Here’s the problem with heightened expectations: Lose a couple of hockey games and a sense of doom sets in among the faithful.
That’s exactly what has happened with some Blackhawks fans after a lost weekend during which the Hawks coughed up a big lead Saturday night visiting the Wild and then couldn’t solve a hot goaltender in a defeat Sunday night against the Ducks at home.
“I guess that’s good they’re upset when you lose,” Hawks winger Ben Eager said of the angst among fans over the two-game skid. “We’re upset too. We’re used to winning, and we were on a nice little streak there. There are going to be bumps in the road throughout the year and this is a little bump. We let that one in Minnesota get away and Anaheim came in here and played well.
“We’re expected to win. That comes from the dressing room. We know we have a good team and we know we can play with any team and beat any team in the league. When we don’t do that, we’re not happy.”
There was little happiness in the stands, in local taverns and in cyberspace as fans tried to dissect what happened to a team that hadn’t lost two games in a row since late November. Coach Joel Quenneville has a message for those who were stunned the Hawks, who had won eight of their last nine before the losses, weren’t able to gather at center ice after Sunday’s game at the United Center and raise their sticks in a victory salute.
“We will lose games,” Quenneville said. “We’re not going to win every night, and we’re not going to win by two or three [goals] every night.”