CHICAGO -- Chicago Blackhawks forward Andrew Shaw hasn’t often been in coach Joel Quenneville’s doghouse.
Only twice prior to Sunday, Shaw had played less than 10 minutes in his first 206 career NHL regular-season games. Quenneville let Shaw know he was unhappy with his play Sunday by first moving him to the fourth line and then limiting him to 9:24 of ice time, including just 2:14 in the third period.
Shaw didn’t blame Quenneville for taking those actions. The usually reliable Shaw is a team-worst minus-10, including being a minus-6 in the last four games, and has one goal over the last 21 games.
“I didn't deserve to play,” Shaw said. “I take full responsibility for that. A couple of those goals [Sunday] were my doing, so the punishment's always there."
“Not happy with [my play], obviously. Now I've just got to get back to fundamentals, be an aggressive player, take pucks to the net, play better defensively and be on the right side of the puck."
Quenneville thought Shaw could improve him game by getting to the puck more.
“Everyone has stretches where they’re not playing at the level they’d like,” Quenneville said. “Just want him to be around the puck, be abrasive, be smart playing that way. Needs to be around the puck more. He’s getting, kind of like our team game [Sunday], too loose. Tighten it up.”
Shaw said he understood what he’s doing wrong and simply needs to correct it now. He’ll get that chance Tuesday with Patrick Sharp and Teuvo Teravainen back on the third line.
“Yeah, I'm not being as aggressive as I should,” Shaw said. “I'm not taking pucks to the net. I'm not finishing checks or winning my 1-on-1 battles that I should be. That's what made me a good hockey player. That's what made me get here and I've got to get back to that.
“It's a mental game, too. You know it's coming and when things aren't going your way, it's tough. You don't want to make excuses. You just want to go out there and work as hard as you can. Sometimes you overwork. Sometimes you've just got to work smarter, I guess.”