Hawks start strong only to fizzle at finish

ST. LOUIS - Maybe it is time to reach for that panic button.

The Blackhawks' stunning free fall continued Tuesday night when another promising start turned into a disastrous finish.

The Hawks couldn't hold leads of 1-0 and 2-1 and lost to the Blues 4-2 at Scottrade Center for their seventh defeat in the last nine games.

Despite what's been happening, Patrick Sharp said the confidence hasn't been sucked out of the dressing room yet.

"I think it's still there," Sharp said. "It might sound stupid for someone from the outside looking in to say we're a confident group, but we are despite the results of the last couple games. We're going to keep battling and we'll get in the win column here soon."

Goalie Antti Niemi wasn't great, but this wasn't his loss. It's a collective collapse taking place with only seven games left in the regular season to get things right.

At least Nashville lost to Los Angeles to keep the Hawks' weakening grip on first place in the Central Division at 5 points with Detroit just 6 back after its win over Edmonton.

The Hawks had a 16-point lead on the Predators at the Olympic break.

Niemi was outplayed by Blues goalie Chris Mason, whose stop on Marian Hossa's breakaway 1:25 into the third period of a 2-2 game was a turning point.

Niemi needed to make a big stop on Alex Steen from the left side moments later but couldn't as the puck went in off his shoulder.

"He was all right," Hawks coach Joel Quenneville said of Niemi. "Sometimes the looks were all alone and those are dangerous opportunities."

"I should have made a couple more stops tonight," Niemi said.

Quenneville said after the game he hadn't decided on a starting goalie for Wednesday night's game against Minnesota.

The Hawks played a strong first period, taking a 2-1 lead on goals by Sharp and Hossa, but they were only good in spurts after that.

"It was the pace we were looking for," Quenneville said. "We did some good things the first 40 (minutes), but getting behind, it seemed we slowed a little bit down when they scored.

"The third goal turned out to be a big one for them, and a couple plays, we still have to defend better in those situations because I thought they were both defendable plays."

The fourth goal was one of those plays with Erik Johnson beating Sharp to the net to score with 9:38 to play.

"I thought our battle level was up and we competed," Brent Seabrook said. "This baby's going to turn around, and we're all confident of that. We've got to get back to playing Blackhawks hockey and go out and work."

It was the Hawks' third loss in a row, but in Quenneville's mind an improvement from the back-to-back setbacks at the hands of Columbus.

"To me, to play like that is a sign that there are some positive things coming," he said. "I don't think we should be happy. Looking at it in the right frame of mind is important, trying to be positive."

<p class="factboxheadblack">Tim Sassone's game tracker</p>

<p class="News">Blues 4, Blackhawks 2</p>

<p class="News"><b>Three stars:</b></p>

<p class="News">1. Alex Steen, Blues: Had 2 goals and an assist, including the game-winner in the third period.</p>

<p class="News">2. Chris Mason, Blues: The goalie's stop on Marian Hossa in alone in the third period when it was 2-2 was a turning point.</p>

<p class="News">3. Jonathan Toews, Hawks: The captain came to play with 2 assists, but his effort was wasted.</p>

<p class="News"><b>Bye-bye Norris Trophy?</b> Hawks defenseman Duncan Keith was minus-2 and now is minus-9 in 14 games since the Olympic break.</p>

<p class="News"><b>By the numbers:</b> Why do the Hawks get so many shots blocked? The Blues had 20.</p>

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<li><a href="/story/?id=369762">Byfuglien back at forward to create traffic at the net<span class="date"> [3/20/10]</span></a></li>

<li><a href="/story/?id=369686">Playoffs will be the judge to measure Hossa's season<span class="date"> [3/30/10]</span></a></li>

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