An optimist might look at the Blackhawks’ modest 6-7 record between Thanksgiving and Christmas and conclude that the team is making progress.
The Hawks recessed for Christmas with a three-game winning streak that represents their most successful segment of the season. They went to Nashville and shut out the Predators, the team directly in front of them in the Central Division standings. They then made a mighty rally to defeat Vancouver in the United Center. Lastly they traveled to Ottawa and ended the six-game undefeated streak of the top team in the Northeast Division.
This sudden surge gives new coach Alpo Suhonen’s team 30 points in 35 games. The last time the Hawks had this many points at the Christmas break was 1996-97 when they had 33 in 37 games. That was the last season they qualified for the playoffs.
A pessimist might point out that if the Hawks keep progressing at their present pace, yes, they can expect to return to the playoffs–in 2003 or 2004.
But Hawks General Manager Mike Smith is a pragmatist.
When Smith puts on his rose-colored glasses he sees that the 13th-place Hawks still have a prayer of slipping past the five teams in front of them in the Western Conference standings and having a postseason hereafter.
But when Smith puts the hockey team that lost five in a row before winning three straight under a microscope he concludes: “We have the same problem as last year–we’re missing midlevel players.”
In each of the past two seasons, the Hawks finished with a winning streak, conveying the misleading impression that the next October they’d pick up where they’d left off in April.
Two seasons ago they closed with six consecutive wins. Last year they took their final three, winding up with back-to-back victories over St. Louis, the team with the best record in the National Hockey League.
But when this season began, the Hawks went back to playing the way fans would expect the team that finished with the third-worst record in the Western Conference to play.
What’s wrong?
– The inexplicable home-ice disadvantage. The Hawks’ 4-9-0-1 record in the United Center is the second worst home record in the National Hockey League. On the road, they’re a respectable 9-9-2-1.
– The unproductive power play. The Hawks have an 11.4 percent success ratio, third poorest in the league.
– The occasional bad games by Jocelyn Thibault and Robbie Tallas, goalties on a team with a very slim margin for error.
– The left wings’ goal shortage. Right wings Tony Amonte and Steve Sullivan have scored a combined 34 goals and their respective centers Alex Zhamnov and Michael Nylander have 21 between them. The five left wings on the roster–Eric Daze, Dean McAmmond, Chris Herperger, Jean-Yves Leroux and Bob Probert–have a total of 21 goals.
– The lack of offense from the third and fourth lines. Recently center Alex Bell was recalled from Norfolk, Herperger was shifted from center to left wing and Daze was moved to right wing in the hope this combination would fill the third line void.
– The defensemen’s failure to contribute to the offense. Jaroslav Spacek is the team leader with two goals–but those came when he was a Florida Panther. Stephane Quintal, Alexander Karpovtsev, Kevin Dean and and Boris Mironov are tied for second with a goal apiece. Compare the defensemen’s offensive statistics to those of the team 12 teams in front of them in the conference standings. With the exception of 12th-place Calgary, all are getting much more production from the defense corps.
There’s also that certain something coaches and general managers call “character.” Friday night the Hawks came back from a three-goal deficit in the first 11 minutes to defeat Vancouver 6-4.
“That’s the first character test we passed all year,” Smith said.
Some argue that Suhonen’s unwillingness to make fights a part of his game plans has prompted teams to bully the Hawks. But one of the reasons they’re off to their best start in four years is because they’ve made a pronounced improvement in their discipline, going from one of the most penalized teams in the league to one of the least.
Although Suhonen is taking it one day at a time, Smith is juggling two sets of priorities — just getting the Hawks back into the playoffs and building a future Stanley Cup contender.
Since the start of the season Smith has moved five players from the American Hockey League farm team in Norfolk to the Hawks’ roster–Herperger, centers Bell and Steve Dubinsky and defensemen Chris McAlpine and Nolan Baumgartner.
The Hawks also will play 27 of their remaining 47 games in the United Center. If they can convert home ice back into an ally, they have the most favorable schedule in the conference.
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