Jones has to ‘find a way to be better’ for Blackhawks

CHICAGO -- Seth Jones said he understood the frustration from the fans Monday after the Chicago Blackhawks defenseman made a costly turnover during a 5-2 loss to the Calgary Flames at United Center.

The Blackhawks (14-28-2), who are last in the NHL standings, have lost three in a row and four of their past five games. They’ve allowed at least four goals in each of the losses.

Jones, 30, signed an eight-year, $76 million contract ($9.5 million average annual value) with Chicago on July 28, 2021, five days after it acquired him from the Columbus Blue Jackets.

“We’re obviously not putting the product on the ice that we want to, and I’ll gladly take the blame for that,” Jones said after practice Tuesday. “That’s what comes with the territory of the contract that I got, and I’m willing to stand in front of that.

“It’s unfortunate. The losing obviously doesn’t help any of that at all, and the position we’ve been in the last few years. But start with myself and we can always find a way to be better.”

The Blackhawks were on a five-minute power play when Jones’ no-look backhand in the neutral zone led to Flames center Yegor Sharangovich scoring a short-handed goal for a 5-2 lead at 13:38 of the second period.

“We had to find momentum on the five-minute power play, we score a goal (center Connor Bedard), and just a boneheaded play by me and it’s 5-2 and it feels out of reach again,” Jones said. “I destroyed the momentum there.

“Just try to make simple plays like we always talk about, find a way to string shifts and periods together.”

Jones has 15 points (three goals, 12 assists) and is minus-13 in 28 games for the Blackhawks this season. He leads Chicago in time on ice per game (24:40), which ranks ninth in the NHL.

The No. 4 pick by the Nashville Predators at the 2013 NHL Draft, Jones has 420 points (93 goals, 327 assists) in 825 games with the Predators, Blue Jackets and Blackhawks.

He has struggled since returning from a right foot injury, sustained blocking a shot in a 3-1 loss to the Seattle Kraken on Nov. 14, and played a season-low 16:19 Monday. While he was out, Anders Sorensen was named interim coach when Luke Richardson was fired Dec. 5. Jones was in as many meetings as possible once the change was made so he could be more prepared for his return on Dec. 21.

Asked Tuesday if he was still adjusting to Sorensen’s system, Jones said, “Obviously, we changed our neutral zone and we changed some of our breakout stuff, but at the end of the day, there’s no excuse for the way that we’re losing. We have to find a way to play more as a team.

“I don’t even know what to say sometimes, because we’ve been saying the same thing for, I don’t know how long. But we have to find a way to put together a few wins in a row and be more consistent.”

Chicago visits Nashville on Thursday (8 p.m. ET; FDSNSO, CHSN). Sorensen said he’s talked with Jones and that he’s been receptive to criticism.

“At the end of the day he’s a hockey player; he wants to improve as a hockey player, and he wants to contribute,” Sorensen said. “So, it’s just finding different channels and avenues to help him out in that area.

“You want to hear their point of view, but we also have our point of view. A lot of times they align. He’s an accountable guy. He knows when he’s not doing well. It’s not like he’s saying, ‘Oh, I’m playing great here.’ He’s aware.”