A few bright spots in otherwise ugly Hawks game
The common perception is there's a thick sheet of ice separating the Blackhawks' young prospects from the final roster.
With the team already stocked with talent and $2 million above the salary cap, there's simply no room for any unexpected additions. But that doesn't mean those players ticketed for the minors can't give it their best shot in preseason.
The best news from Friday's dreary 4-1 loss to the New York Rangers at the United Center was the play of center Phillip Danault. The 21-year-old set up the Blackhawks' only goal of the night and generally played with more energy than most of those wearing red jerseys.
"Liked him," coach Joel Quenneville said. "There were a couple forwards that really stood out. I think he was one of them. So we're happy with him. I liked (Dennis) Rasmussen as well up front."
Danault and Rasmussen connected for the home team's lone goal. Danault did all the heavy lifting, carrying the puck from the blue line to behind the net, shaking off a check along the way. He delivered a short pass to Rasmussen, who poked the puck past Rangers goalie Henrik Lundqvist.
"I try to get it to the net more often than last year," Danault said. "I got stronger in my legs for sure and my upper body too. I credit the goal to Ras. We have good chemistry together."
Danault was one of the Hawks' two first-round picks in 2011, along with Mark McNeill, who was officially sent to Rockford earlier in the day. Danault scored 6 goals in 72 games for Rockford last season.
"We can't think about the roster," he said. "I came into camp and just wanted to be ready and make a good impression and that's what I'm doing right now. Chicago is probably the best team to know when you're ready or not. So hopefully, they'll think I'm ready."
Danault said he's been working to become more of a scorer. He's been viewed as sort of a defensive-minded forward in the mold of Marcus Kruger. A few years ago, Danault won the Guy Carbonneau Award for the best defensive forward in the Quebec junior league.
"They want me to be a Kruger, but he can show some offensive skill and I want to do the same," Danault said.
Rasmussen, 24, was signed this summer from Sweden, so this is essentially his North American debut. Danault and Rasmussen will almost certainly be teammates in Rockford when the season begins.
The Hawks got off to a very sluggish start Friday, giving up a goal just 51 seconds into the game. New York's Oscar Lindberg bounced a shot into the net while teammate Marek Hrivik supplied the uncontested screen on Corey Crawford. A few minutes later, Anthony Duclair made it 2-0 by finishing a nice cross-ice pass from Rick Nash. Crawford played the whole game and gave up 2 more goals in the final six minutes.
"We demonstrated what happens when your mind and your preparation is not in the right place," Quenneville said while expressing little concern. "We had one of those days (where) we're sitting there, 'Oh, we need a day off.' No excuse, but it was our first day that was ugly."
The Hawks have three more preseason games, including Wednesday against Montreal at the United Center. Quenneville said the team will send a young lineup to Saskatoon, Saskatchewan for Sunday's game against Edmonton.
• The Hawks sent six players down to Rockford on Friday, forwards Alex Broadhurst, Drew LeBlanc, Mark McNeill, and defensemen Mathieu Brisebois, Dillon Fournier and Viktor Svedberg. The moves drop the roster to 40 players, including 23 forwards, 13 defensemen and four goalies.