It’s no new news that the Blackhawks are off to a slow start, but slow is an understatement at this point. Sunday night was the first home win since October 27th—that’s eighteen days between home victories.
Last year, they lost all of eight home games in the entire season, taking full advantage of home ice. This year, the Hawks were on a four-game home losing streak and we’re barely at the quarter mark of the season.
After Sunday night’s game, there were huge sighs of relief in the Hawks’ locker room and the stands. The Ducks, on the other hand, were less than thrilled. The club had their season high six-game winning streak snapped in a 3-2 overtime loss. Although they may have gained the point they needed, the loss was particularly painful in that they were literally one win away from matching the franchise-record seven-game winning streak. The record was so close they could smell it, and at the last second, the Hawks shattered what hope the Ducks had had going in to the game.
By Harrini Krishnan
After four disappointing home games, Chicago can breathe again but be wary Hawks fans, the worst may be yet to come. The Hawks can now hit the road for a six-game trip that is unnervingly critical, with a little confidence in their system. With the way things started off, this trip can either make it or break it for them this season. So, it’s about time we start seeing the hustle we saw on the ice the other night in every game.
Where has this urgency been all season? Sunday night was just a glimpse of what they’re capable of. At the quarter-way point in the season, the Hawks have already reached nine losses. Last year, it wasn’t till late December, that they hit that point. In fact, last season the Hawks held bragging rights to a solid defense and a frighteningly determined offense. This year, there’s almost no team effort; with every loss, there’s less and less energy out on the ice. Where’s the desperation? Already the returning Stanley Cup champions have drifted to the middle of the power rankings, ranking in the bottom half of all the important defensive categories—shots allowed, save percentage and goals against average. We’re at a gut-wrenching 9-9-2 entering the six-game road trip and it’s anybody’s guess where this is going.
Hopefully, Sunday night was a start of something new. We still have a long way to go before the season crumbles to an end. A slow start is anything but a good excuse to let this mediocre performance continue to spiral into oblivion.
The Ducks, too, had started the season in a less than reassuring fashion at a 0-3-0. In fact, not too long ago, they were at a dismaying 4-7-1. And within three weeks, the urgency they’ve spilled on to the ice has them at 10-7-1.
This road trip is perfectly timed. Fourteen days and six games for the Hawks to shape up and clean up their act.
“We were pretty confident we’d find a way to come away with two points some way tonight.” Hawk’s left-winger, Viktor Stalberg told reporters. “Now we’re leaving our building for a while, so hopefully it’ll get our team going and we’ll come back here stronger when we return.”
The next two weeks are going to be tough that’s no doubt. Facing the best of the best in the Western Conference, the Hawks will have to battle it out with teams like Vancouver, Los Angeles, Edmonton and San Jose.
So stop moping Hawks fans, we still have a way to go. As Gretzky once said, “skate to where the puck is going to be, not where it has been.”