Blackhawks tired of 15 losses by 1 goal

It sits there amid all the positive numbers accumulated by the Blackhawks this season, a glaring negative statistic that should raise a red flag for a team hoping to do some damage in the playoffs.

The 5-4 overtime loss to the Pittsburgh Penguins on Friday made the Hawks 7-15 in 1-goal games.

Ouch.

Of those 15 losses by 1 goal, 9 defeats have come either in overtime or a shootout.

"If we had a better record in overtime, that certainly would help," coach Joel Quenneville said. "Tight games, it's the timely goals. We've won a lot of tight games as well so I think probably the one thing most glaring is our record in overtime."

With 22 games left on the schedule, Quenneville said after the loss to the Penguins that it was time to start playing winning hockey, and that means getting better results in the tight games.

This week alone the Hawks have lost 2-1 to Minnesota, 5-3 to Nashville after blowing a 3-1 third period lead, and 5-4 to Pittsburgh.

"It's something we have to improve on because the games are going to be like that in the playoffs," Duncan Keith said. "When it comes down to crunch time in the playoffs, you have to be doing all the little things that we talked about all year.

"These last 20 games here when we're playing teams like Nashville, Minnesota and Pittsburgh that are still fighting for their playoff lives, we need to step our game up. We need to step our urgency up a little more and I think that would help."

The Hawks have allowed 12 goals in the last three games, and Quenneville will try to change the team's fortunes in that area today when he starts rookie goalie Antti Niemi against the Los Angeles Kings at the United Center.

Cristobal Huet has looked weary in the last two games, allowing 8 goals in his last three periods. He was pulled after two periods against Pittsburgh, trailing 4-2.

(Niemi) deserves a chance to play," Quenneville said. "Huey has had a lot of games here in a row as well. The last couple games have just been OK for him, but we expect him to be fine. He's been consistent all year."

These are playoff-type games the Hawks are playing against teams scrambling to get into the postseason and Keith says it's time to respond.

"These games are a good test, they're good challenges, and it's only going to make us a better team," Keith said. "We just need to bear down and do the little details of the game.

"We need to have a little more feeling in our game that the playoffs are coming. We need to have a good stretch here in the last 20 games. We have nothing guaranteed, but if we start to play the way we're capable of playing, using what makes us successful like our speed and smarts and checking the puck well, I think it will put us in a good spot."