The defensive miscues appear glaring and out of the norm.
But Blackhawks coach Brian Sutter says mistakes happen every game. The only difference lately is that every mistake seems to cost the Hawks a game.
A couple of defensive blunders and some carelessness with the puck in the neutral zone cost the Hawks again Sunday as they squandered a two-goal lead and fell 4-3 to the Montreal Canadiens.
The loss extended the Hawks’ winless streak to a season-high six games with one more to play–Thursday in Boston–before the All-Star break.
“You score three goals on the road, that should be enough,” Sutter said.
But Sunday was the second consecutive game in which the Hawks scored three goals on the road and it wasn’t enough.
The game-winner, by Jan Bulis at the 9-minute mark of the third period, encapsulated the Hawks’ defensive woes.
Three players swarmed Oleg Petrov to the left of the Hawks’ net when Doug Gilmour had the puck behind the net. While the Hawks blanketed Petrov, Bulis was left by his lonesome to beat goaltender Jocelyn Thibault.
For the most part, Thibault has been the safety valve for whatever defensive lapses that happen in front of him. But with Thibault joining his mates in a funk, there is no one to bail out blown assignments. The Hawks again jumped out to a strong first period, taking a 2-0 lead on goals from Chris Simon and Alex Zhamnov.
“Little mistakes that probably earlier in the year wouldn’t have cost us are costing us,” Thibault said.
