Sunday night the Chicago Blackhawks fell 4-2 to one of the worst teams in the conference, the Columbus Blue Jackets. The Hawks’ back-to-back losses to the Jackets drop their record to 5-6-2 since the Olympic break and 2-4-2 in their last eight contests.
For much of the game, the Hawks were lacking spark and energy. The team seemed half-asleep down 3-1 until a short-handed goal by Patrick Sharp late in the third period cut the Jackets’ lead to one. A late flurry nearly resulted in the tying goal, but it was too little, too late for the slumping Blackhawks.
With just eight games remaining before the playoffs, Chicago has lost the confidence and swagger they had before the Olympic break. After their two most recent losses the players have acknowledged that something is wrong, but haven’t been able to stop their skid.
For most of the season many considered the Hawks a Stanley Cup caliber team with shaky goaltending, but now it’s clear that the once-invincible Blackhawks have plenty of holes. Joel Quenneville needs to get his guys back on track–and now–so they don’t head into the postseason stripped of all confidence and momentum.
Teams like Detroit and Nashville are just hitting their stride and won’t think twice about ruining the Hawks’ golden year.
No Spain, No Gain 