Mathematically, it’s possible. Realistically, the Blackhawks can start dusting off the golf clubs.
Right around the time the Calgary Flames took a three-goal lead midway through the second period of Sunday’s 4-2 victory, the Hawks’ chances of securing a playoff spot all but disappeared.
Entering Monday night’s play, the Hawks were in 13th place, seven points out of the eighth and final Western Conference postseason position, and it’s likely they’ll miss the playoffs for the ninth time in 10 seasons.
“All along we’ve known what our goal is,” rookie center Jonathan Toews said. “We’re never going to say never and keep trucking and take it day by day. That’s all we can do right now.”
The Hawks have nine games remaining, five of them at the United Center, including Wednesday night when Alex Ovechkin and the Washington Capitals pay a visit.
“We’ll take them one at a time,” Hawks coach Denis Savard said. “You never know what could happen. A lot of those teams [ahead of us] have to play each other. Obviously, we have to win seven, possibly eight.”
The Hawks have twice won four games in a row this season for their season high.
“It’s going to be tough,” defenseman Duncan Keith said. “We can’t look at it big picture. It’s important to focus on one day at a time. Wednesday we have the Capitals and that’s as far as we can look. We can’t get too far ahead of ourselves here and keep a positive attitude.”
Part of the reason for the Hawks’ recent demise was a four-game home skid to drop their season record at the United Center to 18-16-2.
“We all know where we’re at,” veteran center Kevyn Adams said. “We can’t be in a situation where we can’t get any points. We have to come out and own this building. We need to come out and establish an identity as a team.”
Full strength
Adams had four shots on goal in 6 minutes 10 seconds against the Flames, his fifth game since returning March 9 after missing 53 games with torn ligaments in his left knee. The center believes he’s nearly fully recovered.
“The last two games I’ve started to play my game,” Adams said. “[Sunday] I really felt strong and I felt I was creating some opportunities. It’s been a week and I think I’ve come a long way. I feel good about the way I was able to play.”
A breather
The Hawks had Monday off after playing nine games in 15 days.
“It’s been a long two weeks and we’ve played a lot of games,” Toews said. “Sometimes you can tell that’s when we had mental lapses here and there. The next few days are going to be good for us to get some rest and get ready to go on Wednesday.”
———
ckuc@tribune.com
