If you want to take a naive optimist's view, the Blackhawks penalty kill has been effective through two games in this way ? at least it helped the Hawks who are in the penalty box get out before serving their full punishment.
But that's only because the penalty kill has done anything but, and it has shot to the top of the Hawks' concerns early this season after a 3-2 loss to the Predators at Bridgestone Arena, the Hawks second straight setback to start the season.
The results have been uncharacteristic of the Hawks under coach Joel Quenneville. Through two games, opponents have six goals in 11 tries against the Hawks' penalty kill ? including three Friday ? for an alarming kill rate of 45 percent that will level out over the rest of the season but could be indicative of a larger issue the Hawks need to address in a hurry.
"It was definitely the gaping hole in our game ?" captain Jonathan Toews said. "Even if we do get the penalty kills that we didn't get tonight, it still takes a lot of wind, a lot of energy out of your game. We have to smarten up and find ways to stay out of the box."
The penalty kill also was not the Hawks' only concern after Friday. Winger Ryan Hartman exited the game after blocking a shot from Predators defenseman P.K. Subban in the first period. Hartman did not return with what coach Joel Quenneville said was a lower-body injury and is expected to miss "probably more than a couple of games," though Quenneville said the team would know more about the extent of the injury Saturday.
Shortly after Hartman exited, Subban sent the crowd into a frenzy with his first goal as a Predator when his shot from the point made it through traffic and past Corey Crawford 7 minutes, 46 seconds into the first period for a 1-1 tie. Roman Josi gave the Hawks a feeling of deja vu when he scored on a similar shot from the point at 16:33 to make it make it 2-2.
The Predators were skating circles around the Hawks, who were fortunate to be in the game thanks to goals from unexpected sources. Center Marcus Kruger scored for the first time since Game 2 of the 2015 Western Conference finals 2:39 into the first period and defenseman Niklas Hjalmarsson returned from suspension to rattle home a shot from the left circle that put the Hawks ahead 2-1 at 9:51 before Josi's goal.
To Toews, the penalties the Hawks sustained ? seven minors and two majors for fighting ? were a "mix" of bad calls from officials and bad play.
"You can complain about calls every single night, they're always going to be biased when they go against you," Toews said. "The obvious issue is we have to watch our sticks, we have got to be extra careful."
But the Hawks penalty kill wasn't done hurting them. In the second period, Mike Fisher deflected a Josi shot into the net at 16:36 to give the Predators a 3-2 lead, good enough for the victory even after the Hawks got 13 shots on net in the third.
"It can come down to little things ? whether it's clearing pucks when you get the chance or getting in shooting lanes," defenseman Duncan Keith said of the kill. "It's two games in. We don't want to get down on that, but unfortunately they made us pay the price the last couple of games."
A price the Hawks can't afford to pay the rest of the season.
But that's only because the penalty kill has done anything but, and it has shot to the top of the Hawks' concerns early this season after a 3-2 loss to the Predators at Bridgestone Arena, the Hawks second straight setback to start the season.
The results have been uncharacteristic of the Hawks under coach Joel Quenneville. Through two games, opponents have six goals in 11 tries against the Hawks' penalty kill ? including three Friday ? for an alarming kill rate of 45 percent that will level out over the rest of the season but could be indicative of a larger issue the Hawks need to address in a hurry.
"It was definitely the gaping hole in our game ?" captain Jonathan Toews said. "Even if we do get the penalty kills that we didn't get tonight, it still takes a lot of wind, a lot of energy out of your game. We have to smarten up and find ways to stay out of the box."
The penalty kill also was not the Hawks' only concern after Friday. Winger Ryan Hartman exited the game after blocking a shot from Predators defenseman P.K. Subban in the first period. Hartman did not return with what coach Joel Quenneville said was a lower-body injury and is expected to miss "probably more than a couple of games," though Quenneville said the team would know more about the extent of the injury Saturday.
Shortly after Hartman exited, Subban sent the crowd into a frenzy with his first goal as a Predator when his shot from the point made it through traffic and past Corey Crawford 7 minutes, 46 seconds into the first period for a 1-1 tie. Roman Josi gave the Hawks a feeling of deja vu when he scored on a similar shot from the point at 16:33 to make it make it 2-2.
The Predators were skating circles around the Hawks, who were fortunate to be in the game thanks to goals from unexpected sources. Center Marcus Kruger scored for the first time since Game 2 of the 2015 Western Conference finals 2:39 into the first period and defenseman Niklas Hjalmarsson returned from suspension to rattle home a shot from the left circle that put the Hawks ahead 2-1 at 9:51 before Josi's goal.
To Toews, the penalties the Hawks sustained ? seven minors and two majors for fighting ? were a "mix" of bad calls from officials and bad play.
"You can complain about calls every single night, they're always going to be biased when they go against you," Toews said. "The obvious issue is we have to watch our sticks, we have got to be extra careful."
But the Hawks penalty kill wasn't done hurting them. In the second period, Mike Fisher deflected a Josi shot into the net at 16:36 to give the Predators a 3-2 lead, good enough for the victory even after the Hawks got 13 shots on net in the third.
"It can come down to little things ? whether it's clearing pucks when you get the chance or getting in shooting lanes," defenseman Duncan Keith said of the kill. "It's two games in. We don't want to get down on that, but unfortunately they made us pay the price the last couple of games."
A price the Hawks can't afford to pay the rest of the season.
