'It's now or never'
AURORA, Colo. -- The Blackhawks have nobody to blame but themselves for being in this position.
With 32 games to play, the Hawks can no longer be ordinary if they hope to make the playoffs. If it's 96 points that's needed to get in -- and that was the magic number last season in the Western Conference -- the Hawks would need to win 23 of those final 32 games.
And up until now it has taken the Hawks 50 games to win 23 times.
As for their daunting seven-game road trip that starts tonight against the Avalanche at the Pepsi Center, the minimum the Hawks can bring home is 4 wins. Five would be preferable. A .500 trip gets them nowhere.
"This next month is pretty much going to make or break our season," said winger Rene Bourque.
"It's now or never," added center Patrick Sharp. "We can't wait any longer."
The Hawks were 6 points out of the eighth and final playoff spot in the West when the NHL schedule resumed Tuesday following the all-star break. But by sitting 14th in the conference, they would need to pass six teams to reach the eighth spot.
"We're going to approach this trip like a seven-game series," said coach Denis Savard. "It's a legitimate goal (to win four games)."
To pull off their playoff miracle the Hawks need to be more consistent than they have been all season. That means finding ways to score goals.
In their last 14 games, the Hawks have scored 2 or fewer goals 11 times, going 2-9. And those 2 victories came in shootouts after they scored just 1 goal in regulation.
In the last 15 games, the power play is 6-for-62 and has dropped to 23rd in the league rankings.
The Hawks worked on getting pucks to the net on the power play in practice here Tuesday, and there will be some personnel changes.
Martin St. Pierre was recalled from Rockford and will center for Martin Havlat and Patrick Sharp. St. Pierre also will get power-play time with Sharp and Patrick Kane.
St. Pierre had 62 points in 43 games at Rockford, and Savard is hoping the 5-foot-9, 185-pound veteran can spark the offense. St. Pierre has been up before, but he is going to get a better shot this time.
"If we're going to bring him up we've got to play him to his strength, and his strength is to be in the top six," Savard said. "He's going to play regular power play and a regular shift. And it's not going to be a one-game affair. He's going to be here awhile."
The other power-play unit will feature Havlat, Bourque and Robert Lang. James Wisniewski is going to see more point time with Brent Seabrook instead of Dustin Byfuglien, with the second point tandem being Duncan Keith and Cam Barker.
"We're just trying to change it around," Savard said. "We need more offense."
There will be more of an emphasis on getting shots off from the half-boards, particularly Havlat and Lang, with a man in front of the goalie.
"We haven't been getting enough shots from the points or from the top of the circles," Bourque said. "We're trying to get our power play where guys are going to shoot a lot, which is why he has Havlat and Lang on the half-wall so they can keep firing pucks."
Savard thought Tuesday's practice was every bit as solid as the one on Monday.
"It's tough to play on the road, but we'll find out what kind of group we have," Savard said.
Scouting report
Blackhawks vs. Colorado Avalanche at the Pepsi Center, 8:30 p.m.
TV: Versus
Radio: WSCR 670-AM
The skinny: The Hawks lead the season series 2-0, winning 5-3 in Chicago on Oct. 19 and 2-1 in a shootout on Jan. 18 in Denver. Patrick Kane has 2 goals plus another in the shootout. The Avs have lost three of their last four and are still without Joe Sakic (hernia surgery), Ryan Smyth (broken foot) and leading scorer Paul Stastny (appendectomy). Colorado is just 3 for its last 45 on the power play. This starts a seven-game road trip for the Hawks, who are 10-10-3 on the road.
Player to watch: Nikolai Khabibulin. Hawks goalie gets his second straight start looking to snap a personal eight-game losing streak.
Next game: San Jose Sharks, Saturday at HP Pavilion, 4 p.m.
-- Tim Sassone