Hawks lose hard-fought match to Oilers

There's been much talk lately about how long it has been since the Blackhawks played meaningful games in March.

But with important games late in the season come heartbreaking losses, the kind the Hawks experienced Sunday afternoon against the Edmonton Oilers.

Twice the Hawks battled back from deficits in the third period to force overtime, but when Edmonton's Andrew Cogliano scored 3:01 into the extra period for a 6-5 Oilers victory, it went from fever pitch to deathly silent in the sold-out United Center.

The Hawks picked up 1 point, leaving them 5 out of the final playoff spot in the Western Conference, but at this time of year the ones that get away mean as much the points pocketed.

"It hurts a little bit, but I think we'll still gain a little bit in the playoff race here," Patrick Sharp said. "We can't think about the ones that got away. We just have to focus on our game Tuesday (in Detroit) and having another good week."

The Hawks picked up 5 out of a possible 8 points in four games last week. The schedule doesn't get any easier this week with road games at Detroit and Columbus and home dates with Carolina and Calgary.

"We're not done," Hawks coach Denis Savard said. "There's lots of hockey left here. Let's just go out and get some points this week."

In a wide-open game that never saw either team go ahead by 2 goals, the Hawks rallied from 4-3 and 5-4 deficits in the third period. Dustin Byfuglien's goal with 4:35 to play in regulation tied it and the Hawks pressed hard for the winner.

But the victory went to the Oilers when Cogliano slipped past defenseman Brent Seabrook to tap home a pass from Robert Nilsson.

Hawks goalie Patrick Lalime didn't have the greatest day, allowing 6 goals on 25 shots, but he wasn't helped by several key defensive breakdowns.

"They capitalized on their chances," Savard said. "We made some mistakes, things that we haven't done in a while. Part of it can be fatigue. We've played a lot of hockey lately, but we still battled.

"This team hasn't been there, this young group, but it's a healthy thing to have," Savard said of playing under pressure down the stretch. "I love it and I think it's exciting. I know the people that were here today are going home a little disappointed, but at the same time they know we gave it everything we had."

The Hawks had 38 shots on goal and went 1-for-6 on the power play.

"It felt like we were in control of the game, but a couple breakdowns, a few bad bounces and a few unlucky goals," Sharp said.

"I thought we hung in there and at least got a point out of it," Byfuglien said. "We battled as hard as we could and just didn't get the result we wanted."

Sharp, Duncan Keith, Jason Williams and Robert Lang also scored for the Hawks.

"You get the point and take the point and you run, but obviously we know we need 2 points every night," Kevyn Adams said. "We all know how the standings are and where we have to end up, but there's a good feeling in this room and we're staying positive.

"I thought we did a lot of good things out there, and if we keep doing those things we're going to get a lot of points."