After another night in which failure could be pinned directly on their futile power play, the Blackhawks have run out of explanations.
“I have no answers,” winger Steve Sullivan said after the power play went 0-for-6, including a two-man advantage for a full minute. “We’re trying hard. We’re looking for our options. The puck’s just not going in.”
The winless streak is now at four after Sunday night’s 2-1 loss to the injury-depleted Los Angeles Kings before an announced crowd of 13,504 at the United Center.
For Los Angeles, the victory snapped a 14-game winless skid, the Kings’ longest since the 1981-82 season. The Hawks, on the other hand, have just five victories in their last 33 games.
“I’m just sick and tired of the same excuses,” defenseman Bryan Berard said. “We have to find a way to get out of it.”
The winning goal came at 11 minutes 34 seconds of the third period when Alexander Frolov danced around Johnathan Aitken and then slipped the puck between Craig Anderson’s pads as Anderson dived forward to try to poke it away.
“I went at him and tried to force him to make a play,” Anderson said.
Frolov did indeed make a play, and Anderson is now 0-7 this season and still looking for his first NHL victory.
“That’s a highlight goal right there,” Kings forward Ian Laperriere said.
For Aitken, it was a downer after an earlier accomplishment. He earned a standing ovation in the first period when he connected with a right hand for a knockout of John Tripp. The Kings’ winger’s nose was bloodied, and he had to leave the game.
Other than a goal by Alex Zhamnov at 5:37 of the third period to tie the game, Aitken’s knockout was the only thing the fans enjoyed.
They certainly didn’t like what they saw to start the third period. With Los Angeles already short-handed, Mattias Norstrom was sent off for holding, giving the Hawks a two-man advantage.
Normally in that situation, the goaltender is a team’s best penalty killer. But despite seeing 35 shots in the game, Roman Cechmanek wasn’t tested during the two-man situation.
The Hawks’ only shot came from Mark Bell from the goal line.
“Sometimes you try to get too cute on the five-on-three and pass it around,” Berard said. “[The Kings] took away our shots from up top, and that’s what we concentrate on.”
Interestingly, the Hawks spent the better part of Saturday’s practice working on a two-man advantage, which worked about as often in practice as it did Sunday.
“We practice it every day,” coach Brian Sutter said. “On the last three power plays, we had opportunities to shoot the puck and put it on net. It’s execution, that’s all.”
With a power play that ranks 28th in the league and is a constant problem from the start of last season, perhaps the entire Hawks power-play concept should be executed.
“It’s easy to say it’s not working, let’s change it, but what’s the solution?” Sullivan asked. “I can’t say, `Let’s change it,’ because I wouldn’t know where to begin.”
