PITTSBURGH — Those who live in Pittsburgh would tell you the city didn’t put up much of a fight against the heavy snow that fell a few days prior. Those who are Chicago Blackhawks fans would say the same about their team’s defense against the Penguins on Thursday night.
The last time the Hawks and the Penguins shared the ice, it was a nightmare for the home team Dec. 28 at the United Center. The game was decided during the Penguins’ three-goal first period.
Connor Bedard and Frank Nazar didn’t play in that matchup, but they were back for the Hawks in the rematch at PPG Paints Arena. It didn’t make a difference.
The Penguins score four times in the second period, quickly turning a tie game into a drubbing. The Hawks fell 6-2 for their fourth straight loss and seventh in nine games.
This time, the Hawks struck first, with defenseman Connor Murphy scoring off a Ryan Greene pass at 9:32 of the first period. But Connor Dewar tied the game less than two minutes later, the first of six unanswered Penguins goals.
Ben Kindel, Egor Chinakhov, Anthony Mantha and Ryan Shea led the second-period onslaught, and Dewar scored his second of the night at 13:59 of the third for a 6-1 Penguins lead.
Bedard’s 66th career goal — only his second in 10 games since returning from injury (the other was an empty-netter) — finished the scoring. He passed Eddie Olczyk for the most goals before turning 21 in Hawks history.
While the Penguins (27-14-11) won their fifth straight to continue their unexpected turnaround under first-year coach Dan Muse, the Hawks (21-24-8) are headed in the opposite direction in Jeff Blashill’s first season behind the bench.
“I didn’t think our compete level in the first was even to the level it was the other night, but then in the second, I just thought we didn’t compete hard enough,” Blashill said. “We just lost too many stick battles (and) just ended up defending way, way, way too much.”
The Hawks were outscored 13-5 in the two losses the Penguins, who outshot the Hawks 44-20 on Thursday.
“I think we did play pretty well early on, tried to defend hard against them, they’re really good off the rush and I think we did a good job in the first,” defenseman Matt Grzelcyk said. “They got momentum there in the second about halfway through, and then we just fell off the rails it felt like.”
The Hawks have lost in myriad ways in the last four games: A shootout, a blown lead and a pair of four-goal defeats have them in limbo as they inch closer to the Olympic break.
“I think anytime things go against you in the games and we’re not performing, it’s a character test for each one of us as a team and as an identity for our team to show that we can respond,” Murphy said. “We didn’t respond tonight, period to period, so the test now is respond tomorrow.”
The Hawks have a quick turnaround, playing host to the Columbus Blue Jackets on Friday at the United Center, then have games Monday and Wednesday before three weeks off for the Winter Games. Perhaps the struggling young team needs some time away.
“I think there are a number of individuals who aren’t feeling it right now, so that hurts your team’s confidence because of the individual makeup of your players aren’t as confident,” Blashill said. “We’ve got to get some swagger back, but the only way to get that back is to earn it.
“You can’t feel sorry for yourself. You got to earn that kind of swagger back (and) it starts by earning it individually as a guy and then kind of building it from the team perspective.”
Artyom Levshunov is one of the skaters who needs to find said swagger again. The defenseman found himself out of position all night, and the Levshunov-Wyatt Kaiser pairing was on the ice for five Penguins goals.
“I didn’t think he played good … he’s got to rebound and play better tomorrow night,” Blashill said. “That’s part of the roller coaster that we expected to see from young defensemen.”
Bedard’s milestone goal was but a footnote on an otherwise dreary night for the Hawks.
“I thought he had another night where he was really, really good,” Blashill said. “Good for him to get rewarded at the end, even though it was late in the game.”