Blackhawks on the wrong side of NHL history

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Joshua Deeds
January 31, 2024 (11:27 PM)

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The Chicago Blackhawks have been experiencing a losing streak, accumulating a total of 20 losses this year.

They haven't won a game on the road since November 9th when they played against the Tampa Bay Lightning, which is a source of frustration for Mackenzie Entwistle who is disappointed that it has been so long since their last victory.

Despite numerous opportunities to change the course of the streak, the team has hit a record low of 20 games lost on the road.

��When you put it that way, all the way back to Tampa, that's a long time ago,'' Entwistle said. ��The most frustrating part is we're in these games and we just can't find a way to finish and get the job done.''

They lost two games when they were tied 3-3 against the Florida Panthers, and one goal would have ended the drought on November 12th. Additionally, they were ahead 5-2 against their rivals, the St. Louis Blues, on December 23rd, but suffered a third-period meltdown and a terrible loss.

The absurdity of the Blackhawks losing 20 straight road games is still blowing my mind.

How did they get to this point? How rare is this in NHL history? A new road-losing-streak deep dive: https://t.co/j6swR0ARr0� Ben Pope (@BenPopeCST) January 30, 2024

They were also a goal away from winning against Dallas on December 29th, another missed opportunity. They also blew easy, 1 goal-game opportunities against Winnipeg and Calgary.

During this time frame, the team has been outscored 86-29 and has been unlucky throughout the streak. They have made history as the first team to lose 20 consecutive games on the road in 30 years, the last being the 1992-1993 Ottawa Senators, who eventually snapped their 38-loss streak against the New York Islanders in their fourth to last game of the '93 season, which was their expansion year. The Ottawa Senators would end their season with a 10-70-4 record and would endure another 20-game losing streak the following season as well.

Only sixteen other teams have had this kind of terrible record, mainly in the 1970s when times were less fruitful and more tiring. The 2023-2024 Blackhawks have surpassed the 2003-2004 Hawks team, which lost 19 games, followed by the 2022-2023 Coyotes, who lost 18 games.

The team will have to up their compete and finishing skills in order to find a way out of this slump.

If the team doesn't win past February 19th on the road, it will be a four-month streak of losses, and they will have to fight a tough Colorado team to break their bad habits.