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Recently I spent some time with Hall of Famer and former Blackhawks coach Denis Savard. One of the classiest guys to ever don a Hawk uniform, he was nice enough to give me a few minutes about the team he loves.

Marian Hossa makes his season debut on Wednesday in San Jose. For those who haven’t seen much of him, what are the one or two things that will be most apparent or impressive when a guy like that comes back?

Denis Savard: He’s a big body. A big player and he has proven to be a go-to guy throughout his whole career. It’s just his presence, his ability, and his size. One thing people will notice about Marian Hossa is he competes in tough areas. You have a lot of good players in this league, but the great ones compete in tough areas and that’s what he does. Unfortunately, he’s been on the wrong side of the Stanley Cup two years in a row so hopefully the third is going to be a good charm for all of us.

What has the team done that’s impressed you the most?
DS: To win a championship, you have to have depth. And that what’s most impressive to me through the first part of the season. All along I knew we had that. If you look at the [Troy] Brouwers or [Jack] Skille or even [Bryan] Bickell when he came up, those guys are as important as the stars on the team, so when you look at next year and you have to deal with the cap, here are some guys that can fill those roles. Hopefully we’ll be able to sign Duncan [Keith], Jonathan [Toews] and Patrick [Kane] and then you have enough depth to go on.

On the very first TV broadcast, you did some analysis and mentioned Troy Brouwer as an emerging guy. He’s come on over the last 10 games. Did a light go on for him?

DS: Not necessarily. It takes time for young kids. Once they get up here, it takes time to adjust to the speed of the game and for Troy, he’s a big body and has one of the top shots. And the other thing that goes well in his game, he’s very smart. How many guys stand in front of the net and are used for penalty killing? Not many

You know these guys well. How have they dealt with the pressure of high expectations?

DS: There is pressure. No doubt about it. But they have handled it. You look at what they did in Calgary the other night. The Flames are a good team. They’ve dominated them over the last 5 1/2 periods. It takes a pretty special team to do that versus a team like Calgary. Going through what they did last year has helped this team. No question about it.

For years as an assistant and a head coach, I watched you work on faceoffs with the players, and at times it wasn’t always a Hawk’s strength. This year they are up from 23rd in the league to second. How much of as difference does that make?

DS: It sets up one thing: puck possession. If you’re going to get the puck 60 percent of the time, and you might think that’s only 20 percent more than the other team, but that’s a lot, especially with a skilled team. If you’re able to win faceoffs like that, at the end of the day you’re going to end up on top. John Madden has been a great pick up. He’s pretty impressive.

You’re coaching again. Dave Bolland goes down. Barring a trade, do you think Patrick Sharp ends up back in the middle or do you go with Versteeg like Joel has done or something else?

DS: I don’t think Sharpie is a centerman any longer. One, he loves to play the wing, and two, the guy that is going to be down low shouldn’t be one of your best goal scorers. You want those guys to play higher. Sharpie has been snake-bit a little but it's still been a great season ... I know he’s missed a bunch of chances but it’s about luck. He hasn’t had any lately, but he’s playing great.

So what would you do at center? Mix and match and wait for Bolland to return? That’s months away.

DS: With [Jonathan Toews] and Madden, you’ll be able to rotate them and double shift them when you need to. I don’t think it’s going to matter. Having those two guys, you can cover up what you need to. Don’t get me wrong, centermen are important and we lost -- what I believe -- is one of the smartest players on the team in Bolland. Hopefully he’s back for the stretch drive because you will need him to get the ultimate prize.

Do you think they are looking for a center? You can tell me.

DS: I have no idea. I don’t ask or get involved in any of that stuff. I’m like you. I’m guessing.

Do you still miss the competitiveness or is it a bit out of your system, now that’s its been over a year?

DS: I’m very content where I am now. I’m so pleased at how well they are playing. At the end of the day, we look at the big picture. As I said when I was let go, its not about Denis Savard, it’s about the Chicago Blackhawks and our team and organization is doing well. The biggest thing -- and the thing that makes you the most happy -- is seeing that building sold out again. Our people in Chicago deserve it.

Does the building now remind you of the old stadium when you played?

DS: It’s hard to say because I’m not on the ice. Even behind the bench, it’s not the same as on the ice. Well, I was on the ice with Bobby [Hull] and Stan [Mikita] for that first game. That was fun. But I’d say it’s just as exciting, that’s for sure. You know how the fans are, and when we play that song when we score. People love it, and it’s exciting and I hope they go far.

Bryan Bickell scored the lone goal in Sunday night's win over Vancouver. His reward? A ticket back to the minors.

Bickell was sent down to Rockford on Monday just hours after scoring the game-winning tally. This is further proof that Marian Hossa is preparing for his Hawk debut on Wednesday.
Though the Hawks have made a habit of sending players back to the minors when there are several days between games, and then recalling them, this doesn't seem to be the case with Bickell.

It's doubtful the Hawks would do that on a West Coast trip because of the travel issues. It's possible Bickell would just stay put in California and then be brought back up on Wednesday for their game against San Jose. In that case, he would not be able to practice with the team until officially recalled.

Bickell, 23, has recorded one goal and a +3 plus/minus rating in four games with the Blackhawks this season.

More than likely, this signals the return of Hossa from off-season shoulder surgery. The Hawks play the Sharks Wednesday night at 9:30 p.m. CT.

The Hawks hung on to best Vancouver Sunday night 1-0, and it easily could be considered the best win of the three on the roadtrip so far. That’s saying something after the Blackhawks won the first two by a combined score of 12-3. This wasn’t pretty and it wasn’t easy, but it was gritty, and sometimes those are the best wins.

Antti Niemi, playing only the second time this month, earned the win and already has two shutouts in his young career. Considering the circumstances, he was fantastic in net.

The Hawks did not have as much in the tank as normal, not after playing twice already since Thursday, while Vancouver was in the midst of a very light schedule. Being outshot 30-17 is all the proof you need of how this game went down. That doesn’t happen to this Hawk team very often. They simply had to gut this one out, and of all people, Bryan Bickell scored the game-winner early in the third period to break the scoreless deadlock.

Bickell had slammed his head on the ice the night before in Edmonton and left the game in the first period. It was a surprise to see him take the ice but he’s proven to be a pretty tough customer. When he put himself right next to Roberto Luongo, as Brian Campbell made a rush to the net, he was in the right spot to clean up the rebound and the Hawks had their lead. Bickell may have played his last game for the Hawks, at least for a while. Marian Hossa is due back on Wednesday and will take Bickell’s spot on the top line with Jonathan Toews and Patrick Kane. If he does go back to the minors, his lasting memory will certainly be a good one. Though Bickell has been impressive and it might just keep him on the roster, even with Hossa’s return.

The story of the game, though, was Antti Niemi. He was good from the moment the puck was dropped and as soon as the Hawks got the lead, you had the feeling Niemi wasn’t giving it up. The Canucks outshot the Hawks 11-4 in that third period. And whereas in the first two periods the Hawks spent a good amount of time in the offensive zone, that wasn’t the case in the third. Fatigue was setting in and protecting 1-0 leads, after playing the night before, usually means holding back on an aggressive forecheck.

Alexandre Burrows might be having nightmares of Niemi for quite some time. He was credited with a game-high seven shots and Niemi turned them all away. His best sequence may have involved Burrows moving from his left to right in traffic and then getting a backhander off at point blank range. Niemi moved with him and made the save, and for the few rebounds he did give up, he was able to make second and third stops. The Hawks have won seven in a row and all of a sudden, goaltending has become a strength instead of a liability.

Last season the Hawks won the first three games on the circus trip but finished 0-2-1. Something tells me this year won’t go down the same way. If seven in a row wasn’t a big enough storyline, barring a setback, the world will see the great Marian Hossa in a Hawk uniform for the first time this Wednesday. With his return and the way they are playing, the question is “Can they sweep the trip?” At this rate, maybe the better question should be, “Why can’t they?”

When the Hawks take on Vancouver Sunday night, it will be the first time they see the Canucks and defenseman Willie Mitchell since he knocked Jonathan Toews out of the game back on October 21 at the United Center. Toews missed the next six contests with concussion-like symptoms.


The hit did not draw a penalty, at least not to a Canuck. Kris Versteeg jumped Mitchell after the play and he, not Mitchell, went to the penalty box for roughing. In the NHL, those are hits that are remembered and can carry over to future games. I’ve written previously that I’m not a fan of retaliation on clean hits -- but then again, I’m not part of an NHL family who practically live together for half the year or more.


Apparently, Joel Quenneville doesn’t like that kind of revenge either. Previously, on this subject, he has basically said, “there is a time and place for
everything.” That seemed a little vague.


Before the Hawks left on their road trip, Quenneville was more definitive about the subject, perhaps even sending a message to his team.
“I’m not worried about that right now,” Quenneville said. “I think those things get sorted out. Sometimes, they are overblown. I think when we go into that game our priority will be to win the game and nothing else. I think getting even on the scoreboard is the best way to evening that kind of score. That will be our focus and concentration.”


Then Quenneville was asked, “Do you think it’s fair to try to get even after a clean hit?”


“There are a lot of guys that immediately look to retaliate on good hits,” Quenneville said. “You see it all the time right now and I think it’s a new thing over the last year or two. I mean, you like sticking up for your teammates and you like being a good teammate, but at the same time you have to find that balance, where all of a sudden you’re hurting the team.

"Sometimes you don’t have a lot of time to make that choice or to think rationally so I think that’s how you have to judge it. But at the same time, getting even immediately, sometimes, it’s not the best result or best answer.”


Notes:

Unless Quenneville changes his mind because of Cristobal Huet’s strong play of late, Antti Niemi will start in goal against Vancouver. He hasn’t seen action since November 6 at Colorado.

No word on whether Bryan Bickell will play after sustaining what looked to be a head injury in Edmonton on Saturday. Bickell delivered a check on Dustin Penner of the Oilers and then hit his helmet on the ice as he went down. Expect Jordan Hendry to play wing if Bickell cant go.

Before the trip began, Duncan Keith said the team wanted to prove to themselves they were good on the road. Until that point they had only played six away from home compiling a 2-3-1 mark. Keith, his teammates, and his coach should like what they’re seeing after yet another solid win, 5-2 over Edmonton Saturday night.


“Two good games. Rock solid in both.”


Those were Joel Quenneville’s sentiments on Comcast SportsNet after the win for their second straight to start the circus trip and sixth overall.


The formula for the Edmonton game is one I’m sure Quenneville would like to bottle. Get off to a lead, get solid goaltending, add a late power play goal to ice it, and distribute minutes so there’s something left in the tank for Sunday’s matchup against Vancouver. No Hawk, other than Bryan Bickell (because of injury), played less than 12 minutes and Quenneville was able to keep rolling the lines because of that early lead. The Hawks led 3-1 after one.


Team depth was on display in this one as 10 different skaters had at least a point in the win. Patrick Kane had a goal and an assist and now has a nine game point streak. Jonathan Toews opened and closed the scoring for the Hawks, who are unbeaten since his return from injury.


“He’s playing great,” Quenneville said on Comcast SportsNet. “He really has taken off since he [was] out.”


The Oilers had cut the lead to 4-2 with a power play tally early in the third period but a few minutes later Cristobal Huet came up with a big save and during the sequence was run over by Edmonton’s Ethan Moreau. Toews scored on the ensuing power play and that was the game.


Since Toews’ return, the Hawks have found their puck possession game and dominated the play in the offensive zone. Despite losing Bickell after he slammed his head on the ice delivering a check, Kane and Toews didn’t miss a beat on the top line. They hooked up on the first goal with a great forecheck, as Toews stole the puck and roofed his own rebound to get the Hawks on the board. Quenneville said Bickell was day to day. He was able to walk off the ice with the help of teammates. His status for Sunday night’s game is uncertain.


There’s a good chance Huet will have the night off after another solid performance. He’s been in goal for every win in the streak and only once has given up more than two. His goals against average is tied for fourth in the league at 2.16. That’s incredible, considering the start to the season he had, but his game has come around. Quenneville didn’t completely rule out Huet playing Sunday, saying, “We’ll discuss it.”

The Hawks announced Saturday that center Andrew Ebbett has been picked up off of waivers by the Minnesota Wild.


Ebbett, 26, recorded one goal and two penalty minutes in 10 games with the Blackhawks after being claimed on waivers from the Anaheim Ducks on October 17.


Ebbett became expendable with the expected return of Marian Hossa and the strong play of minor league call-up Bryan Bickell.

It’s that time again. Every 10 games, I’ll give you an assessment of where the Hawks are, just as the coaches do internally. They hit the quarter pole of the season with that resounding 7-1 win in Calgary on Thursday, and so they’ll start the march to the midway point with a stellar 13-5-2 record. Here are 10 more things to know about the first 20 games:


No. 10 -- A Star is Born: OK, maybe he’s not a star just yet, but the surprising emergence of Troy Brouwer has been as pleasant to watch as anything. He’s become a go-to guy of sorts, playing in all meaningful situations, and he’s delivered. Brouwer has three goals and three assists in his last five games, but more important than the production is the confidence Joel Quenneville has shown in him. He’s a penalty killer and a power play guy. He’s on the ice protecting leads late in the game. He was out there in overtime last Sunday when he and Jonathan Toews set up Brent Seabrook for the game-winner. In fact, get this: You won’t find many players in the NHL who play wing on the penalty-killing unit, then go down low to stand in front of the goalie during power play time. It shows his versatility. He’s hard to move, yet he’s quick enough to be a good defender. Quenneville has tried Dustin Byfuglien in front of the net as well as Tomas Kopecky, but Brouwer has taken to the role better and quicker than either of those guys.


No. 9 -- Maddening: In the last 10-game assessment, I said John Madden was playing as good as advertised. I was wrong. He’s been better. Did you notice he’s moved up to sixth in the league in faceoffs? That’s due, in part, to an incredible two game stretch where he won 22 of 25, including a perfect 9-9 against Joe Thorton and the best faceoff team in the league, San Jose. His role got even bigger during this second 10- game stretch, when it was announced Dave Bolland would be out after back surgery. Madden becomes the only true lockdown center and will be seeing the other teams’ best lines even more now. Great pickup by the Hawks.


No. 8 -- Captain Intangible: While Toews was out of the lineup, the Hawks looked sluggish. They won some games, but didn’t do it in the dominating fashion we’ve become accustomed to. His return sparked the club in a way that’s hard to define. It’s not like he’s getting all the points. He has one goal and two assists in five games, but they’ve won all five and the Hawks’ motor seems to be running at another level. It doesn’t hurt that the second best faceoff man in the business was back dominating the circle. Puck possession got a whole lot better again when he returned. If the saying, “as he goes the team goes” applies to anyone, it’s “Taser.”


No. 7 -- Contractually Speaking: Leave it to team president John McDonough and the Hawks to pull off what should be an unprecedented announcement. Three stars, all signed to long term deals, at the same time. I can’t remember an organization in any sport doing such a thing. Barring any weird salary-cap issues, this should happen when the Hawks return from their road trip.


No. 6 -- Tagging Room: Speaking of weird salary-cap issues, I may be off about whether this is affecting the Hawks and those new contracts or not, but many people don’t realize a team is not allowed to commit more than this year’s salary cap ($56.8m) to a future year. If the contract extensions of Toews, Patrick Kane, and Duncan Keith put the Hawks over that number for next year, then a trade to get under that number has to happen right away, or the extensions need to be delayed. You can’t wait until the offseason to lower your cap number if you’re over. But it is a complicated formula, which is just par for the course with this collective bargaining agreement.


No. 5 -- MVP: Maybe one of those stars should hold out for more as he continues to pile up points and be a presence on the ice that every opponent has to account for. Just like after the first 10 games, Kane remains the team MVP after 20. Averaging over a point a game he’s become a human playmaking machine. It’s not often you can say about a player, “every time he touches the puck, something amazing might happen.” Alexander Ovechkin is described that way. So are a few others in the league. Add Kane to that mix.


No. 4 -- Not to be Negative: Brian Campbell has reverted to some of his softer play of late and Dustin Byfuglien, despite seven goals, has been very quiet and is a minus-4. The only player worse is Tomas Kopecky who is minus-6. Not good for a fourth liner. The Hawks power play was once considered a negative, but it’s taken a huge jump lately (thanks to the Flames) to 11th in the league. As Quenneville put it in Calgary, “It’s trending upwards.” And who decided to sign a player with a back problem to a five year deal? I’m just asking.


No. 3 -- Who’s on First, What’s on Second, I don’t know is at Center: The Hawks thought they had their centers figured out and then Bolland went down. So who takes his place? In just a few games since the Bolland announcement, here’s who’s had the job: Andrew Ebbett (lasted about four shifts), Tomas Kopecky (took over for Ebbett), Patrick Sharp (only for a cup of coffee), and Kris Versteeg (had it, lost it, and has it again). Until Friday, I thought Sharp would end up there when Marian Hossa returned. A source tells me that probably won’t be the case so it’ll be “by committee” as Quenneville has indicated. They just might be good enough to do it that way.


No. 2 -- The Hoss: This one might be better suited for the next 10-game assessment, but the Hawks haven’t had a player with his talents since, well, I can’t remember that far back. Marian Hossa is simply a presence on the ice like very few in the league. His size and skill are attributes that every coach would salivate over. When he takes the ice in San Jose, he immediately becomes a difference-maker. And, in my opinion, a fan favorite.


No. 1 -- Facing Off: I saved the best for last. Many may not give it the same importance I do, but you can’t deny when the Hawks win as many faceoffs as they have been, good things tend to happen. Everything, I mean everything, starts with winning the faceoff. Quenneville has noted the Hawks faceoff improvement is basically why their penalty killing is at the top of the league. Puck possession game? That’s about the faceoff wins as well. Improved power play? Win the faceoff, get it back to the defense and fire away. Detroit has been the model for success this decade. They’ve also been the best faceoff team. The Hawks are second in the league this season, up from 23rd last year. Case closed.


And so is the first quarter of the season.

It takes one word to describe the Hawks 7-1 dismantling of the Calgary Flames: Poise.
The Hawks had it and the Flames did not.

That poise led to four power play goals and the Hawks’ highest scoring output of the season. It all started in a 1-1 game with a big hit by Niklas Hjalmarsson on Rene Bourque early in the second period. It was lethal and legal, but as we see so many times in the NHL, retaliation comes immediately. Nigel Dawes jumped Hjalmarsson and went off for two. A minute and nine seconds later Kris Versteeg scored what would be the winning goal and the blowout had begun.

Later in that same period, that lack of poise bit the Flames again. This time, during a Hawks power play, Dion Phaneuf took exception to another clean hit by Brent Seabrook and after the two dropped the gloves, Phaneuf ended up with an extra two minutes. The Hawks cashed in on the five-on-three and then the ensuing five on four. Game over.
Ironically, before the trip began, coach Joel Quenneville discussed the idea of retaliation on Vancouver’s Willie Mitchell when the Hawks play there on Sunday. Mitchell nailed Jonathan Toews with a hit last month that caused him to miss six games -- but it was a legal check. Quenneville said it’s been a trend in the NHL for some time. Illegal retaliation for clean hits. Quenneville doesn’t like it and I’m betting Flames coach Brent Sutter isn’t much of a fan for it either after Thursday.
It’s one thing to get the power play chances, it’s another to cash in. The Hawks looked as good with the man advantage as in any game this season and Quenneville agreed.

“We were due to have a night like tonight [on the power play],” Quenneville declared on Comcast Sportsnet after the game. “I liked the results.”

That’s an understatement.

There were many offensive stars in this one. Duncan Keith had three helpers to increase his team leading total to 13. Ben Eager scored his first of the year and Patrick Kane, on his 21st birthday, had his team leading eighth along with an assist. Kane has a point for every year he’s been alive and is averaging just over one per game. The final stat is telling about the Hawks team effort in this one.

They blocked 18 shots by nine different players. It’s not often a forward leads the team in a game in that category but John Madden blocked five of those on his own. Cristobal Huet played well again, and may have made the save of the year while the game was still in doubt. He leaped to his right to block a Jay Bouwmeester shot that was ticketed for the back of the net. The Hawks skaters took over from there. In the last five and a half periods of play, in two games against Calgary, the Hawks have outscored them 13-1.

The circus doesn’t seem so bad right about now.

Patrick Sharp wasn’t wrong to think that when he first heard this November road trip was called the “circus trip” he thought it was because the Chicago Blackhawks bounced around the Western half of the continent like Barnum and Bailey. When you have to pack for Edmonton and Southern California in the same trip, you know you’re in for a long one.
Over the years, Hawks' seasons have been lost on this trip, never to be found again. But if there ever was a time the Hawks might return with a winning record, this could be the year, right? Or is it?

All you have to know about the history of this trip is the last time the Hawks went to the Finals, in 1992, they went 0-5 on the circus trip. The season before, when they had the most points in the NHL, they went 5-1. That, by far, is the best record on this trip in the past 25 years.

In fact, there have been only two other times the Hawks have had a winning record in those 25 years. I’m not counting last year because they went 3-2-1. That’s 3-3 in my book. Three times they had zero points and six times they had no wins. Starting to get the picture?

Of course, the question is, why is it so hard to win -- even with good Hawks teams? The answer, if there is one, might lie in the schedule. Even though there’s usually one break for some travel, the games come fast and furious.

“I think it’s just handling those three games in four nights,” Brent Seabrook said before the team left on the trip. “It’s definitely a grind, and its tough bouncing from city to city, obviously, but it’s definitely something we’ve learned to deal with as a group. We‘re a young team, so we’re all growing up together, learning to deal with it and I think that helps a lot too.”

This time around there are two sets of three games in four nights and two sets of back-to-back games. It makes it almost impossible to do much better than .500, and if fatigue creeps in towards the end, it’s a formula for a losing trip. See the last 25 years and specifically last season.

After sweeping the first three games, the Hawks laid a dud, finishing the last leg 0-2-1. All a coach can do is emphasize the obvious and use a cliché that can be easier said than done.

“I think it’s going to be a real challenge for us,” Joel Quenneville said. “You take it one game at a time. We’re going into a building where I’m sure Calgary is going to be excited to play us, and I think it will be an exciting game for us as well. We want to get off to a good start, and we want to emphasize the importance of the game one at a time but it’s a big trip for us.”

While the details of the contract extensions of Jonathan Toews, Patrick Kane and Duncan Keith are being ironed out the Hawks left for their annual November road trip with three stops in Western Canada and three more on the West Coast of the U.S.

Before they take the ice in Calgary, one Hawk will reach a milestone of sorts. Kane turns 21 on Thursday, but says it won’t be a major event.

“I don’t know if I’m going to be able to celebrate,” Kane said after practice on Wednesday. “We play Thursday and then again Saturday so it might just be a low key 21st birthday. That’s fine with me. It’s just a number. I don’t think anything is going to change.”

Kane made reference to his summer “incident” saying he’s been trying to treat everything he does knowing it’s going to be publicized.

“Obviously at 21 you think you have a little bit more freedom, but at the same time you definitely want to be responsible with what you do,” Kane said.

And what about the possibility of signing a multi-million dollar contract on or near his 21st?

“That would be a nice birthday present,” Kane said.“[It’s] pretty much the same thing as Tuesday. Still negotiating and talking with my agent and whatever it may be. Like I’ve been saying, I would love to play here for a long time.”

When the birthday boy takes the ice Thursday night he may have a new linemate. Bryan Bickell was recalled again to join the team for the trip, and if Wednesday’s practice is any indication Bickell will skate with Toews and Kane on the top line.

“I finished off last game against San Jose with those guys so, yeah, it was a shock [to play with them] but I just have to make the best of it,” Bickell said. “Those guys are go-to guys and they’re going to get picked on and I think they want me to kind of protect them and I can do that … I’m a hard hitter and I can get the puck out of the corners and go to the net.”

Hawks coach Joel Quenneville said there’s a good chance Bickell would play and also indicated Kris Versteeg looks better after missing Sunday’s game with an upper-body issue. Cristobal Huet will be in goal for the first leg of the trip.

NOTES:

" Quenneville was asked about Dustin Byfuglien’s play.

“He had a real good start to the season,” Quenneville said. “It’s been OK. Not at the same pace we saw last year in the playoffs or the beginning here. We want him to recapture the quickness and being hard to play against and being a presence in front of the net.”