The game is not in Miami, nor in Fort Lauderdale, but an outlet mall across an expressway from the Everglades, so it's a 6:30 start for us and a possible zero-fucks-given for the team.

But let's hope not! The Panthers are fuckin' bad. Comprehensively so. Down-comforter soft, can't score, can't defend, can't goaltend. They have some promising youngsters in Huberdeau (who robbed Saad of ROTY because everyone decided that being named Jonathan and being drafted by Dale Tallon must mean you're Toews), Barkov, Bjugstad, and Shore, but they're not ripe just yet, and there are still well-past-ripe remnants of that 2012 hit-the-salary-floor team that won the division with a zillion shootouts and a ridiculously poor goal differential. They also signed Tim Thomas out of his self-imposed exile (during which time he was technically an Islander) so that they could kick the ol' Jacob Markstrom can down the road for another year. Seriously, when will people learn to 1) stop prematurely declaring goalies to be great just because they're really tall, and 2) stop prematurely declaring goalies to be great in the first place? Not really much else to say about them other than Versteeg and Fleischmann can give you problems if you let them, and that Dineen loves to play five men back as much as he can, so gird your loins for that.

With Nordstrom in Rockford, which taken out of context sounds really, really funny, you'd guess that Smith takes over at 4RW. I guess Kostka could slot in as well, but why? Brookbank probably takes this crappy game and saves Rozsival for the Lightning, who were on a bit of a roll until Boston whomped them on Saturday night.

Panthers are 3-6-0, adjusted 2-6-1, 4.367 points expected, slightly overachieving (lol)
Hawks are 5-1-2, adjusted 4-1-3, 10.195 points expected, slightly overachieving

Panthers are 27th in scoring at 2.111, 28th in prevention at 3.556 (-13)
Hawks are 14th in scoring at 2.750, 5th in prevention at 2.125 (+5)

Panthers are lower-third in both uneven-strength phases; who cares about the numbers.
Hawks penalty kill is still brutal and I don't wanna talk about that either.

Hawks need more goals. These guys blow.

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There's no reason to watch this game.

Just the thought of the Florida Panthers existence is enough to depress me. I don't know if I can watch them play hockey.

You can and you will goddamnit!

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"Play until it hurts, then play until it hurts to not play."
http://soundcloud.com/darkside124 HOF 2013, MM Champion 2014

Not a great power play to close out the first.

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"Play until it hurts, then play until it hurts to not play."
http://soundcloud.com/darkside124 HOF 2013, MM Champion 2014

Awful period. Awful ice. Panthers might steal this one.

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Panthers ain't stealing a damn thing.
That was a pretty damn good period. Nice to see Bickell finding the net too. For that kinda dimp you gotta score.

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"Play until it hurts, then play until it hurts to not play."
http://soundcloud.com/darkside124 HOF 2013, MM Champion 2014

You'd have to admit that Thomas was having a good game, though.

Hawks should win it at this point but we've seen how this team likes to blow two-goal leads. And again. Shit ice.

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Yeah, but it's the Panthers...

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"Play until it hurts, then play until it hurts to not play."
http://soundcloud.com/darkside124 HOF 2013, MM Champion 2014

Bickell should be concentrating on his wrister and shouldn't be driving the net like he has been...
Getting rebounds and slingin back is his thing. I don't like him trying to weave in thru traffic.

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"Play until it hurts, then play until it hurts to not play."
http://soundcloud.com/darkside124 HOF 2013, MM Champion 2014

LOL @ Pat saying the Panthers took a 1 nothing lead when they scored their first goal, making the score 2-1 Hawks.

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"Play until it hurts, then play until it hurts to not play."
http://soundcloud.com/darkside124 HOF 2013, MM Champion 2014

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"Play until it hurts, then play until it hurts to not play."
http://soundcloud.com/darkside124 HOF 2013, MM Champion 2014

We need to face some unpleasant facts about how this team might not be very good.

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Pepper Leach: [Vaughn has just given up a grand slam after walking three straight batters] You want me to go get him?

Lou Brown: No, keep him in. Let's see how he reacts.

Lou Brown: [Vaughn hits the next batter] Interesting.

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"Play until it hurts, then play until it hurts to not play."
http://soundcloud.com/darkside124 HOF 2013, MM Champion 2014

This is the same Curious Hair that was negative regarding the Hawks all the way through the playoffs last year.

Nothing new here.

5-1-2 to start the season is just awful.

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"He is a loathsome, offensive brute
--yet I can't look away."

Thomas just went down like a ton of bricks...
He's hurt... again. Damn. That looked painful.

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"Play until it hurts, then play until it hurts to not play."
http://soundcloud.com/darkside124 HOF 2013, MM Champion 2014

I'll take that. Not bad.

FWIW I love the shootout. It's cool to me. I mean, the old school OT Dusk Rules was cool too, but the shootout... it's fun.

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"Play until it hurts, then play until it hurts to not play."
http://soundcloud.com/darkside124 HOF 2013, MM Champion 2014

They've only won four of nine games outright and without empty-netters have only won one game by more than a goal. I've never denied that the Hawks are accumulating points, but I'd like them to start grabbing some opponents by the balls here. Is that a reasonable demand? to not boot two-goal leads in the third to the alumni of the fucking NASCAR Division?

EDIT: another crazy demand, score more goals per game than the Phoenix Coyotes and St. Louis Blues

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Curious Hair got a little Thibs in him. Hopefully with better hair.

I dont know how you can look at this team objectively and not see that even though theyre winning , there are some negative tendencies starting to develop.

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Proud member of the white guy grievance committee

It aint the six minutes. Its what happens in those six minutes.

I'm really not ready to worry until March.

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"Play until it hurts, then play until it hurts to not play."
http://soundcloud.com/darkside124 HOF 2013, MM Champion 2014

I mean, these aren't even elite teams that the Hawks are struggling with. These are middling Eastern teams, whom the West are collectively housing this year. What are they going to do against the teams that matter?

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Less than 10 games into the season. TEN (10).

They will be fine.

I hope CH keeps bitching tho, it seemed to work well during the playoffs. He would bitch and they would keep winning. Seems to be continuing this year.

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"He is a loathsome, offensive brute
--yet I can't look away."

I'm sure they'll get it together eventually, but they just have to score more goals. This is a league-average offense right now, which is unacceptable given the weapons we have. It'd be okay to give up two goals late to crappy teams if you were leading by four or five.

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Whenever CH gets too positive, the Hawks start to suck, so this is good.

During the streak last year, the majority of Hawks games were one goal games. This is just what this team does.

However, they need to stop blowing these 2 goal leads, it's beyond ricidulous already and it just has to stop. Also, like CH said, they simply need to score more goals. Lets see some 4-5 goal games in there.

The league average for goals scored right now is 2.669. Hawks are at 2.667, trailing San Jose, St. Louis, Anaheim, Pittsburgh, Toronto, Montreal, Tampa Bay, Colorado, Calgary, Long Island, Phoenix, Vancouver, Edmonton, and Boston. Early, schmearly; this is not a thing that should be happening after more than like three games. They'd better put Ben Bishop's head on a pike.

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Its a long season. The Blackhawks have the deepest & most talented roster in the NHL. Every team in the NHL would trade their roster in exchange for the Hawks roster. The Hawks have the best team in the NHL.
Take a deep breath & a step back from the ledge. The Hawks will be fine.

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CSFMB 2014 Nascar Pick 'em Champion

We don’t have a trillion-dollar debt because we haven’t taxed enough; we have a trillion-dollar debt because we spend too much. — Ronald Reagan

I'd argue that San Jose (Thornton, Marleau, Pavelski, Couture, Hertl, Vlasic, Niemi) and St. Louis (best defensive corps in the league, Steen, Berglund, Tarasenko, Schwartz, Halak) would in fact decline to trade rosters with the Hawks. I do think the Hawks will kick into that extra gear. It's just a terrible pain in the ass to watch them not do so.

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Read this on Hfboards



Apparently it's the 2 goal lead we don't want now.

My guy Kaner has now failed to get a shot on goal in his last 3 breakaways counting shootouts. Pathetic.


Hawks have now blown 4 2goal leads in the 3rd period. Also pathetic.

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Q's pet reserve Michael Kostka is out four to six weeks with a lower-body injury from yesterday's practice. So, um, bye!

This should allow the Hawks to employ their proprietary "next man up" strategy of roster management.

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