CHICAGO _ It's hard to turn the page when the greatest Blackhawks story ever told appears to be coming to an end.
There have been other losses from the Hawks' dynasty years _ the departures of Patrick Sharp and Marian Hossa left huge holes _ but neither compared with the magnitude of losing Joel Quenneville.
The beloved coach _ who was fired Tuesday morning _ may not have been at the United Center on Thursday night for the Hawks' 4-3 loss to the Hurricanes, but Quenneville's presence _ or, more accurately, his absence _ was felt during the morning skate and throughout Jeremy Colliton's debut replacing the legendary "Q."
"It is definitely bizarre," Jonathan Toews said before the game.
When the Hawks fired Quenneville, they denied him an opportunity to end his unprecedented run of success _ three Stanley Cup championships in a six-year span _ on his terms. It's nothing new for a coach but something new to an organization that had gone 10-plus years with the same leader behind the bench.
"There are so many things you kind of get used to, habits you're used to that Joel brings every day," Toews said. "You realize it's already different. You're expecting him to blow the whistle and say something at a certain time, you don't realize how habitual it does become. It definitely feels different."
The Hawks wanted different, and they got it from the start Thursday.
First goal? Hurricanes.
First penalty? Hawks.
First period? Abysmal.
The Hurricanes jumped out to a 3-0 lead in the first 15 minutes, 53 seconds on goals by Andrei Svechnikov, Jaccob Slavin and Phillip Di Giuseppe. Hawks goalie Corey Crawford didn't have a chance on any of them. Slavin's goal was on the power play and the other two came with the Hawks seeming to abandon any effort to defend in front of their net.
The Hawks were outshot only 16-13 in the first and had more scoring chances than the Hurricanes, but goalie Scott Darling _ there's another name from the past _ denied them all.
Things only got worse to the start the second. Just 80 seconds in, Hurricanes defenseman Calvin de Haan jumped into the play, found himself alone in the slot and easily fired it past Crawford to make it 4-0.
Patrick Kane finally got the Hawks going with 15:26 left in the second, scoring his 12th of the season when he swept a rebound into an open net after an odd-man rush.
David Kampf got the crowd of 21,331 back into the game a few minutes later, tipping in a Brandon Saad shot from in front of the net over Darling's right shoulder for his second goal of the season.
Nick Schmaltz then pulled the Hawks to within 4-3, beating Darling just 3 minutes, 33 seconds into the third for his second of the season. But they couldn't get the equalizer and lost their sixth straight.
Like it or not, the Hawks' next chapter has arrived. And whether it will be a page turner remains to be seen.
