United Center still no help to Hawks

It shouldn't be a surprise that the Blackhawks are having trouble winning games at the United Center.

They haven't been a consistently good home team ever since moving there from across the street.

Since the UC opened for hockey in January 1995, the Hawks have had only five winning seasons out of 12. That's quite a contrast for an organization that had one of the greatest home-ice advantages in NHL history at the Chicago Stadium.

Over the last 36 seasons the Hawks played in the Stadium from 1958 through 1994, they never had a losing home record.

Hawks general manager Dale Tallon sees the days of teams having dominant home-ice advantages as over because of the new buildings in which most of them play.

"All the buildings seem to be the same now, and there's really no home-ice advantage anymore," Tallon said. "You look back at all the teams that have gone into new rinks that are average teams, and they probably have average home records.

"Now I don't think there's a home-ice advantage unless you have a really, really good team that can dominate no matter where it plays."

It used to be that even when the Hawks weren't an elite club, the Chicago Stadium still proved to be a huge advantage for them with its smaller ice and shallow corners -- not to mention the loudness of the crowd that was pushed higher by the building's brick walls and the fact that the first and second balconies basically hung over the ice.

"Anytime you came to Chicago Stadium you knew you were in for a battle," said Hawks veteran Martin Lapointe, who experienced the Stadium at its most hostile as a member of the Detroit Red Wings. "It was intimidating, coming in and seeing all the fans on top of you and climbing up those stairs. You knew you were going to war."

There are no more intimidating buildings, Lapointe says. Perhaps Madison Square Garden comes the closest now for Rangers games.

While the Stadium, Boston Garden, Maple Leaf Gardens, the Montreal Forum and the Aud in Buffalo all were as distinctive as the players who skated in them, most arenas now look and feel alike inside.

The United Center has been criticized as being too big and impersonal with the 300 level too far away from the ice and a roof so high that it quiets the sound.

Even the dressing rooms in today's modern buildings are comfortable and roomy, with many just a few walking steps from the ice.

"You use to go into Maple Leaf Gardens, Boston Garden, Buffalo, the Montreal Forum and every building was different," Tallon said. "There were some edges to them and they were all different shapes and sizes. You knew where the bounces were and such and there was an advantage.

"But now they all look the same, 200 by 85 feet; they're cookie-cutter buildings, so there is not a big advantage.

Recently the United Center has become an even easier place for visiting teams to play because of sagging attendance. But now that there is a hockey buzz again in town to a certain extent and fans are slowly trickling back, coach Denis Savard envisions the Hawks using it to their advantage to be a tougher team to beat at home.

"Having our fans slowly coming back is going to help us," Savard said. "When we have a packed house it makes a difference, I know this for a fact. They're coming, and it'll be fun for all of us. It will be fun because of the atmosphere and fun for our players.

"Having our home games on TV, I believe it's going to bring people to the rink, and that's what we want. That's the message that we need to get out there, that people have to come because we need them."

Scouting report

Blackhawks vs. Columbus Blue Jackets at the United Center, 7:30 p.m.

TV: None

Radio: WSCR 670-AM

The skinny: The Blue Jackets are off to an 8-3-2 start under coach Ken Hitchcock and have the best team goals-against average in the league at 1.61. Goalie Pascal Leclaire already has 5 shutouts, but backup Fredrik Norrena gets the start tonight, looking to beat the Hawks for the second time this season at the United Center. Columbus is 5-0-1 in its last six games and ranks first in penalty-killing. The Hawks have dropped three straight at home and are 3-5 at the UC.

Player to watch: Rick Nash. The Columbus winger, always a tough matchup for the small Hawks defense, has 10 goals, including 4 on the power play.

Next: St. Louis Blues at the United Center, Friday

-- Tim Sassone