Chicago Blackhawks put an end to losing streak
Has a team ever faced a must-win situation in Game 10 of the NHL season?
Because that's exactly how it felt for the Chicago Blackhawks on Sunday at the United Center after a dismal 2-5-2 start sent them plummeting to the bottom of the Western Conference standings.
From benching Brent Seabrook to playing Alex DeBrincat and Dylan Strome on the fourth line with Ryan Carpenter, head coach Jeremy Colliton pulled out all the stops.
And guess what?
They worked … for one night anyway.
Strome (2), DeBrincat, David Kampf and Drake Caggiula all scored, and Robin Lehner made 36 saves in net as the Hawks snapped a four-game losing streak with a 5-1 victory.
Nobody was going to declare the season over if the Hawks had lost to the Kings, but they certainly didn't want to embark on a four-game road trip with absolutely no momentum.
Said Colliton: "We kind of laid it out for these guys before the game: We lost four in a row, but over that whole stretch we've had enough good play that we should have been rewarded with more. You hate going back to that well too often. It wears thin.
"So (this) helps the mood, helps the energy. Guys can be happy on the plane tomorrow and then we get ready for a really big test in Nashville."
Colliton finally decided to reunite Strome and DeBrincat, and he also put Patrick Kane and Jonathan Toews back with Caggiula for the first time since last season.
Strome and DeBrincat fed each other for all of their goals.
"We were excited before the game to get back together," Strome said. "He's obviously a great player."
Strome's second tally came after DeBrincat stole the puck from Jeff Carter behind the Kings' net, skated it out between Carter and Ben Hutton, and then spotted Strome streaking down the middle. Strome took his time, then wristed a laser past goalie Jack Campbell to make it 3-0 with 4:55 remaining in the second period.
DeBrincat made it 4-0 about three minutes later - off a sweet behind-the-net feed from Strome - and the rout was on.
The only question remaining was whether Strome could notch the first hat trick of his career, and it very nearly happened with about four minutes remaining.
But DeBrincat's pass on a breakaway just missed his good buddy.
"I'll blame it on him," Strome said, smiling. "We were talking about it, figuring we might get another chance. What are the odds we get a 2-on-0?
"But it was a good play by their 'D'. He slid right in the middle of where he was going to pass it. Just missed me."
Los Angeles, which has been outscored 15-4 in the last three games, fell to 4-8-0.
Up next for the Hawks is that aforementioned road trip to Nashville (7-4-1), Los Angeles, Anaheim (7-5-0) and San Jose (4-7-1).
"Really important," DeBrincat said of Sunday's win. "Get the confidence up, know we can win before we're on the road. If we play a full 60 minutes we're going to have a chance to win every night, so if we can keep doing that we're in pretty good shape."