The Madness of March: Blackhawks vs. Stars 3/22

Posted By on March 23, 2016

That’s right, we’re done with boring titles.

Three Stars:

  1. Richard Panik, 1 G
  2. Andrew Shaw, 1 G
  3. Marian Hossa, 1 A, 0 GA

There really should be no stars for last night. Nobody truly played well enough. But this is Brightside, so we’re going to try and look at the positives. Yes, there are some. Even in this 6-2 beating.

  1. Marian Hossa is a beast. The man may no longer be the true offensive force he once was, but he’s a defensively dominant, and still one of the best two way forwards in the league. It’s a shame Selkes only ever go to centers, because no one deserves one more than Hossa. Demigod still demigods.
  2. Andrew Shaw, despite all his dumb penalties which we have to believe he will fix, has returned to form. Two goals in the last two games and the only one still trying. If we figure out our issues and get good in the playoffs, which we have to trust will happen, expect Shaw to be a dark horse for Conn Smythe.
  3. Darling’s Jets game has appeared to be a fluke. But this was not all his fault. Our usual great players have stopped, as is March tradition. When we’re actually playing Darling will be great in relief, like he was versus Nashville last year.
  4. PK has been helped by Hossa’s presence. PP, not so much.

And now for the negatives of this game:

  1. March is a time when the team as a whole forgets how to play hockey. They haven’t been good this month, and it’s shown as we’ve plummeted from the first in the Central to maybe contending for a wild card. You have to trust in a system that’s won three cups, but this is still a nervous time for the Hawks. I never like this time of the season, because even though we’re saving energy for the playoffs, I don’t want to have to go through the Kings in the first round.
  2. Dallas clinched a playoff spot, second in the West. They will likely go on to get the first seed in the Central, and even without experience they could survive the Wild in one piece. No one wants this.
  3. Penalty Kill is still in the bottom ten of the league. We’re getting better but an important part of the game is being neglected.

March is the worst time of the year for the Blackhawks. If we don’t shape up within the next 8 games, we’re as good as done. Kane needs seven points to break 100. I would rather have him accomplish this feat than win the rest of the games, but why not both?