Bolland, Eager out for Detroit game

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The Blackhawks will be short-handed Thursday night when they take on the Red Wings at Joe Louis Arena.
No Dave Bolland and no Ben Eager.


They might also be without Troy Brouwer, who will be a game-time decision, according to coach Joel Quenneville.

Bolland still is bothered by a sore back, which kept him out nearly the entire preseason. Quenneville is hoping to have Bolland back in the lineup for Saturday's home opener against Colorado.
Eager has what the Hawks are calling an upper body injury. Eager has a history of concussions with Quenneville saying only the left winger was undergoing further testing and evaluations.
Brouwer has a lower body injury.

 

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Chicago Blackhawks hope to challenge Detroit Red Wings' supremacy
1st test of the season is Thursday night in Detroit

That rumbling sound heard throughout the NHL is the belief there finally might be a seismic shift in the Central Division.

The Detroit Red Wings have ruled the division for eight seasons as one of the powerhouses in the Western Conference. Now, the Blackhawks appear ready to make a run at breaking the Wings' stranglehold.

They will get their first chance to see how they stack up against their rivals when the teams face off Thursday night for the first of six regular season meetings at Joe Louis Arena.

When the Hawks last saw the Wings, they watched as Detroit celebrated its conference finals victory en route to a Stanley Cup finals loss to the Pittsburgh Penguins.

The Hawks believe the experience of advancing to that series along with the changes on both rosters could signal a changing of the guard.

"Hopefully what we did this summer, in training camp and over this season is going to be enough and we're going to beat them when it really counts," Hawks captain Jonathan Toews said. "This game is a test for us. Every game is going to be one to look forward to when we're playing the Wings."

The Wings appear to have been weakened by the departures of several top players, including Marian Hossa and Tomas Kopecky to the Hawks. Mikael Samuelsson and Jiri Hudler also are playing elsewhere and the only significant additions to an already aging team have been veterans Todd Bertuzzi and Jason Williams.

The Hawks, on the other hand, have another year of experience for their young stars and tweaked their roster to add veterans Hossa, Kopecky and John Madden. Hossa is sidelined until at least late November following shoulder surgery in July.

"It's going to be a good challenge and it's going to be fun," said Kopecky, who had six goals and 13 assists for the Wings last season. "They lost a couple of guys. If they're weaker, we'll see."

The Red Wings enter their home opener having lost their first two games of the season to the St. Louis Blues in Stockholm. The Hawks started fairly strong by taking three of a possible four points from the Florida Panthers in Helsinki last weekend.

"It's going to be a great test. I'm sure they're going to be sour after how they came back from their trip," Hawks coach Joel Quenneville said. "We know how competitive our division is going to be and certainly they're a team that always has been at the top. It's a good measuring stick for ourselves."

Added winger Dustin Byfuglien: "We can look at their start and know they're going to come out hard."

The Hawks will play the game without Dave Bolland (back) and Ben Eager (upper body) and may also be without forward Troy Brouwer (lower body) who will be a game-time decision.

"We feel if we can beat (the Wings) now, then we can gain some more points on them when they do get hot during the season," Hawks winger Patrick Kane said. "We're still trying to prove ourselves and trying to prove we can play with these guys."

One-timer: The Blackhawks traded defenseman Aaron Johnson to the Calgary Flames for left wing Kyle Greentree, who they assigned to AHL Rockford.

 

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Wings eager for rival in home opener
/ The Detroit News

Detroit --It might not be burning as hot as the one with Colorado back in the mid-to-late-1990s, but the Red Wings' rivalry with the Chicago Blackhawks is heating up fast.

"This is probably one of our best, if not our No. 1 rivalry right now," Wings goalie Chris Osgood said Wednesday. "There are just a lot of elements to it, but mainly it's two good teams in close proximity playing in the same division. It helps, too, that we played them in the playoffs (Western Conference finals) last year. We do like to play each other; they are fun games."

The fun continues tonight in the home opener at Joe Louis Arena, as the Wings try to avoid three straight losses to Central Division foes.



"We've won the Central for eight straight years now," Osgood said. "And they are one of the teams who are, not threatening us, but going to take a good hard run at us again this year."

The Blackhawks have been nipping at the Wings' heels the past two seasons and after losing to them in the conference finals, took a bold step on July 1 with the signings of former Wings Marian Hossa and Tomas Kopecky.

Hossa is recovering from shoulder surgery, but that will just be another log on the rivalry's fire when he returns.

"That team is getting real good," Kris Draper said. "They have great young players and last year you could just see the excitement in that city and within these two organizations when we played. The Original Six rivalry is back and I think it's good for the game."

The Blackhawks, like the Wings, opened the season abroad. While the Wings were losing twice to the St. Louis Blues in Stockholm, Sweden, the Hawks were going 1-0-1 against Florida in Helsinki, Finland.

But while some media reports out of Chicago are calling this Wings team vulnerable and flawed, 'Hawks players aren't taking anything for granted.

"We're not focused on how the Wings are doing," defenseman Duncan Keith told the Chicago Sun-Times. "The fact that they lost two in a row doesn't matter at all. We'll approach it like any other game. The Wings are a tough team. We're a tough team, too. We'll keep it simple and try to outwork them."

That last comment will resonate with Wings coach Mike Babcock.

"The thing that really stood out to me about our two losses is that (the Blues) skated better at the end of each game and I thought they were more determined," he said. "If you want to be known as a hard-working team, you've got to be skating better at the end of games."

Babcock, after studying the film of the Blackhawks, noticed they have added a few new dimensions to their game -- dimensions that look oddly familiar.

"What happens every year at playoff time with the teams that go to the Finals is that the other teams play more like they do (the next year)," Babcock said. "You sit there and you watch and we're all in this business trying to get better. If someone does something well, you take it. That's just the way it is."

Babcock wouldn't specify exactly what the Hawks have taken, but it would be a good bet that they are stressing puck-possession and neutral-zone tactics similar to what the Wings and Penguins deployed last season.

"I thought two years ago the rivalry with (Chicago) was really good and last year it got better," Babcock said. "Any time you play a team in the playoffs, it's good. They've got a lot of kids and they are getting better, so it should go to another level this year.

"Their franchise is rolling right now. They had 19,000 fans for an exhibition game, so it looks like they are going in the right direction. And they have improved their team over the summer by adding Hossa. So, they are a tough challenge."

Kopecky already has lobbed the first verbal volley, telling the Sun-Times, "It'll be fun, and more fun when we beat them."

Given a chance to elaborate, Kopecky said, "I just meant I would like to beat them, it's not that I guarantee anything. I'm not pulling back. I'd love to beat those guys."

As for the Wings, they just want to beat somebody, anybody.

"We have to come out and play a good game and get our first win," Danny Cleary said. "It's our home-opener and we're going to be energized by our fans. But it's a big game. I know it's only October but we have to start getting wins sooner or later or teams are going to start to leave you behind (in the standings), especially with our division being as tight as it is."



Eaves' debut?

There's a chance Babcock might alter his fourth line tonight.

"I am going to sleep on it one more night and make my decision (Thursday)," he said.

There's a chance that Patrick Eaves may make his debut. If Babcock decides to play Eaves, then either Justin Abdelkader or Kirk Maltby would be scratched.
Ice chips

As Babcock announced Monday, Derek Meech will replace Brett Lebda on the third defensive pairing.

... Darren Helm (shoulder) has been ruled out of the game tonight. "I asked him today if he was lifting as he has and if he felt as strong as he has been in the past and he said no," Babcock said. "So, that was your answer right there."