If the Blackhawks want to hold on to home ice for the opening round of the playoffs, they’ll have to earn it on the road.
Home ice for the first round is awarded to each of the three divisional champions and the team with the next-best record in the conference.
The Hawks solidified their fourth-place standing in the Western Conference by beating Calgary 3-2 Sunday night and moving two points ahead of idle Los Angeles.
For the remainder of the week the Hawks will be on the road–playing Tuesday in Washington, Wednesday in Detroit and Friday in Dallas–before winding up the regular season Sunday at home against Columbus.
Washington and Dallas are fighting for their playoff lives, and Detroit has the best record in the NHL, 51-16-9-3.
The Hawks are 13-18-7 on the road. Only six teams in the conference have done worse.
However, the Hawks have played well against all three teams. Tuesday’s game will be their only game this season against the Capitals, but the Hawks beat them twice last season. They have a 2-1-1 record this season against the Red Wings and a 1-0-2 record to show for their meetings with the Stars.
Stop thinking! Tony Amonte and Kyle Calder on the first line, Tom Fitzgerald and Igor Korolev on the third line and Mark Bell and Tyler Arnason on the fourth all have been shackled by slumps. Including Amonte’s goal Sunday night, they have a total of nine goals since the NHL’s Olympic break ended Feb. 26.
“Teams are bearing down more,” said coach Brian Sutter. “It’s tougher [to score] than at the beginning of the year.
“The bottom line is you don’t want people thinking too much. When you start worrying about how many goals you’re not getting, your game is going to be affected. It’s the time of the year players have to be at the top of their game, and it’s not all about them scoring goals.
“When the puck isn’t going in, you also can’t pass up chances to shoot the puck or go to the net. When you get an opportunity, don’t waste those chances.”
Milestone: With Sunday’s win, Sutter became the 15th coach in NHL history to win 400 games, and 40 of those have come this season with the Hawks.
“Forty is what means something to me,” said Sutter, “[but] 400 only tells you that I’ve been around some good people.”
Sutter needs two triumphs to tie Punch Imlach, who is 14th on the all-time list with 402 victories.
Memories: Hawks left wing Steve Thomas, who broke into the NHL during the 1984-85 season, knows firsthand what it was like playing against Sutter. “I remember him always having a determined look on his face,” Thomas said. “He was out there to make something happen. He played with a bit of a snarl. It’d be nice to have 20 guys with that mentality. But nobody does. Personalities are different.”
Marathon man: Goalie Jocelyn Thibault played in his 65th game of the season, one shy of his career high set last year, and he improved to 32-22-9.
Scratched: Defensemen Boris Mironov and Alexander Karpovtsev were spectators Sunday. Mironov also missed Friday’s loss in St. Louis because of a groin injury and Karpovtsev is recovering from arthroscopic knee surgery. Defenseman Chris McAlpine, Bob Probert and Ryan VandenBussche were healthy scratches.
