The Chicago Blackhawks matched the kind of franchise history Monday night they’d rather not have on their resume.
A 5-0 loss to the Colorado Avalanche at Ball Arena pushed the Hawks’ road winless streak to 22 games, tying the 1950-51 team. If they lose in regulation or overtime Tuesday night against the Arizona Coyotes, they’ll claim the record outright.
After the game, the Hawks holed up in the visiting locker room for longer than usual before opening it to reporters.
Team meeting?
“No, no, just reflecting,” Seth Jones said.
Perhaps they’re thinking about the mark of futility they desperately wanted to avoid but couldn’t.
Before embarking on the three-game trip, Connor Bedard said Sunday, “We don’t think about (the road losing streak) much, but obviously it’s pretty embarrassing.”
The Hawks last won an away game Nov. 9 at Tampa Bay.
“That’s a long time and we want to obviously end that, for sure,” Bedard said.
Perhaps it’s symbolic that the Hawks lost by an identical 5-0 score to the same team two games ago. To the same goalie, in fact. Avs rookie Justus Annunen has two shutouts in his six-game career, and both were against the Hawks.
But that just illustrates it doesn’t matter whether the Hawks are on the road or at home. Those distinctions are arbitrary, the luck of the schedule.
Monday’s setback was their seventh straight loss overall, including gut-wrenching back-to-back overtime losses on Feb. 23 and 25. Starting with a 2-0 loss in Vancouver that opened a four-game western trip in late January, they’re 1-12-3.
This team never was expected to do much, but it’s spiraling right now.
“I don’t know,” Jones said. “I don’t have any answers for you guys. It’s hard.”
The Hawks are playing as individuals.
“We just need to find a way to play together as a team instead of everyone trying to do it themselves,” Jones said. “We’ve got to block shots for each other, backtrack for each other, forecheck for each other, be on time when you’re supposed to be on time. If there’s a faceoff, do your assignment, know your assignment.
“Just the little details of the game that are not there at the moment.”
Anthony Beauvillier agreed.
“Compete level’s there, we just have to work a little bit smarter,” he said. “One guy’s doing the job and the other guy’s watching. We’ve just got to play a little more connected.”
It’s desperation. When the plan doesn’t appear to be working, there’s a temptation to play hero hockey.
Coach Luke Richardson said the players have to exercise patience.
“We can’t go rogue and try to go individual, thinking we’re going to help, because we know that it’s not going to help,” he said.
Then you’re not just losing meaningless games, you’re losing ground on the bigger front: the painstaking path of learning how to win.
If you don’t right that road — and quickly — you risk losing the faith of a young core. Doubting themselves and eventually the team. Indoctrinating them into losing.
Before the trip, rookie defenseman Kevin Korchinski wrestled with the question how all of this losing — 15-42-5 entering Tuesday, the league’s worst record — is affecting his mentality as well as that of his teammates.
“Pretty pissed off, losing so much,” Korchinski told the Tribune. “Nobody wants to lose as much as we have. And, yeah, whether you’re a rookie or a vet — played three, five, 10, 20 years in the league — you don’t want to lose in this league or lose it all. So it’s pretty frustrating.”
