Yesterday's Hawks game was a statement game. The Hawks made it perfectly clear they are still the team to beat and did so in the Blues' own house. The Blues made a clear statement that they can play pretty good but will likely get knocked out in the early rounds of the playoffs. Elliott made a statement that when it gets down to crunch time and he needs to make big saves to win a game, he just isn't up to it. I hope he changes but he he is showing why they got Miller last year. All three of those goals were good plays by the Hawks and a few bad plays by the Blues. But you couldn't rate any of them "unstoppable" for a top tier goalie. The loss certainly wasn't Elliotts fault but he could have made the win his to own...

Still time to work on some of the poor outlet passes and mishaps that lead to scoring chances but that time is getting short. They miss Shattenkirk to be sure but all teams have to deal with injury and adversity. Of all the defensemen only Cole seems to have stepped up his play to compensate for the shortage. And he wasn't exactly Norris material before... Very disappointing to see Petro and Bouwmeester playing at such average levels...

This is where Hitchcock earns his paycheck...

Go Blue!!!