Blackhawks taken to task by Tampa Bay in 4-1 setback

Fighting in the NHL has all but disappeared over the past few years.

Some believe that's good for the game. Others think it's made the game more dangerous, especially for smaller players who are more likely to be targeted without fear of repercussions.

With all that said, it was interesting that the Blackhawks rarely reacted to countless pokes, prods, hits, elbows and flat-out challenges during their two games at Tampa Bay over the last three days.

"When you play the same team multiple times it's going to get chippy and you hope you give as much as you take," Hawks coach Jeremy Colliton said after a 4-1 setback to the Lightning on Saturday dropped his team to 14-13-5. "Play hard, play between the whistles, be hard to play against. That's what we're going to do, too."

Except that the Lighting were far better at all of that, especially in the rematch.

The pivotal moment came when Yanni Gourde appeared to bait Alex DeBrincat on a neutral-zone faceoff early in the second period. Both players were given cross-checking penalties and with the Hawks' top goal-scorer in the box, the Lightning took a 2-0 lead when Anthony Cirelli beat Malcolm Subban at 1:53.

"We were just battling for position and a few cross-checks thrown," said DeBrincat, who scored the Hawks' lone goal. "The ref thought it was a good idea to put us both in the box."

On Gourde's next shift he cross-checked Patrick Kane to the ice. Later in the second, Alex Killorn caught Adam Boqvist with an elbow that sent the Hawks' defenseman sliding to the ice. No penalties were called in either situation.

And there was no response from the Hawks.

"Certainly we don't want our top guys sitting for five minutes, unless there's a specific reason," Colliton said. "We want our top guys playing."

All this bad blood began when Connor Murphy flattened Erik Cernak at the United Center on March 7. The Lighting kept trying to bait Murphy into fighting Thursday, but the D-man never obliged as he was told by the coaching staff to stay out of any fracases.

"We've asked him to suck it up and make a team decision and just play," Colliton said. "He's a hard player, he's a physical player and that's part of what he brings. I don't think he should have to be warding off challengers for the whole game because he's finishing off checks."

That last point clearly perturbed Colliton, who didn't think Tampa Bay would like it if the script were flipped.

"Well, to me it doesn't make any sense to me," he said. "They've got some guys that play a hard game, a physical game. If (Victor) Hedman finishes his check with a hard check on Murphy I don't think they're gonna love if we've got guys chasing him around the ice, or expecting that he should take a five-minute (penalty) or risk breaking his hand on someone's head."

The Hawks had more than enough chances Saturday, but couldn't solve Andrei Vasilevskiy, who made 30 saves and tied a franchise record with his 11th straight victory.

The Vezina Trophy finalist turned away breakaway attempts by Carl Soderberg and Patrick Kane, and also staved off all 7 shots the Hawks had on 4 power-plays - one of which was a two-man advantage for 83 seconds.

"They're a team that punishes you when you make mistakes and we made a few and they scored," Colliton said. "They made us suffer."

The Hawks, who have lost six of seven, play eight of their next nine at home. The first two are against Florida on Tuesday and Thursday.