advertisement

Hawks notes: Blue Jackets look to make things right

The Columbus Blue Jackets haven’t played since Saturday, when their season bottomed out with a 9-2 loss at Philadelphia.

That might not be good news for the struggling Blackhawks.

The Blue Jackets basically went back to training camp since that loss and view Thursday’s game against the Hawks as a fresh start.

“Last week was as low as we could go,” Columbus coach Scott Arniel said Wednesday. “The last four days we were really able to hone in on some things. We’re just going to throw our best at them.”

The Blue Jackets are 2-11-1 and have allowed an NHL-worst 53 goals.

“A lot has happened here; we’ve been hit hard in a lot of areas,” Arniel said. “How we respond (Thursday), am I guaranteeing a win? No, but I’d really like to see us move forward in the right direction, and that’s playing the right way.”

The Blue Jackets made a trade Tuesday, acquiring center Mark Letestu from Pittsburgh for a fourth-round draft pick.

More of the same:The less said about the power play probably is best at this time, as it has sunk to last in the NHL rankings.#147;Our problem is we#146;re making the number out to be a big thing,#148; Jonathan Toews said after the loss in St. Louis. #147;Right now, who cares about the stat?#148;This was the second unit at Wednesday#146;s practice: Steve Montador in the slot with Nick Leddy and Duncan Keith at the points and Marcus Kruger and Andrew Brunette on the wings.#147;We need some repairing on our power play,#148; Hawks coach Joel Quenneville told reporters. #147;We need an ugly goal to get some confidence. Sometimes that can erode our team game.#147;There has to be more urgency across the board in our team game. Everything else will work itself out, but we want to make sure we#146;re comfortable on the power play.#148;Tip-ins:Center Dave Bolland didn#146;t practice Wednesday after taking a shot off his right leg in the loss at St. Louis. Joel Quenneville called Bolland day to day, making him questionable for the Columbus game. #133; Andrew Brunette skated on the fourth line at practice with Rostislav Olesz and Jamal Mayers. #133; Jonathan Toews was between Marian Hossa and Viktor Stalberg. #133; Patrick Kane centered for Patrick Sharp and Daniel Carcillo.

Article Comments
Guidelines: Keep it civil and on topic; no profanity, vulgarity, slurs or personal attacks. People who harass others or joke about tragedies will be blocked. If a comment violates these standards or our terms of service, click the "flag" link in the lower-right corner of the comment box. To find our more, read our FAQ.