Hawks flunk history

Dominating vs. Phoenix? That was so last year

COYOTES 3, BLACKHAWKS 1

GLENDALE, Ariz. -- The Blackhawks owned the Phoenix Coyotes last season, winning all four meetings and outscoring them 13-1 in the last two.

That was last year.

In the first meeting of this season Thursday night, the Hawks -- showing signs of rust from a five-day break from games and hampered by a feeble power play -- were soundly beaten by the Coyotes 3-1 at Jobing.com Arena.

Plagued with financial problems that led to declaring bankruptcy, the Coyotes now are owned by the NHL. They no longer have the legendary Wayne Gretzky as their coach, either.

''But they're a better team -- deeper, balanced,'' Hawks coach Joel Quenneville said. ''They've got a mobile defense and good goaltending.''

''They're a different team -- different players, different coach [Dave Tippett] -- but by no means did we play our best game,'' Hawks defenseman Cam Barker said.

No doubt about that.

Going 0-for-6 on the power play, the Hawks didn't score until the Coyotes had all their goals. After losing six straight to the Hawks over two seasons, the Coyotes boosted their record to 10-6-0 this year -- even though their fans haven't responded to the improvement. They had 5,855 for a Monday game against Los Angeles and a half-filled arena (10,362) Thursday.

Phoenix lost 4-1 at Colorado on Wednesday night while the Hawks waited for the Coyotes to get back in town, but they came more ready to play than the Hawks did. The Coyotes' schedule overload (they're in the midst of playing 10 games in 17 nights) didn't show up in the first period, when Phoenix took a 2-0 lead and silenced the Hawks on three power plays.

Hawks defenseman Brent Sopel slipped in the left circle 2:54 into the game, allowing Martin Hanzal to put the Coyotes ahead with a shot inside the far post against goaltender Cristobal Huet, who started his fifth straight game. Peter Mueller's rebound goal on Hanzal's shot off Huet's pads made it 2-0 11:55 into the game.

The second period wasn't much better. Patrick Sharp and Patrick Kane failed to convert on breakaways 25 seconds apart in the third minute, and the Coyotes made it 3-0 on Scottie Upshall's shot from the left circle seven minutes later. But the Hawks got on the board on Kris Versteeg's short-handed goal three minutes after that with a steal and feed by Kane setting it up.

Otherwise, the Hawks were a lethargic bunch following their second-longest break from games this season. The only longer one will be in February, when the NHL pauses for the Winter Olympics.

''[The five-day break] didn't help,'' Quenneville said. ''Our game had holes in it technically and energy-wise. A couple delays in switches slowed us down a bit. That can happen.''

''But we score on half our opportunities, and it's a different game,'' Versteeg said. ''Realistically, last year we could have come back on them, but this year they're more aware defensively. They're a hard team to play against.''

The Hawks had hoped to have captain Jonathan Toews available. He was on the ice for the second consecutive day at the morning skate but ended up a scratch for the fifth straight game while recovering from a concussion. His status for tonight's game in Denver against the Avalanche is uncertain.

''Every day gets better, but I've only been two days back on the ice, so it's more than about feeling good,'' Toews said. ''I feel great out there. I feel like myself -- but when you're off two weeks, you've got to get your legs back. We'll take it day-by-day, just as we have for the last couple weeks. Today was better than yesterday, and hopefully tomorrow will be the same.''

Ben Eager, who missed his 12th straight game after battling a concussion, skated in the morning as well, and the Hawks should get him back soon, too.

''Eager needs more contact, but he's very, very close,'' Quenneville said. ''I like their progress. It's very encouraging.''