With the season winding down and the Blackhawks still outside the Western Conference playoffs, every defeat is magnified.
After a Friday night filled with the emotions of honoring legends Stan Mikita and Bobby Hull and a difficult 3-2 loss to the San Jose Sharks with the largest crowd of the season in attendance, the Hawks insist they haven’t lost the momentum they had generated in a postseason push.
“By no means are we falling apart,” forward Patrick Sharp said after Saturday’s practice at the United Center.
“We’re still playing well, and we want to keep doing that. It was disappointing to lose the game in front of all those fans and the special night it was, [but] so far we’ve knocked off two pretty good teams this week (Minnesota and Anaheim). We’re trying to keep our heads high and keep this momentum going. We know we’re playing good hockey.”
The Hawks have 14 games remaining and entering Saturday’s play are six points out of the eighth and final conference playoff spot. They face the Edmonton Oilers on Sunday at the United Center.
“Every game is going to be a must win and the biggest game of the year,” Sharp said. “It’s the first time in a while the Hawks have played meaningful hockey this time of year. We want to take advantage of that and gain the experience as we do our best to get into the playoffs.”
Coach Denis Savard says the Hawks have to bounce back quickly.
“Our effort [Friday night] could have been a little better in certain situations, but at the same time the positive about it is [Sunday] is our fourth game of the week,” he said. “We said if we [won] three out of four, we’ve done our job and we move in to the next week. There’s lot of hockey to be played.”
Goal-oriented
Sharp leads the Hawks with a career-high 33 goals after scoring 20 last season.
“I wanted to get to 30 this year,” said Sharp, whose 19 assists are also the most in his four-year career. “I didn’t really tell anybody that, [but] it was a number I thought was attainable. The way we’re playing and the individual success people are having, I just kind of put the numbers aside and wanted to keep scoring every night. My success is a tribute to how well our team has played this year.”
Comeback kid
Savard said veteran Kevyn Adams would return to the lineup Sunday for the first time since severely injuring his left knee Nov. 7 and missing 53 games.
“I’m excited; I feel great,” Adams said. “It’s go time, and it’s a huge time of year, so it’s fun to be able to jump back in. I know what my job is. I’m confident in my knee and confident in being ready.”
One-timers
Winger Ben Eager, who left Friday night’s game with a shoulder injury, will have an MRI on Monday. … Rookie center Dave Bolland (hip flexor) could return Sunday against the Oilers. … Goaltender Nikolai Khabibulin is expected to return to the ice to test his injured back Monday. … Savard’s current goaltending plan has Patrick Lalime in goal Sunday against the Oilers and Tuesday night in Detroit against the Red Wings. Rookie Corey Crawford is slated to face the Carolina Hurricanes on Wednesday night at the United Center.
———-
ckuc@tribune.com
