From top to bottom, beginning to end, tonight was a profoundly wretched defensive effort. Everyone is guilty. I don’t know how many times I can empty the clip on this team and still preserve my sanity and my digestive tract, but here it comes….
- The primary culprits tonight are your alleged top pair, Brent Seabrook and Duncan Keith. Seabrook was responsible for no less than three Colorado goals, and Keith’s decision making all night long was suspect, and that’s being highly complimentary. Seabrook fucked up the exit pass on the fourth goal, got caught in no man’s land on the fifth, and was napping on the sixth. Keith found shinpads and opposition tape more times than could be counted, and his forcing of the puck up the left wall likely led to the Stastny tally. Unfuck yourselves gentlemen. Now.
- Coach Q is as complicit as anyone on the ice. Knowing he’s trotting out 10 forwards with Dave Bolland missing (did anyone really notice?), your purported top wingers of Jack Skille and Viktor Stalberg each got less than 11 minutes worth of ice time. And this is while in Colorado’s altitude. It seems like Q thinks he’s been given a shitty hand from Bowman, but he’s certainly compounding things by the way he’s rationing out playing time. Nothing those two did was any more egregious than Marlboro 72, who each played over 25 minutes.
- Any time Patrick Sharp wants to rediscover his own zone when the team is in dire straits personnel-wise is just hunky fucking dory by me. His Corsi speaks volumes. Oh, and that -3 too.
- Are there two more pointless NHL’ers than John Scott and David Koci? Not fucking likely.
- While a lot of the blame will be passed to Marty Turco, he had absolutely zero chance on any of the four goals he allowed. Yes it would be nice if he made an acrobatic save to preserve a game, but the chances the Avs got were criminal. Knowing Q, however, this is probably Marty’s last start for a while.
- Corey Crawford nearly bailed the skaters in front of him out, making several key saves throughout the second and the first 16 minutes of the third. And while Seabs has to make his fucking mind up on the play that caused the 5th goal, Crawford could have had that one.
- Believe it or not, the Hawks actually outshot the Avs 34 to 30.
- At least Troy Brouwer was interested tonight.
- It seems we may have underestimated Jake Dowell a bit.
- The Hawks squandered a golden opportunity tonight in which they managed to get 5 by a solid Craig Anderson, and on a night when Jonathan Quick used some eye of newt to blank Scum despite facing 51 shots.
- With the Hawks only getting 1 of a possible 4 points on this swing, it makes it imperative that they get 7-8 points over the 5 game home stand. No easy task, mind you.
- I think the Avs just centered another pass to a man alone in front of the Hawk net.
- Get well soon, Hoss, Kaner, and-ah The Pope-ah. Dave Bolland? Eh, whatever.