Unfortunately for
The victory moved Columbus ahead of the Hawks in the Central Division standings, dropping the Hawks to last in the division, 14th in the 15-team Western Conference and officially out of the playoffs. And it doesn't get any easier as the Hawks play host to the
With the season quickly winding down, there have been games in the last week when it appeared as though some Hawks had their minds on their summer vacation plans.
"I don't want to say that, but sometimes it sure looks like it," said goaltender
"We don't get a consistent effort," he said. "We play one period well, one period average. There is no excuse for that, I don't care where we are [in the standings]."
The Blue Jackets' three-goal second period broke open a 1-1 game. Columbus increased its lead to 5-1 before
"We made a lot of mistakes and with young defensemen that's going to happen," Hawks coach Denis Savard said.
"At this level, you have to work to get chances," Savard said. "He's getting plenty of ice time."
One-timers
Dave Koci was on the ice for the first Columbus goal and for another shift late in the first period. He didn't play the rest of the night, logging only 49 seconds of ice time. Savard said he wasn't blaming Koci for anything and that the game was a "calm" one. One reason why teams want players such as Koci, however, is to disrupt calm games and change the momentum, either with a big hit or a fight. Koci, who was called up March 8, has played only five games but is already third on the team with 72 penalty minutes, trailing Tuomo Ruutu and
rfoltman@tribune.com