With Coach Q, Hawks rising to the challenge

Every button Blackhawks coach Joel Quenneville pushed last season seemed to pay immediate dividends en route to winning the Stanley Cup.

Quenneville is trying to push the same buttons this season, but there hasn’t always been a prompt payoff.

“I think he’s had to be more patient this year with all the new guys and the young guys,” Hawks defenseman Brian Campbell said. “He’s probably had to do a little more teaching.”

The job Quenneville has done behind the Hawks’ bench to this point cannot be overlooked considering the circumstances.

The Hawks are 27-20-4 and in a playoff spot today despite a dramatic roster turnover last summer and some significant injury problems earlier in the season that saw Campbell, Marian Hossa, Patrick Kane and Dave Bolland all miss considerable time.

There are 10 new players from last season, including both goalies and four rookies. Quenneville has had to find a totally new fourth line and two-thirds of the third line.

“There have been more unknowns, I guess, this year, which presents a challenge,” Hawks general manager Stan Bowman said. “He’s done a great job, though. I’ve been very impressed with the way he’s handled it, the way he has embraced these new players.”

Quenneville appears to have settled on a fourth line of Jake Dowell, Jack Skille and Viktor Stalberg. He likes Bryan Bickell and Fernando Pisani at wing on the third line with Bolland. And on defense, Quenneville likely had a big voice in rookie Nick Leddy returning from the minors to help solidify the third pairing.

“He’s been able to get guys in roles and to get them to buy into their roles, which I think is the hardest thing to do as a coach, to get everybody pulling in the same direction,” Bowman said. “Sometimes guys are put in roles where they don’t necessarily think they fit, but you have to get them to by into it because at that point only does your team start to succeed.”

Bowman does believe the Hawks have turned a corner to the positive, with Tuesday’s win at Columbus making them 7-3-1 since Jan. 3.

“I think that’s what we finally have, everything sorted out as to where guys kind of fit,” Bowman said. “It takes time. We had all those games out of the gate and we all knew it was going to be a challenge. We worked our way through it and now it’s time to continue and see some consistency.”

Quenneville admits there have been some trying times the first four months of the season.

“Every season and every game is different as a coach,” Quenneville said. “We’ve had a lot of good days here the last few years. This year has had more tests, where all of a sudden it’s ‘how are we going to get back on track?’ But I welcome that challenge. Your job is making sure your team is ready to play and you’re maxing out in games.”

Quenneville recently asked his team to pick up the tempo in games. The Hawks played one of fastest and more exciting styles in the league last season, whereas this year it has been more plodding at times.

“As far as technically, how we play, it’s a very comparable team game, how we play in all zones and how we basically want to approach with and without the puck,” Quenneville said.

“The consistency of our team game hasn’t been as solid as we’d like, but we like the trend we’re in right now. I think the pace of our game is the part we’re seeing some progress in. It kind of appears to be the pace we had last year.”

Travel update: The Hawks were able to fly home from Columbus on Wednesday morning. They leave for Vancouver on Thursday and will practice at Rogers Arena upon their arrival.