Havlat likely target of Savard's angry blasts

Because of the all-star break, Blackhawks coach Denis Savard won't see his players again until Monday's afternoon practice in Bensenville.

That's probably a good thing for them.

But don't expect Savard to have calmed down by then. He has promised to pick up right where he left off after Thursday's 1-0 loss to Columbus when he let his team have it publicly for what he felt was an embarrassing effort.

"They're going to hear it," Savard said. "They heard it the whole game. I'm not going to leave them off the hook, I don't care who it is.

"They have to commit to us. They have to commit the Indian (head). If they don't commit to the Indian (head), then let's go upstairs and we'll get them out of here. It's pretty clear, the message from Rocky (Wirtz) and John (McDonough) and Dale (Tallon): We're here to win the Stanley Cup. If they want to play like that, we're not going to win the Stanley Cup. These people are going to be accountable."

Savard didn't name those he believes aren't getting the job done, but there's little doubt he was targeting Martin Havlat and likely Robert Lang, Tuomo Ruutu, Rene Bourque, Patrick Sharp and even rookie Patrick Kane.

"Last time I checked some guys got pretty nice money, nice contracts," Savard said.

Havlat is in the second year of a three-year, $18 million contract that made him one of the highest paid forwards in the NHL. However, after two injury-filled seasons he has yet to be a difference-maker in the mold of forwards such as Ilya Kovalchuk, Alexander Ovechkin or Dany Heatley.

Havlat has 6 goals in 22 games, but he has scored 4 of those goals in two games.

"You've got to want to get a cut on your face to get rewarded at the end of the night, period," Savard said. "If you don't want to do it, you're not going to win. You're going to win a game here and there like we're doing now."

Savard felt the Hawks failed to show up in a game they had to have, when a victory over the Blue Jackets would have left them 2 games over .500 at the break. Instead the Hawks are .500 with a two-game losing streak and a seven-game road trip staring them in the face.

"They're going to hear it when they come back," Savard said. "You've got to pay a price. Some guys won't chip pucks in deep because they don't want to go get it, they don't want to get hit."

The Hawks have had little net traffic, particularly on the power play. And their rushes too often end up with the puck carrier going wide, then behind the net, then looking to throw it back to the point.

"It's battling," Savard said. "Some players will tell you, 'I don't want to go there,' simple as that. They've got to want to pay the price. If they don't want to do it in games, they'll do it in practice."

The power play continues to tumble in the league rankings and was a borderline mess in the loss to the Blue Jackets.

"The power play has let us down," Patrick Sharp said.

"It's obviously something we need to work on and get that going for the stretch," Brent Seabrook said.

Savard has defended the power play, but even he sees there are problems.

"Loose pucks, battles, screens, net presence, rebounds -- if you want to stand next to the net, you won't get rewarded," Savard said. "If you want to stand in front, we're going to get rewarded.

"How many goals have we scored in the last four games? One a game? That's not enough. We're 0-for-12 on the power play? Unacceptable."