De Brincat nets third hat trick, but Hawks fall in OT
Winger Alex DeBrincat hadn’t scored in 13 games, but Blackhawks coach Joel Quenneville wasn’t worried.
‘‘ I still think he does a lot of good things as far as his awareness around the rink without the puck,’’ Quenneville said before the Hawks’ game Sunday against the Blues. ‘‘ Obviously, it’d be nice to have him grab a goal or two here, and then all of a sudden he’ll be a little bit more comfortable with it.’’ How about three? DeBrincat posted his third hat trick of the season, but it wasn’t enough as the Hawks blew two third- period leads and lost 5- 4 when the Blues’ Patrik Berglund beat J- FBerube with 1: 29 left in overtime. The Blues had tied the score on a goal by AlexPietrangelo with 1: 22 left in regulation.
Quenneville was right to not be worried about DeBrincat, but he should be worried about his goaltenders. The Hawks have given up five or more goals 11 times since Corey Crawford was put on injured reserve after Christmas, including the last three games and six of the last 10. Berube finished with 36 saves.
‘‘ I thought he was all right,’’ Quenneville said of Berube. ‘‘ I’m not complaining about the goaltending. It’s a team affair.’’
Defenseman DuncanKeith acknowledged that Crawford masked a lot of the Hawks’ defensive issues and frequently stole games, ‘‘ especially the last couple of years.’’ But he, too, said the Hawks’ inability to hold thirdperiod leads was a total team effort.
‘‘ I think we’ve talked enough about how we’ve missed Corey,’’ Keith said. ‘‘ But let’s not take anything away fromthe goaltenders we have. They’ve been battling in there and doing their best, and it’s a team game. There’s breakdowns all over the ice— offensive zone, neutral zone, defensive zone. We win games, it’s because a lot of players are contributing. And we lose games because of a lot of different plays that cost us.’’
On the bright side, DeBrincat is the sixth NHL rookie in the last 30 years to get three hat tricks, joining Teemu Selanne ( five), Joe Nieuwendyk ( four), Eric Lindros, Tony Granato and Patrik Laine. DeBrincat has 25 goals.
‘‘ It’s pretty cool,’’ he said. ‘‘ But it’s tough to be happy when we’re not where we want to be.’’
The Hawks led 2- 0, 3- 2 and 4- 3 but failed to hold the lead each time. Berglund’s overtime slapper trickled through Berube’s legs for the winner.
It was two huge points for the Blues, who are fighting to get back into the playoff picture. For the Hawks, it was just another frustrating, futile evening.
‘‘ I think we’re playing hard,’’ Keith said. ‘‘ Whether it’s a mistake here or there or just not able to score a goal or defend, I don’t think it’s necessarily something that just happens late in the last minute. It’s been all year, throughout the games.’’
Highmore hurt
Center MatthewHighmore was helped off the ice at 4: 20 of the second period after sliding hard into the boards after a hit. He didn’t return, and Quenneville said he’d know more about his status Monday.
With Anthony Duclair already hurt, the Hawks have the bare minimum of skaters— 12 forwards and six defensemen.