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Chicago Blackhawks forwards Patrick Sharp and Dave Bolland will not travel with the team for Saturday's game against the Nashville Predators, the team announced through its Twitter account Friday.

Sharp has missed 12 games since suffering an unspecified upper-body injury against the Avalanche on March 6. He has five goals and 13 assists in 24 games this season.
He said Wednesday he is close to returning.

Bolland has an unspecified lower-body injury, according to the team.

Bolland left Monday's game with Predators in the first period after being hit in the foot by a shot. He returned Thursday and played 23 shifts and 12:57 against the St. Louis Blues. He has seven goals and seven assists in 30 games this season.

CHICAGO -- Chicago Blackhawks goaltender Corey Crawford had a difficult time coming to terms with Thursday's 4-3 shootout loss to the St. Louis Blues.

For most of the night, the Blackhawks possessed the puck and put shot after shot at the Blues' net. Certainly after two periods, Crawford felt the Blackhawks had the game where they wanted it with a 2-1 lead and a 23-12 advantage in shots.

But then, as has been the trend of late, the opponent stepped up in the third period and the Blackhawks couldn't match them.

"It's a weird game," Crawford said. "I think we controlled most of it. Couple bounces here and there, and they tie it up again and took the lead. The positive thing is we were able to battle back and get a point out of it.

"I don't think teams are outplaying us by any means. We just got to find a way to shut them down. … It's just I think everyone is frustrated with giving up another lead and having to battle back to tie it. I think in a perfect world we just want to be able to shut them down and finish that game 2-1."

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CHICAGO -- What the Chicago Blackhawks thought they were getting when they traded for veteran forward Michal Handzus is what he showed them in his first game on Thursday.

The 36-year-old Handzus, who was acquired from the San Jose Sharks on Monday, won 10-of-14 faceoffs, blocked one shot, had a plus-1 rating, had three hits and created a couple scoring chances with his shot and pass throughout Thursday's 4-3 shootout loss to the St. Louis Blues.

Blackhawks coach Joel Quenneville was pleased with what he saw in Handzus' 22 shifts and 22:50 of ice time, playing mostly on the fourth line.

"I liked him," Quenneville said. "He was good on faceoffs. He was big. He had some scoring chances. You like his instincts."

Handzus wasn't as satisfied. He was upset he failed to score in his shootout opportunity and the Blackhawks lost.

"Disappointing, obviously, we wanted to have two points," Handzus said. "So, I'm disappointed. I went out in the shootout and was confident I was going to score. I didn't, so it's disappointing for me for sure."

Handzus did acknowledge he felt comfortable taking faceoffs Thursday and thought his wings helped him in that.

"I felt pretty good," Handzus said. "I had really good help from my wings, too. They won a lot of faceoffs for me. I was pretty confident."

CHICAGO -- Here's a quick look at the St. Louis Blues' 4-3 shootout win over the Chicago Blackhawks at the United Center on Thursday.

How it happened: The Blackhawks looked like they were headed toward another third-period collapse. The Blackhawks surrendered a 2-1 lead when they allowed the Blues to score the first two goals of the third period. Viktor Stalberg saved the day for the Blackhawks by tying the game with 4:29 left. It was his first goal since March 1. In the shootout, the Blues outscored the Blackhawks 4-3 in six rounds. Adam Cracknell accounted for the Blues' first two goals, and David Backes scored the third one. Jonathan Toews, who also had an assist, and Brandon Saad also scored for the Blackhawks. Blues goaltender Brian Elliott made 33 saves, and Blackhawks goaltender Corey Crawford made 19 saves.

Player of the game: Cracknell scored his first two goals of the season.

What it means: The Blackhawks pulled out one point, but their third-period play still has to be a concern. They've dominated teams in the first and second periods this season, but they've been outscored 32-30 in third periods. Blackhawks are now 27-5-4 with 58 points. The Blues improved to 19-14-2 with 40 points.

What's next: The Blackhawks will face the Nashville Predators in back-to-back games this week. They will play in Nashville on Saturday and in Chicago on Sunday. The Blackhawks defeated the Predators 3-2 in a shootout on Monday.

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Chicago Blackhawks GM Stan Bowman talks to the media following Wednesday's trade deadline.

CHICAGO -- The Chicago Blackhawks didn't make any significant moves prior to Wednesday's trade deadline, but general manager Stan Bowman said he was satisfied with the players he acquired and with his team going forward.

The Blackhawks made three moves leading up to the deadline and just one which affects the team at the NHL level this season. They acquired NHL veteran center Michal Handzus from the San Jose Sharks for a fourth-round pick on Monday, the rights to Cornell University defenseman Kirill Gotovets from the Tampa Lightning for forward Philippe Paradis on Tuesday and minor-leaguer Maxime Sauvé from the Boston Bruins for forward Rob Flick on Wednesday.

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Newly-acquired center Michal Handzus talks about being traded to the Blackhawks and how things have changed since his last time with Chicago.

CHICAGO -- The Chicago Blackhawks announced Wednesday they acquired forward Maxime Sauvé from the Boston Bruins for forward Rob Flick.

The 23-year-old Sauvé has 10 goals and 13 assists with the Providence Bruins of the AHL this season. He was drafted in the second round of the 2008 draft. He played one game for the Bruins last season.

The 22-year-old Flick has three goals and two assists in 51 games with the Rockford IceHogs of the AHL this season. He was drafted by the Blackhawks in the fourth round of the 2010 draft.

Sauvé will be assigned to Rockford.

CHICAGO -- Chicago Blackhawks forward Marian Hossa will play Thursday against the St. Louis Blues after missing six games with an upper-body injury, but Patrick Sharp will miss his 12th straight game, coach Joel Quenneville said.

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CHICAGO -- Chicago Blackhawks forward Patrick Kane missed practice Wednesday with an illness, but coach Joel Quenneville expects him to play against the St. Louis Blues on Thursday.

Kane leads the Blackhawks with 43 points in 35 games. He has 19 goals and 24 assists and has registered points in nine of the past 10 games.

The Chicago Blackhawks recalled forward Brandon Bollig from the Rockford IceHogs of the AHL on Wednesday.

The 26-year-old Bollig had been reassigned to Rockford on Monday. He has played in 17 games with the Blackhawks this season.

The Blackhawks have shuffled a number of players in their organization this week. Jeremy Morin and Jimmy Hayes were reassigned to Rockford on Tuesday. The Blackhawks also traded for San Jose Sharks for center Michal Handzus on Monday and acquired the rights to Cornell junior defenseman Kirill Gotovets from the Tampa Bay Lightning on Tuesday.

The Chicago Blackhawks acquired the rights to defenseman Kirill Gotovets, a Cornell University junior, from the Tampa Bay Lightning for forward Philippe Paradis.

The 21-year-old Gotovets, who is 5-foot-11 and 194 pounds, had zero points and a plus-1 rating in 22 games this past season for Cornell. He has 15 points, including two goals and 13 assists, and a plus-22 rating in 80 career college games. He was drafted in the seventh round by the Lightning in 2009.

The 22-year-old Paradis has one goal and seven assists in 36 games with the Rockford IceHogs of the AHL this season. He was acquired in a five-player trade with the Toronto Maple Leafs in 2010. He has never played with the Blackhawks.

If you talk to any NHL general manager, they will tell you there is never a moment of quiet in which they don't look at what things might be done to improve their team's lot in life. That's what the good ones do, anyway. That's why Pittsburgh GM Ray Shero may still be trolling for a deal before Wednesday's deadline. It's why Boston's Peter Chiarelli would still be looking for a nugget even if he'd acquired Brenden Morrow and/or Jarome Iginla.

But the bottom line is, as the deadline approaches, there are teams for whom the urgency meter is rising, rising, rising. That's life.

Here's a look at five teams for whom the deadline looms large.

Blackhawks 3, Predators 2 (SO)
* CHI: leads Anaheim by 4 points for 1st in Western Conf
* Michal Rozsival (CHI): scored GW shootout goal
* Patrick Kane (CHI): 5G, 3A during 5-game home point streak
* NSH: 0-4-2 in last 6 road games

Islanders 3, Devils 1
* Islanders: 4-1-0 in last 5 games overall; 5-1-0 in last 6 road games
* John Tavares (NYI): goal in 4 of last 5 games
* Devils: winless in last 4 games (0-1-3)
* Devils: outshot Islanders 21-14 in final 2 periods

Rangers 4, Jets 2
* Rangers: won 3 of last 4 vs Jets at MSG
* Henrik Lundqvist (Rangers): 26 saves, 267th career win, tying Ed Giacomin for 2nd-most in Rangers history. Lundqvist trails only Mike Richter (301)
* Derek Stepan (Rangers): 4th game-winning goal of season, matching his total from last season
* Ryan Callahan (Rangers): goal, 3 assists; season-high 4 points
* Jets: lost 3 in row

Red Wings 3, Avalanche 2
* Red Wings: snap 2-game losing streak
* Red Wings: 4-1-0 in last 5 home games vs Avalanche
* Avalanche: 1-5-0 in last 6 games overall
* Avalanche: winless in last 12 road games (0-9-3); scored 2 goals or less in 8 of those 12 games

Canadiens 4, Hurricanes 1
* Max Pacioretty (MTL): 2 goals (11); had 1 goal in previous 12 games
* Canadiens: on 3-game winning streak
* Canadiens: 3-0-0 vs Hurricanes this season
* Hurricanes: 1-7-1 in last 9 games

Blues 4, Wild 1
* Blues: win snaps 3-game losing streak (scored 4 goals TOTAL during streak)
* Blues: lead Blue Jackets by 1 point for 8th seed in Western Conf
* Wild: loss snaps 4-game home win streak
* Dany Heatley (MIN): 8th goal vs Blues since 2009-10

Ducks 4, Stars 0
* Bobby Ryan (ANA): PP goal (10), assist; 1st goal in last 7 games
* Viktor Fasth (ANA): 26 saves; 3rd shutout of season
* Ducks: 2nd win in last 7 games (2-4-1)
* Stars: 1-3-0 in last 4 games; finish 2-3-0 on 5-game homestand

Sharks 3, Canucks 2
* Sharks: 3-0-0 vs Canucks this season (2-0-0 at home)
* Sharks: won 5 straight games, allowing 7 G
* Logan Couture (Sharks): 15th goal of season (2nd-most on team); 5th PP goal this season (T-most on team)
* Canucks: 2nd game this season without a PP