Hawks blow 2-0 lead, lose 4-3 in Shootout to Avs

The Blackhawks powerplay finally scored, with Dustin Byfuglien playing the right point & firing a blast past Anderson to put the hawks up early on their first pp opportunity, but with a chance to restore a 2 goal lead early in the 2nd, the hawks pp gave up in essence two shorthanded goals on the same penalty to lose the lead & eventually the game.

While the Avs 3rd goal was registered the exact second the penalty expired, technically making it an "even strength" goal, it was for all intents & purposes scored shorthanded, effectively leaving the hawks struggling pp a -1 for 3 on the evening. The hawks did manage to later tie the game on Ladd's 2nd period even strength goal, picking up a loose rebound & beating Anderson & gain a point by taking it to OT, but the pp lapses proved very costly again.

Antii Niemi was victimized on both shorthanded goals, with the second coming on a clear cut breakaway where he was beaten by a late deke & had little chance, however, it was the 3rd goal he had allowed on 8 shots to that point.  Niemi redeemed himself afterwards, stopping all 12 shots in the 3rd, the only period the hawks were outshot & he gave the hawks' shooters 5 separate chances to win the shootout before finally allowing the decisive goal by Chris Stewart.  Versteeg, Sharp, Kopecky, Ladd, Barker and Brouwer could not convert in the shootout & give the hawks a much needed win,

So the father's road trip ends at 0-1-1, and the hawks record against above .500 teams falls to 2-4-1, as they enter a difficult portion of their schedule.  Jonathan Toews missed his 6th straight game & the depth at center was further weakened by Bolland's back preventing him from suiting up.  Nevertheless, despite missing two regular centers, the hawks dominated in the faceoff circle, winning over 60% of the draws, but were again unable to capitalize on gaining possession, particularly on the pp.

Bryan Bickell was called up to fill in for Bolland, but played only just over 8 minutes, registering 1 shot on goal.  Kane & Versteeg assisted on the hawks first two goals, while Fraser & Ladd combined for the hawks tieing 3rd goal.

Barker continues to hurt the team defensively, going -1 despite only 12 minutes of even strength time & 2:22 minutes of pp time.  Thomas Kopecky was also among the leaders in pp minutes again, yet was a -2 on the evening with no points (he only has 1 goal & 1 assist in 15 games so far, despite considerable pp time).  Clearly, it is time for him to be taken off the pp, and someone like Brouwer or Ladd to be given more of an opportunity on the pp.  Similarly, Keith & Seabrook should be getting pp time over Barker & Campbell (who has only 1 pp goal & assist despite getting the most pp minutes of any hawk Dman), though the reason Keith & Seabrook likely aren't is because they already are playing so many minutes at even strength & on the pk against the other team's top lines.  The problem is Barker is not earning his $3M+ cap hit & should be moved. Campbell for that matter isn't earning his lofty $7M+ salary, but moving him is altogether a much more difficult proposition.

Hawks come home for 4 straight, facing LA on Monday, Colorado Wednesday, Toronto Friday & San Jose next Sunday, before heading out for the 6 game annual circus road trip against Western teams. The hawks showed last year that they could often rise to the occasion when challenged & surprise, particularly when it looked like they were becoming vulnerable, however, their goaltending, defensive & offensive depth isn't as strong with the loss of Khabiboulin, Wizniewski, Walker, Johnson & Havlat from last year's team and large questions remain as to how effective Toews will be when he returns, whether Bolland's back will hold up, and how Hossa will respond to the pressure of a monstrous contract that has created great, and perhaps unrealistic expectations (especially given his disappointing showing in the finals last year).

We should have a clearer answer to many of these questions by the end of the month, though they may not necessarily be the answers the hawks are looking for...