The Blackhawks are sinking fast in the standings right now. The Western Conference’s longtime juggernaut is last in the Central Division, seven points behind the Avalanche for the final wild card spot, and without starting goalie Corey Crawford for the foreseeable future.
A year after earning the No. 1 seed for the playoffs, the Blackhawks look increasingly likely to find themselves in the lottery. And with the way their roster is constructed, there’s little that can be done right now in terms of making significant changes other than potentially firing Joel Quenneville, which seems like a long shot.
So what are the Blackhawks to do in order to try to save their season? Well, here’s their go-to answer.
Joel Quenneville: "We’re in the winning business. Don’t feel sorry for yourself. Need to be better."
— Mark Lazerus (@MarkLazerus) January 23, 2018
Duncan Keith on the power play: "We gotta find a way. We've gotta keep working at it and be better, myself included and myself especially." #Blackhawks pic.twitter.com/VQi5QtPMtE
— Eric Lear (@BHTVeric) January 23, 2018
Asked Toews about his minor penalties recently: "Obviously it's something that whether it's stick penalties or things like that, got to be better positionally to make sure not to put myself in positions to put my team down a man."
— Scott Powers (@ByScottPowers) January 21, 2018
Brent Seabrook is indeed a healthy scratch tonight. He said Q didn't offer specifics why. "I've just got to be better," he told me.
— Mark Lazerus (@MarkLazerus) January 9, 2018
Anton Forsberg gets a chance to reclaim his net from Jeff Glass on Sunday. "If he’s playing well, I’ve got to play better. It’s as simple as that.” Story: https://t.co/NJihV6RHuw pic.twitter.com/wcwX641hGF
— Mark Lazerus (@MarkLazerus) January 6, 2018
Anton Forsberg: "I've got to play way better than that and inspire with more good saves to get the offense going, too."
— Mark Lazerus (@MarkLazerus) December 29, 2017
Seabrook on the Blackhawks' streakiness: "We gotta be better at that. We gotta start stringing some wins together, and if we’re going to lose, we can’t be pushing into 2-3-4-5 game losing streaks."
— Mark Lazerus (@MarkLazerus) December 29, 2017
Joel Quenneville on the power play: "Better. But we still want the finished product."
— Chris Hine (@ChristopherHine) December 18, 2017
Q: "You look at our road record, you could say it’s OK. But we’ve got to have a better home record to be where we want to be in the end."
— Mark Lazerus (@MarkLazerus) December 11, 2017
Duncan Keith: "I know I can be better and I have to be better. It’s not good enough."
— Mark Lazerus (@MarkLazerus) December 7, 2017
Duncan Keith: "Everybody can see the standings, what they are, and we want to be better than what we have been right now. Obviously it’s not been good enough and we need to be better."
— Mark Lazerus (@MarkLazerus) December 7, 2017
Jonathan Toews on the power play: "It’s gotta be better than that. It’s gotta make the difference in some of these tight games for us."
— Mark Lazerus (@MarkLazerus) December 4, 2017
Quenneville on Panik: "Whether him or the line needs to be better. I think him particularly, he needs to be physical. I thought he was ok tonight. When you're not scoring, you got to bring an element to your game that complements your team game."
— Scott Powers (@ByScottPowers) December 1, 2017
Asked DeBrincat if he feels validated by this start after so many doubted him: "I feel good, but I feel like I can do better. Never be satisfied with where I’m at and always try to improve."
— Mark Lazerus (@MarkLazerus) November 28, 2017
Move over, “One Goal,” the Blackhawks have a new motto this season.