So far, so good … but Hawks have work to do
The Blackhawks felt it was imperative they get off to a good start.
Mission accomplished.
A quarter of the way into the season, the Hawks are 11-8-1, having come out of the weekend in fifth place in the Western Conference.
If the first quarter of the NHL season is all about not getting left behind, then the second quarter is about separation -- the time of the year between now and January when legitimate playoff teams begin to separate themselves from the weaker clubs.
"Each part of the season you can find a category to call it," said Hawks winger Martin Lapointe. "Obviously the start is the key to getting ahead, so if you get a slump that's over two or three games, you've got that cushion.
"The main thing is setting yourself five-game goals and winning those goals. If you win 85 percent of our five-game segments, you're in the playoffs."
Even with their strong start, it's not going to be easy for the Hawks to make the playoffs for only the second time in the last 10 seasons unless they play better defensively.
While the Hawks had scored the second-most goals (62) in the conference prior to Monday's games, they had allowed the fourth-most (61) and ranked 24th in the NHL with a 3.03 team goals-against average.
Adding to the defensive inconsistency is the fact that both goaltenders -- Nikolai Khabibulin and Patrick Lalime -- have save percentages under .900, which is considered below average.
It's a team-defense issue, according to coach Denis Savard, that starts with the need for improved forechecking and continues with better 5-on-5 defensive zone coverage.
"How you forecheck is how you back-check," Savard said Monday. "If our forecheck is not successful, then we're out of whack coming back, it's as simple as that.
"It's our consistency during a 60-minute game. There are spurts where we're really good for 30, and there's spurts for 30 when we're not as good. For us, with some young players in the lineup, that's something we're going to have a tough time with here and there.
"The last game we were out of whack structurally, and we never got the puck. The last two games we've given up a lot of scoring chances, and we need to tighten it up a bit."
Savard was speaking specifically of Saturday's game at Detroit, when the Hawks were outshot 30-6 through two periods before rallying in the third to win 5-3.
"We won the game, but sometimes it seemed they had eight guys out there against our five," Lapointe said.
Even in Thursday's 5-4 overtime loss at Nashville, the Hawks gave up 37 shots on goal and were pinned in their own end too often by the Predators.
"We know we still have areas where we have to be more disciplined," Lapointe said. "That starts with our defensive zone coverage. We have guys working hard, but we have to work smarter."