The Blackhawks had been a surprisingly competitive team. Are they still a surprisingly competitive team?
That question suddenly is worth asking after a disastrous weekend in which the Hawks lost to the Kings and Ducks by a combined 13-1 score, their worst performance in consecutive games since 1951.
The game Sunday against the Ducks was especially horrific, as the Hawks suffered the largest deficit in scoring chances (50-11) of any team in an NHL game this season. It was a pummeling of an unprecedented nature. The sizable turnout of Hawks fans in Anaheim deserved to have their tickets refunded.
Had the Hawks gotten too comfortable? Was their previous success a mirage? Did they spend too much time on the beach in Santa Monica? Are they physically prepared to grind through a back-to-back set?
Those types of questions suddenly are worth asking, too, even though they won’t unearth anything conclusive yet.
‘‘If I had an answer, we wouldn’t play that way,’’ forward Andre Burakovsky said Sunday. ‘‘[Is it our] mentality? I don’t know. It’s obviously not good enough, these last two [games]. We’ve got a lot of work to do, and we’ve got to correct some things and just overall be better.’’
Added head coach Jeff Blashill: ‘‘When you get your butt kicked on the scoreboard two nights in a row like that — and [Sunday] was a total whupping — your confidence slips. But this is a big-boy league, man. You’ve got to have mental toughness.’’
The Hawks find themselves at an inflection point of their season almost exactly one-third of the way through it.
They indicated awareness of that Monday with an eye-opening move: They sent struggling rookie defenseman Sam Rinzel and depth forward Landon Slaggert down to Rockford for a confidence reset in the AHL.
The Hawks have been outscored 42-22 in going 2-6-2 in their last 10 games, falling out of a playoff spot at 12-11-6 overall. They generally have looked a lot more like they were supposed to — like they did the last few seasons — than they did during the first month of the season, albeit with some exceptions. The first two games of the West Coast road trip were solid.
Was the weekend form of the 2025-26 Hawks their true form?
Will this skid continue until it becomes normal, pushing the Hawks back to the basement of the standings — where every analytical model, betting line and pundit projected them to be entering the season?
Because of the NHL’s parity, the gap between the Hawks and the last-place Predators is down to six points, even though they’re also just one point out of a wild-card spot.
Will the organizational focus shift back to another top-five draft pick and the promising future beyond?
After all, once top prospects such as Anton Frondell, Roman Kantserov and Nick Lardis graduate into the NHL and the current youngsters accumulate more experience, the Hawks might be in better position to make a sustainable leap, such as the one the Pacific Division-leading Ducks are making.
Or was the previous weekend’s form of the 2025-26 Hawks — the resilient one that battled back from a three-goal deficit to beat the Ducks — their true form?
Can this team prove yet again it is different from its recent predecessors? Is this simply a deep but temporary valley among the many ups and downs inevitable during an 82-game season? Will adjustments by Blashill, confidence in the locker room and continued impressive play from Connor Bedard and Spencer Knight collectively right the ship?
Another stretch of three games in four days this week — Wednesday against the Rangers, Friday at the Blues and Saturday against the Red Wings — might provide some answers. It at least will test the Hawks’ ability to make progress in handling back-to-backs.
‘‘We better find a way to grind our way back,’’ Blashill said Sunday.
Bedard’s fantastic season has pushed him into the conversation for a possible invitation to Milan, but he insisted Sunday it’s “not something I’m too worried about.”
[month] [day], [year], [hour]:[minute][ampm] [timezone]
read
The Hawks’ 7-1 blowout loss Sunday — following their 6-0 blowout loss Saturday — marked a historically terrible two-game stretch.
[month] [day], [year], [hour]:[minute][ampm] [timezone]
read
Things spiraled out of control for the Hawks on Saturday in a 6-0 loss, but they’ll have to bounce back quickly Sunday against the Ducks.
[month] [day], [year], [hour]:[minute][ampm] [timezone]
read