Well, that was a lot tougher than it needed to be.



The Hawks dominated the Oilers in tonight's game.  The score doesn't tell the story.  The Hawks dominated play, kept the puck in Edmonton's zone and generated the majority of the chances.  Unfortunately, that almost wasn't enough, because Hawks didn't cash in on several great chances and Edmonton managed to convert a power play and get a couple of lucky bounces.  And as much as I hate to say it, Nikolai Khabibulin was the reason this game stayed as close as it did.  He stoned several times, including a breakaway by VERSTEEG!, a penalty shot by Patrick Sharp and several good chances by Jonathan Toews.  But he still lost.  So there's that.

THE GOOD

Patrick Sharp: Sharpie had a goal, an assist, earned himself a penalty shot and also set a great screen on Cam Barker's power play goal.  Hmm, Sharp was down low on the power play instead of at the point and the Hawks actually scored.  Funny how that works.

Puck Possession:  This was textbook example of what we want to see from the Hawks as a team.  They outshot the Oilers 38-19, and these were quality chances, not just weak shots with no chance to go in.  Without a strong game from Khabi, this one could have easily gotten out of hand.  Oh, and just in case you're keeping track, the Hawks currently take the most shots per game in the NHL, and give up the least per game.  That's a recipe for success.

Brian Campbell:  Campbell grabbed 2 more assists to give him 6 points in 6 games.  But I'm sure somebody out there is upset that he didn't drive the Zamboni between periods. 

THE BAD

Finishing:  One of my few complaints was that the Hawks couldn't put the Oilers away early.  I know credit goes to Khabibulin for this, but when you get so many breakaways, you'd expect them to cash in on at least one.

Power Play:  The power play was going to be bad, but then the coaching staff decided to take Sharp off the point in the 3rd period and they scored a goal.  Oh, and keeping Tomas Kopecky rooted to the bench during that man advantage was an improvement too.

THE UGLY

Dave Bolland's penalties:  two bad tripping penalties from Bolland tonight, one behind his own net, and one 200 feet away with a little less than 2 minutes left in the game, that led to Edmonton's 3rd goal.  Oh, and the Hawks managed a rare feet, putting too many men on the ice and NOT taking a penalty for it.

Up next: the Hawks go to Nashville tomorrow and hopefully get Cristobal Huet back on track.