Nothing looks right for Hawks in loss to Senators
It didn't even look like the Blackhawks on Tuesday night.
Appearing tired in one of their worst all-around performances of the season, the Hawks got what they deserved in a 4-1 loss to the Ottawa Senators at Scotiabank Place.
The Hawks didn't skate, they made defensive mistakes, got spotty goaltending from Cristobal Huet and were anything but dangerous offensively.
"That might have been one that was at the bottom of the heap," Hawks coach Joel Quenneville said of his team's first loss in four games. "We didn't have any pace, our hands weren't friendly, and we didn't stick around in front of the net very well, or get to the front of the net.
"They checked well and played well and deserved to win."
The loss dropped the Hawks to 2-1 on their eight-game road trip that continues Thursday night in Calgary.
It may or may not be a good time to catch the Flames, who have dropped five in a row and are being harshly criticized by their media and fans following an embarrassing 9-1 loss Monday at San Jose.
At least the Senators didn't blow the Hawks out of the rink.
It was a tight 2-1 game in the second period when Ottawa goalie Brian Elliott made an amazing stop on Marian Hossa with the net wide open.
Elliott had gone behind the net to play the puck with it squirted loose in front to Hossa, who couldn't believe Elliott recovered in time to make a lunging save with his stick.
"He makes that save on Hoss there with an empty net and it could have been a different ballgame," Quenneville said.
"It's one of those things where he has the whole net to shoot at and you just try to get your stick in the middle of the net," Elliott said. "There's not really too much skill, just hope and determination."
Not only was Hossa denied, but Peter Regin scored minutes later to make it 3-1 when Huet was too late going post to post to prevent Regin's wraparound.
"That third goal was a key to the game," Ottawa coach Cory Clouston said. "It took a lot of the momentum away from them."
Huet has allowed 9 goals in his last two starts and 15 goals in three of his last four. The Hawks outshot the Senators 30-18, but Huet made only 14 saves.
"He was just OK for me," Quenneville said.
The Hawks are 2-1 after three games on the road trip despite giving up 12 goals.
"If you look at the three games, we gave up less tonight than we did in the other two games," Quenneville said. "But it was still the pace of the game; we didn't get it up to where we need it to be successful. Certainly we didn't play with anything like we did in the last two (games)."
Ottawa led 2-0 after the first period on goals by Zack Smith and Ryan Shannon. A mix-up between Brent Seabrook and Duncan Keith led to Smith's goal at 6:51 that opened the scoring.
Hossa scored his third short-handed goal of the season at 6:05 of the second period. "It was just one of those nights where we weren't competing and we weren't skating," Keith said.
<p class="factboxheadblack">Tim Sassone's game tracker</p>
<p class="News">Senators 4, Blackhawks 1</p>
<p class="News"><b>Three stars:</b></p>
<p class="News">1. Brian Elliott, Senators: Made 29 saves, including a game-changer on Marian Hossa in the second period.</p>
<p class="News">2. Peter Regin, Senators: Goal and an assist for the Ottawa forward.</p>
<p class="News">3. Marian Hossa, Hawks: Scored the lone goal short-handed and was his team's only dangerous forward.</p>
<p class="News"><b>Time to worry? </b>Hawks goalie Cristobal Huet has allowed 15 goals in three of his last four starts, the other being a 3-0 shutout of Columbus. "We're all right," coach Joel Quenneville said.</p>
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<li><a href="/story/?id=352294"><b>SASSONE:</b> What will Hawks do at the trade deadline? <span class="date"> [1/19/10]</span></a></li>
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