Blackhawks' effort levels crash to zero in blowout loss to Sabres

After a couple weeks of the Blackhawks' effort meter flickering up and down, it crashed to near zero in their penultimate game Monday.

Mental and emotional engagement was visibly lacking in a 5-1 loss to the Sabres, who are heading to the playoffs for the first time in 15 years.

Nothing summed that up better than a Hawks line change after a penalty kill that was bungled to an almost comical degree, allowing Tage Thompson to bury the Sabres' fourth goal.

At least, that statement held true for about 10 minutes. On the Sabres' fifth goal, the Hawks' backcheck after a Wyatt Kaiser offensive-zone turnover was arguably even lazier than their aforementioned line change.

An announced crowd of 17,056 — which appeared several thousand short of that — missed no opportunities in the third period to boo the home team, to the point in-arena host Jon Hansen began joking about it during a commercial-break gimmick.

If it wasn't the 81st game of a going-nowhere season, this kind of performance would justify a genuine reckoning about the fitness of this roster and coaching staff. Considering it was, it instead can — and will — be forgotten soon.

Nevertheless, the atrocity that is this season-ending homestand — during which the Hawks have been outscored 17-6, pending the result of their finale Wednesday against the Sharks — is destroying optimism at a startlingly brisk pace entering the offseason.

"It's a little unfortunate these last couple games have gone this way," coach Jeff Blashill said. "Because honestly we've done tons of good things to build this in the right direction, and unfortunately this sours your taste.

"When you play great this time of year, it can fool you. When you play poorly this time of year, it can fool you."

Against odds

The Hawks will finish in the bottom three of the NHL for a fourth consecutive season in 2025-26, becoming the first franchise since the 2001 Lightning to achieve that ignominious accomplishment.

Their 31st-place finish means they'll enter the May 5 draft lottery guaranteed a top-four pick and owning the second-best odds to receive a top-two pick.

Those odds still aren't very high: 13.5% of getting the No. 1 pick and 14.1% of getting No. 2. It's more likely they end up No. 3 or No. 4.

Toothless Nazar

All things considered, Frank Nazar avoided the worst-case scenario when another puck struck his face Saturday against the Blues, but his two front teeth on the top did not.

They were blasted out by the rubber, leaving him with an endearing gap in his smile Monday and some swelling on his lips. He started the game wearing a cage, then switched to a bubble.

"I still got it pretty good, but it could be a lot worse, so I'm pretty thankful," Nazar said, struggling to pronounce each word correctly with the missing teeth.

"If I'm lazier, I've got a little bit of a lisp. But if I'm more firm, you can kind of understand me."

Unsatisfied Greene

Ryan Greene reached the 10-goal mark in his rookie season with his goal Saturday, then tallied his 11th goal shorthanded Monday.

The quantity of chances he has missed still "doesn't sit well" with him, though. He analyzed his overall performance this season as "responsible" but unspectacular. That aligns with Blashill's recent comments about Greene being a player he trusts to not let things get "bat-[expletive] crazy."

"You kind of know what he's going to do," Blashill said.