Zawaski's Shorties: Blackhawks Caught Star-Gazing
By Jay Zawaski
(CBS) After putting together one of their most impressive games of the season last Saturday in Dallas, the Blackhawks spent the first period getting whipped by the visiting Stars on Thursday night in Chicago.
Favor returned.
Dallas winger Patrick Eaves recorded a first period hat trick, the Hawks trailed 4-0 after 20 minutes, goalie Corey Crawford was benched and the Joel Quenneville line blender was switched to "puree."
Scott Darling was perfect in relief, and the Hawks battled back with an impressive and furious third-period charge, but it was too little, too late as the Stars hung on for the 4-2 win.
Here are the observations of the night.
Missing the Breadman: Artemi Panarin missed his second consecutive game with an illness. It's no coincidence that for the second consecutive game, the Blackhawks offense looked mostly lost.
Over the last few weeks, trade whispers have begun to swirl around the league. Some were surprised to hear that Chicago has reportedly been prioritizing a top-six left winger over a depth defenseman. I think these last two games have proved this to be the correct approach.
Marian Hossa's decline is well underway. His shooting percentage has been "uncharacteristically low" for the last few seasons now. That's a trend, not a fluke.
Andrew Shaw has filled in admirably on the top line, but everyone knows he's not a top-six player.
If Jonathan Toews, Patrick Kane or Panarin don't score, the Hawks are in trouble.
Need proof? When the Hawks pulled the goalie with 3:20 left in the game, the Hawks turned to Andrew Desjardins as their extra attacker. Let me repeat: Andrew Desjardins.
The Hawks need to address this weakness as best they can. That's easier said than done, as every team with cap space and a playoff shot will be gunning for Winnipeg's Andrew Ladd or Arizona's Mikkel Boedker. Rest assured, the Hawks will be one of those teams, but will they have enough to get it done?
No reason to Panik: Richard Panik has been a pleasant surprise since his acquisition on Jan. 3. He's scored four points in his 12 games but more importantly has been a factor on both ends of the ice. On Thursday night, he even got a look on the power play and top line. I really liked his game on the power play. Aside from Shaw, the Hawks don't really have a player willing to plant himself in front of the opposition's goaltender. Panik was firmly planted in that spot for the duration of his power-play time.
While it's unlikely he'll see time there when Panarin returns, it's good to know there are other capable and willing power-play participants.
Teuvo Twittervillain: Now that Crawford has silenced almost all of his critics, it seems the Twitter-verse has turned its hostility to -- wait for it -- Teuvo Teravainen.
No, I'm not kidding.
A small group of Hawks fans has apparently soured on the 21-year-old winger. He lost his man on a Dallas goal and later took a bad penalty in the first period. With that, the hounds of hell were released -- "soft" and "lazy" and "overrated" were some of the words used to describe Teravainen on Thursday night.
I didn't think I'd ever have to explain this, but Teravainen is a whopping 90-something games into his NHL career. He had a sub-par period in a frame chock-full of sub-par performances.
It's important to remember when evaluating Hawks prospects that Toews and Kane didn't have ordinary trajectories to stardom. They're franchise-changing, future Hall of Fame players. If you take a look at the 17 players chosen before Teravainen in the 2012 draft, you'll see that most of these players have yet to find their stride at the NHL level.
Teravainen's developing well and correctly. He's gone from a defensive liability to one of the team's most consistent and effective back checkers. He kills penalties and has shown the ability to adapt to a role on any line. He can even man the point on the power play.
Take a deep breath. He's going to be fine, and he should be a Blackhawk for a very long time.
Chi-Town is Draft Town: On Thursday before the game, the NHL and the Blackhawks announced that the city would host the 2017 NHL Entry Draft. The news was met with a huge "meh" from most people.
If you were one of them, let me try to change your mind.
Yes, aside from the top few picks, most of these guys are total unknowns. However, the draft is famous for facilitating a number of high-profile trades. Last year alone, Milan Lucic, Dougie Hamilton, David Legwand, Ryan O'Reilly, Eddie Lack and Antti Niemi are just some of the names dealt that day. In 2014, Ryan Kesler and James Neal found new hockey homes.
It's an exciting weekend that the Blackhawks will make spectacular. Embrace it. Enjoy it. If you don't like it, it's summer in Chicago. There will be something else to do.
Jay Zawaski is the executive producer of the Spiegel and Goff Show on 670 The Score and the Blackhawks columnist for CBSChicago.com. He also hosts a weekly podcast with James Neveau of NBCChicago.comthat you can listen and subscribe to here. Follow him on Twitter at @JayZawaski670.
