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Chicago Blackhawks News

As a Hawk-turned-Shark, Antti Niemi has become a horse
February 11
Chicago Sun-Times
 
"Initially, it wasn't easy crossing sides in a growing rivalry. It also has been an adjustment going from a traditional hockey market in Chicago to California's Bay Area, where the scrutiny and attention aren't as intense. But Antti Niemi hasn't changed much. He's remembered in Chicago as a quiet but extremely confident goalie who delivered for the Blackhawks during their Stanley Cup season. The San Jose Sharks see him the same way. ''He's still a pretty quiet guy [who] goes about his business,'' Sharks coach Todd McLellan said. But the Sharks are starting to describe Niemi in a way the Hawks never did in his magical one-year run. They call him a workhorse. ''He's been great,'' Sharks"
Blackhawks' losing streak at seven
February 11
Chicago Sun-Times
 
"Jonathan Toews looked like a punching bag. First, it was center Joe Thornton landing a punch to his face. Then it was edgy winger Ryane Clowe coming in and doing the same. The San Jose Sharks had more in store for the Blackhawks' captain throughout the game Friday at HP Pavilion. It was part of the Hawks' first real taste of serious adversity despite what already had transpired on their ugly losing skid. The Hawks were down two of their top five defensemen, their unquestioned leader was getting seriously roughed up and the team fell behind by two goals — both scored on the power play — in the first period. The Hawks showed some resolve and rallied, but during these days of bad positioning,"
Hawks sticking together
February 11
Chicago Tribune
 
"Some of the laughter in the Blackhawks' dressing room has been replaced by the shaking of heads as players attempt to explain just what has gone wrong during their recent slide. The smiles aren't as quick to come as they were when the Hawks were on top of the NHL just last month, but there haven't been any finger-pointing incidents or players-only meetings as the team has stuck together in the face of adversity. "I'm happy with how guys are in the room," captain Jonathan Toews said before the Sharks extended the Hawks' losing streak to seven with a 5-3 victory Friday night at HP Pavilion. "We're positive (and) having fun. We're enjoying being around each other — just the way it should be"
Sharks hand Blackhawks 7th loss in row
February 11
Chicago Tribune
 
"Try as they might, the Blackhawks searched for some positives following their seventh consecutive defeat. "Right now, minutes after another loss, it's tough to look at the bright side of things," captain Jonathan Toews said in the morgue-like atmosphere of the Hawks' dressing room after their 5-3 loss to the Sharks on Friday night at HP Pavilion. "We played hard out there. We saw some fights, we saw some scratching and clawing, some battling in front of the net and a couple of ugly goals. We played the way we had to. We gave them too many opportunities on the power play and that's how they separated themselves from us in this game. It always seems to be one thing or another but (Friday"
Sharks, Blackhawks both trying to shake slumps
February 10
San Jose Mercury News
 
"Three weeks ago, the Sharks and the Chicago Blackhawks were among the NHL's surging teams. They looked like two franchises perfectly capable of once again meeting deep in the postseason. But when they play Friday night at HP Pavilion, the Sharks and Blackhawks will be just a couple of scuffling clubs badly in need of a win. Chicago has slipped into a brutal tailspin. The Blackhawks arrive in town having lost six consecutive games and tumbling from their perch atop the Western Conference standings. While the Blackhawks' Zamboni has blown an engine, the Sharks merely are leaking oil. They have lost their last two games and continue to be plagued by inconsistent play. Regaining their edge"
Blackhawks have had litany of missed chances during free-fall
February 10
Chicago Sun-Times
 
"It's a bit unfair to compare the Blackhawks' season to what happened last year, when they had their roster overhauled after winning the Stanley Cup and had to fight their way back into playoff contention. There are distinct differences, such as their better overall start this year. But there are some similarities that are starting to show up, especially when you look at the Hawks' six-game skid. "We look at the four games without winning here on this road trip alone, we could have gotten points out of every game," coach Joel Quenneville said Thursday. "That's what the frustrating part is in here. We could have controlled the outcome in those games.""
Hawks working to tighten up defense
February 10
Chicago Tribune
 
"Too often during the Blackhawks' current losing skid their goaltenders have had the unnerving sight of opponents streaking toward them with speed and numbers. The Hawks have been prone to yielding odd-man rushes and have paid the price during their six-game losing streak that has the team reeling while in the midst of a season-long, nine-game trip. "Giving up two-on-ones, three-on-two's, those are things that shouldn't happen," winger Patrick Sharp said Thursday. "They're going to happen, but you try to limit them.""
Crawford gets the call
February 10
Chicago Tribune
 
"In his ongoing effort to stabilize the Blackhawks' goaltending, coach Joel Quenneville chose Corey Crawford to start Friday night's Western Conference showdown against the Sharks. Crawford watched from the bench as Ray Emery played the last two games, but will man the crease as he looks to snap the Hawks' six-game losing streak and a personal four-game skid. "(Crawford) played great in here last game (a 1-0 loss Nov. 23)," Quenneville said Thursday. "Ray was in there the last two games. We're going to need both guys. They're both capable of getting the ball here.""
Long trip no excuse for Hawks' skid
February 10
Chicago Tribune
 columnist David Haugh
"How easy it would be to blame "Disney on Ice" for the Blackhawks resembling a Mickey Mouse operation at the start of their longest road trip since 1994. To attribute the cold, Stanley Cup reality the Hawks have confronted recently to the "Dare to Dream'' ice show (tickets still available!) forcing 26 days between games at the United Center. To wonder how an organization with the NHL's best business savvy, according to The Hockey News, approved a schedule that locks the Hawks out of a building the team co-owns at a time they need the warmth of home ice."
Blackhawks defense has received plenty of criticism during skid, but answer might be more offense
February 9
Chicago Sun-Times
 
"Forget about four-line balance or even an assigned checking line. Coach Joel Quenneville has no other options but to empower his top two lines with all his top weapons. As much as the Blackhawks have to defend better, they have to score, too. And Quenneville isn't going to end the Hawks' puck-possession style any time soon. "I'm not so worried about our puck-possession game," Quenne-ville said Wednesday before the Hawks left Denver for San Jose, Calif. "It's more of our defending. I think if we defended better, we'd have the puck more.""
Back to basics on power play
February 9
Chicago Tribune
 
"The puck hit the back of the net Wednesday and, from the point, Patrick Sharp let out a whoop that echoed throughout the University of Denver's Magness Arena. The Blackhawks forward then threw both arms in the air and pumped them triumphantly. Moments later, Jonathan Toews scored and raised his stick high on a short victory lap. It was merely a practice, and the moments did nothing to alter the reality of a six-game losing streak, but any discernible pulse in the team's comatose power-play unit was worth celebrating."
Blackhawks search for 'baby steps' to end skid
February 9
Chicago Tribune
 
"Four Chicago Blackhawks players watched from the stands while teammates practiced at the University of Denver on Wednesday, victims of a flu-like bug that idled them for a day. On the ice, Hawks coach Joel Quenneville didn't seek to add to the corps of nauseated troops by throttling his club with a heavy workout. There was a warm-up, there was a lot of power play tweaking, but there was not a lot of persecution as the team headed to San Jose, Calif., carrying a six-game losing streak."
Two goals from David Jones help Avs defeat Blackhawks 5-2
February 8
Denver Post
 
"It was the type of game that, if things had gone like they have of late, the Avalanche would have found a way to lose. Instead, the Avs just plain outskated the Chicago Blackhawks and won going away Tuesday night at the Pepsi Center. A tie game in the third period turned into a solid 5-2 triumph for the Avs in an arena filled with numerous Blackhawks fans who might have raided Stubhub.com to fill the lower bowl."
Avalanche 5, Blackhawks 2: Hawks lose sixth straight
February 8
Chicago Sun-Times
 
"There wasn't anything new for Jonathan Toews, Duncan Keith, Ray Emery and coach Joel Quenneville to add to the Blackhawks' list of woes when they met the media Tuesday after another ugly loss. They keep losing for the same reasons, and it's beyond the point of simple frustration. The once-confident Hawks, who were perched atop the league just a few weeks ago, don't look too confident anymore. "We have to find a way to win a game to get some confidence back in ourselves and our game," Quenneville said after the Hawks dropped their sixth game in a row when the Colorado Avalanche raced past them for a 5-2 victory at the Pepsi Center. It's the Hawks' longest losing streak since they dropped"
New Hawks center bouncing around
February 8
Chicago Tribune
 
"Brendan Morrison was traded to the Blackhawks, and then he started moving. In a week's worth of games, the veteran center has bounced from second line to fourth line and then up to the third line, and where he stops nobody knows. "At some point, it'd be nice to get some regular linemates, but you have to figure out where you fit in," Morrison said. "Really, I just need to play a bit. I haven't played a whole lot, even before I got dealt here. … You get in a little better game shape, then hopefully that'll help things.""
Hawks collapse in 3rd to lose 6th in row
February 8
Chicago Tribune
 
"In one stall of a dressing room infested by frustration and disgust, Brent Seabrook sat hands folded, staring blankly at nothing in particular. A couple stalls down, Niklas Hjalmarsson struck the same gloomy pose. Across the space, Patrick Sharp did likewise. The sight repeated itself after the Blackhawks' recent problems repeated themselves and produced a familiar result, a 5-2 loss to the Avalanche at the Pepsi Center that made it six straight defeats. It has been nearly three weeks without a victory, but forgive the Hawks if it feels like eons."
Key indicators paint dismal picture for Blackhawks' porous defense
February 7
Chicago Sun-Times
 
"It didn't take too long before the first Super Bowl analogy came out of the Blackhawks' locker room Monday. "If you look at the big picture, teams are going to have bumps like this," defenseman Sean O'Donnell said, alluding to the Hawks' five-game losing streak. "If you'd ask the [New York] Giants in Week 10 or 12 how their season was looking, it wasn't looking too good, and that turned out OK. You have to keep your eye on the big ball. Obviously, we need to fix some things, but the personnel is in this room.""
Too many penalties hurting Blackhawks
February 7
Chicago Tribune
 
"The Blackhawks have conga-lined to the penalty box in the last two outings during a five-game losing streak, with 11 penalties, including a double-minor, collected in all. Jonathan Toews can appreciate the reasons for some of this, in a way. That way, more specifically: Barely concealed seething contempt. "There are some unfortunate situations where maybe you get your stick up here and the guy throws his head back and that's all the ref sees, so he pretty much has to call it," the Hawks captain said Monday after practice."
Emery gets nod in net for Blackhawks
February 7
Chicago Tribune
 
"Ray Emery gets the call in goal for the Chicago Blackhawks on Tuesday. The prevailing issue is whether that gives the veteran a chance to earn the nod nightly moving forward. Again Monday, just as he indicated a day earlier, Hawks coach Joel Quenneville wasn't handing either Emery or Corey Crawford the job or conceding that he'd like to stick with one or the other down the stretch. But merely leaving matters open-ended opens the door for all sorts of possibilities to flood in."
Andrew Brunette's injury not serious; he'll travel this week
February 6
Chicago Sun-Times
 
"There were concerns within the Blackhawks organization that Andrew Brunette might have sustained a significant injury over the course of back-to-back defeats against the Edmonton Oilers and Calgary Flames. But after returning to Chicago and being examined by team doctors, things aren't as bad as they first appeared. "[Brunette] is feeling much better today than he did when we saw him last [in Western Canada]," coach Joel Quenneville said Sunday. To further illustrate the lack of severity, Brunette (upper body) will travel with the team to Denver, San Jose and Phoenix. There's a good chance he'll play this weekend against the Sharks or Coyotes. Brunette has missed three games in the last"
Blackhawks facing fourth net change in four years down stretch
February 6
Chicago Sun-Times
 
"By this time last season, Corey Crawford already had secured the starting spot in goal over Marty Turco for the stretch run. It's time to find out who that goalie will be this year. While help might arrive on the blue line via a trade, the Hawks won't be pursuing a goalie. It will be either Crawford or veteran Ray Emery. "I don't want to forecast or say exactly how it's going to play out," coach Joel Quenneville said Sunday. "Ray has done a good job, and [Crawford], we have to get him some confidence." Although he won't announce until Monday who his goalie will be Tuesday against the Colorado Avalanche, Quenneville made similar comments in December when Emery started six games in a row and"
Winger Brunette nearing return for Hawks
February 6
Chicago Tribune
 
"Mired in a five-game losing streak, the Chicago Blackhawks seemingly need all the help they can get from all corners. And Andrew Brunette could provide some sooner than expected. The veteran winger will travel with the team to Denver and could be in the lineup by the weekend, Hawks coach Joel Quenneville said Sunday -- just a few days after the situation seemed much more dire following an upper body injury suffered in Edmonton last week. "Bruno is feeling much better... than he did when we saw him last," Quenneville said after practice. "He's going to come on the trip and hopefully he'll play. We'll see if it's Colorado but maybe likely towards the weekend, if he's ready."
Blackhawks know they must shore up their team defense
February 6
Chicago Tribune
 
"The Blackhawks rank 25th in the NHL in goals-allowed average, five spots from the league's defensive rock-bottom. In related news, for a team harboring Stanley Cup aspirations, this is not a sustainable way to go about fulfilling those hopes. "Well, obviously the way we've been playing right now, I don't think you can," defenseman Duncan Keith said Sunday, when asked if the team can survive leaky defense like this. "I don't think that's saying anything outrageous. "We think we have a good team and we know when we play the right way we're a really tough team to play against and a really tough team to score goals against. We've been talking about it a lot, and working on it a lot throughout"
Jamal Mayers has shown scoring touch as well as veteran's savvy
February 5
Chicago Sun-Times
 
"Jamal Mayers quietly is having one of his most productive seasons in the last several years. Mayers, 37, has played in every game for the Blackhawks and has become a dependable mainstay as a gritty fourth-line center. No Hawk has dropped the gloves more times (eight) than Mayers. But with goals against the Vancouver Canucks and Edmonton Oilers, he pushed his haul to five for the season, one fewer than in his last two years combined. "Anyone at this level at some point was used to scoring goals," Mayers said. "Obviously, your roles change over the years and what you have to do to be [an NHL] player and sustain it over a career. But everybody likes to contribute.""
Blackhawks in search of applicants for help-wanted ad
February 5
Chicago Sun-Times
 
"Stan Bowman doesn't like what he sees. But, at least for the moment, the Blackhawks' general manager said there's nothing he can do about it. Before his team extended its losing streak to a season-high five games with a 3-1 loss Friday to the Calgary Flames, Bowman told reporters that he is in regular contact with GMs across the league but he can't find any sellers. In spite of the Hawks' second losing streak of at least four games in a month, Bowman pointed to the Vancouver Canucks and Boston Bruins as ­examples of teams with talent and depth who rebounded from terrible starts with what they had."
Blackhawks' Crawford tries to battle through inconsistency
February 5
Chicago Tribune
 
"What baffles Corey Crawford the most right now is that he truly doesn't know what's going on with his game. The Blackhawks goaltender feels fine physically, his technique has been sound and his confidence hasn't wavered. Still, when it comes to stopping pucks, Crawford has been wildly inconsistent. "It's been a weird, weird year," Crawford said. "I've played some really good hockey and some not-so-good hockey. I'm just trying to figure out a way to be consistent and be solid night in and night out for the guys in front of me. To be a top team in the league, what a team needs is a goalie who is going to go in there every game and give them confidence and give them saves at the right time.""
Sliding Hawks have no bounce-back answer in Calgary
February 4
Calgary Herald
 
"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"
With Andrew Brunette down, Michael Frolik gets another shot
February 4
Chicago Sun-Times
 
"Andrew Brunette missed Friday's game with an undisclosed upper-body injury. Brunette played only 2:30 in the first period of the Blackhawks' embarrassing 8-4 loss to the Edmonton Oilers on Thursday. General manager Stan Bowman said that there isn't a timeframe for his return and that the Hawks will have a better idea when they determine the extent of the injury. "We're going to get a better evaluation when we get home," Bowman said. "We'll certainly have a better idea before the game in Denver. I don't know at this point if it's long term." "I talked to him about it, and [there wasn't] a defining blow," coach Joel Quenneville said. "It might have been back-to-back games [being] something"
Stan Bowman says no help coming; Blackhawks drop fifth straight
February 4
Chicago Sun-Times
 
"On a day general manager Stan Bowman said there was no help on the horizon, the Blackhawks continued to look in desperate need of some. Bowman said the game Friday against the Calgary Flames would be an opportunity for the team to show its ability to respond after an embarrassing loss to the Edmonton Oilers on Thursday. What happened was another poor showing and a deepening of the Hawks' worst stretch of the season. They fell to the Flames 3-1 at the Scotiabank Saddledome for their season-high fifth consecutive loss. "We were better than last night," captain Jonathan Toews said of the 8-4 loss to the Oilers. "It didn't take much to do that, but we got to find a way to play the way we did"
Hawks drop 5th in row
February 4
Chicago Tribune
 
"There's no immediate help on the horizon for the struggling Blackhawks. Before dropping their season-high fifth consecutive game, a 3-1 defeat at the hands of the Flames on Friday night at the Scotiabank Saddledome, general manager Stan Bowman said he was not close to any trades that could help the Hawks turn their fortunes around. Specifically, he has nothing going to shore up a defense that has been consistent only in its inconsistency. "I think (any GM) who says they're close to a trade is kind of full of it at this point," Bowman said before the Hawks fell to 0-2-1 on their nine-game trip. "There's just nothing happening. I talked to some GMs (on Friday) and (one) said, 'What are you"
Hawks wound salted by Oilers
February 3
Edmonton Sun
 
"The Edmonton Oilers were downplaying the revenge factor heading into Thursday night's game against the Chicago Blackhawks. After all, the two teams have already faced each other once since the Oilers hammered the Blackhawks 9-2 in their previous encounter at Rexall Place. "I don't think past results have anything to do with what's going to happen," said Oilers head coach Tom Renney before the game. "If that motivates them, then great, but they're a good team and they know it. We have to be as good as we can possibly be to beat these guys.""
Hawks wound salted by Oilers
February 3
Edmonton Sun
 
"The Edmonton Oilers were downplaying the revenge factor heading into Thursday night's game against the Chicago Blackhawks. After all, the two teams have already faced each other once since the Oilers hammered the Blackhawks 9-2 in their previous encounter at Rexall Place. "I don't think past results have anything to do with what's going to happen," said Oilers head coach Tom Renney before the game. "If that motivates them, then great, but they're a good team and they know it. We have to be as good as we can possibly be to beat these guys.""
Friend now foe for Flames
February 3
Calgary Herald
 
"In any manner of workplace situation imaginable — bank, auto-body dealership, newsroom, neighbourhood bakery, NHL inner sanctum — it's immensely rare to find someone, anyone, who transcends all petty jealousies and personal agendas; who doesn't irk this person or alienate that one. Who is universally liked. Brendan Morrison is such a someone. "Oh yeah, he was very popular in our room,'' said captain Jarome Iginla, the morning before Morrison's return to the Scotiabank Saddledome as a Chicago Blackhawk. "He gets along with everybody."
Oilers 8, Blackhawks 4: Crawford gets hook as Edmonton pulls away in third
February 3
Chicago Sun-Times
 
"When you're a team with the talent and depth of the Blackhawks, looking at the standings and finding yourself in fourth place never is a comfortable feeling. But the feeling the Hawks were left with after another shellacking in Rexall Place at the hands of the Edmonton Oilers — an 8-4 loss Thursday that echoed the 9-2 beatdown they suffered in late November — was decidedly worse. "Forget about payback, forget about all that stuff," Jonathan Toews said afterward. "We just didn't do the right things at all again. It was an easy game for their top players, we let them do whatever they wanted — tap in goals, left and right. We hung our goaltenders out to dry.""
Brendan Morrison finds the timing is right
February 3
Chicago Sun-Times
 
"Brendan Morrison admitted Thursday he was a little surprised when he got the call over the All-Star break, telling him he was traded. Not about the fact he was acquired by the Blackhawks from the Calgary Flames. Morrison was surprised at the timing. "I thought something maybe might happen closer to the deadline," said Morrison, who played on the second line with Patrick Sharp and Marian Hossa for the second consecutive game. "But this might work out better because it gives me a longer opportunity to be with this team and mesh with guys.""
It's deja vu as Oilers blast Hawks 8-4
February 3
Chicago Tribune
 
"In a couple of months when the Blackhawks look back on how the Western Conference postseason race unfolded, they just might focus on their efforts against the Oilers this season. And they likely will cringe, shake their heads and wonder "What if?" The Hawks fell to the Oilers for the third time this season as Sam Gagner had an historic night with eight points, including four goals en route to his first career hat trick, in leading the Oilers to an 8-4 victory Thursday at Rexall Place."
8 points for Sam Gagner in Oil win
February 3
Edmonton Sun
 
"If the Chicago Blackhawks left Edmonton in a huff last time because the Oilers were trying for 10, imagine how they felt on Thursday, when ONE GUY almost did it. Of course, it's tough for any team to keep pace with one of the most astonishing games the NHL has ever seen, so maybe they shouldn't feel so bad about losing 8-4 to a 22-year-old centre. Making their first visit to Edmonton since they were trounced 9-2 here in November, the Blackhawks ran into a determined little piece of history named Sam Gagner, who almost single-handedly dismantled the Hawks with four goals and four assists to join Wayne Gretzky and Paul Coffey as the only other Oilers to register eight-point nights."
Blackhawks' Ray Emery hasn't forgotten last Edmonton trip
February 2
Chicago Sun-Times
 
"Ray Emery remembers the feeling. The last time the Blackhawks were in Edmonton, Emery spoke after a 9-2 shellacking at the hands of the Oilers about how he and his team needed to remember what that night felt like. They didn't want it to happen again. "I remember, for sure," said Emery, who allowed seven of the nine goals in the Nov. 19 game but has rebounded to win eight of his 11 starts since. "That was a tough game, and I don't think I've had a game like that in my career before. Not just the nine goals, but the way it was, too. It seemed like there wasn't much of a fight put up.""
Hawks rookie earning extended minutes
February 2
Chicago Tribune
 
"Here's the latest #Shawfact: Blackhawks rookie Andrew Shaw has played the most minutes of any forward on the team in each of the last two games. More than Marian Hossa, Patrick Kane, Jonathan Toews, you name him. Coach Joel Quenneville hasn't hesitated to rely on 20-year-old in every situation, playing him five-on-five on the third line with Dave Bolland and Marcus Kruger and on special teams, including time on the first power-play unit."
'Best leader' Toews among Hawks scoring in rankings
February 2
Chicago Tribune
 
"Success on the ice has been a little uneven for the Chicago Blackhawks of late, but the organization fared well in a renowned magazine's "Best of Everything in Hockey" issue. The Hockey News recently ranked over 50 different categories at the professional level in voting conducted by its 30 NHL correspondents. The Hawks and members of the organization placed first in four categories, second in five and third in four. First-place finishes included Best Business Savvy, Best Jersey, Best Leader (Jonathan Toews) and Best Grinder (Dave Bolland)."
Simple for Hawks: Finish or be finished
February 2
Chicago Tribune
 columnist Steve Rosenbloom
"The Blackhawks played the NHL-wide-despised Canucksabout even in the first period of their first game back from an All-Star Game as useful as John Scott. After that, the Hawks dominated play. Shots, chances, puck possession --- you name, it, the Hawks owned it. But they couldn't finish. And then they lost. The Hawks couldn't kill the NHL-wide-despised Canucks, even with a power play in the dying minutes of regulation. And then Daniel Sedin popped home the winner in overtime after his family had done nothing all game. The Hawks couldn't finish. Not a good start to a nine-game road trip, eh?"
Canucks down Blackhawks in overtime
February 1
Vancouver Sun
 
"Memo to Canucks' coach Alain Vigneault: Cory Schneider is ready for prime time. Vigneault made Schneider his surprise starter Tuesday night against Vancouver's arch-rivals, the Chicago Blackhawks, and before the game suggested he wanted Schneider to learn how to play in the big games. Schneider delivered, much the way he did in early January against the Stanley Cup champion Boston Bruins, as he backstopped the Canucks to a thrilling 3-2 overtime win over the Hawks at Rogers Arena."
Hodgson rouses sleepy Canucks to 3-2 OT win over Blackhawks
February 1
Vancouver Province
 
"Here's how cool Cody Hodgson is under pressure. In the critical moment of Tuesday's it-felt-critical game, he got behind the Blackhawks' defence on a breakaway and just drifted into thought. He thought about how Dale Weise, of all players, told him to go high glove on Corey Crawford, even though Crawford had just made a big glove save on Daniel Sedin. He thought about what trainer Jamie Hendricks told him when, in the second intermission, they just happened to outline the exact scenario Hodgson was experiencing at that moment. About the only thing he didn't have time to think about was the 6,400-word essay his agent, Ritch Winter, had recently posted online."
Canucks 3, Blackhawks 2: Daniel Sedin scores winner in OT
February 1
Chicago Sun-Times
 
"If Brendan Morrison needed a lesson about what it means to be a Blackhawk, he'd have been hard-pressed to find a better place to begin that education than the stadium he called home for eight seasons. One of the most beloved players ever to take the ice for the Vancouver Canucks at Rogers Arena, Morrison returned Tuesday to the city where he still lives during the offseason, but as a newly added member of one of the Hawks' most bitter rivals. ''It was a tough game, a hard-fought game, a playoff-type game,'' Morrison said."
Blackhawks' Patrick Sharp, Jonathan Toews back in action
February 1
Chicago Sun-Times
 
"Winger Patrick Sharp and center Jonathan Toews, who suffered hand injuries in January, returned to the lineup Monday for the Blackhawks. Sharp's return came less than four weeks after he reportedly suffered a broken bone his left wrist against the Detroit Red Wings when he was slashed while scoring his 20th goal of the season. He missed eight games. "In my mind, I'm ready to go, I'm 100 percent," he said before the Hawks played the Canucks at Rogers Arena. ''I feel great, and I'm excited to play in this building. I can't wait to be back, and I'm ready to get going.''"
Hawks' Sharp answers the call in early return
February 1
Chicago Tribune
 
"When your team is kicking off a critical nine-game road trip that could go a long way toward dictating where it finishes in the postseason race, a prognosis of being sidelined three-to-four-weeks ends up being a lot closer to three. Winger Patrick Sharp, who suffered a broken bone in his left wrist Jan. 8 when he was slashed by the Red Wings' Jiri Hudler and was expected to be sidelined up to a month, returned to the Blackhawks' lineup 23 days after sustaining the injury when they lost 3-2 in overtime to the Canucks on Tuesday night at Rogers Arena. Sharp said he was "100 percent healthy" after Tuesday's morning skate, but a source told the Tribune that the veteran is experiencing some"
Hawks' Sharp to play with broken bone in wrist
January 31
Chicago Tribune
 
"Chicago Blackhawks winger Patrick Sharp has a broken bone in his left wrist that may require surgery after the season, but the veteran will play Tuesday night against the Vancouver Canucks at Rogers Arena. Sharp missed eight games after suffering the injury Jan. 8 when he was slashed by the Detroit Red Wings' Jiri Hudler while scoring his 20th goal of the season. After being placed on the injured list, Sharp was expected to miss three to four weeks with the injury but will return as the Hawks kick off a critical nine-game road trip."
Schneider to face Blackhawks
January 31
Vancouver Sun
 
"Apparently Cory Schneider just starts the big games. Just over three weeks after he was the surprise starter in Boston against the Bruins, Schneider will start again tonight when the Vancouver Canucks play host to their top Western Conference rivals, the Chicago Blackhawks. Schneider said he got an advance heads-up from coach Alain Vigneault before the all-star break that he would likely face the Hawks."
Hawks will have Toews back for opener of 9-game trip; Sharp practices
January 31
Chicago Tribune
 
"Jonathan Toews was the second player to take the ice for the Blackhawks' first practice following the All-Star break. A short time later, Patrick Sharp followed suit. Just like that, the Hawks' prospects for success on their nine-game road trip that begins Tuesday night against the Canucks became a whole lot more optimistic. The forwards participated in full drills with teammates during Monday night's practice at Rogers Arena and Toews said afterward he would play against the Canucks. As far as Sharp, he said he would determine if he'd return against Vancouver following Tuesday's morning skate."