'It's on everyone': Blackhawks slow starts nothing to sneeze at

"Sleepy."

Great name for one of the Seven Dwarfs.

Not exactly how you want a coach describing your hockey team.

Yet, this is the term interim coach Derek King used to describe the Blackhawks' start Jan. 21 against Minnesota and Jan. 28 against Colorado.

Then came Monday's absolute snooze fest at the United Center where the disengaged Hawks lost 3-1 to Vancouver.

All three of these games were at home, where it should be easy for everyone to come out with their hair on fire. For whatever reason, that's not happening.

"It can't be me coming in there giving Knute Rockne speeches," King said. "I can't be their cheerleader. These guys have got to find a way to do it."

Last season, the Hawks surprised opponents with their grit and tenacity and won plenty of games they should have lost. It kept them in the playoff race deep into that 56-game campaign.

That hasn't happened nearly enough this season, which is surprising with more than half the roster 26 or younger. Kirby Dach, Henrik Borgstrom, Dominik Kubalik, Philipp Kurashev and others need to channel their inner Brandon Hagel much more often.

So who's at fault for the lack of energy?

"It is on everyone," said veteran defenseman Connor Murphy. "It's a combination. Coaches, even back to Jeremy (Colliton), would be talking to us about that. Obviously the coach comes in and gives a message, but that's only for a 5-, 10-minute span.

"You have so much more time as teammates together in the room to pick each other and get each other into excitement to play the game. ...

"We're lucky to play here in Chicago in front of amazing ... fans every night. So that's enough to get anyone excited. But it's got to translate into play. You can't just have an excitement to be happy to be there.

"You have to show it with emotion in your play."

King tried something different Monday, starting Hagel's line against the Canucks. Instead of a fast start, though, Hagel turned the puck over in the defensive zone. It led to a shot by Matthew Highmore two seconds later, and the Canucks fired 11 more shot attempts (4 on net) in the next three minutes.

The Hawks (16-22-7) have lost six of seven and own the third-worst points percentage (.433) in the Western Conference.

King and associate head coach Marc Crawford are trying to instill better habits, especially when guys don't have the puck. Don't cheat for offense. Don't leave the defensive zone until you know your teammate has the puck. Don't guess when making a blind pass. Dump pucks in. Get in front of the net. Battle in the corners.

It's Hockey 101, but if everyone's not on the same page it's impossible to have long-term success.

"(Those are tough things) to coach when you come in after how I came in and the way they were playing," King said. "If you start the season with the team and you implement those habits into it right away, then it's a lot easier to do."

Sleepy starts and sloppy play are two reasons the Hawks have struggled. Another is they aren't as talented as Minnesota, Colorado, Nashville, St. Louis, Carolina, Florida, Tampa Bay and Toronto.

Those squads all have a bevy of talented goal scorers, tenacious defenders, sensational passers and fantastic stickhandlers.

Asked how his team compares to those, King had an awfully revealing answer: "We're limited with what we can do right now, so we have to deal with what we have. We've just got to coach 'em up and do the best we can.

"Obviously you see what these top teams have and that shows you what we're missing. Whether it's another guy that can put the puck in the net or a playmaker or some (bottom) guys that can bring some energy. ...

"I mean there's some work to do. Whoever comes in here (as the next general manager) is gonna have a job.

"It's gonna be some work."

Now there's a comment that ought to really set off the alarm clocks.

Heigh-ho, heigh-ho ...