A return to familiar surroundings didn’t do the Blackhawks much good Wednesday.
The winless streak now stands at an even dozen after the Buffalo Sabres–riding a four-game road losing streak–contributed to the Hawks’ misery with a 3-2 victory before an announced crowd of 12,035 at the United Center.
Wednesday’s game was nearly a carbon-copy of games on the recently completed six-game trip. Defensive lapses, a woeful offense and an impotent power play led to a two-goal deficit that a late goal and a frantic final flurry couldn’t overcome.
It’s the same show over and over and the Hawks can’t find the remote to change the channel.
“Coming home, a new month, we wanted a fresh outlook,” Mark Bell said. “Unfortunately, it was the same result.”
When a team struggles offensively as much as the Hawks have, it runs the risk of forcing things.
“We got caught trying to create something that wasn’t there,” Hawks coach Brian Sutter said.
Buffalo got on the board when Hawks defenseman Bryan Berard made a backhand cross-ice pass through the neutral zone that former Hawk J.P. Dumont picked off. He sent Daniel Briere in cold on Michael Leighton for a 1-0 lead midway through the second period.
Berard plays a high-risk, high-reward style and atoned for his error barely two minutes later. He tied the game 1-1 off a feed from Mikhail Yakubov.
The Hawks went into the third period feeling pretty good about ending their skid. “We had the game where we wanted it, tied up in the third,” defenseman Nathan Dempsey said. “A couple of mistakes cost us.”
Buffalo regained the lead only 89 seconds into the third period when Dmitri Kalinin lost Steve Sullivan and snuck in from the point to rip a pass from Ales Kotalik.
Sullivan played 19 minutes 10 seconds in his return to the lineup after missing two games with a back injury.
Maxim Afinogenov tapped home a rebound, after a goal-mouth scramble, at 12:13 of the third period to make it 3-1.
Following the script to perfection, Brett McLean cut the lead to 3-2 at 18:01 of the third with his sixth goal of the season.
But with Leighton pulled for the final two minutes, the Hawks couldn’t find the equalizer.
The Hawks have not won since starting goaltender Jocelyn Thibault went down with a hip injury. But it’s hard to pin the blame on either of the two young goaltenders for what has been happening. “Leighton was fine tonight,” Sutter said. “The last two games, our goalies have been good.”
Through it all, the Hawks have kept their spirits up and tried to stay positive. But it’s anyone’s guess how long that will last.
“That’s a good question. We’re all leaning on one another,” Dempsey said. “We’re depending on everybody looking in the mirror and asking more of themselves.”
