Blackhawks regroup, but is it too late to save this season?

DENVER — Two months into Jeremy Colliton’s run as coach, life has normalized for the Blackhawks. The software update is complete, and they’re past a choppy start that should’ve been expected after a big change.

There’s no argument about whether the team has improved. It’ll be hard to keep up their recent pace of 5-2-1 in the eight games leading up to Saturday’s visit to Colorado, but the Hawks should be competitive now that the coach and players have adapted to their new situation.

It’s simpler and smoother under Colliton lately, leading to more wins and a better flow.

“We’re still trying to figure out a few things, but he’s done a good job of giving us all the information and really breaking it down,” winger Alex DeBrincat said after the morning skate. “I think lately we’ve done a good job on the ice and put his vision out there.

“Two months isn’t that long of a time, but it’s long enough to settle in and know what he wants from us. . . . That’s part of our success. We’re predictable to each other now. The game’s fast-paced, so some things don’t work out, but usually we know where the puck’s going, and it’s pretty easy to read now.”

It’s a credit to both sides that they managed to merge during a breakneck stretch of the schedule. When the Hawks gathered for practice Friday morning in Chicago, it was their first time since Dec. 8.

Professionals are certainly expected to learn on the fly, but it’s harder to craft the team’s style when the primary task is preparing for different opponents with nine games in the 15 days leading up to the recent Christmas break. Practices provide a chance to slow everything down and work on their own issues.

“Then you can push a few more things and structurally get better,” Colliton said. “So [Friday] was a good opportunity to do that, even though it was short. We went on the ice and tried to get some things done. . . . Now with a lighter schedule, and we have some results, it makes it easier.”

The Hawks, who have played a league-high 41 games, will practice at Notre Dame Stadium in advance of the Winter Classic on Tuesday against the Bruins and should get sufficient chances to regroup coming up. They have one back-to-back in January and one in February, with no strenuous travel arrangements in either month.

When they didn’t have that luxury, Colliton had to be mindful of wearing them down.

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He used in-depth film sessions as a workaround, and players drew enough from that to redirect their season. One of his main teaching points was pace — Colliton implores the Hawks to get into their offense faster and attack rather than setting up methodically — and the difference is evident.

“The videos he does are very informational and really give us what he wants to do,” DeBrincat said. “We can see in-game clips rather than just going through the motions in practice. The video helped a lot throughout that stretch, and I think we’re grasping it pretty well now.”

That’s progress, and it’s going to help them in the long run, but it might be too late to make something meaningful of this season. Two eight-game losing streaks, one of which was part of a 2-11-1 slump, set up a nearly impossible climb.

The Hawks were tied with the Blues for last place in the Central Division before the game and sat seven points behind the Stars for the last wild-card spot. The gap’s bigger than it looks considering most of the teams ahead of them have played fewer games.

“I think everyone knows where we are,” Colliton said of the standings. “But . . . what’s important right now is what’s in front of us, so we have to put all of our energy into that.”