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Rozner: Blackhawks struggle as trade deadline approaches

The last thing the Blackhawks need is to face another desperate team, but that's just what they'll get the next two games with a home and away against the Florida Panthers.

They'll see a team fighting for its playoff life, a frantic feeling the Hawks have been unable to find for months.

"We definitely know how important these games are," said Niklas Hjalmarsson. "We have to bear down here. We're playing teams that need points and we have to play that same way."

The easy argument is that the Hawks don't play desperate until they have to, that they have the postseason pedigree and they'll flip the switch when they need to do so.

But the reality is they can no longer rely on that. It meant extra games with St. Louis and Minnesota last spring, and those games cost them dearly as they fell behind Los Angeles and caught up just in time to lose a seventh game in overtime.

The Hawks have not looked like the best team in the West since December, and they're struggling to find their way at a time when nearly every team they face has something to play for.

What they need right now is a move that shakes up the roster and injects some life into the club. That's not something the Hawks want to hear, but they began Sunday night by bringing up goaltender Scott Darling and giving him the start Tuesday against the Panthers.

"I think we have the right group here to get ourselves out of it," said Patrick Kane. "Hopefully, we'll look back in a couple months at this and know this made us stronger."

With a coach fiercely loyal to his veterans, they haven't been able to add much energy to the lineup with a stronger dose of younger players the last few seasons.

The organization has produced or acquired plenty of fresh faces, but many have been dealt, such as 23-year-old Nick Leddy, who has 25 points and is a plus-12 for the first-place Islanders.

It's a failure of coaching and management that they couldn't turn Leddy into a crucial part of the defense - and offense. They traded for a Maserati, and then never learned to drive it.

They couldn't sign 22-year-old Kevin Hayes, who has 25 points as a rookie for the second-place Rangers. The 6-foot-5, 225-pound winger has more points than 28-year-old Bryan Bickell and 23-year-old Andrew Shaw and trails by only a few points 28-year-old Kris Versteeg, 33-year-old Patrick Sharp and 34-year-old Brad Richards.

Hayes was the Hawks' first rounder in 2010, but didn't sign here last year because his agent couldn't get a commitment from the Hawks that Hayes would get a chance to play in Chicago.

The conundrum is that they have a brilliant, Hall of Fame coach with two Cups to his name, who likes his guys.

The good news is that management won't force him to play guys he doesn't want to play, and the bad news is they won't force him to play guys he doesn't want to play.

So instead of trading Sharp and/or Johnny Oduya last summer when both had considerable value, they moved Leddy, failed to sign Hayes and brought in Richards.

They're also up against the cap, so any major move would require removing salary from the roster, something the Hawks are hoping doesn't occur as they approach next Tuesday's trade deadline.

"We have the talent," Toews said. "We're not going to let these last couple games snowball in the wrong direction.

"We'll learn from this and know we can let this be a wake-up call and remind ourselves what level we can get to."

The homestand that was supposed to kick start their run to the postseason has been a mix of good and bad, a major disappointment considering the opportunity - and points - lost.

"Even when we've had long road trips where we played well, it was good, smart defensive hockey," Toews said. "At home, we refer to that style of game and we want to get back to playing smart and patient and tight defensively.

"We know what we need to do and we can do that."

It would help if the Hawks could jump out to a lead and force other teams to play catch-up against a team capable of sound defensive hockey.

"Part of the challenge you face in 82 games is you have some stretches where it seems effortless and everything goes your way," Toews said. "You win some games you don't deserve to win, and you lose some games you think you deserve to win.

"We played a couple good games before these last two. I don't think there's problems constantly repeating themselves."

If the Hawks really want to keep this team intact, they have a few games this week that can change the mind of GM Stan Bowman and others in the front office.

"We have not played the last couple games in the fashion we expect. That's for sure, but we also know we need to get it going," Kane said. "Everyone sees the standings. We know where we're at, who's in front and behind us.

"Sometimes, you're better off not really thinking about that stuff and just playing your game."

Right now, that game is very mediocre, the trade deadline is coming fast … and the clock is ticking.

brozner@dailyherald.com

•Hear Barry Rozner on WSCR 670-AM and follow him @BarryRozner on Twitter.

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