Big game and a big zero for Hawks' offense
COLUMBUS, Ohio -- This Blackhawks team sure has a funny way of showing it wants to be taken seriously as a playoff contender.
In a game they had to win against a team behind them in the standings, the Hawks were lifeless offensively in a crippling 4-0 loss to the Columbus Blue Jackets on Wednesday night at Nationwide Arena.
The Hawks stayed 6 points out of the last playoff spot in the Western Conference, but now there are only five games remaining on the schedule.
"It hurts, no doubt," Hawks coach Denis Savard said.
The loss was the Hawks' seventh in the last 10 games.
"It's frustrating sitting here knowing we left 2 points here," Patrick Sharp said. "We have to regroup quickly here and get ready to play the last five. We're going to play hard right to the end.
"We've had bad games before. It's frustrating that the time of the season that we decided to have this one, but there's no quit in here and we're going to continue to fight and work for that last spot."
In their 24 losses since the end of December, the Hawks have scored 2 or fewer goals 19 times.
That's a statistic general manager Dale Tallon might want to keep handy when he goes to work this summer trying to acquire what the Hawks need most. It's still a team that simply does not score enough goals.
It starts with a power play that is ranked 26th in the NHL. The Hawks were 0-for-3 in the loss, while the Blue Jackets scored once with the man advantage. The Hawks were outshot 36-17. They had 6 shots in the first period and 4 in the second.
"It's frustrating in a big game to have as few shots as we did," Duncan Keith said.
"They play a tough defensive system and we had a tough time gaining the neutral zone and we also didn't get enough pucks to the net," Sharp said.
After a scoreless first period, the Blue Jackets got a power-play goal from Joakim Lindstrom early in the second.
Columbus scored three times in the third period. Early goals from Clay Wilson and David Vyborny less than two minutes apart were killers. Wilson's goal was his first in the NHL in his second game. Lindstrom scored his third goal in his 20th game.
"Some of their kids are trying to prove they can play in the NHL," Savard said. "They want to be here and want to show what they're made of. Basically, they just outworked us most of the night. We didn't fight through battles like we could and like we should and that's what happens."
The Blue Jackets pulled within 1 point of the 11th-place Hawks, with both teams needing minor miracles to happen to make the playoffs now.
"They're not giving up," Savard said of the Blue Jackets. "No teams in this league give up. They just had a better night than we did."
The Hawks had a decent first four minutes, but penalties by Dave Bolland, Jonathan Toews and Niklas Hjalmarsson went a long way in killing their momentum.
"The first four minutes we came out pretty good, came out pretty strong," Savard said. "Then we took some bad penalties, gave them the momentum and never recovered."