Tough times continue for Colliton, Chicago Blackhawks
Jeremy Colliton has been here before.
Coaching a struggling team. With a rabid, well-informed fan base that wants to see a consistent winner.
Twice during his four-year coaching run in the Sweden's second division, Colliton's Mora IK squad went through stretches that tested the patience of many.
"My first four games as a coach, we won our first game against the bottom team and then we got shut out three games in a row," said Colliton, just 29 when he was hired. "So that was tough. Small town. You can't get away from it.
"And, obviously, I was not the easiest pick to go in there as a head coach."
Two seasons later, Colliton dealt with an eight-game losing streak in November.
"We're a small club. We were on the edge financially," he said. "That's pressure. That was 100 years of history."
"People don't understand when you haven't been over there. (The pressure) is huge."
Just as it is here in Chicago.
And once again, Colliton is coaching a team in the Chicago Blackhawks that's having a difficult time finding its way. The Hawks' struggles continued in Winnipeg on Thursday night as they dropped a 6-5 decision to fall to 9-12-5 overall and 3-6-2 under Colliton.
Nikolaj Ehlers notched a hat trick and Patrik Laine scored twice as the Jets improved to 14-8-2. Laine's second goal made it 5-3 at 1:18 of the third period, and Ehlers made it 6-3 at 9:45.
The Hawks didn't fold as Dominik Kahun and Artem Anisimov scored at 13:10 and 17:08, but they failed to find the equalizer.
Laine has 21 goals on the season, 13 in his last six games and 101 in 179 NHL games. Only Wayne Gretzky, Jimmy Carson and Brian Bellows reached the century mark faster than the 20-year-old Laine.
The Hawks' other goals came from Marcus Kruger (3), John Hayden (2) and Jan Rutta (2).
"We've got to put it together," a clearly perturbed Colliton told a small group of reporters afterward. "It's (going to be) tough to win until we sort it out. There needs to be some urgency there. If there hasn't been already, it's been long enough now."
The Hawks have allowed 26 goals in their last five games, and at this point it feels like they need a miracle worker to get them winning the way Chicagoans expect.
Is Colliton that guy?
Well, the Blackie, Alberta, native has done it before, leading Mora to a 31-13-4 record in 2016-17 and a promotion to the SHL. Last season, Colliton took the Rockford IceHogs to the Calder Cup's Western Conference final for the first time in franchise history.
Neither turnaround happened overnight. In Mora's case, it took four years. Rockford, meanwhile, was barely above .500 in late February, then made a furious playoff push.
Colliton's message to his young IceHogs last season was to play a simple, selfless game. Get pucks deep. Make opponents come 180 feet the other way to score. Make every second count.
"You get what you deserve over time," Colliton said one day after that brutal 8-3 loss Tuesday to the Vegas Golden Knights. "And we need to play better. We have had our stretches where we've been good.
"But (against Vegas) was not our night. Then you don't get any more than you deserve. If we perform well, we'll get the points we need."
He clearly expects better and wants to see it in Nashville on Saturday.
"We've got to tell the truth to the team," Colliton said Thursday, "and then they need to respond. I'm not new anymore. I've been here long enough.
"It's time to react."