CHICAGO -- Chicago Blackhawks forward Patrick Kane deemed it unacceptable.
Blackhawks coach Joel Quenneville called it his team’s sore spot.
However described, the Blackhawks are embarrassed they lead the league in short-handed goals allowed. They have given up four of them through 16 games. Their penalty kill has only allowed four goals itself this season.
“Not giving them up, that’s plain and simple,” Kane explained of how to improve that area. “It’s unacceptable to give up short-handed goals.”
How each short-handed goal was scored has varied. Here’s a breakdown of each one:
The first of the season came in a 6-2 win over the Buffalo Sabres on Oct. 11. In the offensive zone, Blackhawks forward Andrew Shaw passed Brad Richards the puck by the right boards near the blue line. The Sabres’ Tyler Ennis converged on Richards, and Richards attempted to pass the puck to his left. Ennis got a piece of the puck and it landed on the Sabres’ Drew Stafford’s stick. Ennis had already taken off, and Stafford got him the puck for a breakaway goal.
The second occurred in a 2-1 win over the Ottawa Senators on Oct. 26. The puck was knocked all the way around the boards in the offensive zone. Richards was preparing to stop it near the blue line when an official stepped in front of him and made contact with the puck. The Senators raced after it in the neutral zone and created a 3-on-1 breakaway.
The short-handed goal that really cost the Blackhawks came in a 1-0 loss to the Anaheim Ducks on Oct. 28. Blackhawks forward Bryan Bickell attempted to pass the puck to defenseman Brent Seabrook at the point. The puck was bouncing, and Seabrook crouched to stop it with his hands. He lost his footing, and the puck went off Seabrook and traveled into the neutral zone. Devante Smith-Pelly chased it down and scored on a breakaway.
The final one came in a 3-2 shootout win over the Tampa Bay Lightning on Tuesday. A pass from Kane was deflected and bounced to the Lightning’s Eric Brewer. Brewer and two other teammates began a rush the other way. Richards and Seabrook were getting back for the Blackhawks. Richards saw an opportunity to knock the puck from Brewer at the blue line, but he miscalculated and missed it. Brewer dished the puck to Ondrej Palat, and Palat connected with Cedric Paquette for a goal.
Richards took the blame for what happened against the Lightning. He concurred that the Blackhawks had to clean up those errors. He also couldn’t remember a time when a team of his had such misfortune with short-handed goals.
“The other night I thought I made a read where I thought I could just catch him and poke the puck away,” Richards said. “The puck kind of bounced around and I didn’t have anybody behind me. That’s a read by me.
“A couple of them are nothing. The first one I remember at the start of the year it kind of stuck on the boards at my feet. Sometimes it just happens. But obviously you don’t want it to happen. ... I don’t know if I’ve ever played in a year in 15 games where there’s been four short-handed goals. For whatever reason, that’s the way it is. You got to take care of it for sure.”
Quenneville felt lucky to get away with the one on Tuesday.
“Sore spot,” said Quenneville, whose team allowed five short-handed goals all of last season. “A lot of nights you give up short-handed goals, you don’t win games. We’re fortunate [Tuesday] to win it, especially early in the game where we’re doing everything right and you lose a lot of momentum on those situations. We got to make sure we can’t give up shorties that easy.”
Quenneville thought the issue was more mental than physical for his team. He said the Blackhawks needed more awareness.
“I just think it’s a recognition of knowing that, hey, sometimes you have a forward at the point,” Quenneville said. “Collectively as a group, let’s be responsible when the pucks are turned over that maybe give him a little bit more support on the backside-pressure-type of situations. Those rush goals against on the short-handers are tough. Maybe it’s not just the guy back there, it’s an awareness of the whole group.”
