For those who miss Versteeg and Nordstrom, here ya go.

Hossa is back as well.

Canes blow. Hawks needs to wash taste of embarrassment out of mouth.

6-2 Hawk.

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Not a mult.

I wonder how many people in Raleigh actually know that they have an NHL team? Even less care.

Hawks 5-2.

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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

Two periods in, and this game is pissing me off. Hawks took a period to get going, turned it up in the last 5 minutes of the second only to get scored on at 19:42. Shit.

Get it in fucking gear. Losing at home to the Canes in unacceptable.

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Not a mult.

You have to give this team one thing....they will not expel an ounce of effort they don't have to. This is a classic fuck around for 2 periods and then score in the 3rd and get the OT winner.

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That's my purse! I don't know you!

Shit.

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Not a mult.

This is a game where CH tells us why the Hawks suck follwed by Scorehead scolding.

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Hawaii (fuck) You

From your ass to CH's mouth.

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Hawaii (fuck) You

Yeah, so Hawks giving less than zero fucks until 15:00 of the 2nd, plus Eddie Lack having the game of his life =

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Not a mult.

Yup. Figures.

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Not a mult.

That sucked. I was really looking forward to this game too. Grrrrrr. They just suck sometimes. Except when they win the Stanley Cup. This team is so frustrating at times.

That's funny, I'd been calling Carolina the country club team.

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All good NHL teams do this occasionally.

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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

The Hawks do it a lot, though. Problem is, this year they don't have the talent to be as low-effort as they've usually been. Dressing Ryan Garbutt, Michal Rozsival, and Brandon Mashinter is not what "good NHL teams" do.

Best bet for the Hawks might be to tank into fourth place so they cross to the Pacific for the playoffs. That'll mean Los Angeles in the first round, some piece of crap in the second, and one of the Central teams you can't seem to beat in the third, with the hope that they'll be battered and bruised enough by then.

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You just notice it more with the Hawks because that is the team you watch the most. The Hawks understand that the NHL season is a long grind and the games that matter are the playoffs, and no team in sports can turn it on at will when it matters like the Hawks can. I told you this dozens of times last year.
Tonights loss means nothing and is an indication of nothing.

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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

Look, they don't win in the division and they don't win on the road. Then they get the opposite of that and they still can't be arsed to bank a couple easy points. If that makes you confident, okay.

So as it turns out, the Carolina Country Club has a ton of expiring contracts that could be of use. Eric Staal is the biggest one, but he costs too much, and his inability to give a fuck makes Jonathan Toews look like Aaron Rowand. We could give Versteeg another whirl at the deadline. Nathan Gerbe is that guy you went to high school with who always walked around with imaginary lats because he's a FUCKING DWARF, but he wouldn't be a bad fourth-liner for us and he's cheap. Riley Nash would be a decent veteran center. John-Michael Liles could be another old defenseman if we decide to get rid of Scuderi for some reason.

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Hawks respond with a 4 day rest after getting shut down by the Stars by getting shut down by the Canes. This isn't a case of "it's a grind and the Hawks know it". This team just isn't that good.

I'm reminded of 2012, where the team finished December somewhere around 6th or 7th in the league in points, but the raw points number belied a weak schedule and most teams having games in hand. Losing Toews soon after didn't help, but the Hawks indeed spent the next three months shitting themselves. Then they got the Phoenix Coyotes in the first round and continued shitting themselves some more.

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Scorehead's problem is that he thinks it is last year still. I was optimistic last year as well because it was obvious the Hawks were a top tier team just waiting for the playoffs. They dominated the regular season before Sharp and Kane got hurt and then decided to coast.

This team this year has to battle just to squeak out points. There's just too much shit on this roster, no depth. Then you have Toews having the worst year of his career and looking hopeless. Will he turn it on? Maybe. Hopefully. Is that still going to be enough when you don't have a third or fourth line? Nah.

Only hope is to get the first Wildcard spot so your road to the Conference Finals goes through the Pacific.

Garbutt, Desjardins, Mashinter, and Rundblad all need to be thrown into a wood chipper. What a bunch of nothings.

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Gustafsson back up. Presumably this means Kruger goes to LTIR as a corresponding roster move; he had just been a scratch for the last few games.

Let this be the beginning of a roster overhaul as best it can be done.

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What worries me about Toews is that I wonder if he is actually performing older than his years - this season he seems to be playing like he's 35 instead of 28. I wonder if the concussions and other injuries over have taken a bigger toll than we know.

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Not a mult.

If this indeed the beginning of the end for Toews, don't you pretty much have to cash in every pick and prospect you can for one last Cup this year? I don't see this team doing a whole ton if 15% of the salary cap is dead weight. Maybe he's destined/doomed to a Mike Bossy-like career arc where he's in and out in ten or eleven years (except he won't retire, he'll just sit on LTIR cashing checks).

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i've been dreading this actualization, but this year has that first round vs Coyotes vibe all over it.

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'Your AT&T Universal Card has arrived'? Oh God, Kick-fucking-ass, I got a Master Card! I don't believe it, man. Life is kinda cool sometimes.

Come on now...Toews is 27 years old. Lets hold off on the "beginning of the end" talk. Obviously this years Hawks team isn't as good as last years team & they may not win the cup this year...but I trust the Hawks organization to keep this team in contention. The Hawks aren't going to win the cup every year kids.

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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