Hawks' woes continue; Murphy says no to fight with Goodrow
Another solid effort.
But another setback for the Blackhawks, who lost 4-2 at Tampa Bay on Thursday and now hold just a 2-point lead over Columbus for the fourth and final playoff spot in the Central Division.
Tampa Bay got the game-winner from Ross Colton, who was sprung loose on a breakaway and tucked the puck around Kevin Lankinen at 5:34 of the third period. The play started when Duncan Keith got caught flat-footed in the Hawks' offensive zone. He was unable to recover, which led to Colton outracing Murphy and Ryan Carpenter.
Victor Hedman added an empty-netter to complete the scoring.
"I thought we played really well," said Colliton, whose team has dropped five of six. "There were a few more plays out there where if we execute a bit better we can create more in transition. In the third we passed up the opportunity to shoot, to create, give yourself a chance, get a bounce, create some havoc.
"But we have to be encouraged with how we competed tonight and how we stuck with it."
Lankinen made 18 saves, but allowed 2 soft goals in the first period. The Hawks (14-12-5) got goals from Mattias Janmark and Dylan Strome, who returned to the lineup after missing a month with a concussion.
Throughout the night, the Lightning kept trying to get Connor Murphy to fight, but the Hawks' defenseman never obliged. It was clear that Jon Cooper's team took offense to the bone-crunching hit Murphy laid on Erik Cernak on March 7 at the United Center.
Barclay Goodrow attempted to engage Murphy in the first minute and was given an unsportsmanlike conduct penalty as Murphy backed away. The infraction led to a goal by Janmark that opened the scoring at 2:10.
"I just said no to the fight," said Murphy, who was ejected for his hit on Cernak. "He wouldn't let it go, so he got a penalty. There were times throughout the game that guys were gonna chirp and have some trash talk because they weren't happy the last game we played them."
Murphy added it was too important of a contest for him to take a five-minute penalty.
Cooper was asked if he believes players should answer for their actions when challenged.
"This is a tough game and tough players play it," Cooper said. "If you're gonna be physical, you've got reap what you sew. ... I guess it's the old, 'If you're gonna dish it, you're gonna have to take it.'"
The veteran coach went on to say Murphy "is an honest player" and that he didn't think the hit on Cernak was dirty.
"I see what Murphy is thinking (in not wanting to sit out)," Cooper said. "And he's probably right in thinking that - but in a game where there's physicality in it sometimes ... there's gonna be ramifications for what you do whether it's justified or not."
Tampa Bay (21-6-2) got 21 saves from Andrei Vasilevskiy, who has won 10 straight starts.
Dach update:
Asked how close Kirby Dach is to returning, coach Jeremy Colliton admitted the center is "closer than we thought." Dach, who fractured his wrist in December during World Juniors, traveled with the Hawks on their six-game road trip. He figures to beat the 4-5 month timeline that was originally given after surgery.
"I don't think anyone expected him to be joining us on the road here," Colliton said. "We can't put a date on it, but definitely encouraged."