The Chicago Blackhawks ended a five-game losing streak on Friday with a memorable multi-goal comeback win in overtime against the Toronto Maple Leafs, which featured a Jason Dickinson hat trick and Kevin Korchinski scoring the winner. It was the kind of victory that could have served as a springboard of some sort.
Well, the Blackhawks followed that up with a lackluster start against a middle-of-the-pack St. Louis Blues team, which scored three goals in the first period, including two in the first five and a half minutes. The Blackhawks lost 4-2, and the players seemed to have another meeting after the game to address the inexcusable start.
"Disappointing," Nick Foligno, who's essentially the Blackhawks' de-facto captain, said after the game. "I didn't like our start. We talked about this, it's building winning habits in here, and understanding what those are. I understand in the sports world, a lot of cliches get thrown around, like, words, buzzwords, but there is a definition behind a lot of them and commitment behind it, and that's what we have to learn here.
Stay in the game with the latest updates on your beloved Chicago sports teams! Sign up here for our All Access Daily newsletter.
"It's just how to do it over and over again, and we talk about it. Sometimes it's not fun or exciting, but it's how you win in this league. And tonight, we gave them those goals in a lot of ways, right? We're not over checks, we're not reloading and then boom, boom, boom, they’re in the back of the neck.
"And then we push back and we get our game going, we get a goal, but then we just don't sustain it. It's a disappointing one, because we felt like we were understanding of how we had success against Toronto, and now we’re right back in the loss column."
The Blackhawks are the only team in the NHL this season that hasn't won consecutive games yet. They're back to square one.
"It's just not good enough," said Ryan Donato, who scored a goal in the loss. "Obviously we hold ourselves to a pretty high standard and you should in this organization. It's tough the way everything happened tonight; we've just got to make sure we show up every night.
Chicago Blackhawks
"The difference can't be us not showing up. Sometimes you're going to play some good teams and they're just going to beat you, right? But if you're not showing up every single night, then that's a problem. Hopefully we can figure it out and learn from it."
Blackhawks head coach Luke Richardson seemed to pinpoint at least part of the problem. Maybe even the biggest one.
"We really have to get an identity as a team," Richardson said. "I think we had it early in the season and I think now we’re fluctuating on and off of it nightly and it’s something that probably is going to be the first thing that we address Tuesday morning before the game, that we have to get back onto a work-habit train where we’re just going. There are going to be nights where it doesn’t work, but we give ourselves a chance by doing that."
When asked to clarify what kind of identity he wants his team to have, Richardson replied: "A relentless work habit."
"I thought we created that last year," he continued. "We’re tracking hard, we’re on top of them hard. I think we were loose tonight, we weren’t as physical; that doesn’t mean going out and running someone over or through the boards or fighting or anything like that, it means just playing hard. And we need to get back to that.
"I think we’re kind of watching the game, hoping it’s going to go our way. I think you have to make it go your way and that’s what we did a lot last year and at times, we’ve done that this year. But 'at times' in the NHL doesn’t work. You have to do it all the time."
Some of the inconsistencies come from the fact the Blackhawks are a young team. They're going through growing pains, and it's part of the learning curve.
Foligno acknowledged that "they've never been pushed like this before." At the same time, he admitted: "Some of it is on the veteran guys that are here too and maybe trying to do too much, which then causes a lot of problems too. It’s a give and take. You can’t just blame it on the young guys."
The Blackhawks are still closer to the beginning stages of the rebuild than they are to being Stanley Cup contenders. There's no denying that, and it's important to have that perspective.
From the outside looking in, it's not like the Blackhawks are underperforming. Where they're at in the standings is where most thought they would be, and they will probably hover near the bottom all season long.
Foligno, no question, understands that. He knows what he signed up for. But as a veteran and former captain in this league, he also knows it's on him and the leadership group to establish the culture inside the locker room, and by continuing to hold himself and everyone else to a high standard, Foligno is doing just that.
"What we’re doing here, and we’ve talked about this, is we’re trying to build to become the Chicago Blackhawks again," Foligno said. "The team that every time they step on the ice you know what you’re going to get and you know it’s going to be a hard night. That’s what we’re trying to get out of our game, is some of those habits that have maybe crept in, and we’re working toward that.
"I get that we’re young. No one is giving up here. It’s just that at some point you've got to take it on yourself, too. There is a pride in each individual player. That’s the bare minimum, as far as I’m concerned. There’s so much more layers on top of just to compete in the NHL, but that’s the bare minimum we have to understand as a group here. And then a lot of your winning habits come from that.
"Your hair should be on fire this whole year because you can be a big part of building this and being a part of the future of this. There is no excuse for that. And that’s what we have to get out of our game and make sure that every time we step on the ice, find your motivation, what it might be. I can think of 10 already and I’m a 36-year-old guy. That should go through every guy in this room."