Hawk Talk: Just OK isn't good enough

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Wednesday, March 30, 2011
Posted: 6:00 p.m.

By Tracey Myers
CSNChicago.com

The first two words in the Boston Heralds story regarding Tuesday nights Bruins-Blackhawks game said it all.

No complacency.

According to the Herald, thats the Bruins mantra right now, regardless of the playoff berth they already gained last weekend. No quit, no stop, no pause in the pursuit of points. And on Tuesday night, it looked like the Bruins were taking that to heart with their 3-0 victory.

The Blackhawks, meanwhile, were missing the fire and determination their coach was hoping to get for a second consecutive night; they had, after all, showed plenty of it in their overtime victory in Detroit on Monday. As a result, the Blackhawks made no headway in their push for a better spot in the Western Conference playoff race.

No, for all the chatter that apparently came from the Hawks bench as a bloodied Shawn Thornton exited, there was no noise where on the ice where it mattered most. The Blackhawks, save Corey Crawfords and some defensemensespecially Brent Seabrookshard work, were quiet. They werent winning the battles. They werent making it tough enough on Boston goalie Tim Thomas. They werent where they needed to be, which is determined to get some points, any points, out of their Beantown visit.

Maybe the Blackhawks suffered from fatigue after Mondays game. Players said absolutely not and coach Joel Quenneville gave me the succinct head shake when I suggested it in the post-game interview. Certainly its no excuse, especially at this point of the season and especially with whats at stake. As defenseman Duncan Keith told the Chicago Tribunes Chris Kuc late Tuesday if its too hard to play two games in a row we probably shouldnt be in the NHL.

The Blackhawks have made things harder on themselves lately. After their stellar eight-game winning streak, theyve been back to being just streaky (4-4-2 in their last 10). The great victories (vs. San Jose, Detroit and Phoenix) have been tempered by the awful losses (Florida and Dallas) and missed opportunities (vs. Anaheim). Its been one step forward, two steps well, maybe not back, but definitely not forward, either. As Brian Campbell said of the last few games, our week was OK, and OK isnt good enough.

Throughout this latest roller-coaster ride, the Blackhawks have said all the right things. These games are big. These points are big. But the words havent translated into on-ice play enough. Yes, theyve had injuries and certainly miss the services of Dave Bolland (concussion) and Patrick Sharp (left knee). But its late Marchearly April. Every NHL team has injuries right now.

Despite not playing again until Friday, the Blackhawks will hold onto eighth place. Thats the kind ofsort of good news. Now for the not-so-good news: Teams such as Nashville and Anaheim can pull further ahead of them and Calgary and Dallas could get closer to catching them.

Complacency, lack of urgency, no matter the term its taboo for playoff-hopeful hockey teams this time of year. The Blackhawks have six games remaining to secure a playoff berth and make a statement in the process. That statement needs to be reminiscent of Mondays hard work, not Tuesdays lack thereof.

Tracey Myers is CSNChicago.com's Blackhawks Insider. Follow Tracey on Twitter @TramyersCSN for up-to-the-minute Hawks information.

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