Chicago Blackhawks aren't worried about a winless streak creeping into their psyche: 'We all don't want to lose'
Published in Hockey
CHICAGO — Puck luck works both ways.
So do streaks, and the Chicago Blackhawks are learning both are true during a winless skid that extended to seven games (0-6-1) with Sunday night’s 7-2 loss to the Winnipeg Jets at the United Center.
The Hawks clawed back to tie the Montreal Canadiens on Friday, but ex-Hawk Kirby Dach came back to haunt them in the shootout.
They built a three-goal lead in the third period of a road game against the Dallas Stars on Wednesday, then collapsed in epic fashion, giving up five unanswered goals in the final 10 minutes.
They squandered a three-goal rally against the Pittsburgh Penguins on Nov. 20 and simply got hammered 6-1 by the Boston Bruins on Nov. 19.
“We don’t like losing, like anybody,” Hawks coach Luke Richardson said. “But we find a lot of good things in our game the last three games.”
No one expected the Hawks to be a contender — the roster isn’t constructed to be one — but they did have a four-game winning streak early this season. They’re 2-8-4 since.
They’ve gone from a scrappy, ragtag bunch that could mount a rally to giving up rallies with increasing frequency. Earlier, even the losses looked like possible wins if a puck or two flipped in their favor.
Now it seems they periodically lose that punch, or if they do have a win in hand, it’s only a matter of time before they lose their grip.
“Last game, we just didn’t have energy the whole game,” Richardson said. “Every once in a while, it catches up to you in the season, and we found a way to play the system, play smart and grind out to get to overtime.”
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