Rozner: Blackhawks still looking for top gear

Ten games remain in the NHL regular season and the Blackhawks just don't seem to get it.

They don't seem to understand that it's time to start producing a consistent effort.

There was hope last week that maybe they were coming out of their funk. They had been outskated badly in four straight games leading into the San Jose game and for the first 10 minutes only Corey Crawford stood between them and getting blown out.

But the last 50 minutes against the Sharks the Hawks played hard and they played fast, and then backed it up against the Islanders with their best 60-minute effort in weeks - maybe months.

The truth is they faced an Islanders backup goalie who allowed a couple of soft ones, but the Hawks took advantage and defeated a very good team.

Understandably tired the next night, the Hawks played pretty well against the Rangers in New York, smart defensively and relying on Scott Darling in a 1-0 victory.

And then they went back to being the Hawks again.

They were incredibly loose at the morning skate Saturday in Dallas, which one might have guessed meant they had their swagger back and were prepared to dismantle a non-playoff team.

Instead, it was a total no-show and the Hawks were beaten from start to finish and in every way by the Stars in Dallas.

"Every game is important and tonight we got outworked from the outset," said coach Joel Quenneville after that game. "The power play wasn't very good, the penalty kill wasn't very good, and the team game wasn't very good.

"They were the better team and deserved to win. They wanted it. They were hungry.

"It was one of those games where you can't find one line you liked, didn't like the way the defense played and (Crawford) gave us a chance, but other than that, one of those games where we were not very good."

Coming off that weak effort and with yet another opportunity to display their understanding of the situation, that the season is nearing an end and that Minnesota - the hottest team in hockey - is nipping at their heals, the Hawks played about 20 minutes in Carolina on Monday night against another team with nothing to play for.

They did come out with a win, but that was only because Crawford was brilliant the last two periods.

"I liked our start. We had an excellent first period, but what we did to them in the first they did to us in the second," Quenneville said. "We hung on in the third. Crawford was solid, but we have to be better than that.

"They're a fast team with an active defense, but we've got to look to be quicker."

The Hawks were outshot 34-16 the final 40 minutes and offering no excuse for another poor display.

"We know we could have played better and could have done some little things better to facilitate our effort," said captain Jonathan Toews, "but sometimes you need 2 points like that.

"The main thing is we know we have to build off these last two games and play a better team game and sustain that pressure we came out with in the first (period)."

In their final 10 games, starting with Wednesday night in Philadelphia, the Hawks face five playoff teams, four hopelessly out of it and one desperate to get in, that being the defending Stanley Cup champs, who took out the Hawks in the conference finals a year ago.

What's clear is that the ability of the opponent doesn't matter at this point. The Hawks are unpredictable and have yet to find their own desperation level, and if last year proves anything it's that they can't wait to flip that switch or risk running out of time, as they did against Los Angeles.

Teams are ramping it up and some of the best in the West are flying high right now. The Hawks better not wait much longer to find their stride or they can forget about Patrick Kane riding to the rescue.

They could be golfing long before that happens.

brozner@dailyherald.com

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