Couldn't we just call this one a tie?  While neither team deserved to lose, did either club deserve to win?  The Phoenix Coyotes will certainly disagree as they celebrate a sixth straight victory with a 2-1 shootout defeat of the Chicago Blackhawks.  The Hawks have now lost three straight games for the first time this season.

This game aroused more questions than answers.

First, how the hell is Adrian Aucoin your third shootout skater?  And, better yet, how does Cristobal Huet allow the former Blackhawks captian to score the deciding goal?  Some things are better left unanswered.

Speaking of Huet, is it just me or does the Hawks goalie appear uncomfortable in the crease even when he's having a good game?  He played aggressive from the start and made some very nice stops among his 22 saves.

Still, didn't you think Huet should have stopped Radim Vrbata's wrist shot powerplay goal to knot the score 1-1 at 16:42 of the second period?  Am I being too hard on the guy?  (No need to answer the latter.)

Make sure you get to the United Center Friday night to see the hottest team in hockey.

Those Phoenix Coyotes are really something, aren't they?

The Yotes have won five straight games, a streak that started with a thrilling 5-4 overtime win 5-4 in Detroit. Since shedding that albatross in Gretzky and being scared out of their lethargy by threats they might end up living in Hamilton, Ontario, the Yotes have become great ones themselves.

The Blackhawks? Yesterday's news. Losers of two straight, and from the looks of things in Wednesday night's 3-2 loss to St. Louis, the UC concession stands Friday will feature the latest marketing tie-ins from the club: apple turnovers, blueberry turnovers and shitty turnovers. Take your pick.

I forgot how we can get grumpy once a couple losses start to make our underwear itch. That so seldom happens in Chicago, where the daily forecast is winning with a chance of whining about Huet.

I wonder if Blackhawks defenseman Cam Barker has thought to check up on himself in the mirror lately.

Jersey seem too big? Does his image appear smaller? Has his stick become the size of a toothpick? Could his skates be donated to Toys for Tots?

Yep, just as I suspected. Barker has become the Incredible Shrinking Man. I saw the same thing happen in 1957 when Scott Carey was the protagonist in the film that played on our cold-war fear of nuclear holocaust, although as a loyal Three Stooges fan I enjoyed some good-humored violence and a stray ICBM strike to the chops now and then.

A little fear is healthy. Otherwise, there would have been no possible reason to keep us practicing hiding under our desks for that day at St. Mary's when Uncle Joe sent Uncle Sam the red-hot payload and we found after hours of prayer to our Father our kingdoms had come and gone in that mother of all battles.

Let's get back to the film, mousketeers. One minute Scott Carey is boating along in sunny Cal minding his own business and relaxing, waiting for the missus to mix some drinks, and then before you can say "keep your shirt on, Kaner," Scott is contaminated by radioactive pesticides from a passing cloud and shrinking fast.

Sound at all familiar, Cam? It could have been the sushi in Columbus to start the 8-game trip. Because while you were gone, you managed 1 point on an assist, a plus-1 in four of these games and a minus-3 for Vancouver that almost wiped you out, and left you creeping closer to zero hour.

For whom does the bell toll? It tolls for thee, Mr. Barker. Your hour of accountability is at hand with the team returning home for Wednesday night's game against St. Louis. Time to quit making the donut holes on your scoresheet.

With Dave Bolland's return to the lineup a possibility on Wednesday night when the Chicago Blackhawks return to the United Center to face the St. Louis Blues, it's decision time for either Joel Quenneville or Stan Bowman.  If the general manager is unable to move a player, then the head coach has to determine who sits when his second line center returns to the ice after recovering from back surgery earlier this season.

The top six forwards will remain fairly consistent as I project Patrick Kane will stay by Jonathan Toews side and Bolland will center the second line with Marian Hossa on his right flank.  I'd prefer Troy Brouwer stay with Toews and Kane, but you could argue that Patrick Sharp should skate on the left side of that duo.  Either way, the top two lines appear set with Sharp and Brouwer as interchangeable parts.

The plot thickens when considering the possibilities of the third and fourth lines.  However, I argue that the fourth line should remain unchanged at this time.  While Tomas Kopecky may be the weak link on the roster, he's most likely keeping Adam Burish's spot warm when the former Badger returns after the Olympics.  Plus, not everyone can fill the role and responsibilites of a fourth line player.

Some have already suggested that either Kris Versteeg or Dustin Byfuglien will slide down to the 8 to 10 minute a night role.  Really?  While Big Buff may meet the size requirements, I'm afraid all the positive strides he's made while playing with John Madden on the third line would be lost on his first shift with the energy crew.  And Versteeg on the fourth line?  Please.  You must be joking.

Every so often you have to eat a shit sandwich.

How that's for  a cogent analysis of a 4-2 loss to Carolina Saturday night?

It was a great 8-game trip, all in all. But I will leave it to our loyal analysts to tell me how they viewed it.

As for me, I need a few more martinis to wash out the bad taste of this game. Shit happens. It doesn't ruin what was an impressive journey if you take the long perspective.

But I'm going to wimp out and leave it to others to explain the big picture. Because the small picture sucks right now.

Jump right in and help me out. I'm seldom at a loss for words. But I have to go to church Sunday and all the words I can think of won't help me have a peaceful interlude with the Lord.

So I turn over the rough stuff to you. In fact, I might enter a monastery if every Blackhawks' game was like this.

Come on home, boys, and we'll make it right. Peace be with you.

Here's my favorite stat from Thursday night's immensely satisfying performance against San Jose: Patrick Marleau, 0 shots from 23 minutes, 27 seconds on the ice.

Instead of Marley's Ghost issuing his dire warning to Scrooge, it was those puck-pinching Blackhawks who warned the ghost of Marleau's goal-scoring past that he better think again before believing he and San Jose can really be considered Western Conference favorites as long as Chicago is around to chill their offense.

As often as the Sharks swarmed and threatened to overpower the Blackhawks, how does this happen? How does a top gun become a no-show on that scoresheet in a classic game in which these rattled Sharks fired plenty of ammunition at Cristobal Huet and didn't lose 4-3 for lack of trying and pounding and beseiging the net.

Let me embellish. That would be NHL goal-scoring leader Marleau, who couldn't add to his magnificent 35 goals this year and had managed a barrage of 189 shots in his previous 53 games for one of the top shooting percentages around. Marleau had an assist to avoid being totally shut down, but so what?