On a Tuesday of seemingly foregone conclusions, Wendel Clark cleared waivers and the Blackhawks lost to the Kings.
Clark, placed on waivers Sunday, carries the heavy load of a sagging game and a $1.4 million salary and thus drew no interest around the league.
The game outcome was just as predictable. The Hawks, whose third-period rally fell short in a 3-2 loss, have now dropped 10 straight to Los Angeles and began their seven-game, two-week trip with a resounding thud.
And positives such as a 23-1 advantage in third-period shots no longer resonate with even Mr. Optimism himself, coach Lorne Molleken.
“That’s why there’s 60 minutes,” Molleken said. “We’re not playing 60 minutes, and that’s why we’re losing. We need to look deep inside ourselves and find a way to get out of this.”
The Kings’ move from the Great Western Forum to the $375 million Staples Center did little to change the Hawks’ fortunes in the series. Vladimir Tsyplakov and Bryan Smolinski each beat Steve Passmore in a span of 38 seconds in the first period, and the Hawks never recovered despite outshooting the Kings 38-21.
For the second straight game, the Hawks couldn’t cash in a five-on-three power-play opportunity, this one lasting 68 seconds. In all, the Hawks were 1 for 8 on the power play.
Donald Audette made it 3-0 at 11:27 of the second as Passmore allowed a soft goal on a shot from a tough angle in the left circle.
“The reason we lost is me,” Passmore said. “I let in a bad angle shot. I’ll take full blame.”
Kings goalie Jamie Storr finally got cracked by Eric Daze, who scored his seventh goal at 10:36 of the third period on an assist by Michael Nylander.
When Mattias Norstrom got called for hooking late, the Hawks pulled Passmore for a two-man advantage. Tony Amonte cashed in, scoring a power-play goal with 58.8 seconds remaining. But it wasn’t enough.
“You can’t come on the road like this and get down,” Doug Gilmour said. “If I had answers, I’d like to relay them to you. But I don’t.”
The answer of when Clark will play his next game with the Hawks is also unclear.
General Manager Bob Murray has tried to trade him. Waivers didn’t work. An option would be to buy out the slumping winger, but the Hawks have been financially hesitant to do so in similar situations in the past.
“This is very difficult, but the way I look at the situation is Wendel has got to play on our top three lines because he’s that type of player,” Molleken said. “But he hasn’t met my expectations. Right now, Wendel just doesn’t fit into our top nine, and I’m just being honest. It’s a tough decision, but sometimes you’ve got to make the tough decisions.”
For the immediate future, Murray and Molleken hope the waivers move serves as a wake-up call for Clark, who has two goals in 13 games and has struggled on defense.
Attempts to reach Clark, who stayed at the team hotel Tuesday night, were unsuccessful.
Count me in: Boris Mironov was the only regular at the team’s optional morning skate, joining scratches Jamie Allison and Doug Zmolek and goaltender Jocelyn Thibault.
“I made the decision myself because I feel better when I skate in the morning,” Mironov said. “I’m still nervous because I missed six months (from the end of last season to the end of his holdout). I want to play a more simple game and don’t want to try to do too much.”
Mironov played a team-high 27:06 Tuesday night and also had a team-high six shots.
“We need him to be at his best, and he’s not at his best yet,” Molleken said.
