Players stand behind Quenneville
The Blackhawks may be doubting themselves right now. That's expected after enduring a rapid tailspin down the standings after being atop the league a few weeks ago.
But they don't doubt coach Joel Quenneville, who has endured plenty of criticism for the Hawks' nine-game losing streak. While the blame should be shared amongst the management, coaches and players, it's been Quenneville who's endured the brunt of it. The question was even raised whether Quenneville should be fired for what's transpired this season for the Hawks.
All the Hawks stars stand by him. And so does general manager Stan Bowman.
"I don't think anyone in here questions his job or what he's doing," forward Patrick Kane told reporters. "He's had a lot of success as a coach in the NHL, won a Stanley Cup with him a couple years ago."
The Hawks had one of their best overall games of their road trip Tuesday against the Predators at Bridgestone Arena, but nothing is enough these days. Nothing is going the Hawks' way at all. The Predators won 3-2 when defenseman Ryan Ellis scored with 5:42 remaining on a long shot that tipped off defenseman Duncan Keith's stick.
Marian Hossa and Bryan Bickell scored for the Hawks, who received a solid performance from Ray Emery in goal. Predators goalie Pekka Rinne, though, was very tough to break through. Rinne made 30 saves for the Predators, while allowing goals to Hossa and Bickell on shots he typically prevents. Defenseman Ryan Suter and forward Nick Spaling also scored for the Predators, who took leads of 1-0 and 2-1.
"We had some good things out of that game, but it's not good enough," Bickell said.
As a result, more heat may be directed Quenneville's way. He admitted that he looked past Chicago's defensive deficiencies early on in the season because its stars were on fire and rolling the Hawks past teams. Now, with their stars slumping, their bad defensive play is glaring.
For Quenneville, the biggest hurdles have been getting all his players committed to playing defense and understanding their assignments while keeping things positive during his toughest stretch behind the Hawks bench in his four years there.
"We only can control what we can control and that's to try to win tomorrow's game and try to be positive and try to instill some confidence, and try to look on the bright side of things," said Quenneville, whose team faces the East-leading New York Rangers on Thursday. "Up to Game 48, we did a real good job. Let's try to recapture some of that feeling."
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