"As indignant responses go, weak. Surprisingly weak.

"We were,'' murmured captain Jonathan Toews, searching frantically for any sight of a pony in a stable full of dung, "better than last night . . .

"But it doesn't take much to do that. We've got to find a way to get our confidence back. Because it obviously isn't there right now.

"That doesn't mean you don't stop working, you don't stop trying.

"We all respect each other, we all like each other in this room, nobody's going anywhere.''

Having been mauled 8-4 by the bottom-feeding Edmonton Oilers 24 hours earlier, eviscerated for eight points by Sam Gagner, their pride in tatters and ample amends to be made, you expected the Chicago Blackhawks to explode out of the gate at the Scotiabank Saddledome on Friday night hell-bent on savage retribution, eager to strut their undeniable quality.

Insulted. Irate.

Personally affronted.

Well braced for a tempest, observers sat through a drizzle.

"Stretches like this,'' acknowledged Hawks' coach Joel Quenneville in the aftermath of further deflation, a 3-1 setback to the goal-challenged Calgary Flames, "certainly get your attention.''

That's five losses on the trot for the Hawks, universally expected to jostle for the top seed in the West, and their seventh in a row away from the United Center dating all the way back to Dec. 20. Sounds wildly improbable, given the top-end talent, but the Hawks clearly lack conviction at the moment.

"Nobody's going to give us a win,'' sighed defenceman Brent Seabrook.

"We've got to go out there and take it, work for it, fight for every two points," Seabrook continued. "Nobody's going to give us goals. We've got a tough division, the Central Division. We've got to go out and play a solid defensive hockey game and not try to blow teams out. When things don't go our way we've got to continue to push forward and work."