Foligno: Blackhawks don't have enough guys who 'pay a price' for goals
Chicago Blackhawks captain Nick Foligno questioned his teammates' effort following another stagnant offensive performance in Thursday's 3-1 loss to the Seattle Kraken.
"(It's about) wanting to score, wanting to get in the hard areas, wanting to make a difference, wanting to be around the net and pay a price," Foligno told Ben Pope of the Chicago Sun-Times. "We just don't have enough guys wanting to do that. ... Tonight, especially after the way we set things up to have a few days off and feel good and get ready, it's too bad."
The Blackhawks managed only 19 shots in the loss to Seattle, their fourth straight game scoring two goals or less. Chicago ranks 29th in the NHL with 41 goals this season despite adding several offensive pieces - including Tyler Bertuzzi, Teuvo Teravainen, and Ilya Mikheyev - in free agency.
Ryan Donato leads the club with eight goals this season. Connor Bedard has struggled to produce in his sophomore campaign with only three tallies in 17 games.
Head coach Luke Richardson was also more concerned about compete level than scoring chances after the loss.
"The stick battles (were) more concerning to me than the shot clock," he said. "In the 50-50 battles, they were more hungry than we were. When you come out with those, you're going to have more shots, and we're going to have less because they have the puck way more."
The Blackhawks are seventh in the Central Division at 6-10-1. They return to action Saturday against the Vancouver Canucks.