Nice job, moron. (Credit: Scott Strazzante, Chicago Tribune)

It’s a team we should beat. Giving up two on the 5-minute penalty kill changed the momentum of the game. But we still shouldn’t (have) lost to a team like that.

– Patrick Kane

It’s hard to pin a loss on one player, but Monday’s 4-3 defeat at the hands of the Edmonton Oilers is the closest I can come.

Dan Carcillo not only set himself up for a suspension with his crushing and unnecessary hit on Tom Gilbert, he may have seriously injured his knee in the process.

The ensuing 5-minute major penalty led to two Edmonton goals that ended up being the difference, as the Blackhawks fell once again to the Oilers only two three days after a big home win over rival Detroit.

For one, I’m going to go into full honesty mode here and say that I told the vast majority of people to calm down when the ‘Hawks signed Carcillo. I then continued to defend that signing when he showed some slick offensive skills we never thought we’d see. I don’t necessarily believe I was wrong, either.

Then Monday happened.

At least his suspension/potential injury will give another prospect a chance to play some minutes.

Quick thoughts ….

♦   It didn’t help Niklas Hjalmarsson got clipped with a high stick prior to Taylor Hall’s goal – the second on Carcillo’s major. It sucked, but it happens.

♦   After all the Carcillo shit and the two goals allowed, the Blackhawks still had a chance to win this thing. Then, they went 0 for 5 on the power play, including a four-minute double-minor on a high stick to Jonathan Toews, who was an absolute beast and didn’t miss a shift after getting fixed up.

Ryan Jones got called for a goaltender interference penalty, and the ‘Hawks looked like dog shit on that power play, too. The Blackhawks played with a man advantage for six of the final 8:46, and they came away with absolutely nothing.

Before ALL the blame lands on Carcillo, let’s realize the ‘Hawks had chances to win this game despite that. The awful PP unit and a weak goal from the well-known Ben Eager ended up doing the Blackhawks in.

♦   Speaking of that weak goal, Corey Crawford could’ve played better. Thinking about it a little bit more, Crow will probably be back in net Thursday in Philadelphia before Ray Emery gets the nod Friday at home against Colorado. Sunday against Detroit will likely depend on how each plays in these games. We’ll see.

♦   For the second straight game, Patrick Kane left the center of the ice open as he trailed the play, allowing the opposition an easy goal. Tonight’s came from Andy Sutton. With Carcillo out, it may be best to get Kaner back to the wing and bring up Brandon Pirri, unless Marcus Kruger is ready to play. Either way, I think Q needs to get Kane away from the center spot. He’s clearly not playing the same as he did when he started the season there.

I’ll do the rest of my talking in Boxing…

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