Savard knows Blackhawks must get bigger to get better

Denis Savard was in a reflective mood Wednesday morning.

While the Blackhawks coach won't admit that his team can't make the playoffs until the math tells him so, Savard knows all that's really left is to hope for a miracle.

"Did we leave some points out there? No question, we did," Savard said.

If the Hawks had been better at home, the playoffs might have been a reality. Savard asked for 28 wins at the United Center this season, but instead the Hawks took an 18-16-2 record on home ice into Wednesday's game against the Washington Capitals.

"October hurt us," Savard said, noting the Hawks' inconsistent 6-6 start. Savard wondered if he might have given his team too many days off in the first month.

"We'd play good, have a day off on Monday, play not as good Wednesday when that was a home game, and the next game after that we'd play great," Savard said. "I might have to address it differently next year, but at the start of the season, you want to make sure you keep energy for the end, too. I believe in days off, and they have played hard all year and practiced hard all year, so you need your proper rest, but we left some games there, no question."

Savard remembers not knowing what kind of team he had in October. He had lost leading scorer Martin Havlat to a shoulder injury on opening night, and rookies Jonathan Toews and Patrick Kane still were mostly unknown commodities as to whether they could be difference-makers over the long haul.

"I wish our start would have been like 20-10 the first 30 games (instead of 15-13-2). That would have made a big difference," Savard said. "But coming into this year we didn't know, really, what we were going to be. I think this year, even though we've had some ups and downs, we've identified what type of team we're going to be and what type of team we are.

"Our identity now is pretty clear: We're an up-tempo team that's got character, and it's only going to get better."

But to get better, Savard sees the need to get bigger. While general manager Dale Tallon has taken steps to add size with the additions of Andrew Ladd and Ben Eager to the mix with Brent Seabrook, Dustin Byfuglien, Cam Barker and Toews, the Hawks need even more size to compete with the likes of Anaheim, San Jose, Vancouver and Detroit in the Western Conference.

Savard points to the recent stretch of games against Vancouver, Anaheim and San Jose in a span of six days with taking a severe toll on the smaller Hawks. Since the last game of that stretch against the Sharks on March 7, the Hawks were 1-4-1 prior to facing the Capitals on Wednesday.

"The Vancouver, Anaheim and San Jose games took a lot out of us," Savard admitted. "They're big teams, and it reflects a little bit our performance in the last couple games. As I look back at those games, we had to match our physical play with them, and I found that with all the effort and energy we had to put forth, it took a bit out of us."

Savard wants to see many of the players, such as Kane, Dave Bolland and others, dedicate themselves this off-season to getting stronger.

"Whether we make (the playoffs) or not, over the summer it's going to be very important for us to get stronger," Savard said. "I think Dale has addressed that, and we are bigger. And we still have bigger kids that are down in Rockford.

"You need that size. You need speed and to be able to skate, but size is a big thing. Look at the teams that are in the playoffs right now and they're big and strong and they can skate. We're close to it, but we have to continue to get bigger."