Game Recap: Hawks @ Capitals 3/9

I don't know who to feel more sorry for, Connor Bedard’s frustration mounting, or you reading this.

I try not to sound repetitive in these, but often times I find myself having to open up with: there's not a lot to dig into here. There isn't. This game was lost in the 1st period, despite the Hawks putting up even 5-v-5 numbers. I was a bit surprised with the Caps effort. Not that I was surprised that we lost, but I thought the Caps looked like they were ready to take on a bad team. They got their 3-0 lead in the 1st and held onto it to beat the Hawks 4-1.

I'll be honest, my brain kept turning off when there wasn't a Bedard shot attempt (16 of those). I don't know if that's because of how boring this game was or if that was my brain protecting me from being traumatized.

On to the thoughts.

Thoughts

• As a whole, the Hawks offense kind of did their best. They posted a 58.85 Corsi and I don't think that has to do with the Caps protecting a lead. A lot of, if not all of the goals against were on the defense. We talk a lot of defense today.
• A quick note on offense. The Hawks take a lot of shots on the perimeter. I appreciate that they try to get set up and play NHL offense, but the skill isn't there. They need to do what bad teams do, which is to funnel the puck or crash the net. When you don't have the skill to capitalize on possession, you need to get the puck inside the house by funneling it there. The only drawback is that things can go bad real quick and leave the defense to hang.
• Seth Jones made an interesting decision on the first PK. He made a courageous pinch on Alexender Ovechkin which gave up a lot of space for Ovi to make a scoring chance. Jones would finish the night with 9 shot attempts and 5 shots on goal.
• Watch this second goal against and be reminded of why Jarred Tinordi and Nikita Zaitsev should never be on a defensive pair ever again. Tinordi does a pretty bad job of making any sort of an attempt to get the puck out and Zaitsev just looks a little lost.

• Speaking of Tinordi, he took a really dumb penalty that would lead to a Caps PP goal.
• The 4th goal that ended up being called off was not a good look for Zaitsev, or Kurashev as the F3. Once the puck goes below the goal line, you want your defense to button up, especially if you are playing a zone coverage defensive system like the Hawks.

• The Hawks are struggling to breakout. Oh wait, they've been struggling all season long on zone exits. Below is where they stack up against other teams. I'm a bit surprised, to be honest.

• Bedard's line had some good possession towards the end of the second. I mentioned earlier that Bedard had 16 shot attempts. He also had 5 shots on goal with an individual expected goals of .93. His line (Foligno-Bedard-Kurashev) had a total of 16 5v5 shot attempts (Bedard had 6 5v5 shot attempts, FYI). The trio had a 66.67 Corsi together.
• The actual 4th goal against was another bad look for the defense. Jaycob Megna makes a decision that leaves Tinordi to face a 2-on-1. Dumb mistake by Megna, but let's take a look at Tinordi. He is faced with two options, he can either take the passing option with his body and leave Mrazek to take the shot, or he can take the shooter. Tinordi tries to take the passing lane with a useless pokecheck.

• Megna spoils a great Bedard pass because he sucks.
• A lot of sloppiness in this game. A lot of dumb offside calls, which are always on the players. A lot of sketchy line change mistakes, one of which was a too-many-men penalty.
• The Bedard super-shift at the end was nice. Logged in a little over 3 min. in one shift.
• Here's the lone Hawk goal so I can end on a positive. Yes, Tinordi get's the assist with a nice shot on goal (I'm so sick of talking about you).

The Hawks play the Coyotes today at 5pm at home. No game preview for that one. Start your Sunday prayers.

Let's Go Hawks.