Chicago Blackhawks must move on from brutal Stars loss

The Chicago Blackhawks' “brutal, brutal” first period Thursday against Dallas is certainly a 20-minute span of hockey that Corey Crawford would like to put in his rearview mirror as quickly as possible.

Crawford watched 4 shots get past him as the Hawks fell behind 4-0 and — despite a strong third-period push — dropped a 4-2 decision in a key Central Division matchup.

“As a goalie you don't want to give up any goals,” Crawford said. “I mean I'm obviously frustrated … It wasn't fun at all. It's over now. It's just about what's next — next shot is all that's important.”

That's the tried-and-true goalie mantra right there: Always look forward, never back.

But we don't have to follow suit, so let's take a quick look at the Stars' first-period flurry to see how they silenced a United Center crowd that was expecting an epic duel between two teams fighting for first place.

• The first goal came as the Hawks were actually exiting their defensive zone. Jonathan Toews tried to feed Andrew Shaw at center ice, but Jaime Benn made a remarkable play by picking off the pass in midair. He reversed course, stormed over the blue line, and seconds later, Eaves ripped a shot past Crawford from a bad angle just 3:19 into the game.

• Defenseman John Klingberg then made it 2-0 just 6:25 later when his shot bounced off Niklas Hjalmarsson's knee and bounced past Crawford.

• Eaves then closed out what Crawford called “the period of (Eaves') life” by scoring a pair of power-play goals — the first when he was off-balance but right in front of the net off a perfect feed from Tyler Seguin, and the second on a rebound.

“You know, they were flying at the start and you've got to give credit to them too,” Crawford said. “Throughout a season, those games happen. We've learned those lessons before and we've just got to be hungry for tomorrow (against Anaheim).”

Panarin better:

Coach Joel Quenneville said that Artemi Panarin, who has missed the last two games with an illness, was better Friday. The rookie winger did not practice but Quenneville said he “made good progress” and “hopefully” can play Saturday against the Ducks.

The Blackhawks have looked out of sorts without the league's leading rookie scorer, losing 2-0 to San Jose on Tuesday and 4-2 to Dallas on Thursday.

“We'll give him credit that we missed him, but at the same time, it shouldn't be that noticeable,” Quenneville said. “Those two games, I'm not (pinning) it on him. We weren't collectively good enough in a lot of areas.”

Battle time:

The Hawks had a sharp, 30-minute practice Friday that included 1-on-1, 2-on-2 and 3-on-3 puck battle drills for about half the time. Coach Joel Quenneville emphasized that part of the game because he thought his team was “too easy to play against” in losses to the Sharks and Stars.

“I thought we played as good as we've played at any time all year in (3 wins after the all-star break),” Quenneville said. “And then (we were) flat against San Jose, really poor last night.

“We've been pretty good at home and that was the thing that we're not pleased about. So let's play the right way at home.

“We shouldn't get blown out in the first in an important game like that like last night.”

Back up:

The Blackhawks recalled Viktor Svedberg from the Rockford IceHogs on Friday afternoon. The 24-year-old defenseman has a goal and 2 assists in 16 games with the Hawks.

He said it:

“I think he's a really great player. I mean we've seen him twice and that was enough, quite frankly.”

Ducks coach Bruce Boudreau on Artemi Panarin

He said it, II:

“Looking forward to it. Yeah, it's a third trip. And with the same president, it's pretty amazing.”

Coach Joel Quenneville on the Hawks upcoming White House visit with President Obama on Feb. 18.

Blackhawks (36-17-4) vs. Anaheim Ducks (26-19-8) at United Center, 7:30 p.m.

TV: WGN

Radio: WGN 720-AM

The skinny: Chris Stewart flew back to Anaheim after the Ducks' shootout loss in Columbus on Thursday with what is believed to be a broken jaw. Stewart, who has 8 goals and skates on Ryan Getzlaf's line, suffered the injury during a fight with Dalton Prout. “It's a big loss for us,” Ducks coach Bruce Boudreau said. “He's been a really good team player and leader, actually. And not knowing him in the summer when we got him (as a free agent), I wouldn't have thought that.” ... The Hawks will be trying to avoid their first three-game home losing streak since Feb. 18-22, 2015. ... Corey Crawford starts in net for the Hawks.

Next: Toronto Maple Leafs at United Center, 7:30 p.m. Monday

— John Dietz