The Chicago Blackhawks celebrated the first two months of the season making many returns: a return to winning, a return to the local sports scene, and a return to playing in front of full stadiums. However, much of those returns, as well as other promising changes on the ice, have dissipated over a 30-game stretch that has seen the Hawks win a mere 10 times and likely fallen out of the playoff race.

The Blackhawks returned to some of their previous ways this past week, going 1-1-1 in Western Canada. After several lackadaisical efforts, Chicago finally reverted to a grittier, hard-nosed style of play. All three games featured a fourth-line player dropping the gloves early to try to set the tone.

The Blackhawks responded with a strong first period in Edmonton on Wednesday, only to lose that aggressive edge in the last 40 minutes on the way to a 4-1 defeat. The team maintained its physicality throughout the next night in Calgary. Constant hitting and two fights helped pave the way to a 3-1 victory, ending a five-game losing streak. The Hawks finished their Canadian swing on Sunday in Vancouver with a shootout loss where they played physical throughout, but they were responding to, rather than initiating the physicality, as they did in Calgary.

In addition to style of play, two players responded with returns to excellence. Nikolai Khabibulin finally ended his personal 10-game losing streak with a stellar third period in Calgary that bailed out his tired teammates. He followed that performance with a strong outing in Vancouver, but fell short of securing the win. Patrick Sharp, the Blackhawks’ leading goal scorer, currently is enjoying a four-game goal streak after scoring only once in 11 games. Including an assist in Calgary, Sharp was involved in four of the team’s six goals this past week.

The biggest return for the struggling Blackhawks, though, was that of Jonathan Toews. The 19-year-old rookie returned to the ice against Vancouver on Sunday for the first time since injuring his knee on New Year’s night. Including that 9-2 shellacking on January 1st, Chicago went 5-10-2 without Toews in the lineup. The young center’s presence immediately paid dividends, as he assisted on Sharp’s goal while finishing a +1 and winning 15 of 19 face-offs.

The Blackhawks hope the aforementioned positives will help the team rediscover its winnings ways. However, other weaknesses must be remedied for the team to sustain any kind of success. Martin Havlat has not scored a goal since January 11th – a streak of 11 games. He produced a total of two shots this week before exiting the Vancouver game early with flu-like symptoms.

Havlat’s centerman, Robert Lang, has scored only once in the last 10 games. Head coach Denis Savard has been critical of Lang’s effort, reflective in his ice time dipping below 20 minutes over the last four games. More production is needed from those two veterans, as is the case with the underwhelming power play. The Blackhawks have struck with the man advantage only once in the team’s last 38 attempts (2.6%), dropping them down to 27th in the league. All three dry spells must be improved upon if Chicago is going to make the ultimate return it seeks: playoff hockey.

The Week Ahead

The Blackhawks are hoping for one more return this week. Power-play specialist Jason Williams hasn’t played since November but is due back soon from a groin injury and subsequent sports hernia surgery. He delivered 19 points in 20 games and was a main cog in the team’s early-season success with the man advantage.

Chicago closes out its season-long seven-game road trip with stops in Columbus and Nashville before finally returning home to face Colorado for a Sunday matinée.