Rozner: Why are the Blackhawks so lifeless?

This was supposed to be the homestand that got the Blackhawks going again.

This would be the hot stretch to send them soaring through the stretch run and into the postseason.

This was when their energy would return.

And this was when they would start playing smart, defensive hockey.

Except, comma, not so much.

The Hawks are a lifeless squad right now, very much stuck in the mud and looking like a team in desperate need of a trade.

The Hawks were a no-show again Sunday as the Bruins took them apart in a 6-2 beating at the UC.

Worse yet, they quit halfway through the game and hung Corey Crawford out to dry, the goaltender replaced in the second period after the Hawks were caught standing around again on the Bruins' fourth goal.

“I don't think I was happy with anything today,” coach Joel Quenneville said. “It definitely gets your attention across the board.”

The locker room remained closed a good 10 minutes longer than normal, and though no one would admit to a verbal postgame beating from Quenneville, every player was still at his locker and in skates as the media entered.

Generally, only three or four players are in the room by the time the press corps moves in for the interrogation.

So was there a team meeting?

“Just briefly,” said captain Jonathan Toews. “It goes without saying, what we need to do better, and what level we need to get to as a group.

“Every single guy needs to take a look at himself. We all know as individuals we can be better. We can prepare better and when we do that we'll get the results that we want.”

If it feels like the Hawks have played mediocre hockey since the start of the year, it's because they have, going 10-10-3 in 2015.

Since returning home for this eight-game homestand they have collected just 7 of a possible 14 points (2-2-3). They've been outscored 10-3 the last two games by a bad Colorado team and a Boston club that hadn't won in regulation since Feb. 7, and was in complete turmoil when the Bruins arrived in Chicago.

And the reality is this Hawks team has had only one very good stretch this year, from mid-November to mid-December.

That's it.

And that was two months ago.

“I think it's a combination of things,” Toews said. “We just didn't seem to have that jump in our step, similar to the last game.

“I felt like everything that could go wrong did go wrong for us. We didn't get the penalty kills we needed. Our power play didn't give us the energy that we needed in the second period and it just fell apart after that.

“It was unfortunate. There were situations where I think we played good defensively. We didn't give up much and all of a sudden they would get a chance point-blank and they made no mistakes.

“In those situations, we didn't help our goaltenders.”

Quenneville shook up the line combinations and the defensive pairs before the game and that provided no relief from the misery of the last few weeks.

Further complicating matters, defenseman Johnny Oduya played only a minute before leaving Sunday's game with an injury, and he's probably going to miss a couple games with an upper body ailment.

“It's pretty easy to play when things are going your way,” said defenseman Niklas Hjalmarsson. “When it starts to go the other way, you show your true colors. We need to bear down, regroup and get ready for Florida (on Tuesday).”

Toews was surprisingly calm after the loss, considering he is usually the most frustrated player on the team when the Hawks play like they did the last two games.

“It's not fun to lose one like that at home, but we're going to try our best as a team to move past it,” Toews said. “We need to get better from that experience because obviously we're not happy with it.”

With the trade deadline one week away, the team's unquestioned leader also cautioned against an overreaction.

“We're not looking at this as a trend downward,” Toews said. “It's frustrating to go through two games like this, and there's some things to correct.

“We need it from the entire group, not just a couple individuals. We need it from the whole group.”

They better do it fast or the group is going to change.

brozner@dailyherald.com

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