Chicago Blackhawks' Scoring Woes Continue in Shutout Loss to Ducks

There's a tendency to classify any meeting between two of the top teams in the Western Conference and say that it had a playoff-like atmosphere.

There's no doubt that the Chicago Blackhawks and Anaheim Ducks had a lot of respect for each other when they took the ice Tuesday night at the United Center. The two teams played a tight, low-scoring game, and one bad break for the Blackhawks gave the Ducks a 1-0 victory.

While that score is typical of a postseason game, this game did not have that playoff feel. It was more like two respectful boxers in the early stage of a fight. They were feeling each other out, and that process lasted well into the third period.

The only goal of the game came from a breakdown on special teams. The Blackhawks were on a power play as a result of a high-sticking penalty by Sami Vatanen midway through the third period, and they had a number of chances throughout the power play, although none of them were of the 10-bell variety.

However, the Blackhawks smelled a goal when the puck bounced out to Brent Seabrook at the right point, but as the hard-shooting defenseman went to glove the bouncing puck, it skipped away from him. As he tried to recover and control the disc, Seabrook blew a tire.

That was all Devante Smith-Pelly needed as he accelerated toward the blue line, corralled the puck and went in alone on rookie goalie Scott Darling. Smith-Pelly is not one of the faster skaters in the NHL, but he knows how to take advantage of scoring opportunities when he gets them. He made a quick forehand-backhand move and slid the puck between Darling's pads for a shorthanded goal.

Darling, who is playing because Corey Crawford has an upper-body injury, thought he should have done a better job against Smith-Pelly. 

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#Blackhawks goalie Scott Darling: "It's my job as a goalie to try to make the big save. Couldn't do it tonight. That was the difference."

— Chris Kuc (@ChrisKuc) October 29, 2014"

One goal is not supposed to beat the Blackhawks because the talent level on this team is simply too high. The Blackhawks throw out an array of superstars who can dazzle opponents as well as the Blackhawks fans on an every-night basis.

But on many nights in October, that talent is not producing. Despite the presence of Jonathan Toews, Patrick Kane, Patrick Sharp, Marian Hossa, Duncan Keith and emerging star Brandon Saad, the Blackhawks are not putting the puck in the net.

Through their first nine games of the season, they have scored two goals or few on six occasions. That's a problem that is going to have to be fixed sooner rather than later.

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There is no panic at this point, and there shouldn't be. Teams go through slumps, and the Blackhawks (5-3-1) are not immune to them. However, just like scoring is a habit, so is not scoring.

But this is a significant scoring hole that the Blackhawks have dug for themselves. They are averaging 2.33 goals per game, a figure that ranks 23rd in the league.

They have played nine games, and they have only outscored seven other teams. That's troubling to this team. In their hearts and minds, they know that better days and nights are ahead and they will have games where they fill up the net. But until then, they are going to have work harder to finish their chances and win close games.

"It's going to be tough to blow teams out," Seabrook told Mark Lazerus of the Chicago Sun-Times after the game. "We've got to beat them 3-2, 1-0, 2-1."

The Blackhawks skated hard throughout the game, but they certainly didn't outwork the Ducks. Few of the Blackhawks could match the effort of Jeremy Morin, who had four shots on goal and was also throwing his body all over the ice and made a number of shot-block attempts.

The Blackhawks never were able to put John Gibson in the vortex. Usually, the Blackhawks will have several flurries where they whistle shot after shot on net and make the goalie submit. That didn't happen at the United Center.

The best scoring opportunity came early in the third period when Bryan Bickell wheeled behind the net and fed Toews with a cross-ice pass. The captain fired a hard, quick shot that forced Gibson to make a quick right-to-left move, and he got his skate on the puck.

It's a regulation loss at the United Center, and that's always going to hurt. The Blackhawks certainly need to fight their way out of this slump and start filling the net again.

But there is no doom and gloom, and no dread. They are not even 10 games into this season, and the Blackhawks will figure this out.