CHICAGO, Ill. – Every year at this time, the circus comes to town for a few weeks and sends the AHL Chicago Wolves away from the Allstate Arena and the Chicago Blackhawks from the United Center on an extended two-week roadtrip. This time the trip started for the Hawks up through Canada and back down through the west coast for a six game stretch.
All coach Joel Quenneville wanted was for the team to do is come back with over a .500 record. They did that right off with the first leg going through Canada with a dominant win against Calgary 7-1, then against Edmonton 5-2 and a tough played shutout against Vancouver 1-0.
Then a flight down to play against the Western Conference leaders in San Jose, this was a milestone game for the team. Right-wing Marian Hossa played in his first game with the Blackhawks after undergoing shoulder surgery in the off-season.
The team dominated right off on special-teams scoring their first three goals shorthanded. Hossa scored the second goal to start the second period and Patrick Sharp scored on the same penalty 28 seconds later. The Hawks would score four more goals for seven straight before San Jose closed out with two of their own at the tail-end of the third to complete the 7-2 rout. Hossa finished the night with two goals on four shots for his team premiere.
The Hawks then traveled to Anaheim and then Los Angeles to finish the last two games before heading home from their long trip to face the Columbus Blue Jackets. The results are not what the expected to finish off their travels. After a dominating win against San Jose the Hawks were shutout against the Ducks 3-0. The following day the team was able to salvage a point in losing to the Kings 2-1 in overtime.
So for the annual circus trip, the Blackhawks went 4-1-1 gaining 9 of a possible 12 points. They allowed only 1.67 goals per game while scoring on average 3.5 goals. Goaltender Cristobal Huet has finally established himself as the number one goaltender after starting the season off tentatively.
Defenseman Duncan Keith has turned himself into one if not the best player on the team so far from both sides of the rink. He ranks second on the team in scoring currently with 22 points just three behind Patrick Kane.
With the Blackhawks in first place in the Central Division and second in the conference the team’s success can be attributed to what Assistant General Manager Kevin Cheveldayoff calls “its character and structure.” In character, the team knows what it takes. Players might be shuffled due to injuries or call-ups but they understand what they need to do to be successful. They have enough depth that a player can be called in and fit almost anywhere in any line and know their role. It is always team first and they are not successful if a link is lost. As for structure, Quenneville is the one who builds this within the team. As with their playoff run last season, he is able to see that a certain lineup doesn’t work and he would be able to make the changes on the fly and had instantaneous results that bettered the team for that game.
All this was evident when team captain Jonathan Toews and top defenseman Brent Seabrook both went out with injuries. The lineup was juggled with a player or two from Rockford (AHL) and the team didn’t skip a beat. When Hossa came back Kane was able to shift over to left-wing with no problem. In the practice just before Tuesday’s game, Quenneville was making another change on this top line. He is shifting Sharp up to the left-wing spot and moving Kane back in the next line to give balance with depth on either line.
Now that the circus has left, the team is making a serious run to the playoffs as one of the more dominant teams. Ringmaster Joel Quenneville is able to juggle his charges and giving the Chicago fans one of the “Greatest Shows on Earth.”
Contact the author at matt.chin@prohockeynews.com
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