With the injured Martin Havlat out of the lineup, Blackhawks goaltender Nikolai Khabibulin can’t afford to have an off day if the Hawks are to have a chance to win. But he did and the Hawks didn’t, dropping their third straight and fifth of their last six with a 4-2 loss to the streaking Coyotes.
Since winning five of their first eight games and collecting points in every one of them after Denis Savard took over as coach, the Hawks are 5-8 in their last 13.
Phoenix passed the Hawks in the Western Conference standings. The Hawks are 12th in the West, six points out of the last playoff spot, with games coming up Wednesday night against Buffalo and Saturday night at Detroit.
January figured to be a critical month for the Hawks, with eight of their last 10 at home. But Sunday was the third straight loss at the United Center. In those games, Khabibulin has given up 11 goals on 37 shots.
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STAT COLUMN
37
Jeremy Roenick, who turns 37 on Jan. 17, made his possible Chicago swan song memorable. Roenick, who began his career with the Blackhawks, had a goal and an assist Sunday.
