Three Stars:
- Hat Trick Kane
- Three points Panarin
- Scott three straight Darling
10 game winning streaks don’t come often. I think it’s just been us and Florida so far this year. And that’s with teams like Dallas and Washington in the league. This is an incredible feat. So let’s take a look at how we got here.
Kane’s the best player in the league. At this point in time, there is no doubt in my mind about that. He’s the leading Hart candidate currently and has a double digit lead in points. The Hawks are back to being the top team in the Central and its because of the season he’s had. Artemi Panarin and Artem Anisimov, our additions at the beginning of the year, have only served to help Kane the entirety of the sesaon. We already extended Anisimov long term. After Andrew Shaw, Artemi’s gotta be second to be extended.
Speaking of Shaw, he should have had the very first goal last night. Marian Hossa made too many mistakes, and he’s starting to show his age. I don’t know how much longer Marian Hossa will be around, but let’s hope he cleans up his play. And that’s sad. Because Hossa is a Hall of Famer and last night he didn’t play like it. The Hawks should have a contingency plan in place because Hossa will be retiring sooner than later and last night… it showed.
Shaw has proven himself worthy of the first LW spot on this team in my mind as well as in Q’s. The question will be if Bowman is confident enough in him there or if he will make the usual Hawks deadline move. Otherwise it doesn’t make sense to add anybody else to this roster. The only thing we need is health, because Roszival and Scuderi have both been pluses recently, and switching between them will help in the playoffs because we will have a rested decent defenseman at all times. We just need Goose back.
Scott Darling made some great saves last night and is proving himself after the stumbles early in the season. Expect him to play lights out and continue trying to live up to Crawford, and if that happens the Hawks have two solid goalies in net. It’s a good time to be a Hawks fan.
A note on the All Star Game: the NHL should not be robbing John Scott of this opportunity. They allowed the fans to vote and should hold true to their word. The ratings would be boosted by John Scott as well. I don’t believe its making a mockery of the league to let him play, but instead is allowing for a showcase of other talent in the NHL and is allowing other players respite and an injury free period. If Domi or Doan get hurt in Scott’s stead, I think that’s to be lain at the feet of Gary Bettman, just another thing in a long line of faults.
That being said, see y’all next game.