Quenneville expects Hawks to pick it up - now
Joel Quenneville raised his voice, let out an expletive and sharpened his tone.
Following a lackluster game the night before, the Blackhawks coach turned up the volume for practice Saturday at the United Center. Quenneville scolded his team with a brief, blunt message before smacking a puck into the corner to start a puck-possession drill.
"Let's get (ticked off) around here!"
Just like that, a normal practice gained urgency. Speed increased. Passes were crisper. Puck battles were harder to win.
Quenneville wasn't done. At the end of practice, he pulled out a notecard and went over talking points to show how lagging desire leads to puck-possession issues and needing to defend too much. The Hawks' lackluster effort in a shootout win Friday against the Edmonton Oilers provided plenty of examples.
Only 17 games remain in the regular season, the margin separating the top teams in the Central Division is tightening and Quenneville has seen enough. He knows if they keep playing like they can "flip a switch" when needed, the results will not be pleasant.
"Just assuming you can put it off and pick it up later in the game or later in the season, it's too tough a game, and it's too tough a league and it's too tough of a division, so we can't have that luxury," Quenneville said. "We still got a lot to prove. That's where we're at."
Forward Bryan Bickell has something to prove too. After another subpar game, he and newly-acquired Andrew Desjardins will likely watch a game Sunday against the Rangers as healthy scratches. Likewise, struggling Patrick Sharp was moved back to the third line. Rookie Teuvo Teravainen, a healthy scratch Friday, will play right wing on the second line - where an injured Patrick Kane usually plays.
"We're in the 'now' business as professionals," Quenneville said. "We got to do everything we can to win the next game and win the next shift ... you can't look too far ahead and just assume it's going to happen. You got to make it happen."
The Hawks' front office has done its part. General manager Stan Bowman acquired three players to help make up for Kane's absence, but the Hawks might not stick around long enough to get him back if they don't improve.
"Hopefully we realize if we play like that (again), it might get pretty ugly (against the Rangers today)," center Brad Richards said.
Prior to their funk, the Hawks were the best puck-possession team in the league. Things have changed in the past two months. They've been outshot in three straight games, including 47-39 on Friday without the Oilers getting a single power play.
Will getting "ticked off" be the solution?
"I think that's going to help," Andrew Shaw said. "We have a strong group of guys here. We have character guys. We have guys who know what it takes to win, so you're going to see a bunch of guys step up this last little stretch here."