Clubbing Canucks was nice, but can Hawks find consistency?
VANCOUVER, British Columbia — Blackhawks coach Joel Quenneville couldn't remember back-to-back games of such contrasts.
As bad as the Hawks were on Friday in a 7-2 loss at Calgary, their game made a complete 180-degree turn on Saturday when they spanked the Canucks 7-1.
“It's amazing what the turnaround was,” Quenneville said. “Sometimes in a playoff series you can get swings like that, but I didn't expect what happened (Friday) night.”
The Hawks would prefer to look at it as they've now won three of the last four games and taken 7 out of 10 points in the last five.
Yet the inconsistencies in their overall game remain front and center, and the questions as to why won't go away until the Hawks show they can string together a significant winning streak.
“It's just realizing we have to come to play every night and that we have to play a certain way,” defenseman Duncan Keith said. “This is a new team and we need to realize we just can't strap on the gear and go play hockey. We need to be focused as a team, know what we're doing and have everybody working together.”
The Hawks made the Canucks look ordinary, forcing them to take penalties and turn the puck over.
“We made sure we kept pucks out of the middle, we didn't have too many turnovers and we played physical,” winger Troy Brouwer said. “(Friday) night we had 3 hits, which is unacceptable.”
The Hawks frustrated the Canucks to the point where coach Alain Vigneault complained following the rout that Quenneville and his team were trying to run up the score.
It was obvious Vigneault is growing tired of watching the Hawks beat his team.
Vigneault didn't like the fact Quenneville had several of his best players on the ice during a 34-second 5-on-3 power play early in the third period after it was 6-0.
“Obviously we're going to have to find a way to play better at home against that team,” Vigneault said. “We basically embarrassed ourselves tonight in front of our fans, and they did everything they could tonight to rub it in our face 6-0 and they throw their No. 1 power play unit when it's 5-on-3.
”They have every right to do that. They did it. They were pushing it, and they did.”
Quenneville did have Jonathan Toews, Patrick Kane and Keith on the ice at the time, but he also had used non-power play regulars Nick Boynton and Viktor Stalberg.
Quenneville appeared to be taken aback by Vigneault's complaining.
“It's tough to comment because I don't know what he's talking about,” Quenneville said. “I was rolling four lines. I don't know if that was an insult or not an insult, but I was worrying about playing everybody. I think I was probably doing it for the opposite reason.”
Vigneault's comments only figure to add fuel to the boiling rivalry that got its start two seasons ago when Alex Burrows pulled Keith's hair during a line brawl at the United Center and was escalated even more last season when Ryan Kesler called former Hawk Andrew Ladd a coward.
The two rivals who admittedly don't like each other play again on Dec. 3 at the UC.