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Three Takeaways From the Hawks 5-2 Win |
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The Hawks came into Denver last night in a tough situation, trying to right the ship and snap a four-game losing streak against a team that is currently one of the hottest teams in the league. After the last few games, it had the makings for a long night for the Hawks, but this team stepped up nicely, took an early lead, and never looked back. The first period for the Hawks was one of the best periods of hockey they have played this season. The numbers don’t lie as the Hawks lead in 5 on 5 shot attempts (21-7), 5 on 5 shots (9-2), scoring chances (13-3), and the most impressive stat was leading in high danger chances (10-1). So not only was the offense buzzing in the first, the defense was stepping up and keeping this dangerous Colorado team away from the net and making them work for their chances.
This team came back to earth a bit in the second period as the Avalanche would come out strong, outshooting the Hawks 10-5, but the stellar play from Mrazek and this team as a defensive group would keep this a one-goal game. They would ride this out through the third as well, and they were able to pile on two empty net goals to give this one a 5-2 final score. The players have nonstop talked about moral victories are not good enough anymore and that they need to start seeing results. This is a game that they can be proud of and build off of. Were they perfect? No, but they did what they needed to do to win this hockey game, and this is what builds confidence and what helps a rebuilding team. The real test now will be how they follow this one up as a team that struggles to put together consecutive good games. Lucky for them next up is the Sharks, so they will have all the chances in the world to win back-to-back games and start to build something good.
Three Takeaways
Depth Players Shining
What made the Cup Era Hawks so good was any night any of the four lines could be a factor out there and play the role of hero. Now I am in no way comparing this year's team to those teams, but over the last few games, the offense has been running through the supporting actors compared to the top guys. Donato has 4 points (3-1) in his last two games, and Craig Smith is a point per game player over his last 5 games to just highlight a few guys. This team is always going to run through Bedard offensively, but knowing the rest of the team can help balance out the numbers a bit is a big positive and is going to be the reason this team picks up those extra wins this year.
Reichel Continues to Improve
After being healthy and scratching the first four games of the season, he has found himself in the lineup for the last six games. Some nights he is a non-factor, and you forget he is out there, but more times than not he is among the best players on the ice no matter how little ice time he is getting. Last night was no different for the 22-year-old forward. He gets his first goal of the year simply for being in the right place at the right time, but at the end of the day, the scoresheet doesn’t have pictures, so a goal is a goal. He now has 4 points in 6 games, and the chemistry he is showing with Craig Smith has been a thing of beauty. He is making very smart passes out there, and his line last night was responsible for 5 of the Hawks high danger chances and 9 of the teams scoring chances. What I am really enjoying from this kid is that he’s not just playing one-direction hockey. He is playing teams tough and forcing turnovers. A lot of what Coach Richardson wanted to see him work on this past off season has been on display this year, and he is slowly being rewarded with more ice time. If his line can keep this play up, I don’t see any reason why they can’t be given more minutes in important situations going forward.
Murphy Quietly Playing Well
Connor Murphy to me is in this position of just being there. His style of play isn’t anything sexy, so he doesn’t get the spotlight on him as some of the top guys. I feel like he is the type of player that is just playing out his contract, and once it's up, he will go his way, and the Hawks will go theirs. Despite all this when looking at his season so far, he has been playing some good hockey. He currently is 3rd among the defensemen in points with four and is the only defender to have a positive +/- rating at plus one (Allan and Kaiser are both even, but let’s not split hairs). Last night he would have the third highest ice time at 22 minutes, finish with an assist on the game-winning goal, a plus-two rating, and credit for two hits and a blocked shot. Like I said, he might not be the sexy defender that you would love to have on your team, but he is getting the job done when called upon, and that’s all you can ask for.
The Hawks will have a few days off before they make their California swing starting this Thursday in San Jose. As I talked about earlier it is important this team takes advantage of a worse team and use this game to help put together consecutive good performances together. More on that game Thursday. That’s going to be it from me for now. As always, Lets Go Hawks!
Chicago Blackhawks Blogger • 
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