Blackhawks hammered by Ducks, completing team's worst weekend since 1951

ANAHEIM, Calif. — Back-to-backs are a big problem for the Blackhawks.

An atrocious 7-1 loss Sunday against the Ducks — following a 6-0 defeat Saturday against the Kings — completed an utterly disastrous weekend for the team in sunny Southern California.

It marked the first time since 1951 the Hawks lost consecutive games by six or more goals and the first time any NHL team did so on consecutive nights since the Atlanta Thrashers in 2000.

"We lost a lot of puck battles," forward Andre Burakovsky said. "[We were] playing too much with our sticks, poke-checking. [We] didn’t skate. Clearly, they were the faster team."

Sunday's game was one of the most lopsided one will ever see in the NHL.

It's difficult to put into words how dominant the Ducks were, so the numbers tell the tale well enough. The Ducks generated a 50-11 advantage in scoring chances, including a 28-3 advantage in high-danger chances, per Natural Stat Trick. Both were the largest single-game differentials recorded by any team this season.

Hawks goalie Arvid Soderblom set a career high with 46 saves and still allowed seven goals in the process.

In the blink of an eye, the Hawks' season goal differential has cratered from plus-seven to minus-five. The only solace might be that two losses aren't capable of denting their record (now 12-11-6) to that same degree.

This back-to-back set turned out even worse than their first back-to-back a few weeks ago, in which they blew a lead against the Kraken before getting blown out 9-3 by the Sabres — which was terrible in itself.

"Our two worst games of the year were those two back-to-backs, and that's inexcusable," coach Jeff Blashill said. "Neither one of them were that hard of travel, and we've got more coming. We have to figure out a way to be better."

That's worth keeping in mind with another back-to-back coming up next weekend — Friday at the Blues and Saturday against the Red Wings — following their first game back home Wednesday against the Rangers.

"When you get your butt kicked on the scoreboard two nights in a row like that — and tonight was a total, total whooping — your confidence slips," Blashill added. "But this is a big-boy league, man. You've got to have mental toughness.

"We'll get out of here, fly home and get back out [to practice] on Tuesday. But there's lessons to be learned. The one thing I've been impressed [about] with this team is, they've learned lessons. This is a time where it felt like they didn't learn a lesson from Buffalo."