Not much fight in Chicago Blackhawks as Devils prevail 7-1
The NHL schedule makers handed the Blackhawks a gift by scheduling a home game against the putrid New Jersey Devils two days before Christmas.
One problem: Jeremy Colliton's lifeless squad dumped a big, fat lump of coal in their fans' stockings by getting thoroughly outplayed in a 7-1 setback.
"Enough's enough," captain Jonathan Toews said after the Hawks fell to 15-17-6. "We've talked about being (ticked) off, and we can't keep letting this slide and just talk about the Xs and Os like it's just another game."
Where to start?
The Hawks actually led 1-0 on a Zack Smith goal 3:21 into the game.
But after Jack Hughes, the No. 1 pick of June's draft, knotted things up with a nifty wrist shot 11.5 minutes later, it was all New Jersey.
The Devils (12-19-5) went on to take a 4-1 second-period lead on goals by P.K. Subban (at 51 seconds), Damon Severson (at 7:22) and John Hayden (at 10:40). Those three had 5 combined goals coming in.
For Hayden, who was traded to New Jersey in the off-season for John Quenneville, it was his first goal of the season and just his ninth in 126 NHL games.
The Hawks had a sliver of hope when they earned a sixth power-play chance late in the second period, but Travis Zacjac scored short-handed to make it 5-1.
"Everything fell apart today," said Toews, one of six Hawks with a rating of minus-3 or worse.
Corey Crawford stopped 16 shots and was replaced by Robin Lehner after Hayden's goal.
The setback - and the alarming fashion in which it happened - was quite shocking after the way the Hawks played in victories Thursday at Winnipeg and Saturday at Colorado.
Colliton said his players don't understand that they must grind out victories. He pointed to their decent 7-8-3 road record and 4-0-0 mark at home in the second game of back-to-backs as proof. The Hawks are 4-9-3 at the United Center any time they have at least a day's rest.
"It seems like we need to start over all the time," Colliton said. "I've made the point in the games (that) we have trouble stringing shifts together, well we (also) have trouble stringing performances together. So you just can't build any momentum.
"We need to understand what kind of team we are. We've got to work. Every day. And when we do, we're good enough and we've shown we can get points.
"We've had some big-time character wins, but the work and compete's got to be there."
Defenseman Adam Boqvist injured his shoulder in the first period and may miss a game or two, but Colliton said it shouldn't be a long-term issue.
Good memory:
New Jersey Devils interim coach Alain Nasreddine will never forget his NHL debut on Oct. 10, 1998. It was one of just seven games he appeared in for the Blackhawks, but it featured six fights.
"I remember it vividly," said Nasreddine, who took part in the first bout against the Devils' Sasha Lakovic. "We ended up winning. The goalie (Jeff Hackett) stood on his head. We had no business winning that game."
Despite being outshot 36-15, the Hawks prevailed 2-1 on a Tony Amonte power-play goal midway through the third period. But did Nasreddine win his fight?
"I finished on top," said Nasreddine, a defenseman who ended up playing in just 73 more NHL games. "I don't know if the guys slipped."
Slap shots:
Connor Murphy had a minus-4 rating, and Duncan Keith, Dylan Strome, Patrick Kane, Alex DeBrincat and Jonathan Toews had minus-3 ratings in the Hawks' loss to New Jersey. ... John Quenneville made his Hawks debut. ... Coach Jeremy Colliton said Andrew Shaw is still having concussion symptoms and that there's "no real progression yet." Shaw hasn't played since Nov. 30 at Colorado. ... Drake Caggiula (concussion) continues to skate, but there also is no timeline for his return to game action.