews.

It would be outlandish to make proclamations about this team after one good win, but if Kane/Toews get going like they did last season, and with the amount of depth this team finally seems to have, there’s nothing to suggest this team shouldn’t be playing hockey deep into the spring.

Game puck from last night deserves to go to David Kampf for the work he did on McD. COMPLETELY shut him down and made him a non-factor on the ice all night.

57% FO won; 1 assist and a +1 (vs -2 McDavid) and I think he actually outshot him too.
- TommyHawk

Kampf's defensive performance (his entire line actually) was a marvel to watch. And I think they will eventually get going in the scoring department, the chances are certainly there, although playing against McJesus just shutting them down is a pure win.

Yes, maybe we do want DK on Line 4, IF someone actually takes the job from him, in that they can play at least somewhat comparable to him defensively while adding more scoring. That said, if this Line 3 is our Line 3 for the year I certainly do not think it's going to be a hindrance.

People here saying Kampf is JC's pet, maybe Kid Coach got this one right. Time till tell, but early returns are glowing.

While I like what Kampf is doing so far on the 3rd line, Saad and Kubalik could thrive even more with a playmaker who can skate well, create space, and play defense.

Dach eventually as you pointed out and what many expect. Sikura is an option, too, IMO.

This allows Shaw to play with DeBrincat and Strome. Caggiula for now with Toews and Kane then gradually Nylander. The top 2 lines would have a physical grinder who gets at the 50/50 pucks in 65 and 91.
- AEL_Fox

I actually thought Kampf made some nice set ups offensively last night. Maybe as he feels more comfortable, some more offensive talent comes out.

Kampf's defensive performance (his entire line actually) was a marvel to watch. And I think they will eventually get going in the scoring department, the chances are certainly there, although playing against McJesus just shutting them down is a pure win.

Yes, maybe we do want DK on Line 4, IF someone actually takes the job from him, in that they can play at least somewhat comparable to him defensively while adding more scoring. That said, if this Line 3 is our Line 3 for the year I certainly do not think it's going to be a hindrance.

People here saying Kampf is JC's pet, maybe Kid Coach got this one right. Time till tell, but early returns are glowing.
- kwolf68

The signs were obvious when Kampf was a rookie that he had the chops for being a good forward. No, he’s never going to be lighting up the scoreboard but I SAW a player that emulated Dave Bolland. Not in the pest sense, but in the fact that you saw a young player who has a veteran-like presence who just plays hard, makes smart plays, and is sound defensively. He’s making JC look good in betting on him to center the third line, and hopefully he can continue his strong play.

No doubt hey, nice clean hit directly in the chest. good hockey hit and we end up getting a penalty?
- SaskHawkFan

That was a total BS call on Dehaan for dishing out a clean hit that was not even that hard and then get ganged up on by 3 Oilers. How do you stop this garbage when the refs actually reward this behavior rather than punish it? A team like Edmonton benefits from such a ref decision by going 4 on 4 with McDavid.
BTW the refs tried their best near the end to get the Oilers back into the game with that call and the one on Kampf.

I'm a big Shaw fan, while he does have his down-side I think this positves outweigh any negatives he brings the team.

Nylander will just need to do some on-the-job learning. I know the NHL isn't a developmental league, but Nylander needs to play in the NHL to show if he can fit in or not.
- DarthKane

The luxury Nylander has this year is that he is playing with NHL veterans that have credibility (maybe more so than Buffalo) and rings. Even the 4th line has serious veterans. Surrounding him with Toews, Shaw, Smith, Caggiula, Carpenter, Saad, Seabs, Keith, DeHaan, Murphy, Lehner has to be a good long term influence. Let's give him 30 games to show if he can figure it out and bring his "A" game every night. 2 goals in 3 games works for me.

I actually thought Kampf made some nice set ups offensively last night. Maybe as he feels more comfortable, some more offensive talent comes out.
- LAHawk

Kampf at 3C is good right now. Offense may come for him but that’s not really his calling card. Defense and shadowing like he did last night against McDavid are his bread and butter. Can he do that consistently?

In the longer term the team depth would best be served if he anchors the 4th line and someone like Dach can nail down 3C.