Hawks have Devil of a time

In shambles.

Desperate.

Nightmare.

Just some of the words used to describe the plight of the New Jersey Devils as they limped into the United Center with a 3-9-1 record and fresh from hearing the news that heart-and-soul player Zach Parise would be lost for three months with a knee injury.

Well, what words can be used to describe the Blackhawks after they dropped a 5-3 decision to the Devils in a game that featured one of the sloppiest first periods of the season?

Leave it to the Hawks players themselves to provide the answers.

“You have to put together 60 minutes. It's unacceptable. There's more effort all of us can give,” said defenseman Brian Campbell, who scored his first goal of the season late in the second period. “I don't think you can say we came out the best, but the second half of the game we were better.”

“I don't know why we didn't seem to have jump out there there's no excuse or no reason for it,' said Fernando Pisani, who also registered his first goal, this one on a power play in the third period. “We're 15 games into the season … we need to play better.”

“We didn't play the way we wanted to in the first period,” said Viktor Stalberg, who finished with a goal and a pair of assists. “I don't know what it is … if we have to get more excited or warm up better or what, but we have to find a way to change it up and make sure we're ready to go in the first period.”

The loss dropped the Hawks to 7-7-1 and 4-5 at home.

“We don't want to lose at home,” Hawks coach Joel Quenneville said. “These are games that are hard to recapture. We've got to be better.”

After their slower than slow start, the Hawks actually got the momentum on their side after Pisani's power play tied the game at 2-2 early in the third. But New Jersey's Brad Mills provided the backbreaker literally and figuratively at 16:09 of the period.

The young center registered his first NHL goal in just his third game simply by tossing one at Marty Turco from behind the net and watching it trickle in.

The Devils added a pair of empty-netters in the final minute to seal the deal.

New Jersey goalie Martin Brodeur left the game in the second period with an apparent elbow injury. Johan Hedberg stepped in and stopped 21 of 24 shots to pick up the win.

“These are the games where we have to at least get to overtime and get some points,” Quenneville said. “I thought the second half of the game was much better, but we can't be happy with the result.”

<p>Mike Spellman's game tracker </p>

<p>Devils 5, Blackhawks 3</p>

<p><b>Three stars:</b></p>

<p>1. Brad Mills, Devils: The kid deserves it just for scoring his first NHL goal at such a clutch point in the game breaking a 2-2 tie late in the third period.</p>

<p> 2. Viktor Stalberg, Blackhawks: Scored a goal and had a pair of assists and was one of the few noticeable Hawks on the ice all game.</p>

<p> 3. Jamie Langenbrunner, Devils: Had a goal and a pair of assists and was a plus-3 for the night. Not too shabby.</p>

<p><b>Ugly numbers: </b>Patrick Sharp was minus-5 and Duncan Keith minus-4 as the Blackhawks lost for the fifth time in the last seven games.</p>