Blackhawks Locker Room Chatter: ‘The Execution Has To Be Now’

The Chicago Blackhawks lost yet another preseason game. While no points are on the line with each preseason matchup, the Blackhawks have something arguably more important to worry about – confidence.

Following the 6-1 loss to the Wild on Friday, Blackhawks alternate captain Seth Jones was frustrated with his team’s performance.

“It’s just been an embarrassing couple games,” Jones said. “We play our full lineup, Minny plays their full lineup really the past two games, and we’ve laid stinkers. That’s something we need to go back to the drawing board and understand how we need to play for 60 minutes, not just 10 minutes here and take 15 minutes off and now it’s 4-1 or 5-1. We need to find a way to be consistent.”

The Blackhawks gave up goals in bunches to the Wild. In the first, Minnesota scored two in four seconds. To open the third period, Chicago gave up two within the first two minutes.

“When one thing goes wrong it kind of leaks into the rest of our game,” Jones said. “We can’t seem to stop the bleeding.”

Blackhawks forward Ryan Donato finished the night with four shots on goal, playing 14:40 minutes against the Wild. Donato played alongside Pat Maroon and Craig Smith. The Donato line did generate some chances in the third, with Maroon getting the crowd into it with some late hits.

“It’s not ideal,” Donato said. “You’d rather have it be us 6-1 up and being confident. But if there’s anything you can take out of it, obviously you can see things in the game we need to work on.”

Preseason hockey is usually the time to get ready for the regular season. For the Blackhawks, the preseason has been a learning curve in what not to do.

“It’s an exhibition game, so when the season comes, we know we can’t let that happen,” Donato said.  It’s not good enough tonight at the same time, but there’s areas we can key in on now. I don’t know which areas specifically — I’m sure the coaches will have it for us. It’s tough, but hopefully we can learn from it.

A lot of players on the Blackhawks are on a new roster with a new team. While this might be game five of the preseason, this is one of the first games for some veterans playing alongside each other.

“I think chemistry takes time, but I think the best players find a way to make other guys better right a way,” Donato said. “Obviously there are going to be some hiccups just learning each others habits and that kind of stuff but that is what the exhibition games are for so when the regular season comes hopefully we are clicking.”

Luke Richardson echoed Jones’s comments of the Hawks not being able to ‘stop the bleeding.’

“I think its the way we are losing,” Richardson said. “When things go south it just goes way downhill and I think we have to stop that whether there is a goal against or a goal for. I think the reaction has to be a lot better by our own team. We can’t score a goal and then breath light [thinking] okay, we’re gonna come back in this game. Then we get sloppy and take penalties and then they score on the power play and we lost all momentum, so now we have to work twice as hard to get it back.”

The Blackhawks have one more game left this preseason. A matchup in Milwaukee tomorrow against the St. Louis Blues. Keep an eye on how the Blackhawks answer to yet another loss.

“It’s gotta be now,” Richardson said. “The execution has to be now. We have one exhibition game tomorrow night but after that we are right on.