Blackhawks squander opportunity with 3-1 loss to Flyers

Dylan Strome couldn't believe it.

Couldn't believe that his shot early in the third period in a 1-1 game against Philadelphia at the United Center on Thursday hit the near post and didn't find the back of the net.

"Thought I had it," Strome said after the Hawks dropped a heartbreaking 3-1 game to the Flyers. "It usually goes post and in, and it went post and out there pretty hard.

"It's the bounces we got tonight."

Bounces that may keep the Hawks from qualifying from the Stanley Cup playoffs.

The setback, which came on the heels of a 3-2 overtime loss to Vancouver on Monday, dropped the Hawks to 32-31-10 and kept them 4 points behind Colorado and Arizona in the wild-card race. The Hawks are also 3 points behind Minnesota, but they do have a game in hand on all three teams.

"Pretty frustrating that (we had) another huge opportunity at home, and that's two in a row that we fall short," said captain Jonathan Toews, who assisted on Erik Gustafsson's first-period tally and had 5 shots on goal. "Still wouldn't say that we've played in our own building as we have on the road as of late.

"We've got to find a way to be better here. We can't allow ourselves to fall short and not get any points anymore."

Especially in the next three games, which include back-to-backs with the Avs and a road affair at Arizona on Tuesday.

The Hawks' playoff surge has stalled in large part to dry spells by Patrick Kane (1 goal in the last nine games) and the power play (1-for-21 last nine).

Coach Jeremy Colliton tried to spark Kane against Philly by reuniting him with Toews, but it did little good as Kane managed just 2 shots on goal in nearly 23½ minutes. The power play also struggled mightily and managed just 1 shot over four minutes.

"When things were going really well for us, we had four guys playing really well without the puck," Toews said. "(They were) available and moving it quick and just being relaxed with it. …

"It's just our work ethic. We've got to find a way to get back on the scoresheet and make a difference for our team."

Both goalies were sensational Thursday.

Corey Crawford (25 saves) kept numerous high-quality chances out of the net and also swept away about a half-dozen loose pucks that found their way into the crease. The game-winner came from James van Riemsdyk on a long-distance backhander with 10:10 remaining that sailed past a screened Crawford.

The Flyers' Carter Hart made 40 saves, 2 of which came on golden opportunities while the Hawks were short-handed in the first period. Hart first stopped a David Kampf breakaway attempt, then handled a tricky Marcus Kruger wrist shot 18 seconds later.

Now the suddenly snakebit Hawks must find a way to get 5 or 6 points against the Avs and Coyotes.

"I feel we will (rebound)," Colliton said. "We're right in there. … People think we're out and we find a way to climb back in.

"That's good. That's good that we've showed that resilience for sure. We'd like to take that next step."

Spreading it out

Blackhawks goal-scoring leaders in March (9 games):

Brendan Perlini, 8

Erik Gustafsson, 3

Artem Anisimov, 2

Alex DeBrincat, 2

Jonathan Toews, 2

Connor Murphy, 2

Duncan Keith, 2

Brandon Saad, 2

Patrick Kane, 1

Dominik Kahun, 1

David Kampf, 1

Chris Kunitz, 1

Dylan Strome, 1