Russian rookie Roman Kantserov felt tired as he walked into the Blackhawks’ locker room Monday morning.
He has noticed a difference between the NHL’s 84-game schedule and the Kontinental Hockey League’s 68-game schedule, even though — as he rides a five-game point streak — it doesn’t seem to have affected his performance.
‘‘It’s [a] busy schedule. [It’s] so hard,’’ Kantserov said. ‘‘After Colorado, [we have] three games [to] play and then we have one week for rest, to take a breath.’’
Indeed, that four-day break between games next week should give the young Hawks a valuable opportunity to rejuvenate after grinding through nine games in 16 days.
But for Hawks general manager Kyle Davidson, that break might be the opposite of relaxing. If Davidson is going to make any big changes to this struggling team — be it to Jeff Blashill’s coaching staff or to the roster — things are aligning to make that break potentially the most logical time to do so.
Already, this season feels as though it’s reaching a boiling point. The Hawks’ loss Monday against the Avalanche dropped their record to 4-10-1, the second-worst in the NHL. Their minus-25 goal differential is tied for last, and their minus-110 shots-on-goal differential ranks second-to-last.
They’re miles off the pace of expectations, whether that’s making the playoffs outright — which the players set as their goal — or hanging around the playoff bubble ‘‘deeper through the season, if not all the way through the season,’’ as Davidson said before training camp.
The Athletic and HockeyStats.com’s projection models give the Hawks a less than 1% chance of making the playoffs and forecast them to finish with 66 points, which would represent a six-point drop from last season.
A portion of the Hawks’ fan base has been rioting on social media for weeks now, calling for everything short of dropping a bomb on the United Center.
Fans are always dramatic, and the most dramatic tend to be the loudest. They’re ultimately the foundation of the organization, however, and they clearly have run out of patience. During the final minutes Monday, a handful tried to start a ‘‘Fire Blashill’’ chant amid plenty of empty seats.
Inside the locker room, players seem to be handling this poor start admirably well. But as Connor Bedard said Monday, ‘‘I’d be lying if I said there’s no frustration.’’
How much longer will Davidson stand by idly as temperatures continue to increase?
In theory, he could stand by for a while. He has proved to be a patient man, and he just received a major vote of confidence from chairman Danny Wirtz in April in the form of a contract extension.
Surely, however, urgency will compel action at some point. Davidson said before the opener that he anticipated ups and downs this season, but the fact there have been only downs and zero ups so far must be raising some alarm bells.
The Hawks’ challenging road trip this week presents one last opportunity for an upturn before the potential reckoning.
Without injured stars Patrick Kane and Bowen Byram, they’ll face three of the best teams in the league in the Panthers, Lightning and Hurricanes. They’ll be heavy underdogs in each matchup, although it’s worth noting they did win in Tampa and Raleigh last season.
If the Hawks somehow escape this trip with multiple victories, they might buy themselves more time. If they return home with a record such as 4-13-1, however, Davidson might be forced into action.
Could he really fire Blashill this soon? Could he fire one or more assistants but keep Blashill? Could he shake up the young core with a major trade? Anything is possible.
With two or three practices on the docket before the Sabres’ visit Nov. 12, any newly brought-in coaches or players would have some time to alter the Hawks’ systems or acclimate to the current ones before the schedule ramps up again.