The Blackhawks are built for the short haul, for the grind of the playoffs. That arguable case was made once again in their 2-1 victory Saturday night over the San Jose Sharks.
The problem is the postseason is five months and countless snowstorms away and the team is bucking like a car that needs its engine checked before a serious breakdown occurs.
In the vacillating world of the regular season, the Hawks` sporadic offense doesn`t have the punch that covers up the inevitable defensive and goaltending mistakes. They aren`t entertaining as much as they are
exasperating, not convincing as often as they are confusing.
This leads one to believe that General Manager Bob Pulford should swing his first deal since replacing Mike Keenan Nov. 6. But will he have the adeptness to add offense and still keep the defense that is the team`s trademark, to weed out aging, declining players and bring in the enthusiasm and promise of youth?
Pulford may think there is no hurry, but the Hawks could use a boost from an injection of more skilled talent. They take on a team Monday night in Vancouver that is superior in skills, reflected in that 9-0 whipping the Canucks applied Saturday to Edmonton. The Hawks are 1-2 so far on their trip, with games remaining Friday night in Edmonton and Saturday night in Calgary. It will be determined Monday whether the Hawks have a chance to salvage a winning record from this journey.
Just because the Hawks managed to reach the Stanley Cup finals last season is no mandate for Pulford to stand pat.
The sigh of relief was audible after Christian Ruuttu`s goal in the closing minutes Saturday allowed the Hawks to escape San Jose.
”We have to get 50 shots to score two goals,” coach Darryl Sutter said with a head shake, looking at the 46 shots the Hawks generated against goalie Artur Irbe.
But Sutter questioned the quality of that number when he mentioned that Ruuttu`s game-winner was the first one he remembered all night that got up under the crossbar and exposed Irbe`s weakness high.
The question has been debated for the last few years, since Keenan built a team that concentrated on defense and only then attended to offense, about whether that system hindered players from creating a strong and consistent attack.
Are the Hawks as confident offensively as defensively? The answers vary.
”I don`t think so,” Jeremy Roenick said. ”We`re confident in our goaltending and the way we play in our own end. But offensively the confidence isn`t the same.”
Ruuttu, who now has doubled his output last season with Buffalo by scoring his eighth goal this year, viewed it differently.
”I think we do have confidence,” he said. ”We believe when we need the goals, we`ll get them. There`s no question sooner or later a goal will come. But we have to stick with it 60 minutes.”
Sutter scorns the notion that the offense is under a tight grip under the defensive-oriented scheme.
”They have a lot of freedom offensively with the puck,” he contended.
”As long as there is no turnovers, no one is told a heck of a lot else. Except there`s a strict defensive philosophy.”
Ruuttu has brought a fresh aspect to the offense. He credited linemate Dirk Graham with the reminder to him that resulted in his goal against the Sharks.
”As we came off the bench for that shift, he said to pump once with a shot and go upstairs,” Ruuttu said of his eventual shot from top of the left circle. ”I had no time to pump, but I beat him short side.”
Ruuttu blamed himself for not pursuing a possible goal earlier in the game. He was busy raising his arms in anticipation of a puck that he thought was going into the net off the post.
”Instead it fell back and not in,” he said of a puck the Sharks cleared off their goal line. ”I should have been trying to hit it again with my stick, not raising my arms.”
The Hawks would put their energy to better use trying to become an all-around team, not just a defensive juggernaut.
