Emma: Blackhawks Baffled By Scoring Struggles
By Chris Emma-
CHICAGO (CBS) -- On a Sunday night in which the Blackhawks honored Marian Hossa for his 1,000 career points, Chicago failed to score even once.
Following a 1-0 home loss to the Winnipeg Jets, the Blackhawks' offensive issues edged closer to becoming an alarming trend than being an outlier. Finding an explanation isn't coming easy.
"It's something we haven't seen before, a lack of production," coach Joel Quenneville said. "But it's contageous across the board. Whether it's a lucky goal or a timely goal, you get what you deserve in this business."
Chelsea Dagger didn't play once at United Center on Sunday, marking the first time since 2006 that the Blackhawks have been shut out two straight games at home. Jets backup goalie Michael Hutchinson completed his first career shutout against a Chicago team known for its offensive firepower.
To the credit of Winnipeg, it had a solid game plan and executed for three periods. Jets coach Paul Maurice wanted his team to clog the middle of its defensive zone, forcing the Blackhawks either into uncomfortable shots or too many passes.
Chicago's offensive success -- like any team with such skill -- relies on time and space. The Jets used sound positioning and physical play to keep the Blackhawks from precise scoring chances.
"If you eliminate (Chicago's space) and you're physical on those guys, they might think twice about stick-handling or making that play," Jets defenseman Zach Bogosian said.
The struggles Chicago saw Sunday continue a frightening funk. The Blackhawks are without a goal in their last 64 shot attempts, dating back to the second period of Saturday's loss to the Maple Lears. On Sunday, they blasted 73 shots in the direction of the net and only 33 were recorded as official shots on goal. Chicago leads the league with 461 shots on goal and sits all the way down at 28th in the NHL with a shooting success rate of 5.9 percent.
The Blackhawks' PDO -- a metric that attempts to quantify luck by adding shooting percentage and save percentage -- sits at 98.90 (with 100 being the average), putting them in the bottom third of the league.
This is a team that was one bounce away from the Stanley Cup Final last June.
"Look at the amount of skill in our room," Blackhawks goaltender Corey Crawford said. "If we work hard, bear down on our chances, we're going to score goals. No doubt about it."
One sequence from Sunday that summarizes the inept offense was a third-period power play in which the Blackhawks failed to cash in. They moved the puck in front of the net, with Jonathan Toews even drilling a shot off the post, but nothing found the net. The familiar goal horn stayed silent.
Much of this is new to the Blackhawks, who rarely ever face scoring struggles.
"It's really easy to get frustrated and get really ticked off right now, but we've got to try and use our experience," Toews said.
For now, the frustrated Blackhawks must go back to the drawing board and devise a way to maximize their talent. Recent opponents like the Jets have managed to keep Chicago uncomfortable in the offensive zone.
It's still early in the season, and Chicago can ensure this drought is an anomaly, nothing more than that. The Blackhawks have a day of rest before returning north of the border to face the Montreal Canadiens. In that time, they can search for a solution.
"When we do get out of it," Toews said, "we'll be a better team because of it."
Follow Chris on Twitter @CEmma670.
