Night to forget for Blackhawks
Chalk it up as one of those forgettable losses in a long season.
The Blackhawks were a step behind from the opening faceoff Saturday night in their 5-3 loss to the Minnesota Wild at the United Center.
The list of Hawks having off nights was a long one.
“We had breakdowns, we had turnovers inside our zone, we had miscommunication and took some penalties we shouldn't have taken,” Hawks captain Jonathan Toews said. “I think one thing relates to the other and it's just a little bit sloppy sometimes. We've got to tighten that up and get back to playing a solid checking game that we know how to play.
“Our talent and ability is going to take over when the work ethic is there. It's a frustrating loss to lose like that at home.”
The Hawks were 1-for-7 on the power play, which deflated the crowd of 21,521.
“It reflected the rest of our game,” Toews said. “When we had the chance to take control and really get the momentum going and get our crowd into it, we didn't really do it.”
The Hawks have allowed 11 goals in the last two games counting Thursday's 6-5 loss to Tampa Bay in overtime.
“Our chances are probably what we've given up all year,” Hawks coach Joel Quenneville said. “They've gone in two games in a row on us.”
The Hawks put 36 shots on Wild goaltender Niklas Backstrom, who shut the door despite playing with a strained knee. Jason Pominville scored 2 goals for Minnesota.
“We had a lot of opportunities on our power play, some good looks, and unfortunately they didn't go in,” said Bryan Bickell, one of the few bright spots for the Hawks with his fourth goal in the last four games. “He had a couple big saves at clutch times in the game. Give it to him (Backstrom). He played great.”
Minnesota took a 2-0 lead on a power-play goal by Zach Parise in the first period and Kyle Brodziak's score early in the second.
Parise's goal, his sixth of the season, came five seconds after an interference penalty to Marian Hossa. Parise poked the puck to Ryan Suter at the point from a faceoff and headed straight to the net for a rebound.
Brodziak made it 2-0 just 2:03 into the second period, catching Hawks goalie Corey Crawford well back in his net.
The Hawks had 20 seconds of a 5-on-3 in the second period but failed to cash in. They also were 0-for-2 on the power play in the first period.
Bickell's goal at 13:46 of the second period cut the Minnesota lead in half.
It came just over two minutes after the Hawks had an apparent goal disallowed. An extra long video review showed Andrew Shaw knocked the puck toward the net with a high stick. While Wild defenseman Clayton Stoner appeared to bring the puck into the net as he fell, it was ruled he didn't have possession of it.
The review took at least six minutes.
“It certainly put everybody to sleep in the building,” Quenneville said. “It was the longest one I've ever seen.”
The Wild got a third goal, from Pominville, before the second period ended from in the slot. Again, it appeared Crawford was caught too deep in his net.
Pominville, playing in his 600th game, scored again early in the third period before Patrick Kane's power-play goal made it 4-2. Kane finished the game minus-3 and is minus-9 for the season.
“Games like tonight, you're not happy with the result or the way things went,” Quenneville said. “We should all be disappointed with the way things evolved tonight and be excited about getting them again on Monday.”
tsassone@dailyherald.com