The Chicago Blackhawks started the season off on a great note with dominating wins over the Penguins and Blue Jackets, however things since then have not been so great. The team has lost six of its last eight games, recording five of a total 16 possible points. Many of last year's problems late in the season and in the playoffs have been rearing their ugly heads again with the team over the past few weeks.
At first it looked like the Blackhawks were moving past their old struggles and were playing refreshed, unfortunately, the good mojo did not last.
Coach Joel Quenneville, who has been at the helm since 2009, has started to take a bit more heat lately. Some question if this is the beginning of the end for the coach that brought three Stanley Cups to Chicago in a span of six seasons, but things have to get better soon before heads start to roll.
Sloppy play
The Blackhawks' most recent loss took place on Saturday evening in Colorado as the Avalanche beat them down by a score of 6-3. 24-year-old goalie Anton Forsberg got lit up in the first period and a half for five goals and was eventually pulled. The team looked sluggish as they were out-skated, out-coached, and overall outplayed. There were some bad penalties taken by the Blackhawks' skaters and the defense had trouble catching up to the opponent and struggled with puck possession.
These are all recurring themes over the past few weeks, night in and night out.
Of course, there also has to be a mention of the power play unit. The Blackhawks on the man-advantage have been abysmal this year, one power play goal on their last 21 power plays and 0-11 in the last two games. It seems no matter how many flaws that are seen with how the power play unit works, the approach does not change and it is the same predicable strategy that teams easily get around now.
It is hard to win when your power play unit is consistently not producing.
Looking at overall team numbers over the past eight games, the Blackhaws are 2-5-1, on a three-game losing streak, and being outscored 27-17. Sometimes teams go through rough patches, but the Blackhawks have been seeing the same problems over and over again since late last year.
That is cause for some concern.
Dineen working on power play stuff first at Blackhawks practice. Emphasizing quick puck movement. pic.twitter.com/LJ81h2JIZV
— John Dietz (@johndietzdh) October 31, 2017
Coach Q' seat warming up?
It is very difficult to want someone else coaching a team than a guy who has gone 418-209-85 with three Stanley Cups since 2009, but every coach has an expiration date. That is not to say Quenneville will be fired all of a sudden, but signs may be pointing to the end if his Blackhawks tenure is not far off. There are some suggestions that he is losing the locker room and the team does not have the same energy as they once did.
Just a day ago the Blackhawks had a practice at the United Center that Quenneville did not like and he attempted to amp up the squad.
He expressed his frustration to the press afterwards and was quoted by Chicago Tribune's Chris Hine as saying, "I didn't like the last part of our practice. The intensity and pace went down. It was tough to look at and I was just like, 'Lets go'."
Q dropped at least three F bombs after making guys skate their asses off to end practice.He then abruptly left the ice.
— John Dietz (@johndietzdh) October 31, 2017
Hine reports that players such as Patrick Kane and Cody Franson are all staying cool and not worrying. Winger Patrick Sharp told Hine that while not panicking is good, there needs to be a bigger sense of urgency from the team. Problems with practice with the coach and the team are not things that want to be seen, but time will tell if it helps them pick things up -- or not.
With the way GM Stan Bowman expressed his anger after last year's playoff exit, it is hard to see him tolerating much more shortcomings without making more changes.
The Blackhawks may only be in November, but they will need to start picking things up before things potentially get really ugly.
