Hawks fall short vs. Sharks
SAN JOSE, Calif. -- If there's one word Blackhawks coach Denis Savard uses over and over again, it's structure.
"We need to have it in our game," Savard said. "It gives us a chance to win."
What is hockey structure? Think details.
"It's guys knowing their roles, what line they're on, it's the forecheck, it's our neutral zone defense, it's our (defensive) zone coverage," Savard said. "And with a lot of new guys lately, I feel we're getting back to where we were before everyone got hurt."
The Hawks took a four-game winning streak into Tuesday night's game against the Sharks at HP Pavilion, matching their season high. But that's where it ended.
The Sharks scored twice on the power play and also short-handed to defeat the Hawks 3-2.
It was Patrick Lalime starting in goal for the fifth straight game, an easy decision for Savard considering Lalime had a 1.25 goals-against average and .962 save percentage in the winning streak.
In that four-game stretch, Lalime stopped 127 of 132 shots to keep Nikolai Khabibulin on the bench.
"It's just fun to contribute," Lalime said.
It was Savard preaching a strong start again prior to Tuesday's game, and the Hawks responded with an early goal from Jack Skille for a 1-0 lead. Skille got his third goal of the season from in the slot after a pass from Brent Sopel.
The Sharks got that one back at 13:39 on a power play with Tuomo Ruutu in the penalty box for high sticking.
Sandis Ozolinsh got the goal on a backhander to Lalime's short side after he was allowed to walk untouched into the slot.
Both teams had good chances in the second period with Lalime good early and Sharks goalie Evgeni Nabokov good late.
The Hawks were on a power play near the mid-point of the period when Nabokov robbed Patrick Kane in tight.
A few minutes later Patrick Sharp busted through on a breakaway and was hooked from behind by Matt Carle. It appeared as if Sharp could have been awarded a penalty shot, but referee Don Koharski made the safe call and gave Carle a hooking penalty.
The Hawks' weren't very good on the power play once again and it cost them in a big way late in the second period when Joe Pavelski scored shorthanded at 13:14.
Dustin Byfuglien committed a turnover that started the play the other way. Pavelski beat Kane to the puck down the ice and scored on a backhander in tight.
The Sharks made it 3-1 on a power play late in the period on a goal by Christian Ehroff. The Hawks let Joe Thornton stand untouched in front of Lalime to screen the goaltender.
A third period goal by Adam Burish, his first of the season, made it a 1-goal game. But a penalty to Martin Havlat with just over two minutes to play pretty much killed any chance for a Hawks comeback.