Hawks lose 3-2 as Flames take advantage of Kunitz penalty
This is Chris Kunitz's 14th season in the NHL.
Every previous team he's been on has reached the postseason, and four of them won the Stanley Cup.
Before Sunday's game against Calgary at the United Center, the 39-year-old veteran was asked if this downward spiral he's experiencing with the Blackhawks has been the most challenging of his career.
"By far. Hands down," Kunitz said. "But that being said, it's new territory for all of us. A lot of these guys have had success. We just have to be able to rally around each other in the room and go out there with the work ethic that we can get better every single day."
Unfortunately for Kunitz - who was in the lineup for just the second time in the last eight games - things didn't get any better as he drew a game misconduct penalty in the second period that helped spearhead Calgary to a 3-2 victory.
The infraction occurred at 7:08 of the second period when Kunitz elbowed defenseman Travis Hamonic in the head while chasing down a puck near the side boards.
Three Flames immediately surrounded Kunitz while Hamonic knelt on the ice.
It took Elias Lindholm just 10 seconds to snap a 1-1 tie, and Derek Ryan made it 3-1 at 8:44.
"Dumb play. Dumb hit," Hamonic said. "It's nice to be able to capitalize and make them pay. Get two (goals) on the major and that was obviously the turning point."
Kunitz was not in the dressing room afterward.
This was the Hawks' second game misconduct in as many nights. Duncan Keith also received one for jumping Nashville's Miikka Salomaki in the first period of a 5-2 loss Saturday.
Winning has been hard enough for coach Jeremy Colliton's team, but considering the Hawks have been short-handed for 17 minutes and 17 seconds the last two games, it's almost a miracle they were in either contest.
"It's unfortunate, but we need to find ways to kill those penalties off and be better," said Jonathan Toews. "Including myself."
Toews' goal at 11:33 of the first period tied the contest at 1-1. It was his 12th of the season.
Dylan Strome, acquired from Arizona along with Brendan Perlini last week, made it 3-2 at 15:45 of the second.
The Hawks had plenty of opportunities to tie it in the third, with one of the best chances coming from Alex DeBrincat in the waning seconds. But just as DeBrincat fired from point-blank range, Hamonic slid and blocked the shot with his right leg.
The season is rapidly getting away from the Hawks, who are 9-14-5 overall and 3-11-3 since their 6-2-2 start.
Tough as it is, Toews is doing his best to stay positive.
"There's a lot of great guys in this room. Good players," Toews said. "We've got to keep that belief in each other and continue to look at the big picture.
"Try and improve. Try and work on our individual games, and try and improve our overall team game every single day. …
"We've got to find ways to be grateful for what we're doing - playing the game that we love and coming to the rink with a good attitude, even though we're on a heckuva slide right now."