I think people may underestimate how deeply the loss of Hossa will impact this Hawks team. Or maybe they don't underestimate it, I'm not sure. But it will sting

What the hell happened to Brent Seabrook? That dude used to be really good, no?

Brandon Saad is an awesome player, at both ends of the ice. Why no Selke love for this guy?

Having said all this, the Hawks were completely out-classed last night. This Leafs team is unbelievable. Score should have been 6-3 Leafs, or something along those lines

The Hawks of 2012 or 2013 could have competed with this Leafs team. But not anymore....

The refereeing last night was embarrassing. So many bs calls against both teams. Let the teams play ffs.
- Matthews_Auston

this is going to be a big debate all year...

I have been female doging about the lack of rule enforcement and pens for the last few years: to much damn holding, int, slashes and cheating on faceoffs...

i for one am happy to see the calls being made...the players will adjust and those calls will get reduced and the quality of 5 on 5 will get better...

gotta be disciplined at the dot in OT; the linesman are throwing guys out with the slightest movement forward

IMO we were beaten badly enough last night(ignore the score, just focus on the gameplay...it was embarrassing how much better the Leafs were) that it completely takes away from the mojo we built after those first 2 wins, and now everything goes back to scratch where we started. Basically i have no idea what to expect with this team going forward...
- SimpleJack

You're letting a loss to a young, fast team erase a 15 goals in 2 games demolition of playoff teams from last year? Bold strategy. Not having Schmaltz destroyed our second line. Sub 25% Corsi is not good for anyone.

Could have also been 3-0 Hawks had Sharp scored on the breakaway off the nifty little pass from #12.

But point taken - the Leafs tremendous forecheck combined with the penalties eventually wore the Hawks down.

Faceoff violations - learn to set up correctly
- RickJ

yes..but we all know sharpie on breakaways is a pad banger...

It is not just the Centers. Toews was tossed out more than once because Saad wasn't set on the wing. Last night was a joke and more of a statement than enforcement of the rules.
- breadbag

Q said the Refs aren't telling them why they are getting tossed either. I'm sure that's going to help fix the problem.

Face Offs:

A major problem for the Hawks, I think, was the number of players ejected from the dot for violations.

- StLBravesFan

Wonder if we're seeing it now because we're the visiting team, not the home team. Having to put stick down first, etc.

I think people may underestimate how deeply the loss of Hossa will impact this Hawks team. Or maybe they don't underestimate it, I'm not sure. But it will sting

What the hell happened to Brent Seabrook? That dude used to be really good, no?

Brandon Saad is an awesome player, at both ends of the ice. Why no Selke love for this guy?

Having said all this, the Hawks were completely out-classed last night. This Leafs team is unbelievable. Score should have been 6-3 Leafs, or something along those lines

The Hawks of 2012 or 2013 could have competed with this Leafs team. But not anymore....
- AxlRose91

Good to see you declaring them dead after 3 games. 2 of which were 10 and 5 goal wreckings of the defending champs and a playoff team from last season. We also beat Toronto both times last year. Missing Schamltz effectively killed our highest scoring line and they couldn't hold the puck. They got destroyed possession wise. Kane was on the ice for 30 shots against and 5 for. We'll be fine when Schmaltz is back.

I agree with you on the Kane line last night. They mixed like oil and water.

I think people may underestimate how deeply the loss of Hossa will impact this Hawks team. Or maybe they don't underestimate it, I'm not sure. But it will sting

What the hell happened to Brent Seabrook? That dude used to be really good, no?

Brandon Saad is an awesome player, at both ends of the ice. Why no Selke love for this guy?

Having said all this, the Hawks were completely out-classed last night. This Leafs team is unbelievable. Score should have been 6-3 Leafs, or something along those lines

The Hawks of 2012 or 2013 could have competed with this Leafs team. But not anymore....
- AxlRose91

The Hawks do this every year at times and just come out flat on the road against the East. They took the foot off the gas. The only thing that bothers me is the mess that was OT.

You're letting a loss to a young, fast team erase a 15 goals in 2 games demolition of playoff teams from last year? Bold strategy. Not having Schmaltz destroyed our second line. Sub 25% Corsi is not good for anyone.
- JRoenick97

I don't have the stats in front of me, but I remember a number of times we saw this early last season, where the line Panarin - AA - Kane were heavily under water for possession on the road.

I also thought Forsberg was more solid then great. he blocks a lot of shots but leaves allot of rebounds. Was he good enough to win. Yes but if it was a 3-2 hawks win I would probably give him the 1st star but 4-3 not so much.

As an interested observer for a really good matchup - couple of things -

Leafs have a lot of firepower and are flying ... Wonder if this is going to translate in playoffs when whistles are swallowed somewhat and guys get away with more....

The Hawks miss Hammer.. A lot ... he is not easily replaceable, if at all...

As an interested observer for a really good matchup - couple of things -

Leafs have a lot of firepower and are flying ... Wonder if this is going to translate in playoffs when whistles are swallowed somewhat and guys get away with more....

The Hawks miss Hammer.. A lot ... he is not easily replaceable, if at all...
- dozerD10

The Hawks defense was fine - it was the forward coverage and support that was subpar. Hjammer being there wouldn't have helped.

As an interested observer for a really good matchup - couple of things -

Leafs have a lot of firepower and are flying ... Wonder if this is going to translate in playoffs when whistles are swallowed somewhat and guys get away with more....

The Hawks miss Hammer.. A lot ... he is not easily replaceable, if at all...
- dozerD10

If you watched Hammer the past 2 years, he would have been roasted by that speed just like our top 4 was. He's not a fast guy either. They also had no forward help.

Hey look....Toews just got tossed for another face off

The Hawks do this every year at times and just come out flat on the road against the East. They took the foot off the gas. The only thing that bothers me is the mess that was OT.
- breadbag

While that extra point is good, I think as long as they continue to play well 5 on 5, then they are better suited to the playoffs. Last year, the 'hawks needed space to work well, hence their OT wins. This year, with more grit and grinders like Saad, Panik, Wingels, etc...they should get the more dirty goals that pay off in the playoffs.

On a separate note, it seems the 'hawks are faster, but more importantly, hungrier than the last two years. They seem to be playing with a chip on their shoulder, that they have to prove something to themselves that they are better than they've been. Obviously, they're older and have played a LOT of hockey over the last 10 years, but if they can keep the physical portion in line, and they can keep up the intensity, they have an excellent shot for 4 in 9.

If you watched Hammer the past 2 years, he would have been roasted by that speed just like our top 4 was. He's not a fast guy either. They also had no forward help.
- JRoenick97

The game is about speed but Hammer was very good at accounting for lack of foot speed with knowledge and knowing what position to be in to get to a puck he needed to get to. It was one game in the first two weeks of the season, I'm not going to dive to deep into a loss in OT on the road.

Murphy hasn't stood out to me, which is good. I like Forsling's game a lot. He is a lot quicker than I thought.

Q said the Refs aren't telling them why they are getting tossed either. I'm sure that's going to help fix the problem.
- JRoenick97

I guess the video coaches will be reviewing all those draws to figure it out.

The Hawks defense was fine - it was the forward coverage and support that was subpar. Hjammer being there wouldn't have helped.
- L_B_R

I thought Murphy looked good last night and he's been getting better each game.

I don't have the stats in front of me, but I remember a number of times we saw this early last season, where the line Panarin - AA - Kane were heavily under water for possession on the road.
- breadbag

They usually broke even or were slightly below, though not always.

Though it's not really fair to compare the two - Q used the Hartman-Anisimov-Kane line in a pseudo checking role for at least 40 minutes of the game (if not a bit more). And by this I mean they had less than 30% OZS against the top offensive line of the Leafs (only in the 3rd did Q shorten his bench and throw AA-Kane out in the OZ more). He never would have used Panarin-AA-Kane like that - they'd have faced high QOC fine, but always from a starting point of the OZ. It did not work out well.

Imo this shows why Anisimov is important to the Hawks and how Schmaltz emergence as an offensive center allows the Hawks to have good depth down the middle despite Kruger being gone. If based on how Q is using Kero (as an energy 4C not trusted to see top two lines much), then he's not going to be a Kruger replacement. In any way. Anisimov will not be used like Kruger either, but more like Bolland - checking in any zone with threat to score. Schmaltz will face high QOC but from the OZS, like Kane's line should be used.

For all those who want to trade Anisimov, unless his replacement is another defensively capable center Q will actually trust, you might as well get off your GM armchair. I like the idea of Dauphin and Kampf, but they're both probably a year away (and the former isn't even being used as a center in the org currently).

If you watched Hammer the past 2 years, he would have been roasted by that speed just like our top 4 was. He's not a fast guy either. They also had no forward help.
- JRoenick97

More along the lines of he allowed other guys to slot with little or no drop off, and he sucked up quality minutes, which kept wear and tear down on other guys, and was the guy ever hurt ?? I think he missed like 10 games in 4 years.. his absence will possibly be more noticed as the year moves on.. his smarts, stick and shot blocking are not easily replaceable ..

The game is about speed but Hammer was very good at accounting for lack of foot speed with knowledge and knowing what position to be in to get to a puck he needed to get to. It was one game in the first two weeks of the season, I'm not going to dive to deep into a loss in OT on the road.

Murphy hasn't stood out to me, which is good. I like Forsling's game a lot. He is a lot quicker than I thought.
- nickmo2699

I know that, but the guy was insinuating we miss Hammer because of that one game. He wouldn't have made much of a difference.

The Hawks defense was fine - it was the forward coverage and support that was subpar. Hjammer being there wouldn't have helped.
- L_B_R

Mathews line alone outshot the Hawks 20-3.

And yet the Hawks were up 2-0 until Kane got caught floating in the middle of the Dzone and not covering his man Zaitsev.

I thought Murphy looked good last night and he's been getting better each game.
- DarthKane

The defense in general looked fine considering they kept being left to deal with lost coverage. Murphy has been having solid, if unspectacular games.

I don't really understand people who are commenting on Keith-Seabrook as if they were terrible. Yeah, they both got blown by Matthews and Nylander a few times, but like what defender isn't? Kane makes Norris candidates look ridiculous sometimes too but it doesn't mean they're bad. Keith-Seabrook were as good as can be expected when playing mostly alone in-zone. Prevented some goals, were maybe the best pair about clearing the front of the net. Kane had a terrible defensive game (not that he should have be in that role) and neither AA nor Hartman could help break into the zone the other way. Keith-Seabrook did all they could.

I feel like some people are focusing on a few good or bad things a player does in a game and generalizing that their whole game was good or bad. Truth is, it's almost always somewhere in between.