Coyotes defeat Blackhawks 3-1 - Blackhawks Confidential

The powerplay struggles continued for the Chicago Blackhawks as they lost to the Phoenix Coyotes 3-1 Thursday night. The Hawks were held scoreless on all six chances with the man advantage and the unit appeared lifeless in all but one of their powerplay opportunites.

In order to win road games in the NHL, the powerplay must be successful. Tonight's matchup was the first of the Blackhawks eight road games in the month of November. The special teams unit better find the right switch to click or it's gonna be a long month in the dark.

Cristobal Huet performed much like the rest of his mates after five days in between games - a little rusty. The Frenchman's play improved as the game wore on, but he'd sure like to have the first goal allowed back. The Coyotes' Martin Hanzal wristed a shot between Huet's legs from the top of the left circle to give Phoenix an early lead at 2:54 of the first period. Huet was out of position and didn't get down quick enough to make the save.

Seconds after the Hawks first failed powerplay ended, the Coyotes capitalized off a turnover from the Blackhawks defensive pairing of Brian Campbell and Cam Barker as Peter Mueller backhanded a rebound past Huet to give the home team a 2-0 lead at 11:55 of the first period. Campbell had possession of the puck before sending a pass behind the Hawks' net towards Barker. The pass never connected and the puck was behind Huet in a matter of moments.

I've attempted to remain a supporter of the Blackhawks' $7 million defenseman, but my confidence in Campbell is eroding. The offensive minded speedster is without a point in the last eight games and is a minus-6 over that span. He remained a spectator in front of the Hawks' goal as Scottie Upshall finished a Coyote's odd-man rush with a wrist shot past Huet's glove for a 3-0 Phoenix lead at 10:38 of the second period.

Campbell has been weak defensively and he cannot be without blame for the Hawks' sputterring powerplay. Coach Joel Quenneville recognized as much yanking his struggling quarterback off of the Blackhawks' first powerplay unit midway through the game. The combination of Patrick Kane, Thomas Kopecky, Kris Versteeg, Duncan Keith and Brent Seabrook generated the Hawks' best scoring chances with the man advantage. Yet, they continued to be stymied by Coyotes goaltender Ilya Bryzgalov.

Bryzgalov once again showed that he is one of the better goaltenders in the NHL stopping all but one of the Blackhawks 32 shots. However, a Bryzgalov save was not needed during the Blackhawks two best scoring opportunites of the night. Three minutes into the second period, both Patrick Sharp and Kane had breakaway's 20 seconds apart. Neither sharpshooter hit the net as they each shot high and over the crossbar. The Blackhawks fate seemed sealed after those missed chances.

The lone Blackhawks tally did come with the man advantage. Only it was the Coyotes with the advantage. Kris Versteeg solved the Bryzgalov riddle with a shot that deflected off a Phoenix defenseman for a shorthanded goal at 13:56 of the second period. Both Campbell and Kane were part of the penalty kill that generated the Blackhawks only offense of the night. Give Quenneville points for his courage as the coach would have had to apologize to Huet if the gamble backfired.

The Hawks were at their best tonight when they played desperate. The difference was that the Coyotes played like they were desperate for two points right from the opening faceoff. It will get cliche soon enough, but the Hawks are a targeted team. A victory over the Blackhawks is a big notch in the tattered belt of the dwindling Phoenix franchise. Whether or not the five-day break was a cause, the majority of Blackhawks players lacked intensity for the entirety of the contest.

Kopecky was one of the Blackhawks whose play stood out. I've been critical of the former Red Wing in previous games, however his effort and positioning was excellent tonight. Don't look now, but Kopecky may begin to steal ice time from Dustin Byfuglien. Unlike Buff, Kopecky was a constant wall in front of Bryzgalov as he made the Phoenix goalie stop a few deflections off of Blackhawks shots. Quenneville rewarded Kopecky's effort with first team powerplay duties and the center position on Kane's line.

The Hawks, and their dads, now fly off to Denver for Friday night's matchup with the upstart Avalanche. Unfortunately, another hot goalie awaits the Hawks' struggling offense. While I don't expect Jonathan Toews to lace up his skates, I do think Quenneville will give Antii Niemi the nod in goal. Here's hoping Niemi doesn't have to pitch a shutout for the Hawks to scratch out a point versus the team at the top of the Western Conference standings.