Chicago Blackhawks (5-3-3) vs. Colorado Avalanche (5-6-0)

Chicago TV: CSN (HD)
Chicago Radio: WGN (720 AM)

Chicago Blackhawks (3-3-3) vs. Dallas Stars (4-4-2)

Chicago TV: CSN+ (HD)
Chicago Radio: WGN (720 AM)

For the second straight year, the Hawks play the Stars on Halloween night. Last year, it was in Dallas and the Blackhawks won 5-4 on a night when Jason Williams was the hero.

It sure would be nice to get over the .500 mark (if you don't count the SO losses as real losses) tonight with a back-to-back game tomorrow in Columbus. Let's hope Khabibulin is in goal tonight. I really don't feel like watching Cristobal Huet give up a bunch of soft goals again.

Chicago Blackhawks (3-2-3) @ Minnesota Wild (5-0-1)

Chicago TV: Versus
Chicago Radio: WGN (720 AM)

The Hawks are going to be looking to bounce back tonight from a tough 6-5 shootout loss on Saturday against the Red Wings. This team has yet to win a game on the road, and I think now would be a perfect time to get that first victory out of the way.

Cam Barker is back with the Blackhawks, while Niklas Hjalmarsson and Jordan Hendry have been sent back to Rockford. Good move, as Barker deserved to make the team out of training camp anyways. Hopefully he gets a good chance up here and maybe even some power play time if possible.

Chicago Blackhawks (3-2-2) vs. Detroit Red Wings (5-1-1)

Chicago TV: WGN (HD)
Chicago Radio: WGN (720 AM).

The first meeting between the Blackhawks and Red Wings of the season -- should be fun. Detroit is off to another good start this year and the Hawks are hoping to give them trouble tonight at the United Center. The Blackhawks went 5-3 last year against the Wings, and hopefully they can put up a similar or better mark this season. It'll be a large, rowdy crowd and hopefully the Hawks fans can rub it in to the Detroit fans by the end of regulation after a win.

From the Chicago Tribune:

It wasn't finalized until Wednesday, but new Blackhawks coach Joel Quenneville has signed a three-year contract, according to general manager Dale Tallon.

Quenneville's deal is through the 2010-11 season and he celebrated by watching his team go out and dominate the Edmonton Oilers 3-0 at the United Center.

The Hawks are 2-0-1 since Quenneville took over for Denis Savard.

"I thought we've had three good games and I thought this was our best," Quenneville said. "In all areas we were strong and our special teams were really good. Our puck possession, our speed, our pressure, making plays, every part of our game we were happy with."

Well, um, that was quick. This seems to be jumping the gun a bit on Tallon's part. Quenneville's only coached three games so far and while the team has looked a little better, it seems to be a little too early to start handing out contract extensions. I think Quenneville's style has been fairly effective so far but I hope this quick extension doesn't backfire on Tallon in the future.

Chicago Blackhawks (2-2-2) vs. Edmonton Oilers (4-0-0)

Chicago TV: CSN (HD)
Chicago Radio: WGN (720 AM)

Kind of a tall task for the Hawks tonight. The Oilers come in with a perfect 4-0 record and have allowed only 9 goals in those four games (if my math is correct that is just above 2 goals a game allowed). They've also scored 13 goals in those 4 games, which comes out to over 3 goals a game. They're certainly off to a fantastic start, that much is for certain.

The Blackhawks are going to have to play a sound defensive game in their own zone tonigth and have to avoid turnovers, especially when guys like Ales Hemsky are on the ice, who will make you pay for that kind of thing. This team will also have to take advantage of the power plays they get against a team that has not allowed much offensively to anyone so far. This game may come down to who has a better night on special teams.

Also, note the odd start time of 8:00 PM central time for this one tonight. I was trying to think of any time recently when there was that late of a start time for a Hawks game in Chicago, but nothing came to mind.

From the official site:

The Chicago Blackhawks have recalled right wing Troy Brouwer (6-2, 213) from the American Hockey League’s Rockford IceHogs. In addition, the Blackhawks have assigned right wing Jack Skille to the IceHogs.

Brouwer, 23, leads Rockford with six assists and eight points in five games this season, which includes a four-point night (G, 3A) last Friday against the Iowa Chops. The Delta, British Columbia, native has appeared in 12 games with the Blackhawks over the last two years, which includes notching his first career point – and assist – in two outings last season.

I'm a little surprised, but Skille was not quite playing with the physical edge necessary to compliment his good speed, and wasn't quite playing at the level the Hawks probably wanted him at through the first 6 games. If Skille can go down and develop a good physical game, I can see him being a good scorer in this league. Until then, we will see if Brouwer can stick around on the big club.

Chicago Blackhawks (1-2-2) vs. Vancouver Canucks (3-2-0)

Chicago TV: CSN (HD)
Chicago Radio: WGN (720 AM)

Well, Joel Quenneville's debut didn't go too well last night after the Hawks blew a 3rd period lead with 13 seconds to go and eventually lost 4-3 in a shootout to the Blues. Hopefully, things go better tonight at home with a big crowd on hand.

Goalie-wise, I would think we will probably see Cristobal Huet tonight with Khabibulin having played last night, but how about Khabby anyways? Another stellar game for him last night in St. Louis and he has been the better goalie by far through the first 5 games of the year. Hopefully, Huet can get it going so we don't have to worry about trading the wrong goalie.

Chicago Blackhawks (1-2-1) @ St. Louis Blues (3-1-0)

Chicago TV: CSN (HD)
Chicago Radio: WGN (720 AM)

Tonight we see the debut of Joel Quenneville behind the bench for the Hawks and, wouldn't you know it, it'll be against the team he formerly coached for eight seasons. It should be interesting to see what kind of system the Hawks will be playing under Quenneville, and how they will respond to a rather surprising coaching change.

I would have to think we will see Nikolai Khabibulin in goal after the stellar performance he turned in against Phoenix. It would be nice to have an encouring performance tonight to calm those who may think this coaching change was a big mistake. We shall see how it all works out.

From the Hawks' official site:

The Chicago Blackhawks announced today the addition of Marc Bergevin as an assistant coach on Joel Quenneville’s staff.

Bergevin, 43, is currently in his third season in the Blackhawks front office, having previous served on the scouting staff, which includes his most recent stint as the director of professional scouting. The Montreal native joins John Torchetti, Mike Haviland and goaltending coach Stephane Waite as the fourth member on Quenneville’s staff.

“Marc has a tremendous amount of experience as a player and as a scout and will bring a great deal of success to our coaching staff,” Blackhawks General Manager Dale Tallon said. “His hard work ethic and sense of humor will help our young players as they continue to develop. He has a wonderful relationship with Joel and we are very excited to add him to our great coaching staff.”

Looks like that will probably be the only change made to the coaching staff for now. I was thinking that Quenneville might bring in some of his old coaches from St. Louis or Colorado but it looks like he's sticking with what he has right now.

This is a shocker: Denis Savard has been fired as head coach of the Blackhawks and has been replaced by Joel Quenneville, as being reported by the official Hawks' site. There were definitely some things that Savard was doing that I disagreed with, but I really didn't think he would be fired just 4 games into the season, and the day after a victory. Apparently, there is going to be a press conference today at 4:30 PM to announce the news.

So, we know Quenneville has had a lot of success as a head coach in the NHL, which already has me thinking this is a good move, as Savard was inexperienced from the get-go and probably shouldn't have been made into a coach yet anyways. We will probably see some roster moves made in the next few days -- I wonder if Cam Barker is coming back up now? As well as potential other moves, like the trading of Khabibulin if that is still in the works.

Chicago Blackhawks (0-2-1) vs. Phoenix Coyotes (2-0-0)

Chicago TV: Comcast Sports Net (HD)
Chicago Radio: WGN (720 AM)

The Hawks come in tonight looking for their first win of the season in the fourth game of the year. I think it's quite important that they get it tonight, if the winless streak continues the pressure is just going to build and make it harder for these guys to play a solid 60 minutes of hockey.

Phoenix has won both of their contests so far this season. They brought in Olli Jokinen over the off-season as well as draftees Kyle Turris, Mikkel Boedker and Viktor Tikhonov who are helping to revitalize the Coyotes' offensive attack. Throw in Shane Doan as well and you have a tall task in trying to shut them down offensively.

The lineup is not out as of yet but if I had to guess I would say that Nikolai Khabibulin will probably get the start tonight in goal, after a less-than-stellar outing from Cristobal Huet in Monday's loss to Nashville. Hopefully Khabby can have a good game, the offense gets going and this team can grab its first victory.

UPDATE (3:22 PM): delorean80 mentions in the game thread that Khabibulin is indeed starting tonight, per Comcast Sports Net.

UPDATE (7:09 PM): Tonight's lineup is now out:

I think I can speak for everyone when I say that was a pretty crappy home opener. The Hawks will allow me to use the word sloppy to describe them for the third straight game, as it seems like that is yet again the best way to describe what I and 21,000 other fans watched at the United Center last night. The big crowd watched the Hawks struggle their way to earning a point before falling 3-2 in a shootout to the Nashville Predators.

I would say this was a better effort than we had seen the past two games in New York and Washington. The Hawks came out flying for the first 10 minutes or so and seemed determined to bury Nashville early. Unfortunately, despite a ton of great scoring chances early in the game, Dan Ellis made some big stops for the Predators. It seemed like there were five or six great point-blank opportunities for the Hawks that they just could not put away. Eventually, about six minutes in, they scored on a five on three advantage when Martin Havlat tipped home a pass from Patrick Kane to get the 1-0 lead, but really the 1st was a story of the Hawks needing more than what they put on the scoreboard, because Nashville tied it 3 minutes later with a goal from Shea Weber on the power play, and Kevin Klein would score on a breakaway when Kane made a very ill-advised pass that sprung Klein right out of the penalty box.

What followed after the 1st was the recurring theme and perhaps disturbing trend that is taking place for the Hawks so far; a great start followed by the forecheck softening up and the defense starting with the turnovers and miscues. After Patrick Sharp scored just 30 seconds into the 2nd on a broken play to tie up the game, the next 40 minutes of hockey were sloppy (yes, I worked it in again), unorganized, tentative and frustrating. Defensively, guys like Brent Seabrook and Brent Sopel stood out as players who really had a brutal night. Seabrook was mishandling the puck all night and Sopel just looked slow and a step behind.

I still am having trouble understanding why Denis Savard seems intent on reeling in his forecheckers after a good, fast start. For three games now, they have come out flying and getting scoring chances, and then all of a sudden we see less pressure put on the opposing team's defensemen and the forwards sitting back in the shell. You could see the difference between these two teams last night; The Hawks sat back, while the Predators were agressively forechecking all night and causing problems for the Blackhawks' blue-liners all night. This team has some talented, fast forwards who need to be used in the correct way, and if they are not it is simply bad coaching, which is what we are experiencing right now under Savard.

As for the goaltending, Cristobal Huet is definitely unimpressive so far in his first couple of starts. Last night, I think the first goal he allowed was very stoppable. Then, in the shootout, it was clear he was just very over-matched by Rich Peverly and J.P. Dumont who just went five-hole on him for both tallies. I think Huet seems to be lacking confidence right now and is not making the big stops he needs to make. It's early, but he needs to pick up his game. I wouldn't be surprised to see Nikolai Khabibulin starting Wednesday against Phoenix.

Certainly, an 0-2-1 start is not what any of us envisioned, and it's tough to kind of stumble out of the gate like that, but let's keep in mind that it has only been 3 games, and some guys just aren't playing at their top levels yet. Maybe there has been a lot of jitters with these games and now that they have gotten the first three out of the way, they can just focus on winning games, period.

Chicago Blackhawks (0-2-0) vs. Nashville Predators (1-1-0)

Chicago TV: CSN (HD)
Chicago Radio: WGN (720 AM)

Alright, time to step up tonight, Hawks. It's the home opener, it'll be a packed house at the United Center and it's time to get the first win of the season, and wouldn't it be nice to do it against a division rival? I'll be at this one tonight, so let's hope myself and all the other Hawks fans going to this one will be leaving with a smile on their faces.

Ugh. This isn't the way anyone wanted to see the Hawks start this season off.  The first two games have come and gone and this team now sits at 0-2 with a couple of performances that left everybody a little underwhelmed. Tonight saw another strong start in the 1st for the Hawks, scoring on the first shift of the game, but they ended up blowing a 2-0 lead and eventually falling 4-2 to the Capitals.

This game pretty much mirrored last night's loss in New York quite a bit. Another strong start, including a goal 26 seconds in from Kris Versteeg and a 2-0 lead, gave way to sloppy defensive play, the "prevent offense" as it's starting to be called where the Hawks lightened up the pressure on Washington, and another poor last 40 minutes in general after a strong opening 20. This team simply seemed to let up after jumping on the Capitals early, and Washington didn't hesitate to take advantage of that and eventually grab the victory.

I can't help but think Denis Savard has a hand in this team not keeping the foot on the pedal after getting off to good starts. It seems like he puts the "shell" into effect when they get the lead and more often than not a strategy like that is going to backfire on you. When the forecheck is aggressive, you keep that pressure on the other team and don't allow them to get back into it offensively. If you rest on your laurels, that's pretty much inviting your opponent to come back and take the win from you.

Not much positive you can take from this one. Brian Campbell didn't look too good covering Alexander Ovechkin (who potted two goals), Toews and Kane weren't able to create much energy, and overall things were, once again, sloppy. Matt Walker played 6:15 in his season debut on defense and looked awful. Where is Cam Barker again? I guess you could say Nikolai Khabibulin had a strong start in net, especially in the 3rd when he was pelted with shots and withstood the pressure until Brooks Laich put home a goal that had to be reviewed late in the 3rd before it was decided that it was a good goal. Unfortunately, the Hawks were almost able to come out with at least a point despite not playing a good game, but they weren't so lucky in the end.

This is a team that just looks a little unorganized right now and has played two games where they just weren't as sharp as you need to be in every facet of the game to win. They need to tie up the loose ends, and hopefully Savard can figure out that you need to stay aggressive on a team even after you grab an early lead. It's not going to be easy for them to go into the home opener on Monday against Nashville with an 0-2 record. A lot of pressure already to get that first win. Hopefully their game will be improved and they can get two points in front of a packed United Center.

Chicago Blackhawks (0-1-0) @ Washington Capitals (0-1-0)

Chicago TV: WGN (HD)
Chicago Radio: WGN (720 AM)

I'd really, really love to see the Hawks just get that first win out of the way tonight. I would just hate to see this team head into the home opener with an 0-2 record and still looking for their first win of the season, because that's a lot of pressure to handle this early in the year for a young team. If they can build on some of the positive things they did last night in the loss to the Rangers, like the way they created scoring chances in the 1st period, and eliminate some of the negative things, like the defensive turnovers, I like the Hawks' chances of getting win #1 of the season.

I would think we may see Nikolai Khabibulin in goal tonight. Cristobal Huet didn't have a great night in goal against New York and I think Savard may turn to Khabby, because that's the reality of the goalie situation right now; If one goalie has a rough night, time to turn to the other $6 million goaltender and see if he can come up with a big performance. I don't think Huet neccessarily deserves to be "benched", if that's the way you want to put it, but right now there are two expensive goalies on this roster and they need to be used equally until Khabibulin is dealt to another team.

Washington has some pretty good offensive talent up front, obviously with Alexander Ovechkin of course, but Alexander Semin and Nicklas Backstrom are pretty good complementary players as well. Sergei Federov, Michael Nylander and Viktor Kozlov don't quite instill fear into opponents like they did years ago, but still can create offense if given the opportunity.

Get some pressure on goalie Jose Theodore early on and I think the Hawks can have a successful offensive night. Hopefully the power play can bury some of their chances and ultimately help spoil Washington's home opener.

I was feeling pretty good about this game after the 1st period ended. The Hawks came out looking pretty sharp all around the ice, creating some scoring chances and outplaying New York. However, the last 40 minutes of this game weren't fun to watch if you're a Hawks fan, as the Rangers made some kind of adjustment and took care of business for the next two periods, beating the Blackhawks 4-2.

If I had to sum up this game in one word for the Hawks, it would be sloppy. Defensively, it seemed like something was out of sync between everyone and there was a lot of ugly looking breakouts as well as turnovers in the defensive zone. In goal, Cristobal Huet would probably be the first to tell you he didn't have a great game tonight in his Hawks debut. Allowing four goals on 29 shots, there was probably a couple that he could have stopped, at least. It doesn't all go on his shoulders, but let's just say he will have to play better than tonight if he wants to truly earn the four year contract he signed this summer.

The first 20 minutes really should have been much more productive for the Hawks but unfortunately they made a habit of missing the net on chances in close. The stat sheet says they recorded 8 shots on goal in the 1st, but that doesn't really indicate how well they were able to create chances all period long. They sent too many pucks wide from in close, but also give credit to Henrik Lundqvist, who was superb in goal for the Rangers. He made the big stops when he needed to (30 in total) and showed why he's considered one of the elite goalies in the NHL.

The power play sure didn't help things out either tonight, going 0-for-3 and not looking too sharp. I would say it looked better than the past couple of seasons usually were, but again they had trouble burying the chances when they had them and Lundqvist of course didn't give them anything easy. Campbell certainly made things look a little more organized on the blue-line, but I think they need a little more work before they will be a potent unit.

I don't know about some of you, but I became a little frustrated watching the following players out there tonight: Craig Adams, Colin Fraser, Niklas Hjalmarsson and Jordan Hendry. Those are in no particular order, by the way. Now, let me give a little credit to Fraser for at least dropping the gloves very early in the game which may or may have given the Hawks a spark. He doesn't fight well and probably never will, but I guess it's the intent that counts. Adams? Forget it, bring up Blunden, Brouwer or Kontiola now and get rid of him. Am I being impatient here? Maybe, but I don't see any use for Adams when a young player can come up and do just what he's doing, probably with the potential for some scoring added on. I still don't understand why this team picked up Adams last season.

Denis Savard must have agreed with me on the points of Hendry and Hjalmarsson, because they played just 8:34 combined tonight. Hjalmarsson did not play after the 1st period if I am not mistaken, and Hendry played maybe sparingly in the last 40 minutes. I just don't understand why Cam Barker was sent down if these two clearly are behind him in terms of development. Stability will be needed from that last defensive pairing to keep the puck out of the Hawks' net.

If you're looking for some positives to take out of the game, you can start with the first goal of the season when Brian Campbell made a very slick play by going coast to coast, banking the puck off the side of the net which then went to the stick of Patrick Kane who put it past Lundqvist. If Campbell makes a habit of creating plays like that, I think we're all going to warm up to him very quickly.

Despite Huet's rough night, at the same time, he also made some big stops on Rangers' chances that kept the Hawks in the game. It's not much solace on a night when he wasn't at his best, but I don't think he's someone we have to worry about.

I'd be remiss if I didn't mention that Jack Skille, Kris Versteeg and Dave Bolland all put forth promising efforts tonight. I'd say Skille was the most impressive of the three, as he at least played a little physical tonight, and showed off his speed well. I think these youngsters are going to stick in the lineup and will be fun to watch.

Also, this isn't an on-ice observation, but how amazing was it to hear Pat Foley calling the Hawks again? Such a refreshing change after having to listen to Dan Kelly for two seasons. I was reminded again why Foley is and always will be the voice of Blackhawks hockey. Just hearing him call a couple of Hawks goals tonight was a joy, plain and simple. Welcome back, Pat. You were missed greatly.

All in all, it's not time to hit the panic button. It was the first game of the year and it's not easy for a team to gel right off the bat. The Blackhawks really didn't play a bad game overall, and if they had been able to put away some of their scoring chances early in the game, they probably would have at least earned a point tonight. It could've been a lot worse, and I'd think they will play better after getting the opening jitters out of the way. Time for them to put it behind them, head to the nation's capital and get a win over the Capitals tomorrow night.

Chicago Blackhawks (0-0-0) @ New York Rangers (2-0-0)

Chicago TV: Comcast Sports Net (HD)
Chicago Radio: WGN (720 AM)

Tonight, we finally get to see the beginning of the Blackhawks' 2008-2009 season as they take on the Rangers in New York. We also get to hear Pat Foley as the Hawks' play-by-man for the first time since April 18, 2006. Hard to believe it's only been a little over 2 years since he left, because we had to endure Dan Kelly for two seasons. Hopefully the announcing is not the only thing that will be improved this season.

The Rangers have actually already started their regular season since they opened up with two games in Prague against the Tampa Bay Lightning. New York was able to win both games 2-1, so they come into their home opener looking to move to 3-0 on the season. They have a fairly potent offensive attack led by Markus Naslund and Scott Gomez up front, so it will be key to stop them in order to get the win. Henrik Lundqvist is off to a good start in goal for NY as well.

You'll be seeing a couple of regular season debuts for the Hawks tonight: Cristobal Huet in net and Brian Campbell on defense. Hopefully Campbell can pot a goal or two and Huet can make some big stops so they can get their Hawks careers off to a good start.

Overall, with all the buzz surrounding this team right now, it would be nice not to lay a dud in the first game of the season. Let's hope the Blackhawks come out flying and give us reason for a little optimism to start off the year.

Duncan Keith and Patrick Sharp have been named the assistant captains for this season by the Hawks:

"Duncs and Sharpy are going to wear [the 'A'] all year long," Savard said. "But we have a group of six core leaders for us -- Sharp, Duncs and Tayzer, obviously, plus Brian Campbell, Brent Seabrook and Brent Sopel."

Sharp, 26, led the Blackhawks last season with a career-high 36 goals and paced the NHL this preseason with six tallies.

"It feels great," Sharp said. "It's a great honor to wear a letter in the National Hockey League, especially an organization like the Hawks. I know Duncs is thrilled about it as well, but there are more than just three leaders in this room. We've got a number of guys who are going to provide leadership both on and off the ice."

Anyone else surprised to not see Brent Seabrook given an A? He's seemed like a leader on and off the ice, but I'm sure he will still have that role even if there isn't an A on his sweater.

Just when you thought he was gone:

Khabibulin practiced with the Blackhawks at the team's suburban Chicago facility on Tuesday after not being on the ice for a session on Saturday. The Blackhawks played their final exhibition game on Sunday and didn't practice on Monday.

Chicago signed free-agent goalie Cristobal Huet to a four-year, $22.45 million deal on July 1. Tallon and Blackhawks coach Denis Savard maintained they planned to start the season with the "luxury" of two No. 1 goalies.

"The best goaltender is going to play," Tallon said. "Nick knows that and I know that."

"Nick is with us," Savard said. "It's going to be day-by-day for both goaltenders. Habby and Dale had a great talk and we're happy to have him."

Khabibulin left the Blackhawks practice facility on Tuesday and didn't talk to reporters.

OK, that's kind of a surprise. It sounded like Khabibulin was likely going to be playing in Russia this year, but apparently that deal is on hold for now. I sure don't like the idea of carrying two goalies that are this expensive, and I'm disapppointed Dale Tallon couldn't find a deal for him. There's still time for him to possibly get something worked out, or maybe Khabby will be sent to Rockford. Either way, I don't think it's a good idea carrying both Huet and Khabibulin on the roster.

From Blackhawks.com:

The Chicago Blackhawks have assigned defensemen Cam Barker and Aaron Johnson and goaltender Antti Niemi to the American Hockey League’s Rockford IceHogs. In addition, the Blackhawks have released center Kevyn Adams and center Joakim Lindstrom has been claimed on waivers by the Anaheim Ducks.

I've gotta say that I am pretty surprised to see Cam Barker sent down and not making the roster out of training camp, but apparently he just didn't prove enough to the coaching staff to stick around for now. Also, Niemi may have been sent down but that is likely only temporary, until the Hawks finish that deal for Khabibulin. Kevyn Adams? Good riddance, I won't miss his play too much. And Lindstrom wasn't likely to stick around anyways.

So this is what your official 23 man roster for the Hawks will be looking like for the start of the season:

Chris Kuc of the Chicago Tribune updates us on how the roster is taking shape at this point:

The Blackhawks are still making decisions on their 2008-09 roster but a few things were decided Monday.

Jack Skille and Kris Versteeg appear to be the survivors of the battle for the open winger positions as the Hawks have sent  Troy Brouwer to Rockford of the American Hockey League, placed Joakim Lindstrom on waivers and sent Kyle Beach and Akim Aliu back to their junior teams. Decisions on Colin Fraser and free agent Kevyn Adams are still to come.

"It looks good for Versteeg and Skille," general manager Dale Tallon said. "They're quick, competed hard and just played with a lot of energy and skill."

On defense, Aaron Johnson has been placed on waivers while veteran Keith Carney and rookie Niklas Hjalmarsson are still in the mix.

Corey Crawford was also sent down to Rockford, leaving the Hawks with Cristobal Huet, Nikolai Khabibulin and Antti Niemi as the goaltenders on their roster.

Not surprised that Skille and Versteeg appear to have made it, I think they deserve it and will stick around, although Skille needs to play a physical game in order to stay in Chicago, and hopefully he does that to round out this game. Let's pray that Colin Fraser and Kevyn Adams do not make it, because there's no reason to keep around either of them.

I'm shocked that Keith Carney is still in the mix. From what I had heard, he was looking slow in the pre-season and it didn't sound like he would make it, but alas he is sticking around for now.

The article also states that the Hawks are still waiting on Khabibulin because they are still trying to negotiate a deal with the Russian team he looks to be headed for. Wednesday at 3 PM is the deadline for the rosters being turned into the NHL, so that is also a deadline for a deal with Khabby apparently.

Come on, I know you're out there. We are 82 hours away from the beginning of the Blackhawks' season in New York against the Rangers, and you're getting very anxious. I know I am. Heck, after watching my Cubs get absolutely embarassed in the playoffs after a terrific season (one that Al Yellon recapped terrifically over at Bleed Cubbie Blue), I need something to help me move on, and the Blackhawks will help give me that (you don't really think the Bears are going anywhere this season, do you?).

This season promises to perhaps be something special. There is a buzz around this team that has not been here for a long time, and I think everyone will agree that this is a club that could definitely finish 4th or 5th in the conference if they stay healthy and if luck is on their side. With the additions of Huet and Campbell, Toews and Kane a year more mature, and if Havlat can stay even relatively healthy, it should be an exciting team to watch this year.

So, come on. This is the thread where we all discuss how slowly the next 82 hours are going to go and how much we can't wait. Talk about the Hawks, talk about the Rangers, talk about New York, whatever. Let's help pass the time until hockey is finally back for us.

The excitement is definitely building. We are only five days away from the regular season opener in New York, and tonight will be the final pre-season game the Hawks will play. The Hawks will be trying to finish out with a 6-1-1 record in pre-season, but mostly they are probably just looking forward to starting the season and beginning the quest for the cup. The roster currently stands at 31, so eight more cuts have to be made to get it down to 23 for the start of the season. It'll be interesting to see who sticks around and makes the final cut and who gets sent down to Rockford within the next few days.

The Hawks roughed up the Avalanche at the Pepsi Center on Friday night, 7-4, a game where Byfuglien and Havlat both had two goals and Patrick Kane added three assists of his own.

Tonight's game is going on be on WGN Radio, with no TV, but the good news? This is the last game for the year that we will not be able to see on television. Pretty awesome, eh? Let's hope the Hawks can finish up the pre-season strong tonight, and hopefully Friday hurries up and gets here soon.

The pre-season is almost over! Yes! Tonight the Hawks will play the Avalanche in Colorado, before they finally wrap up the pre-season slate Sunday, when they play Colorado in Chicago. We are only SEVEN days away from the regular season beginning, and I cannot wait. This is especially good news for those of you out there that are Cubs fans like me and know that they are likely going to be done soon (sorry for bringing up that painful reality).

Last night, the Hawks defeated the Stars 4-3 in a shootout. This was a game full of fights and penalty minutes. The two teams combined for 146 penalty minutes, with the Hawks accounting for 89 of those. There were five fights: Jesse Boulerice got into two, which isn't a surprise because he's been quite a feisty player so far, Matt Walker got into two, and Ben Eager was involved in one as well. There were plenty of altercations which saw Kris Versteeg and Jack Skille both get 10 minute misconducts, and Eager received a match penalty in the 3rd. Old time hockey was definitely back last night. The Hawks received goals from Aaron Johnson, Kris Versteeg and Kevyn Adams, and Andrew Ladd scored in the shootout to win it. Props to Antti Niemi, who stopped 35 of 38 shots in the victory and I would have to think will be the backup to Huet this year.

The Hawks today announced that they have claimed Joakim Lindstrom off waivers from the Ducks. Lindstrom has played in 37 games with the Blue Jackets over three seasons and has contributed just eight points, so let's all hope he isn't the solution at center, which he defintiely isn't. I'm guessing he'll spend the season in Rockford barring injuries.

Looks like John Buccigross of ESPN is picking the Hawks to finish 4th in the Western conference this year. He says:

The terrifying speed of this franchise's resurrection is one of the great stories in all of sports. It is a great example of what energy and vision can do. In my feeble mind, life is all about energy. It is about looking and moving forward, glancing at times to the past, and constantly exercising the mind, body and soul in order to excel, adapt and grow.

Excel, adapt and grow the body, mind and soul, using the energy inside us and outside us. That's the key to life. That's what the Hawks have done.

Quite poetic, John. And he's right that this is one of the better stories in sports, because this franchise is back from the dead. Picking them 4th seems to be a lofty expectation right now, but we'll see how they do for the first couple of months at least before we can make a judgement on that.

Sigh. Another preseason game with no TV or radio, but the regular season is only 9 days away, so I think we can all manage. The Hawks have lost a couple of games in a row and come into this one with a 3-1-1 preseason record. The lineup for tonight has not been posted yet on the official site. Let's just keep everyone healthy.

The roster is down to 35 at present time, as Evan Brophey, Pascal Pelletier and Petri Kontiola were the latest guys to be sent down. Kontiola surprised me because he was a guy I was expecting to earn a roster spot as a center, but it doesn't appear so. Doug Janik was also claimed by the Stars today.

In other news, there is now talk that Nikolai Khabibulin may be playing in Russia this year. From Sportsnet:

Chicago Blackhawks goalie Nikolai Khabibulin could be headed to Russia after clearing waivers earlier this week.

In order to shed payroll, the Blackhawks are to prepared to loan their high-priced former all-star to a club in the Continental Hockey League (KHL), Sportsnet has learned.

If a deal is reached, Chicago could knock the value of the final year on Khabibulin's contract, worth US$6.75 million, off their salary cap. Furthermore, the NHL team could have most if not all of the remaining salary paid by the borrowing club.

Sources say negotiations are ongoing and it has not been determined which KHL team would end up with his services. The inside track may belong to HC Dinamo Minsk in Belarus where it's believed Khabibulin has family.

Wow, uh, that's not something I was thinking of as an option. I guess it makes sense with him having family over in Belarus where he might end up, but I figured there was some kind of NHLPA rule against loaning a player to a team in another league. It sounds like this would be a fantastic "deal" for the Hawks because Khabibulin's salary would come off the cap and his remaining contract money would be paid by whoever picks him up. Let's hope they can get something done and move on with the regular season not far away.

I really wish these games were on TV. I know it's only pre-season and the games ultimately don't count for much, but I am fairly psyched for hockey at the moment and the fact that I can't see the Hawks tonight (or even listen to them for that matter) is kind of disappointing. They're playing a team who has become kind of a division rival and it would at least be something interesting to watch. Oh well.

In case you missed it, the Hawks are now Khabibulin-less, as he was placed on waivers today and likely will be headed elsewhere very soon. If I had to guess, I would say that with Cristobal Huet being the starter in goal this year, Antti Niemi will be the backup after a pretty strong showing against Dallas last night.

The Blackhawks beat Columbus 4-3 six days ago in Chicago to open up the pre-season. Tonight the Hawks look to win their fourth straight game by a score of 4-3. I don't know if that's something they're actually shooting for, but hey, it's something.

The Hawks lineup is listed on the official site, though the combinations aren't up yet. It looks more like a Rockford IceHogs lineup, as most of your regulars won't be playing, while Columbus is supposedly going to be playing their normal regular season lineup in this one.

TSN reporting:

The Chicago Blackhawks have placed goalie Nikolai Khabibulin on waivers as speculation of a trade continues.

Khabibulin was expected to start in Sunday's preseason game against the Dallas Stars but was not on the ice or the bench for the game. Antti Niemi got the start and Corey Crawford served as his back-up.

''He had a great practice [Saturday],'' head coach Denis Savard told the Chicago Sun-Times on Sunday. ''We'll give him a couple more days and see what happens. He's ready to play.''

Doesn't really come as much of a shock to anybody, most likely. The situation from last night's 4-3 win over Dallas did seem a little fishy, as he was suddenly scratched from his start in favor of Niemi, and as the article mentions, wasn't even on the bench. I'd have to think he will be out of a Hawks uniform within the next few days.

Also, the Hawks sent Bryan Bickell, Michael Blunden, Jacob Dowell and Tim Hambly all back to Rockford, and the roster is now at 38 players.

Patrick Sharp playing center? I'm a little perplexed, seems like Denis Savard is experimenting a little too much, hopefully it doesn't last too long. The Kane-at-center experiment lasted about one period and then it was over. Nikolai Khabibulin will be starting tonight, and the rest of the Hawks lineup looks like this, as they look to improve their preseason record to 3-0:

FORWARDS:
Ladd - Toews - Makarov
Versteeg - Sharp - Kane
Pelletier - Bolland - Skille
Beach - Brent - Blunden

DEFENSEMEN:
Keith - Campbell
Barker - Seabrook
Janik - Carney

GOALTENDERS:
Starter - Khabibulin
Backup - Crawford

After getting a 4-3 win in their first preseason game against Columbus, the Hawks are looking to get win #2 tonight when they take on the Minnesota Wild at the United Center, a 7:30 puck drop for this one. Couple of interesting things that will be happening in this one: Kyle Beach will be making his pre-season debut, and Patrick Kane is going to be trying out the center position in this one. I really question moving Kane to center right now because I worry about any kind of changes made after the year he had last season. Hopefully Kane will handle it well, but if not, hopefully they end the experiment quickly. Also, it'll be interesting to see (or later hear about) what Beach can do tonight in his debut.

The Hawks lineup can be found here, and it is as follows:

FORWARDS:
Ladd - Toews - Brouwer
Sharp - Kane - Skille
Beach - Dowell - Aliu
Eager - Burish - Adams

DEFENSEMEN:
Barker - Campbell
Hendry - Sopel
Hjalmarsson - Carney

GOALTENDERS:
Starter - Huet
Backup - Niemi