Hawks lose

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Hawks lose [link widoczny dla zalogowanych] and intensity
It took awhile for the Blackhawks to track down St. Louis Blues winger Matt D’Agostini for his hit that injured Hawks captain [link widoczny dla zalogowanych] on Tuesday night.
Retribution didn’t seem to happen until Troy Brouwer leveled D’Agostini 53 seconds into the third period. Even then, Brouwer was called for elbowing.
Still, where was the immediate response from the Hawks when [link widoczny dla zalogowanych] was sent tumbling into the boards, got up clutching his right shoulder and slowly made his way to the bench with roughly seven minutes left in the first period?
Though the injury could have been worse, [link widoczny dla zalogowanych] is out two weeks — six or seven games — at a time when the Hawks are stuck in the middle of the Western Conference playoff pack and need as many points as possible.
‘‘Whether it was that play, we should have sent a better message throughout the game,’’ coach Joel Quenneville said. ‘‘That was probably the thing that was disappointing, whether it was that incident or the entire game. There wasn’t the competitive level that we need as a team to be successful. You can look at that incident or you can look at several others that were disappointing.’’
Overall, Quenneville said he was disgusted with how the Hawks played against the Blues. The lack of intensity raises questions about their physical play. But Quenneville said he was ‘‘absolutely’’ content with what his team can do.
‘‘You look at our team [and] you look at our makeup,’’ he said. ‘‘Obviously, there’s more skill there, but the necessary ingredients of being hard, playing hard and coming up with loose pucks [are] the best measuring stick for hockey players. When we’re committed to doing that, we’re fine.’’
Life begins without [link widoczny dla zalogowanych] tonight against the San Jose Sharks, and the Hawks will have to be every bit as tough as when they won three in a row without Marian Hossa and Patrick Kane. While injuries to Hossa, Kane, Brian Campbell, Dave Bolland and Fernando Pisani have hampered the Hawks’ chemistry and success, they have managed to stay afloat.
‘‘Your job is to go out and perform and keep rolling no matter who’s with you or who’s not with you,’’ Campbell said. ‘‘Good teams win with whatever happens. You find different ways to win as you need to.’’
The loss of [link widoczny dla zalogowanych], though,[link widoczny dla zalogowanych], is the biggest hurdle for a lot of reasons. He has been their best all-around player with 15 goals, 33 points and a plus-7 in 38 games. He’s one of the NHL’s best in the faceoff circle and a standout on both special teams.
Patrick Sharp, Tomas Kopecky and Dave Bolland figure to see time centering the top two lines. The addition of Ryan Johnson, whom general manager Stan Bowman brought in to address depth concerns in the middle, also gives the Hawks some options.
But don’t forget [link widoczny dla zalogowanych]’ off-ice intangibles. He wears the ‘‘C’’ for a reason.
‘‘We don’t need to say he needs to be [link widoczny dla zalogowanych], whoever is going to get that role,’’ Quenneville said. ‘‘As a group, we just share that responsibility and everybody chips in. We should be OK.’’