Bad decisions, soft play costly for Chicago Blackhawks
When Jeremy Colliton was coaching the Rockford IceHogs last season, he made sure everyone knew the importance of every second of every game.
Execute properly with and without the puck and the team will have success. Lose concentration for just a moment by being selfish, lazy or careless and the game can turn in an instant.
“As a young player, the biggest thing that you have to learn is every part of the game is important,” Colliton told me before one of Rockford's games against the Chicago Wolves at the Allstate Arena. “It's not just when the puck is on your stick. …
“(Then) when it is on your stick, the decisions you make don't just affect the next five seconds. Sometimes that one decision affects the next five minutes.”
Funny how those comments came home to roost in a big way during the Blackhawks' 3-2 overtime loss Saturday at Los Angeles.
Clinging to a 2-1 lead late with just 4:32 remaining, Erik Gustafsson attempts an ill-advised pass to Patrick Kane in the neutral zone. Two Kings are in the way and the puck is deflected back to Gustafsson, who is now under heavy pressure from Kyle Clifford and Jeff Carter.
At this point, Gustafsson zips an off-target pass to Artem Anisimov in the middle of the ice, and the puck is quickly turned around and sent toward the Kings' offensive zone by Matt Roy.
Now the wheels are in motion for what would turn into the Kings' tying goal. Instead of trying to thread the needle to Kane, all Gustafsson had to do was take one stride to center ice and dump the puck behind the Kings' net.
It's simple basic hockey. Make the opponent go 200 feet to beat you, especially when you're up a goal in the waning moments of a game.
As bad as Gustaffson's gaffe was, however, there's still no way the Kings should have tied the game. Anisimov somehow allows Trevor Lewis to take the puck all the way down the boards and deep into his offensive zone. The big center uses his stick — and not his 6-foot-4, 198-pound frame — to try to end the play.
Lewis manages to pass to Clifford, who feeds Alec Martinez right in front of the net.
With Gustafsson, Anisimov and Duncan Keith below the goal line, Patrick Kane is floating off in no man's land off to Corey Crawford's right.
Meanwhile, Michael Amido is in perfect position in the middle of the ice, about 30 feet from Crawford.
Crawford deftly swipes away Clifford's pass to Martinez, but it goes right to Amido, who rifles the shot home to tie the game at 2-2. Kane tries to close in, but it's far too late. If he is where he should be, this goal does not happen.
The Kings went on to win on Drew Doughty's overtime goal with 11.7 seconds remaining.
Asked if he was happy with the Hawks' effort, Colliton told reporters: “We worked hard. We had our stretches where we were really good. We just …”
At this point, Colliton pauses for a couple of seconds, lets out a big sigh and hits us with this: “You never know when the game's on the line; the game's always on the line. If you let down for five, 10 seconds and get loose or get soft or not sharp, you get punished.”
Drink that quote in for a second.
Gustafsson's “loose” and careless pass, Anisimov's “soft” play along the boards, and Kane not staying “sharp” at a critical moment turned this game completely around.
Incredibly, here's what Gustafsson said the same day I talked to Colliton at the Allstate Arena: “If we follow our game plan we're going to win games. That's what he'd keep telling us. Maybe two seconds in the game can make a huge impact, and they can score if you lose the puck. It only takes two seconds.”
Exactly. And that's all it took Saturday.
Hopefully, for the Hawks' sake, that lesson finally will sink in today, tomorrow and for the rest of their careers.
Scouting report
Blackhawks vs. Winnipeg Jets, 7:30 p.m. at United Center
TV: WGN • Radio: WGN 720-AM
The skinny: Winnipeg (45-29-4) is tied with Nashville atop the Central Division but has dropped four of five. The last three were at home to the Stars, Islanders and Canadiens. “Ever since we've clinched (a playoff spot), it seems like we're taking it a little bit more lightly, which we shouldn't,” Mathieu Perrault told reporters after the 3-1 loss to Montreal. “I don't really know how to explain that. It's just maybe human nature.” … The Jets are 16-for-57 (28.1 percent) on the power play over the last 19 games, although they did not have an opportunity against Montreal. … Mark Scheifele (36), Kyle Connor (33) and Patrik Laine (30) are the Jets' leading goal scorers, while Blake Wheeler (20G, 69A) has the most points. Laine has just 9 goals in the last 54 games and 1 over the last 15. … The Hawks are 0-2-1 against the Jets this season, allowing 16 goals. … Patrick Kane needs 1 point to tie his career high of 106.
Next: St. Louis Blues, 7 p.m. Wednesday at United Center
— John Dietz