Hawks lose to LA, 2-1 in shootout.

The blackhawks finished off their 6 game annual circus road trip with a 4-1-1 record after dropping a 2 round shootout to the Kings. The hawks had managed to tie the game in third with a powerplay goal by Jonathan Toews, who picked up the rebound off of a Patrick Kane shot from the right circle. Jonathan Quick, who was solid throughout the game in the LA net, was unable to cleanly handle Kane's shot thanks to #88's quick release, giving Toews enough time to pounce before Quick had a chance to cover up the rebound. Toews, who had earlier taken a big hit from Dustin Brown when he tried to cut in front from behind the kings net, showed his resiliency & determination, again going to the dangerous scoring area in front of the net where he was rewarded.

In the shootout, Quick stopped Toews with a blocker save after the hawk captain tried to deke to his left. Kane tried to lift a backhand over Quick on the other, glove side, however, wasn't able to get it up high enough, and the Kings skated off with a well-earned win. Huet was unable to stop Kopitar, who made the same move on Huet he had tried on a breakaway early in the game, this time sliding it thru the five hole. Huet actually had his glove on the ice as he attempted to make the save, (something he also did during the game - a rather unorthodox maneuver that presumably would leave him more vulnerable to high, glove side shots & something to continue to watch for).

The hawks offense did not look sharp again, after laying a turkey the day before in Anaheim. In fact, until Toews found the net early in the 3rd period, the hawks had gone over 115 minutes, or almost two full games without scoring a goal - hardly something expected with the addition of Hossa to the lineup & his impressive debut against San Jose.

In fact, the hawks top line looked out of synch most of the game - failing to connect on passes and just generally appearing to guess rather than know where their linemates were (or where they were heading to), despite each getting over 21 minutes of ice time, with Toews getting over 24 minutes. They had two more chances on the powerplay after tying the game, including a 4 on 3 in OT, and did create some chances, but failed to seriously threaten.

Part of the problem was in the faceoff circle - where the hawks went 24 for 58 or just over 40% - a very poor showing considering they ranked 3rd in the league in face-offs, winning 53% of draws so far this season, while LA ranked 24th coming into the game, winning only 48%. John Madden struggled in the dots, going 4 for 17, while former hawks Michal Handzus led LA going 12 of 16.

Handzus also made the key play on LA's goal, finding his linemate Simmonds cutting unchecked into the slot area with a nice feed, after having taken Simmonds' drop pass on right wing. Duncan Keith was effectively facing a two on 1 with Simmonds & Handzus both coming down the right side unchecked, while Seabrook remained in his right defensive position. Keith challenged puck carrier Simmonds, but when Simmonds dropped a pass for oncoming Handzus, Keith backed off, deciding to let Simmonds go by and instead focus his attention on Handzus & the puck, (presumably expecting that Seabrook would move off his right defensive position & pick Simmonds up).

There appeared to be some slight indecision on Keith's part, perhaps noticing that Seabrook was not coming across to take Simmonds as expected, and he momentarily got caught between Simmonds & Handzus - not having either player, which gave Handzus enough time to thread a perfect pass to an open Simmonds cutting in on Huet, while Seabrook reacted too slowly to the developing play to prevent Simmonds' good scoring chance. Simmonds' backhand beat Huet, who appeared surprised, still back in his crease, rather than coming out and challenging Simmonds, though it was apparent that it was primarily Seabrook's failure to move over to pick up Simmonds which directly led to the scoring chance. (The hawks 4th line was actually in reasonable position on the play, having picked up the late LA men entering the hawk zone, thereby giving Seabrook the freedom to move over without having to worry about leaving an open forward, which Keith apparently read, but Seabrook didn't, at least quickly enough.)

The Kings actually created several excellent scoring opportunities throughout the game and were a bit unlucky not to capitalize. Early in the first, Kopitar was stopped by Huet on a breakaway after blocking a Keith shot at the Kings line. As noted, Kopitar tried sliding it thru Huet's 5 hole, but the hawk netminder was equal to the task to keep the game scoreless early. Minutes later, an open Scott Parse deflected a centering pass just wide of the open hawk net with Huet out of position.

The hawks Troy Brouwer had a chance to get the team's 4th shorthanded goal of the road trip on a breakway in the 2nd, reading the play & heading to center to take a feed from Hjalmarsson and getting a shot on Quick after stopping and letting the pursuing king Dman skate by, however the LA goaltender made a good low pad save. Hossa and Versteeg also had good chances later in the 2nd period, having clear shots on Quick from within 30 feet on the right side, but both were stopped.

In the 3rd, Brent Sopel hit the post after a nice set up by Madden who had penetrated down the right side, then fed Sopel coming late at the point. Later in OT, Sopel coughed up the puck at his own blueline, gifting LA a good chance which forced Huet to make a good save deflecting the puck just past the net with his trapper. In the shootout, however, Huet could not make a save & was beaten five hole both times.

While the road trip has to be considered very successful, the way it ended leaves one wanting, particularly considering how the trip started - with lopsided wins over both calgary & san jose. The loss to Anaheim was a failure of special teams, particularly the pk giving up 3 goals on Anaheim's first 4 chances, only a game after the pk managed to score 3 shorthanded goals. And while the pp was key to tying the game vs. LA, it also failed to capitalize twice when it had chances later to be the decisive factor.

Hopefully the lack of jump is due to being road weary rather than internal issues revolving around Hossa and Keith, Kane & Toews's contracts & the need for the team to move other players to announce the apparent deals with the "big 3 RFAs". Hossa clearly had a good start his first game back scoring twice, but he was not particularly threatening in the games in southern California. If he fails to be an impact player that many expect (and that his big contract would appear to demand), the hawks biggest obstacle could be dealing with their own internal team dynamics rather than any external opponent.

It will be interesting to see the home fans' reaction to Hossa (and his corresponding response) and how he handles being in the spotlight. If he doesn't measurably improve this team beyond the excellent record they compiled before he arrived in the lineup, there is going to be increasing vocalization of why management risked the promising future of this young team by making such a huge & long term bet on one single 30 year old player who still has as much, if not more to prove than many of his younger teammates...

Given his contract, Hossa needs to fit in - the biggest question is will other players whose career in Chicago might be jeopardized as a result of his signing continue to "fit in" as they have in the past?