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Ehrhoff hoping to fit in with Chicago Blackhawks

New Blackhawks defenseman Christian Ehrhoff and general manager Stan Bowman believe Ehrhoff wasn't a good fit with the Los Angeles Kings.

Both are hoping a change of scenery will help spark the play of a 33-year-old who scored 28 goals from 2009-11, his last two seasons with Vancouver.

Ehrhoff will get his first chance to show the Hawks what he can do when they take on Detroit on Wednesday. The 6-foot-2, 205-pounder possesses a very hard shot and is known as a good puck-moving defenseman.

"He has that shoot-first mentality, which we like," coach Joel Quenneville said after practice Tuesday.

Ehrhoff went through an injury-plagued campaign with Pittsburgh last season, playing in just 49 games. He moved on to Los Angeles, but the Kings made a surprising move on Feb. 11 when they assigned him to their AHL affiliate.

Just over two weeks later, he was shipped to the Hawks for Rob Scuderi, who was also recently demoted to the AHL.

"Obviously last year I had a tough second half with my injuries and that put kind of a question mark on me, and then this year the fit wasn't great in L.A," Ehrhoff said. "The expectation from both sides were different. For me it's a change of scenery and … I hope I can be a good fit here and move forward."

Ehrhoff had 2 goals and 8 assists in 40 games this season for the Kings.

Envy of all:

Detroit is 32-20-11 this season and in position to make the playoffs for a 25th straight season. They won their last Stanley Cup title in 2008 and also reached the Cup Final the next season, eliminating the Hawks in the Western Conference finals along the way.

Joel Quenneville said one of the Blackhawks' goals was to model the franchise in a way that could mirror Detroit's consistent success.

"Everybody would love - all 29 teams - would love to play in the playoffs every single year with a chance of winning the Cup," Quenneville said. "In the perfect world, we'd all like to do that, and that was definitely the motivation. … We're very happy with the way things have developed here over that time. So, we're fortunate to be in this position again, to give ourselves a chance, and we'll see what happens."

Weise/Hossa updates:

The Blackhawks are hoping Dale Weise, whom the team acquired from Montreal, can play Wednesday in Detroit. Weise, who doesn't have a green card, needs a work visa because he'll now be paid by a U.S. team. If Weise can't play, coach Joel Quenneville said the Hawks will move on to "Plan C" and hope to have him the next night in Boston.

Marian Hossa skated Monday as he recovers from a lower-body injury he suffered vs. Anaheim on Feb. 13. Hossa will not travel to Detroit or Boston, but Quenneville said Hossa might be able to play against the Red Wings on Sunday at the United Center.

He said it:

"It's always nice to have it done, because then you look around the room and you know this is going to be your group."

Andrew Desjardins on the passing of the trade deadline

Scouting report

Blackhawks (39-20-5) vs. Detroit Red Wings (32-20-11) at Joe Louis Arena, 7 p.m.

TV: NBCSN

Radio: WGN 720-AM

The skinny: The Hawks and Red Wings - former division rivals who have engaged in countless regular-season and postseason battles - square off twice in the next five days, then won't play again until next season unless they meet in the Stanley Cup Final. … Detroit has won three in a row after an 0-2-2 stretch. The last victory came courtesy of a Pavel Datsyuk goal in overtime at Dallas. … The Red Wings boast one of the more balanced scoring teams in the league with six players scoring 12-19 goals. … According to the Detroit Free Press, goalie Petr Mrazek is expected to start after missing Monday's game with a tender groin. … Corey Crawford starts in net for the Hawks. Crawford (.928) and Mrazek (.927) rank third and fourth, respectively, in save percentage. … Duncan Keith took a maintenance day and did not practice Tuesday.

Next: Boston Bruins at TD Garden, 6 p.m. Thursday

- John Dietz

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