Maybe it was that John McDonough.
Along with his marketing wizardry, maybe McDonough brought along the Cubs’ spirit-crushing penchant for breaking hearts when he moved his office from Wrigley Field to the United Center and transferred his team president’s nameplate from the Cubs to the Blackhawks two and a half years ago.
Over that time the Hawks emerged as the best bet to deliver a championship to a title-starved city that has witnessed just one victory celebration — for the White Sox in 2005 — since the Bulls last won in 1998. Chicago embraced the resurgent Hawks, saluting their on-ice talent and organizational savvy.
But for the last three weeks, the Hawks have resembled the ’69 Cubs, as ill-timed slip-ups have led to blown leads, lost games and contagious self-doubt. Chicago groaned. Here we go again.
Coach Joel Quenneville has an unerring sense of his team’s state of mind. He knows that a rough patch is inevitable over the course of an 82-game season, but he didn’t want the Hawks feeling sorry for themselves, not when injuries and spotty goaltending were more real concerns.
So with the Phoenix Coyotes coming to town earlier in the week, with a nine-game winning streak and gunning for first place in the Western Conference, Quenneville challenged the Hawks. He put them through a rigorous practice on Monday, a rarity for a tired team coming off a West Coast trip. Then he declared Tuesday’s Phoenix game the most important one of the year.
Before a roaring but restless full house, goalie Antti Niemi pitched a brilliant shutout and Patrick Kane and Marian Hossa fulfilled their big-players-in-big-games duties by scoring goals in an order-restoring 2-0 victory.
“A goalie’s win,” Quenneville said. “The first game back from a trip is always tricky, a tough one, but Niemi was great. He kept us in it, and we made the defensive commitment against a team that’s on an unbelievable roll.”
Jonathan Toews, the baby-faced “Captain Serious,” said the Hawks got Quenneville’s message and responded as they would need to in their final 10 games leading to the playoffs.
“We finally put three solid periods together,” Toews said. “I wouldn’t say we were in a slump, but things weren’t bouncing our way, and that’s when you’ve got to grind it out and find a way to win. I don’t know if it was a statement game, but it sure didn’t feel like, you know, the 14th game of the season. It was pretty intense out there.”
And it was refreshingly free of rough stuff, save for Brent Seabrook’s leveling of Marvin Fiddler after the Phoenix winger persisted in trying to pry a smothered puck loose from Niemi. For one night, at least, the Hawks heard no grousing that their reliance on speed and skill over muscle leaves them susceptible to being pushed around.
Recent evidence: the two-time most valuable player Alex Ovechkin’s bone-breaking, illegal hit on Brian Campbell in a Washington game on March 14, and the rugged ex-Hawk James Wisniewski’s head-high run at Seabrook in Anaheim last week, resulting in a concussion for Seabrook and an eight-game suspension for Wisniewski. The Hawks squandered leads and lost both games.
Their playing style is a sign of the times. A league-wide emphasis on skating and finesse over intimidation has pretty much sent the goons to the bone pile. Each club, though, carries at least one enforcer-type who’s willing to drop the gloves when the mood of a game turns surly or when a Kane-level skill player is harassed. Quenneville believes the Hawks can take care of themselves with Ben Eager, Adam Burish and Colin Fraser on call.
But he prefers a judicious approach to retaliation. Duncan Keith meant well when he engaged Wisniewski in immediate response to his cheap-shot run at Seabrook, but the resulting penalty deprived the Hawks of a power-play opportunity.
Troy Brouwer’s thumping of Anton Stralman after the mammoth defenseman crumpled Kane with an open-ice, knee-to-knee hit in Columbus last month was more to Quenneville’s liking. Brouwer drew 19 penalty minutes for infractions, but Quenneville rewarded his moxie by giving him the No. 4 spot in the shootout that followed a 4-4 overtime standoff. Brouwer responded with the goal that sent the Hawks into the Olympic break on a four-game winning streak.
That seems like a while ago — the Hawks are 5-4-2 in the 11 games since play resumed. They’ve looked tired. But there’s no reason to panic.
The Hawks have the firepower to score with anyone. Their much-maligned goaltending is not as shaky as occasional defensive lapses have made it look. Niemi has six shutouts in 28 starts, and Cristobal Huet’s 2.40 goals-against average isn’t disgraceful. They miss Cam Barker on defense more than they probably thought they would, because his replacement, Kim Johnsson, has been nicked up since he arrived from Minnesota.
But Johnsson was acquired for his post-season savvy, which will complement other Hawks attributes: young legs, offensive depth, playoff experience and a mustachioed man behind the bench who knows exactly what he’s doing.
Chicago can count on the United Center’s being busy into June.