ESPN

It’s been a question that started being asked the moment the Chicago Blackhawks were knocked out of the playoffs last month in the first round for the second consecutive season. Should they trade from their core group that helped them win a Stanley Cup in 2010?

Before addressing that question a definition of the core group is needed. It consists of Jonathan Toews, Patrick Kane, Marian Hossa, Patrick Sharp and Dave Bolland on offense. Duncan Keith and Brent Seabrook are part of the core on defense while Niklas Hjalmarsson is on the edges as well.

These are mostly popular players who helped end a 49-year championship drought in Chicago. But when Wayne Gretzky can be traded it means no one in sports is untouchable, especially from a team that underachieved.

General manager Stan Bowman said after the season he wasn’t “fixated” on trading from that core group, but that doesn’t mean he won’t or shouldn’t. He would be foolish not to consider any avenue which might improve his team.

So to be clear, you don’t trade from the core group just to make a trade. You do it to get better, knowing that as magical as they were two years ago, they haven’t been able to repeat that magic.
So who goes?

Bowman was mostly right about at least one thing in shooting down the idea of trading from the core.

(Read full post)

GLENDALE, Ariz. -- Chicago Blackhawks head coach Joel Quenneville isn’t one to single out players when things aren’t going well. So what he said in advance of Game 2 between the Hawks and the Phoenix Coyotes Saturday morning was fairly typical.

“We have to be better than we were the first game,” he said. “We’re expecting contributions across the board from all the lines. I think individually we can get a little more in that area as well and do whatever we can and leave it on the ice tonight.

“A little bit more from everyone up front, you can mention names ---I don’t want to mention names -- collectively we can be much more tenacious.”

Even as he spread blame collectively, it’s fair to assume Qunneville is expecting certain players to rise to the occasion Saturday.

There seemed to be a clear line between who was having a good night and just an average or below average evening in a Game 1, 3-2 overtime loss on Thursday.

Jonathan Toews and Andrew Shaw were probably two of the better forwards. Patrick Kane and Dave Bolland weren’t bad either and Brent Seabrook was great on defense, but a host of others can play better. It starts with taking care of the puck.

“We know what mistakes we made last game and we’re ready to make changes for this game,” Toews said. “For the most part I think it’s just simplifying things and relaxing. We know it’s going to be a fast paced game and we want to bring that energy and fast skating game. But it doesn’t mean we have to try too much or do too much with the puck.”

In other words, while moving up and down the ice quickly, don’t forget about managing the puck. It’s been a theme since the Game 1 loss.

The lineup

Between games Quenneville hinted at lineup changes, but didn’t show his hand during Saturday morning’s game day skate. One change could have Sami Lepisto in the lineup for Sean O’Donnell.

Just as important is what Quenneville does with the line combinations. All in all the scoring chances were there for his four lines, so he might not change anything. A last minute jumbling, however, could produce a late matchup problem for Phoenix coach Dave Tippett.

It’s always possible Patrick Kane is moved back to center from left wing, which means the four star forwards the Hawks employ would be split up on two lines. If there are changes, expect Quenneville not to reveal them until game time even disguising his line combinations during warm-ups. This is the playoffs after all.

• Coyotes’ coach Dave Tippett said Saturday Radim Vrbata will play in Game 2. He left Game 1 after injuring his shoulder after a hit by Andrew Shaw early in the contest.

ST. PAUL -- Chicago Blackhawks captain Jonathan Toews practiced with his team Thursday morning but was unavailable to the media afterwards. He won't play in Thursday night's game against the Wild but coach Joel Quenneville said not to worry.

"It's all part of the process," Quenneville stated. "I know we keep saying the same things here. I don't think anything has changed. He's progressing but we want to make sure he's ready."

At least Quenneville acknowledged the staleness of the story. And he wouldn't commit to anything in regards to Toews playing in Saturday's regular season finale in Detroit. Friday's practice in Motown will help determine that.

If Toews isn't able to play in a single game before the playoffs there might be some legitimate concern about him, but then again Dave Bolland missed the final six weeks of last season, plus the first three postseason games, and came back stronger than ever.

But this story will have a question mark next to it until Toews is back for good.

Other Walking Wounded

Quenneville re-iterated center Dave Bolland's upper body injury isn't serious. He won't play Thursday as well.

"He's progressing," Quenneville said. "He'll be fine but we'll see for Saturday, not sure."

Winger Andrew Brunette is said to be ok as well but won't play against the Wild while defenseman Sami Lepisto will sit out his 13th game with a leg injury though Quenneville said there is a "good chance he'll play Saturday."

The Lineup

Defenseman Sean O'Donnell takes Dylan Olsen's place on the blue line Thursday more than likely to get him some minutes so the Hawks can feel comfortable going with either the rookie Olsen or the veteran O'Donnell once the postseason begins. Olsen has played in 26 straight games.

Little used center Brendan Morrison will take Bolland's place on the third line Thursday night.

"Trying to find your game here heading into the playoffs," Morrison said. "Try to do all the little thing right as a teammate and as a team."

And Brunette will be replaced by Jimmy Hayes on the Hawks' top line. He'll skate with Marian Hossa and Patrick Kane.

"You have to make sure you're always ready for the puck because you never know when they're going to give it to you," Hayes said. "It's one of those games you have to be plugged in."

Quenneville chose Hayes over Michael Frolik to play with Hossa and Kane. Frolik hasn't scored a goal since December 14 in St. Paul and has been in and out of the lineup as a healthy scratch -- as has Hayes. Frolik will start with Jamal Mayers and Brandon Bollig on the fourth line. Corey Crawford is in goal.

If the Hawks lose in regulation they'll be the No. 6 seed in the Western Conference no matter what happens in the final two days of the regular season.

A quick look at how the Chicago Blackhawks pulled out a 5-4 win over the Nashville Predators on Saturday night.

How it happened: A crazy night went the Hawks’ way when Andrew Shaw found a pinching Brent Seabrook for the winning goal midway through the third period. It was a perfect back-hand pass and helped ease the pain of the Hawks blowing a 4-0 lead. Patrick Sharp and Dave Bolland scored power-play goals followed by a Patrick Kane mini breakaway tally. Then Viktor Stalberg finished a nice rush by banking one in off of Predators goalie Pekka Rinne. It was Stalberg’s 20th goal of the season. But Nashville responded with four straight goals of their own between the second and third periods, including two on the power play and two by Shea Weber. Nashville had all the momentum until Shaw found Seabrook to avoid a heart-breaking defeat.

What it means: The Hawks are in the playoffs for the fourth consecutive year, but they didn’t make it easy on themselves. Playing the night before didn’t stop Nashville from outplaying the Hawks in the second half of the contest, but another big goal late in a game by Seabrook was the difference. The Hawks’ power play was much better getting pucks on net from the outset. But problems in front of Corey Crawford continue. With Weber, and others, blasting away from the point there was too much traffic in front of the Hawks goal. And no one was putting a body on them. It’s something that needs to be fixed before the playoffs, if it can be at this point. It’s still a good enough road win, despite the near collapse, and the Hawks will play on into mid-April as they improved to 44-26-9.

Playoffs: The Hawks are in and tied Detroit in points with their 97th, but remain the No. 6 seed at the moment due to a tiebreaker. The Hawks have played one more game than Detroit and have three games remaining in the regular season.

What’s next: The Hawks return to Chicago for a Sunday evening contest against the Minnesota Wild.

CHICAGO -- Blackhawks head coach Joel Quenneville deferred to his assistants on deciding who his fourth skater would be in the shootout on Thursday night against the St. Louis Blues. Mike Kitchen and Mike Haviland both said “Bolly” so Quenneville was “outvoted even if I didn’t want it,” he said afterwards. He went with Dave Bolland after the first three shooters all missed.

It was the right decision; Bolland faked Jaroslav Halak out and slid a forehand shot past him for the lone score in the shootout and a Hawks 4-3 win.

“You have 20,000 fans screaming and yelling, you’re thinking of so many moves in your head,” Bolland said. “For me going down, whatever came to my head, to try to do, to put it in.”

What came to his head was a beautiful deke move.

“Should I shoot or should I deke or should I bury my head and just try to run through him?” Bolland wondered.

(Read full post)

CHICAGO -- Chicago Blackhawks forward Dave Bolland is aware of the irony.

On Tuesday night against the St. Louis Blues the Hawks center had scoring chances galore. He totaled nine shots on net but not one got by the goalie.

Then came the first shift in the next game, on Friday, against the Dallas Stars.

“It was pretty crazy,” Bolland said after practice in Chicago on Saturday. “I couldn’t buy one in that St. Louis game but against Dallas, that first ten seconds, it went it. So, finally.”

Bolland had just one other shot on net but had several good looks as he did against the Blues. He also won 67 percent of his faceoffs, taking 21 draws, the most on the team. If there is any one player on the Hawks who elevates his game come playoff time, it has to be Bolland. He’s a valuable a commodity: A guy who can shut down the other team’s best players while providing offense at the same time.

“When the postseason comes around that’s when the game is [elevated] and the energy is higher,” he said. “I know the postseason, for myself, is a big accomplishment. To be there and play there.”

Bolland doesn’t always generate the headlines for games 1-82, but come spring, that all changes. Over his career, Bolland has averaged 0.53 points per regular-season game. In the playoffs he’s a 0.79 per game point producer.

“Whether it’s the importance of the game or a stricter matchup I think he welcomes that challenge and he elevates his game,” Joel Quenneville said. “Things are going well for him right now.”

A year ago at this time, things weren’t going so well. Bolland -- like current teammates Jonathan Toews and Steve Montador -- was recovering from a concussion. The uncertainty in the recovery process is something Bolland knows all too well.

“It was about the same time of the year,” Bolland said. “It’s one of those things that you do reminisce. I can still remember those feelings of what he’s [Toews] going through and what I went through. It’s a tough time.”

What Bolland went through, and more than likely Toews as well, is a recurrence of the concussion symptoms. One day the workouts are going fine, and the next, the problems return.

“You have headaches and a little bit of relapse,” Bolland explained. “You never know when it’s going to hit you or when you’re going to get those symptoms. You could be scot-free for a day and you think the next day you’re going to be playing and you get those symptoms again. It’s a roller coaster.”

And the unpredictable nature of the recovery process is part of the mystery. Bolland wasn’t able to play until Game 4 of the postseason last year, with his team already trailing the Vancouver Canucks three games to none. Many thought he should not have dressed considering the long recovery from the concussion. But he was cleared and he was ready.

“It’s one of those things you have to take your time with,” Bolland explained. “You come back too early you can screw yourself around…I could not have been ready. It could have taken me a little longer, it could have taken me shorter. You just don’t know.”

And that’s what faces Toews. The unknown.

So until the captain returns, a guy like Bolland may have to raise his game even more. His wingers, Bryan Bickell and Andrew Shaw, are counting on it.

“He’s a playoff kind of player,” Bickell said. “There is something about him. He gets under the other team’s skin. He scores, he does everything.”

Bolland is bothered by his minus-7 rating this season. He’s talked openly about not liking that “minus column” but come playoff time no one thinks Bolland isn’t going to bring his best. He usually does.

“That line when they nail it, they’re shutting down the other team’s top line and you get some production off of it,” Quenneville said. “You’re going to have some success.”

If it’s spring you can count on it from the man they call the “rat.” Bolland is needed now more than ever before.

“I like this time of year,” he said. “It’s the playoffs. Everyone elevates their game.”

Slappers

• Quenneville said there was no change in Toews’ status. He did not practice on Saturday and there is no timetable for a return.

• Corey Crawford will start in net against the Washington Capitals on Sunday.

• All line combinations and defensive pairings were the same on Saturday as were in Friday’s game. Expect the same lineup for Sunday’s game against the Capitals.

A quick look at the Chicago Blackhawks' 4-1 win over the Dallas Stars on Friday night.

How it happened: The Hawks took a rare, early two-goal lead thanks to a Dave Bolland score 10 seconds into the contest followed by a Patrick Sharp goal 92 seconds later. Bolland got a pass from Andrew Shaw, who settled a feed onto his stick from Bryan Bickell off the opening draw. All three earned a point on the play. Then Sharp came out of the corner with the puck and fired one by Kari Lehtonen to stun the home team for his 27th goal of the season. Marian Hossa added one early in the third after he stole the puck and got it to Patrick Kane, who gave it back to Hossa for his 28th of the year. A minute later Sharp scored again after a turnover and feed from Viktor Stalberg. Corey Crawford was as solid as he was in relief on Tuesday night and came within 5:50 of getting the Hawks their first shutout of the season. Jamie Benn scored after Duncan Keith’s pass missed Jamal Mayers to break a 99:10 stretch of shutout hockey by Crawford.

What it means: The Hawks didn’t get the shutout, but the confidence boost for its defense and goaltender should still be big. Dallas buzzed around the Hawks net for a few stretches throughout the game but the chances weren’t very dangerous, and when they were, Crawford made the big save. Getting a lead -- let alone two goals -- must have felt like five or six considering how long it’s been since the Hawks played from start to finish ahead of its opponent. In short, it’s the way to win a playoff game. And to do it on the road without the Hawks captain is that much more impressive.

What’s next: The Hawks return home for a day of practice on Saturday followed by a Sunday contest against the Washington Capitals at 6 p.m.

DETROIT -- He’s not sure himself what’s clicked in for him recently, but the Chicago Blackhawks’ Patrick Kane is doing exactly what he said needed to be done in the absence of captain Jonathan Toews: he’s stepping up his game.

It started in Anaheim last weekend when he scored the first power-play goal for the Hawks in 39 attempts while adding two other shots on net. Then came his game against Toronto on Wednesday, where more than one account described him as “flying” around the ice. The result was a goal and an assist with six shots on net and a plus-2 rating.

Though he failed to get a point in it, his best game may have been Friday night in a 2-1 win over Ottawa. Again, Kane was flying and his line with Andrew Brunette and Marian Hossa was dominant. Kane had five shots on net and numerous magician-like passes which his teammates failed to bury. You can joke about those misses after a win, right?

“We were having fun with it during it too,” Kane laughed after practice in Detroit on Saturday. “We were on the bench there in the third shaking our heads, laughing that nothing went in for us. There will be games like that, but if you play like that every night you’re definitely going to get some results.”

They didn’t win the game in Anaheim but the two victories over Toronto and Ottawa had largely to do with No. 88.

“Give him credit,” Blackhawks coach Joel Quenneville beamed. “He’s had two outstanding games. Puck possession. Speed off the attack. He’s back to center with a real opportunity to take charge here a little bit without Johnny around. Hopefully he continues to play that way.”

“Take charge” isn’t exactly how Kane has been described over the years. He’s a great talent but usually takes second fiddle to Toews or others in the leadership department.

“The effectiveness of what he did for our team game and for his game was amazing,” Quenneville said. “He’s showing leadership, in that game at home against Toronto. Last [Friday] night he took it to another level. Hopefully that can be the standard from here on out.”

(Read full post)

ESPNChicago's Jesse Rogers talks to Blackhawks forward Dave Bolland about his winning goal and the team's 3-1 victory over the St. Louis Blues.

A quick look at the Chicago Blackhawks' 3-1 win over the St. Louis Blues at the United Center on Sunday.

How it happened: Dave Bolland scored the winning goal late in the third after the Hawks tied it earlier that period on a Duncan Keith point blast. The Hawks trailed 1-0 most of the afternoon as Andy McDonald’s late score in the first period looked like it might hold up. McDonald tallied after Corey Crawford and Nick Leddy weren’t able to corral a loose puck in the crease. The play was reviewed due to the puck being kicked towards the net but it was determined a stick touched it before going in. The Hawks were shut down on offense for a lot of the first period, going over 15 minutes without a shot on net. But they played better in the second and that carried over to the third. Jonathan Toews went sprawling but got a puck up-ice to Patrick Kane, who dropped it off to Patrick Sharp in the offensive zone. Sharp waited until help arrived, finding Keith at the point for the score. Bolland’s winning tally came when he centered a puck which went in off of David Backes' stick. Marian Hossa added an empty-netter to seal it.

What it means: It’s a huge win, just the Hawks’ second this season when scoring two goals or less (without the empty netter). The key was the Hawks’ work ethic after the first period as well as Crawford’s play in the opening 20 minutes to keep it close. The Hawks got better as the game went along, earning the offense they finally produced in the third. The Blues were 25-1-1 when leading after two periods coming into the game, so the Hawks bucked that trend in a big way. All of a sudden they are starting to win in different ways, making their claims of becoming a better team due to their recent losing streak seem like a possibility. A solid final two periods produced their third consecutive win after nine straight losses. One of the best wins of the season, considering the start.

What’s next: The Hawks continue a mini-homestand with a visit from the Detroit Red Wings on Tuesday.

The Blackhawks returned home to Chicago to lick their wounds from yet another disastrous trip to Western Canada.

They’ll take the day off on Saturday before getting a couple of practice sessions in. Then they’ll return to the road for the second leg of their nine-game trip, trying to break a season-high five-game losing skid.

An 0-2-1 start is an ominous beginning to a stretch that could derail their high hopes for a monster season and division title. A road-weary February could produce the unthinkable: The Hawks fighting to make the playoffs for a second consecutive year.

No matter what the Hawks have done in Edmonton and Calgary this year -- they were 0-4, losing by a combined total of 25 to 9 -- -they still possess too much talent to fall very far in the standings. But this is a perplexing group, even for the most erudite hockey people.

Consider this: Since the NHL expanded to 30 teams, no squad has ranked lower than 18th in goals-against per game and won a Stanley Cup. Only four teams have finished outside the top 10 and won a championship. The Hawks currently rank 25th.

There are two possible reasons for optimism on defense. Neither have to do with a trade. Any addition via a trade is unlikely to make a major impact. If you think the Hawks will jump 10 spots in defense by picking up Chris Campoli, you’re sorely mistake. There is no denying they need a defender, it’s just not the big-picture answer. No, this is larger than a defenseman.

Ray Emery is almost assuredly going to get a chance to get the net. Any goalie or coach will tell you the first job of a netminder is to make the saves he is supposed to. Corey Crawford was doing that for a time -- even if he wasn’t making enough of the big ones to go along with the easy ones. But too often lately Crawford is not making those simple saves.

In the Edmonton loss, for instance, Crawford gave up some easy ones, especially the first tally by Taylor Hall, and the tide of the contest completely turned. So a change in goal – or improved goaltending by Crawford -- could make the big difference.

The Hawks have never been a great in-their-own-zone team. They need their goalie in those situations. Better goalie play could go a long way to reducing the goals against problem.

The other reason for optimism is based more on hope than anything else. Maybe the Hawks can roll when they get to the playoffs simply because they are waiting for spring to arrive. The Hawks aren’t committed to playing defense right now. Come April and May, it’s safe to say they’ll care. Both Joel Quenneville and Stan Bowman have essentially said the same thing recently: These individuals and this team have done good things previously, so they expect them to do it again. The problem with that line of thinking is the Blackhawks have not played well defensively at any point this season.

You would assume they would turn it on in the postseason. The leaders on the Hawks know what it takes to win -- they do have pride. They simply don’t care enough about games in January and February until they’re embarrassed to care or fall enough in the standings it wakes them up.

The problems on the blue-line have been well documented. There isn’t enough clearing of pucks or men in the crease. But again, that defense isn’t built to play in its own zone. Other than Brent Seabrook, the unit is undersized. The success they had in 2010 was built around team defense and puck possession. So what about the forwards? They seem less committed than anyone to playing defense.

And some of the sacred cows of the team -- Jonathan Toews, Marian Hossa and Dave Bolland – should be faulted. The Hawks possess three of the pre-eminent defensive forwards in the league, each of whom plays on a different line, but the team’s defense has been subpar.

One great example of the Hawks’ lack of commitment to keeping pucks out of their net comes on their atrocious penalty kill – the league’s 27th ranked unit. There are too many pucks getting to the net.
Chicago’s penalty kill is designed to allow shots and actually prevent forwards from blocking them. Point men are pushed to the faceoff circles by the forwards to seemingly bad angles. But in reality, those shots aren’t so bad when they have a clear path to the slot with traffic in front of the net. Bolland and company simply won’t block shots for fear of getting hurt, hence the strategy of the forward pushing the D-man over instead of simply getting in front of the shooter as most teams do.

Without Michael Frolik in the lineup in Edmonton and other times, Bolland leads the Hawks in blocked shots with 25. That is 100th among forwards in the league. Even with Frolik, he’s ranked just 67th. Do those numbers scream going all-out to win a game? When is the last time a Hawk forward blocked a shot at the point giving them a short-handed chance the other way?

This strategy is making their D-men -- and subsequently their goalie -- look bad. Obviously the coaches approve of it or it would change, but here is the bottom line: Maybe that strategy is alright because it’s keeping Hawk stars healthy. But come playoff time, they must lay out, and odds are, they will.

Now here is the bad news: This season the Hawks have proven they can win only one way. With offense. Goaltending hasn’t won them much and neither has team defense. Their dynamic offense will most assuredly win them many more games the rest of the way. But at this moment, they are a one-trick pony. When they even try to play defense, it takes away from their offense because they don’t know how to find that balance.

It’s hard to imagine all of the bad defensive habit will just disappear because the calendar turns to April. Haven’t all those poor defensive teams that made the playoffs over the years wanted to tighten up in the postseason?

After the all-star break, the Hawks said the final 30 games were going to have a playoff feel to them. Though the performance in Vancouver was fine, after three games, observers are still waiting.

CHICAGO -- Though the Chicago Blackhawks offense suffered without Jonathan Toews and Patrick Sharp in a 3-1 loss to the Nashville Predators on Tuesday, it was their defense that put them in an early hole.

“I think scoring first was important,” Hawks coach Joel Quenneville said. “I thought we sagged off that first goal.”

That first goal came courtesy of a turnover by Sean O'Donnell.

“Two unfortunate giveaways there,” O’Donnell said. “Mine was the first one, and then there was the second one there, and you just can’t do that to a team like this.”

The Hawks have proven this season that you can’t turn the puck over to any team behind their own goal. After O’Donnell did it, Nick Leddy turned one over in nearly the same exact spot. The Predators scored on both of them.

“I didn’t see the first one,” Corey Crawford said. “The second one, I don’t know, they made a good play out in front.”

And after the second one, the normally mild-mannered Crawford smashed his goalie stick over the crossbar. It probably said a lot more about the Hawks’ overall frustrations on defense than just that one goal.

“There are some things that we need to tighten up,” O’Donnell said. “Overall we’ve had a good first half but there is room for improvement.”

Especially where championships are won -- on defense.

Slappers

After Tuesday’s loss the Hawks are 9-15-3 without Jonathan Toews in the lineup since the beginning of his career.

Marian Hossa collected a primary assist on the Hawks’ only goal of the game to extend his current point streak to a season-long nine games (3G, 8A).

Dave Bolland scored his 15th goal of the season on a third-period power play. He has registered as many goals this season in 46 games as he did all of last season in 61 contests, and is just four shy of his career-best. Bolland also won a season-high 17-of-20 (85%) faceoffs, including 9-of-10 in the offensive zone.

Rookie Andrew Shaw led the Hawks in ice time with a career-high 21:37.

Quotable

“For most of the first and the second we didn’t have anything going. We didn’t have any pace and they were stronger in the puck area. Very noticeable.” -- Quenneville, on the Hawks being shutout for the first 40 minutes.

“Things happen over time, I don’t measure that at all.” -- Quenneville, on the team’s inability to earn a shutout before the All-Star break.

CHICAGO -- A quick look at the Chicago Blackhawks' 3-1 loss to the Nashville Predators at the United Center on Tuesday night.

How it happened: Two first-period goals held up for Nashville as Pekka Rinne turned back almost everything the Hawks threw at him -- which wasn’t very much until late in the game. Nashville took the early lead, thanks to turnovers by Sean O'Donnell and Nick Leddy. Craig Smith and Mike Fisher pounced on them, burying high-percentage shots in the slot area. Without a couple of star forwards in the lineup, the Hawks offense was stagnant, but it did finally manage a power-play tally in the third period by Dave Bolland. That woke up the Hawks, as well as the fans in the building, but a furious last half of the period couldn’t produce the game tying goal. Colin Wilson’s power-play goal into an empty net was the Predators’ final score.

What it means: The Hawks limp into the All-Star break after back-to-back losses to these Predators. Do they have an excuse playing without Jonathan Toews and Patrick Sharp? Of course, but there is no excuse for getting down early and mustering very little for 50 minutes against a team that just played the night before. Leddy and O’Donnell continue a season-long trend of poor play by Hawks defenders in their own zone. Coach Joel Quenneville tried everything, including Patrick Kane at center, but maybe having to play five rookies in their 12 forwards caught up to them as there seemed to be little line chemistry throughout the night. The break might be coming at the best time in order to get the walking wounded healthy again. Through 50 games the Hawks are 29-15-4.

What’s next: Kane and Marian Hossa will head to Ottawa for the All-Star Game while the rest of the team will scatter until Monday, when they take off for a nine-game road trip that starts in Vancouver next Tuesday. Their next home game is Feb. 19 against St. Louis.

CHICAGO -- The Chicago Blackhawks led the San Jose Sharks 2-0 after the first period at the United Center on Sunday night.

The Hawks earned two late goals in the opening 20 minutes after spending most of the period in the offensive zone. Sharks goalie Antti Niemi made some big stops on his former team until Dave Bolland and Viktor Stalberg were able to tally 1:38 apart.

Andrew Brunette and Jimmy Hayes won puck battles behind Niemi until the puck squirted out to Bolland who roofed one, short side, for his 13th goal of the year.

After another good shift by the Jonathan Toews line, the Hawks captain found Stalberg in the slot for his 14th tally of the season.

Earlier, Niemi made arguably the save of the year on Patrick Kane. As Toews moved into the offensive zone along the left side Niemi moved in his direction. But Toews sent a pass back to the right, finding Kane in the slot. Kane fired a laser into an open net only to have Niemi sprawl back to his left and make a diving glove stop. Kane dropped his head in frustration and the game remained scoreless at the time.

Sean O'Donnell fought Brad Winchester in the first period. It was his first bout as a Hawk.

CHICAGO -- Blackhawks forward Dave Bolland got the message loud and clear: he needed to play better.

Since midseason, individual meetings with the coaches during which his minus rating was stressed, Bolland has taken off. He scored twice and assisted once in a Hawks' 5-2 win over the Minnesota Wild on Thursday night.

It doesn’t hurt to be paired with Marian Hossa, as Bolland has been the past two games.

“You look around, I think everyone’s game seems to rise when you’ve got a chance to play with Hossa,” coach Joel Quenneville said afterwards.

But make no mistake, Bolland’s stellar game involved more than just producing points. After all, none came during five-on-five play which is where his line has been weak. Not on Thursday. Not with Hossa.

“Bolland’s line was dangerous in a lot of ways tonight, and definitely had more puck possession than we’ve seen,” Quenneville said.

It was just a couple days earlier, after practice, Quenneville said he wanted to see Bolland’s line play more “in the offensive zone and less in the defensive zone.” It sounds like the Hawks center got the message loud and clear.

Everyone knows Bolland’s role come the postseason. He’ll be asked to shut down the opposition’s top lines and chip in a few goals along the way. Maybe it was time to get a head start.

“We had our meetings,” Bolland said. “Things weren’t rolling. I think for ourselves it was just staying positive.”

As for that offense, Bolland has been a special teams machine. Coming into the game seven of his 10 goals were scored on the power play or shorthanded. That’s the highest percentage for any one player in the league, according to ESPN Stats and Information. He added to it with another power play goal Thursday. And then came the helper with the man advantage and then empty net score.

“There’s times, when you go through your 82-game season, with a few bumps in the road,” Bolland said. “I think right now I can see it just coming back.”

For him and his team.