Hawks getting job done

Maybe it was the arrival of defenseman Johnny Oduya at the trade deadline.

Maybe it was Patrick Kane stepping up the very next day and saying that the onus was on the players to get the job done.

Whatever it was, something clicked.

“As players, you were kind of hoping that the organization was going to do something to make us a better team for this year and make us feel as if we have a shot at going all the way,” Kane said. “I thought they did that.”

And since then, the players have responded, heading into Sunday’s game against the L.A. Kings sporting a 4-1 record since the Oduya deal. Despite falling 3-2 in a six-deep shootout, it wasn’t a complete loss for the Blackhawks.

“It would’ve been nice to get the second point, but one is better than none,” said Patrick Sharp, who thought at one point he had a goal but had to settle for an assist on Marcus Kruger’s ninth of the season in the second period.

“I thought we worked ourselves back in the game with a good second period,” said Hawks coach Joel Quenneville.

But it wasn’t quite enough on a night when the Hawks more than had their chances, be it missing a couple of empty netters, getting shut down on a couple of breakaways or simply fizzling in the shootout.

Viktor Stalberg felt the wrath of L.A. goalie Jonathan Quick three times Sunday; once on a breakaway, once on a penalty shot and once in the shootout.

“It happens; the goalie has the advantage,” Stalberg said. “It’s going to happen when they save it.

“But in the shootout, we have to find a way to win it when Ray Emery) keeps stopping pucks for us. We had a couple of chances to win it. It’s frustrating.”

While Quick was named the No. 1 star after making 35 saves, Emery kept the Hawks in the game.

“He stood tall and battled hard at a very important time for us,” Quenneville said.

Despite the loss, don’t expect the Hawks to lose any of the confidence they’ve built up during this mini-run, and that’s even with the big bad St. Louis Blues coming to town Tuesday.

““When we get all the pieces of our team working as one, we’re the best in the league,” Bryan Bickell said. “I think everyone in this room would think that.

“We’ve had rough spurts, but when we’re good, we’re really good.”

mspellman@dailyherald.com