Last place is the last place the Blackhawks want to be.
But that’s where they found themselves when they woke up Wednesday morning in New York before they faced the Rangers — seventh in the Central Division, a point behind the Avalanche.
The Hawks’ position wasn’t lost on captain Jonathan Toews before his team’s 5-2 victory Wednesday night at Madison Square Garden.
“When it’s the way it is now, definitely it adds some urgency,” Toews said after the team’s morning skate. “You have to think about that and let that sink in. Whether we’re at the bottom or the top of our division, we have to focus on winning every game. We’re not going to skip 10 points ahead tonight. There’s a chance for getting two points and we’ll focus on that.”
The Blackhawks proved Toews’ words prophetic by ending their season-long six-game, four-time zone trip with a much-needed victory that came courtesy of Patrick Sharp, whose fourth goal of the season early in the third was the Blackhawks’ third. Toews and Patrick Kane added empty-netters late and Jeff Glass made 23 saves in his third straight start.
“Contributing offensively should be expected of every line,” Sharp said.
The Hawks ended their trip with two victories in six games but still tangled in the thick of the playoff hunt.
They began the day nine points behind the second-place Blues in the division with four games in hand, and four points behind the Ducks, who occupied the final wild-card spot.
Wednesday’s game aside, the Blackhawks still must heed Toews’ advice about playing more consistently, so long as it’s not consistently bad.
“Eventually the goals are going to be there,” he said. “The second you start worrying about the result, worrying about the goals, you’re skipping a step or two. That’s when you start forcing plays that aren’t really there, making simple mistakes you wouldn’t normally make.”
The goals didn’t look like they were going to go in early for the Hawks on Wednesday, like Henrik Lundqvist’s stick stifled Kane a few minutes into the first period.
Vinnie Hinostroza, new to the top line, finally solved Lundqvist when he parked a between-the-legs pass from Jonathan Toews into the net with 3:51 left in the first.
“If he's going, our team is going well,” Hinostroza said of Toews.
The two almost connected again a little more than a minute later, but Lundqvist was there to keep the score 1-0.
Nick Holden didn’t keep it 1-0, though, when he scored with 1:51 left after hustling past Duncan Keith and beating Glass.
Lundqvist was at it again 41/2 minutes into the second when he stopped Saad and Toews in succession.
Fed up with trying to beat Lundqvist themselves, the Hawks turned to a Ranger, Marc Staal. Nick Schmaltz closed in on Lundqvist, and the puck teased the line before Staal slid into it, knocking it in 8:56 into the period. After a quick review, the goal stood and the score stood 2-1 Hawks.
That is until Glass slapped the puck over the glass, resulting in a delay-of-game call and giving the Rangers a two-man advantage with Brent Seabrook already serving a two-minute penalty for crosschecking. The Rangers took advantage of that when Mika Zibanejad one-timed one past Glass to tie the score 2-2 11:32 into the second.
But in the end, the Blackhawks’ patience paid off when Sharp scored for the first time since Nov. 27 and just the second time in his last 30 games.
Twitter @ChiTribSkrbina
Paul Skrbina’s three stars
1. Patrick Sharp, Blackhawks: Fourth goal of the season was big for Hawks.
2. Henrik Lundqvist, Rangers: His 30 saves kept his team in game.
3. Vinnie Hinostroza, Blackhawks: Second goal of the season was his first while a member of the top line.
Up next: Vs. Golden Knights, 7:30 p.m. Friday, NBCSC, WGN-AM 720.
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