Chicago Blackhawks' effort lacking in loss
In one of the worst regular-season performances in recent memory, the Chicago Blackhawks were outplayed, outclassed, out-hustled and completely embarrassed in a 5-2 drubbing at St. Louis on Wednesday night.
The miscues came early and often as …
• Out-of-position players took a whopping 5 tripping penalties in the first two periods.
• A plethora of bad turnovers led to easy scoring opportunities for St. Louis.
• Indecisive, careless moves in the offensive zone squelched any chance of sustained pressure.
Down 4-0, the Hawks tried to make a game of it with 2 quick power-play goals by Richard Panik and Ryan Hartman late in the third period, but it wasn't close to enough.
"If you're going to grade the performances of any of the Blackhawks, you're going to be giving them an F," said analyst and former Hawk Troy Murray on WGN Radio's postgame show. "You can't accept this in any way, shape or form. It just wasn't good enough."
Murray then added that "the lack of effort from the veteran players has got to be really disturbing to the coaching staff."
Among the many miscues, the most galling came when a struggling Artem Anisimov allowed Vladimir Tarasenko to strip him of the puck in the Blues' offensive zone. The sharpshooting Tarasenko then whirled and whipped a shot past Corey Crawford for a 3-0 Blues lead at 7:49 of the second period.
Jaden Schwartz notched a hat trick for St. Louis (5-2-0), and Jake Allen was solid in net, making 22 saves.
While the Hawks (4-2-1) did convert on those late power-play opportunities, they looked awful on their first four chances. They also were outshot 26-8 after two periods.
"It was a bad start, and it was a bad middle," Quenneville told reporters. "That was as close to brutal as you can get."
Said Murray: "In the first two periods, they were awful. You can't take any consolation (in the final score). This game was way more lopsided than that because the Blackhawks were second class to the St. Louis Blues in this game tonight in effort and winning battles and determination."
Hartman tried to take consolation in the fight the Hawks showed in the final 10 minutes and hopes they can carry that over to Thursday night when Connor McDavid's Edmonton Oilers invade the United Center.
"You saw that desperation at the end and we need to find that desperation in the first two periods," Hartman said. "You can see what kind of a team we are when we play like that."
Scouting report
Blackhawks vs. Edmonton Oilers at United Center, 7:30 p.m. Thursday
TV: WGN
Radio: WGN 720-AM
The skinny: The Connor McDavid-led Oilers were picked by many to win the Western Conference and possibly carry off the Stanley Cup come June. But this team is off to a brutal 1-4-0 start, the last 3 losses coming at home to Winnipeg, Ottawa and Carolina by a combined score of 16-6. "You have to stop the bleeding before it gets really bad and you dig yourself too big of a hole that you can't get out of," forward Milan Lucic told reporters after Tuesday's 5-3 loss to the Hurricanes. "There (are) 77 games left, and we can keep saying that, but as long as the losses keep piling up, it is going to be a long year." … Connor McDavid has 6 points (3G, 3A) but no other Oiler has more than 3. … The combined save percentage of Cam Talbot and Laurent Brossoit is a dreadful .872.
Next: Arizona Coyotes at Gila River Arena, 8 p.m. Saturday
- John Dietz