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After frustrating January, Coach Q thinks the ‘Hawks are on ‘the right track’

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The Chicago Blackhawks did not enjoy a particularly successful January. The team that many consider the NHL’s best finished the month with a 6-7-0 record, once losing in regulation to the lowly Oilers.

But the ‘Hawks did play well in some of those losses, like on Jan. 6 when they were shut out, 2-0, by Colorado despite outshooting the Avs 54-24.

And coach Joel Quenneville was relatively happy with how his team finished the month on the road, despite losses in Los Angeles and San Jose to go with victories in Pittsburgh and Anaheim.

“I think it’s about how you play and eventually things work out. But I think we’re on the right track with it,” Quenneville said, per CSN Chicago. “We’ve played well on this road trip, four tough buildings and a couple of disappointing losses, but certainly we did a lot of right things and played hard.”

Starting tonight in Minnesota (on NBCSN), the ‘Hawks have three more tough road games before they get to play again at the United Center. (Stops in Winnipeg and St. Louis follow the Wild game.)

While Chicago is in no real danger of dropping out of a playoff spot, it’s worth noting that if the postseason started today, the ‘Hawks would be the third seed in the Central Division, behind first-place Nashville and second-place St. Louis. Which is to say, they should be motivated to climb the standings in an attempt to get home-ice advantage for at least the first round.

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