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The Blackhawks put 54 shots on an opposing netminder last night. None went in. So they lost at home to a team they should have beaten—on paper.

But hockey is played on ice. And too many of those 54 shots were unobstructed and went right into the catcher or the pads of Colorado goalie Semyon Varlamov. Don't get me wrong, some of those 54 saves were of the "big" variety.

Again hockey is played on ice, and therefore there are no concrete excuses for a disappointing loss like this, or for an extended period now of less than optimal play by the Hawks.

Colorado seemed to own the front of the net at both ends of the ice last night. If you need metrics, they blocked 21 shots, the Hawks 12. They scored twice; the Hawks didn't.

It's hard to blame Corey Crawford, yet he does seem to be struggling early on in games. Neither Avalanche goal was unstoppable. But both started with defensive breakdowns that Crawford had nothing to do with. Regardless, you should be able to win when giving up only two goals on home ice.

You also have to tip your cap to Varlamov and the Avs, who apparently didn't get the memo that said they were supposed to roll over and die.

So the Hawks go to Minnesota tomorrow night to try to figure it out. Joel Quenneville had the Line Juggler 5000 turned to 11 last night, and it's likely there will be more of a shuffle in practice leading up to the Wild game.

On the Teuvo Watch, meh, ok, he's occasionally showing us what we already knew—that he can recognize and pass. To my eye, he still looks like a (clearly talented) boy who's a little uncomfortable playing in the company of men.

Like all of the above, that could change. Or TT can go back to Rockford and get his North American pro hockey feet underneath him a bit more.

I'll have a Wild preview tomorrow.


JJ

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