Blackhawks power play doesn't make the trip to Arizona

Posted November 05, 2009 10:00 pm

By Tim Sassone

GLENDALE, Ariz. - The power play is becoming a major problem for the Blackhawks.

It was a huge failure again Thursday night in a 3-1 loss to the Phoenix Coyotes and now is 2 for its last 32.

"That's something we've got to fix," Hawks winger Kris Versteeg said. "I don't know what to say. I think we're getting our chances and we have too much skill for it not to go in."

Hawks coach Joel Quenneville was keeping the faith before the game that the power play would find a way to get better.

"I think we'll get the solution when we start getting production," Quenneville said before the loss that knocked the Hawks out of first place in the Central Division. "We have so many personnel capable of playing on our power play, which is a nice thing to have and you try to move things around.

"Eventually we'll nail it, but you have some stretches where you're a little bit off, so let's fine tune it and get it going."

The Hawks were 0-for-3 in the first period when they fell behind 2-0, never to recover.

The game started badly when goalie Cristobal Huet allowed Martin Hanzal to beat him with a harmless looking wrist shot from the deep left circle just 2:54 into the first period.

After the Hawks' first power play misfired, Peter Mueller scored on a rebound at 11:55 after a Brian Campbell turnover behind the net, which resulted from a hit by Hanzal.

Huet's shaky first goal brought back memories of his poor play early in the season. Huet had won three of his last four starts.

The Hawks had several great scoring chances early in the second period, but Patrick Sharp and Patrick Kane each missed the net on breakaways 25 seconds apart.

"We had a lot of chances to really take control of the game," Versteeg said. "If we score on half our opportunities it's a completely different game."

The Coyotes went ahead 3-0 on Scottie Upshall's goal at 10:38 of the second period, but the Hawks were able to get out of the period down 3-1 when Versteeg scored short-handed at 13:56 on a pass from Kane.

The Hawks got their fifth power play late in the second period and kept the puck in the Phoenix zone nearly the whole time but couldn't score.

"I think we need one to go in to feel comfortable out there," Quenneville said. "I think we're not as patient with the puck when it's there."

The Hawks played for the fifth straight game without Jonathan Toews, who is missed dearly despite the team's 3-1 record without him prior to Thursday.

Andrew Ebbett, who is taking Toews' spot, still is without a point in eight games.

"Top guys, short-term, you find a way to get through it," Quenneville said. "Long-term, it starts really testing your team and your depth organizationally. We've done a decent job without Johnny, but at the same time we're excited about his return and the options he does give us."

Tim Sassone's game tracker Three stars 1. Martin Hanzal, Coyotes: Scored a goal and set up another with a big hit that forced Hawks defenseman Brian Campbell to cough up the puck. 2. Ilya Bryzgalov, Coyotes: Was better in goal than counterpart Cristobal Huet. 3. Kris Versteeg, Hawks: His short-handed goal was the lone bright spot. Key stats: The Hawks' power play was 0-for-3 in the first period when the Coyotes took a 2-0 lead and 0-for-6 for the night. The Hawks have scored a total of 11 goals in the last six games. Put him in, coach: Hawks coach Joel Quenneville was jokingly asked if any of the hockey dads on the trip have lobbied him for more ice time for their son. "That hasn't been brought up yet," Quenneville said. "This is not minor hockey." Colorado Avalanche at the Pepsi Center, 8 p.m. TV: Comcast SportsNet Radio: WGN 720-AM What to watch: The young Avs are the surprise of the NHL, off to a 11-3-2 start. Goalie Craig Anderson is 10-3-2 with a 2.11 goals-against average and .936 save percentage. Colorado is third in the NHL in penalty killing. Season series: The Hawks lead 1-0 with a 4-3 win on Oct. 10 at the United Center in a nine-round shootout. Next: Los Angeles Kings at the United Center, 7 p.m. Monday.

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