Vrbata's SO goal lifts Coyotes over Blackhawks

GLENDALE, Ariz. - A week that began miserably for the Blackhawks ended the same way Saturday night.

The Hawks blew a pair of 2-goal leads, one of them in the third period, and lost 5-4 to the Phoenix Coyotes in a shootout.

Call it a step backwards for the Hawks, who couldn't build on Thursday's impressive 3-0 win at Los Angeles.

"I don't know if everyone started thinking we're a perfect team again or what," Hawks winger Andrew Ladd said. "But it's the same old stuff pretty much. A lot of it's just being lazy."

A wild third period saw the Hawks surrender a 2-1 lead then quickly answer with goals 73 seconds apart from Ladd and Patrick Sharp.

After Lee Stempniak scored on a power play at 1:11 of the third to tie it 2-2, Ladd beat Coyotes goalie Ilya Bryzgalov with a long wrist shot from past the left circle a little over a minute later.

Sharp's snapper from in the slot gave the Hawks back their second 2-goal lead of the night, but then the roof caved in defensively. Again.

Stempniak scored his second goal at 6:53, then Adrian Aucoin tied it 4-4 with 5:07 to play.

"It's embarrassing, there's really no other way to say it or talk about it," defenseman Duncan Keith said. "It was just an embarrassing game.

"Until we start playing the way that made us successful early on in the year and last season, these types of games are just going to happen. We've got to start making the right plays, get the puck in deep and not try to score all the time, every shift, just play smart hockey and worry about keeping the puck out of our net."

Radim Vrbata scored the only goal of the shootout to give the Coyotes their eighth consecutive victory.

The first-place Hawks are 1 point ahead of San Jose in the Western Conference standings and just 2 up on Phoenix.

Hawks coach Joel Quenneville agreed with Keith that it's team defense that is the biggest problem at this late stage in the season.

"We did what wanted to do, had a 4-2 lead and gave 2 goals up when it was 2-0 and 4-2 that we haven't seen all year and are not characteristic of us and how we have to play," Quenneville said. "You don't make turnovers like that, that lead to quality opportunities and lead to changing momentum in the game."

Jonathan Toews, Patrick Kane and Patrick Sharp all failed on their attempts in the shootout against Bryzgalov. Sharp was a curious pick over Marian Hossa by Quenneville in the third hole.

Hossa is 2-for-5 in shootouts and Sharp now 2-for-10.

"That might be the area to go with, maybe a right shot (Sharp) or Hoss," Quenneville said. "But he (Hossa) is definitely in the mix."

The line of Toews, Kane and Troy Brouwer had good jump from the drop of the puck, but their strong play early was forgotten by what happened late.

Brouwer and Kane had the goals that put the Hawks on top 2-0 early in the second period.