Hawks can't Duck scoring drought
One goal.
That's the Blackhawks' motto as they seek a third Stanley Cup title in six seasons.
But fans must be wondering when their team is going to start scoring more than TWO goals on a game-in and game-out basis.
Coach Joel Quenneville's squad has only accomplished that “feat” three of the first nine games this season. Tuesday night was no different as the Hawks fell 1-0 to Anaheim at the United Center.
The game's only goal came with the Hawks on the power play as Brent Seabrook fell down trying to keep the puck in the Hawks' zone. The puck then squirted free, giving winger Devante Smith-Pelly a breakaway chance that he did not waste. He fired the puck on goalie Scott Darling and it trickled into the net.
Before the game, Quenneville was asked about the team's lack of offensive production.
“Production has been down,” he said. “But I think the last few games we've been playing the right way. I don't want to change too much and think we've got to worry about scoring. I always worry about keeping it out of our net first.”
That's something the Hawks have done exceedingly well. Solid defensive play and sharp goaltending from Corey Crawford, Antti Raanta and Scott Darling have kept opponents off the scoreboard game after game.
What's amazing about the Hawks' inability to score is the fact that they put the puck on net an NHL-best 38.0 times per game. The problem is, the puck is simply not going in the net. They'll dominate a game for long stretches only to end up in a tie after three periods.
The first period Tuesday was a perfect example. Brad Richards found Patrick Sharp on a sweet feed two minutes in and Sharp couldn't pull the trigger. Two minutes later Brandon Saad whiffed on a perfect pass from Patrick Kane. And eight minutes in Niklas Hjalmarsson's rocket clanged off the left post.
All fantastic chances. All wasted.
Then there was a Bryan Bickell-to-Jonathan Toews backhander early in the third that should have given the Hawks a 1-0 lead. But Ducks goalie John Gibson made the save of the night, stonewalling the Hawks' captain.
Maybe one answer to the Hawks' scoring woes is that Kane simply needs to shoot more. The winger has taken just 10 shots over the last six games.
“We feel it's just a matter of time,” Quenneville said. “We're getting enough looks and enough chances that we'll find a way to get through. We've had a couple of games where we had 2 goals where we easily could have had 5 or 6.”
The saving grace has been the defense. Darling, playing in his second straight game in relief of the injured Corey Crawford, was again spectacular. Two nights after stopping 32 of 33 shots by Ottawa, the rookie from Lemont stopped the highflying Ducks on 24 of 25 shots.
After Anaheim scored, the Hawks' best chance to score came on a power play with 2:35 left as Jeremy Morin got tripped up by Sami Vataneh. Quenneville pulled Darling, which created a 6-on-4 advantage.
Once again, no dice as the Ducks walked out winners with an 8-2-0 record.
• Follow John's reports on Twitter@johndietzdh and contact him by email at jdietz@dailyherald.com