Blues shut out weary Hawks

ST. LOUIS - Let's step back look at the big picture here.

When the Blackhawks departed on their eight-game road trip coming out of the all-star break, they had a 5-point hold on fourth place in the Western Conference.

They ended their journey here Friday night with a 1-0 loss to the Blues, but with a 7-point hold on fourth in the West.

So at 5-3, was it a good road trip?

"It was all right," Brian Campbell said. "Great teams go 6-2 and we went 5-3. We want to be a great team and you have to find a way."

The Hawks were ragged against a Blues team that played the night before in Nashville. They were slow, their passing was off and the Blues outmuscled and outhustled them with Blues defenseman Barret Jackman pounding Patrick Kane all over the rink.

"Some of it is you have to fight and bear down a bit more," Campbell said. "We had some chances and you have to make sure you finish it. There are no excuses. They played last night and I felt that's a game we've got to win."

In the last three games of the trip, the Hawks might have been fortunate to win the one time they did in Atlanta.

"I don't think we played well in Atlanta and we didn't play well in Vancouver, too," Campbell said.

Hawks coach Joel Quenneville didn't disagree with Campbell.

"That's exactly it," Quenneville said. "Tonight we didn't have enough guys playing. It was tough to watch."

The Blues got their goal from Brad Boyes 57 seconds into the third period during a 4-on-3 power play.

The 4-on-3 was created when Adam Burish was penalized for slashing as time expired in the second period - a call that infuriated Quenneville, who thought a Blues player should have gone off as well.

"Without a doubt," Quenneville said. "I'll leave it at that."

The Hawks got 2 power plays early in the second period and 2 more late in the third but never were dangerous.

"Both teams were very cautious and they got the better of us on special teams," said goalie Cristobal Huet, who was very good in the loss. "It's disappointing, but I think we can be proud of what we did on the road trip."

The Hawks don't get any breaks from the schedule with red-hot Dallas coming to the United Center tonight.

"It might be one of the toughest games of the year for us because you come off a long trip and you think it's going to be easy at home," Campbell said. "We've got to be really focused and ready."

Then it's back out on the road for three more games starting Tuesday in Tampa.

"Everybody says you must be looking forward to going home," Campbell said. "It's not like we're going home. You just grab some clean underwear and clothes. It's like playing another road game and hopefully we can keep that same mentality."

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