Instead of rebounding, Hawks plummet

It was a game Stan Bowman hoped would showcase his team's ability to respond to one of its most embarrassing losses of the season.

What the Blackhawks general manager watched was another lackluster performance as the Hawks' struggles hit a new low in a 3-1 loss to the Calgary Flames on Friday at the Scotiabank Saddledome.

"I certainly believe in our guys," Bowman said about his team's ability to bounce back from an 8-4 loss Thursday to the Edmonton Oilers. "They've responded in the past and tonight's a good opportunity to show (that ability)."

But for the second consecutive game, the Blackhawks were tied after the end of the first period.

"We played solid early on, we stuck to the little things that we wanted to do and we wanted shorter shifts and we wanted smarter changes, be more physical, (and kept) our feet moving," captain Jonathan Toews said. "I'd have to say it slowly deteriorated and those bad habbits slowly crept in our game."

Despite a number of increasingly alarming defensive performances, Bowman told reporters before the game he hasn't found any sellers in the trade market and wasn't expecting a trade anytime soon.

In the meantime, the Blackhawks GM echoed coach Joel Quenneville's call from a day earlier for the team's current roster to rededicate itself to a check-first mentality.

"If you watch our team we certainly get excited to score goals," Bowman said. "We need them to be equally excited to keep the puck out of the net. We've shown we've been able to do it before in spurts -- we haven't been able to do it consistently, that's the challenge."

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