Hawks' preparation for Avs unusual

Because of a league rule mandating three days off over Christmas, the Hawks will have quite a 12 hours or so in Colorado on Saturday in preparation for that night's game against the Avalanche.

"We're going to fly out there early, skate in the morning and have a regular game-day routine after that," coach Joel Quenneville said.

Colorado had to do the same thing last season when the Avs flew into Chicago and took on the Hawks all in one day - and they paid the price in a 7-2 thumping.

"They weren't happy last year, but that's the way it is," Quenneville said. "Now it's our turn ... but we're not complaining."

Feeling it:

Scoring his first even-strength goal of the season against Columbus and then following it up with a 3-assist night in a 4-0 win over Toronto, veteran Patrick Sharp looks like he's got his groove back following his return to the lineup from a knee injury.

Sharp has 15 points (5 goals, 10 assists) through 20 games, including 5 points in his last four outings.

"I've felt pretty good from the first game back," Sharp said. "It's just a matter of getting into a rhythm, getting your timing back, getting a little more comfortable with the puck and being relaxed throughout the scoring areas.

"Those things come throughout the season, hopefully it will continue."

He'll be back:

Brad Richards sat out a second straight game, but he did skate with the team Tuesday morning and expects to be back after the Christmas break.

"I just talked to the staff and Q; with three days off, rushing into a game, why not just hold off a few more days and come back after the break?" Richards said. "I'll be ready to go."

An actual all-star team:

Think about this: if voting for the all-star game ended today, Buffalo center Zemgus Girgensons would be the lone non-Hawks player selected (via fan vote) to take part.

Girgensons leads with 1,291,186 total votes, followed by Patrick Kane (815,990), Jonathan Toews (803,034), Duncan Keith (790,922), Brent Seabrook (641,736) and Corey Crawford (714,471).

He said it:

"I'm going to go home for a couple of days and see my family. It'll be nice to get a couple of days away from the game and away from the guys in the locker room and just enjoy my family at Christmas. It's good."

- Patrick Kane