I generally don't even think about playoffs, let alone panic or get on cloud 9 before the new year. It seems like teams take about that long to establish their identity, save a few very good or very bad ones. We are Jekyll and Hyde at this point. We seem to up our game against better teams and play down to the level of mediocre and sometimes bad teams.
Suffice it to say we came back own to earth. After starting 7-1-1 we've been 3-6-2 since. The last two games were a pair that we should have been debating whether we were coming home with 3 points or 4, instead we captured 1.
I didn't realize it was an afternoon game, and it probably is just as well. Watching the highlights just confirmed the concerns I have had about this team since we entered the season. The Hawks' first goal was a replay of last year, letting people stand around in front of the net.
The OT goal was a clinic of what not to do. Schenn decided to "kinda" joined Kyrou on the forecheck. I'm actually not sure what he was doing on that play, but whatever it was, it was something you can't do in 3-on-3. That led to a 2 on 1, and like any 2 on 1, the defender, in this case Krug has one job: prevent the pass and force the puck carrier to take the shot from as much of an angle as he can force or screw up trying to make the pass. Not exactly how it turned out.
That, after exiting the first with a 2-0 lead.
<Sigh>
