Veteran forward says team needs to — and can — bear down and work its way to wins. "This is awful. This sucks," he said after fourth straight loss. Story with videos.
Following the departure of Jonathan Toews, the Chicago Blackhawks don't have a full-fledged captain this season.
Defensemen Seth Jones and Connor Murphy are full-time alternates. Veteran forwards Nick Foligno and Corey Perry, who both joined the team with one-year $4 million contracts last summer, alternate wearing the third "A" on their sweaters.
Foligno has been playing with verve and gritting it out in his 17th season. Other Hawks need to follow.The 36-year-old Foligno, who did wear a "C" on his jersey with the Columbus Blue Jackets for six seasons, was in full captaincy mode following the Blackhawks fourth straight loss, 3-2 to Buffalo on Sunday.
It was a winnable game that Chicago didn't step up and take. The Blackhawks often lacked assertiveness and jam. They fell to 5-11-0 overall and 1-5-0 at home.
Foligno, in his 17th season, has played with more consistent energy, focus and passion than many of his younger teammates so far. So the gregarious forward took the center stage in the dressing room following the — being nice here — lukewarm loss.
"We can't be OK with just these sometimes we play well, sometimes we do the right things," Foligno said. "That's a winning habit and we haven't built those yet."
And the lousy home record is especially painful. Foligno remembers coming into the imposing United Center against dominant Blackhawks teams that won three Stanley Cup over six seasons, in 2010, 2013 and 2015.
"I want to create that again," he said. "The fans deserve that. They sell it out every night to watch us play and it's a great building when we're playing the right way, and we haven't gotten the results we need.
"That has to change. We're digging a hole here. We've got to find a way out of it. This is awful. This sucks." See video.
Chicago is rebuilding with waves of prospects, led by teenagers Connor Bedard and Kevin Korchinski. Still, Foligno believes the Blackhawks should winning more, despite some acceptable "teaching point" mistakes by youngsters.
"We're a way better team than what we're showing," Foligno said. "Once we get those good habits, this team could do a lot of damage." See video.
The Blackhawks next play Wednesday at Columbus, where Foligno skated for eight seasons and had the most point production in his career. That included an All-Star 2014-15 when he posted a career high 31 goals and 73 points.
Bedard, the first overall NHL draft pick in 2023, will square off against the Blue Jackets Adam Fantilli, the No. 3 selection in that one. A story on match-up that is coming.