Hawks just keep winning, and making news off ice, too
The Blackhawks are making almost as much news off the ice as on it these days.
Even before the Hawks knocked off the Edmonton Oilers 5-2 on Saturday night at Rexall Place for their sixth straight victory, they saw the Minnesota Wild claim center Andrew Ebbett on waivers, ending his failed 12-game tryout.
And there were more trade rumors surrounding the salary cap-strapped Hawks, this one courtesy of Hockey Night in Canada claiming Maple Leafs general manager Brian Burke might be willing to take defenseman Brent Sopel if Hawks GM Stan Bowman would kick in a second-round draft pick.
Sopel is believed to be the guy the Hawks would like to move to open up "tagging-room" space toward next year's salary cap in order to sign Duncan Keith, Jonathan Toews and Patrick Kane to contract extensions.
Sopel's contract runs through next season with a cap hit of $2.33 million. The Hawks shaved $447,000 off their payroll when the Wild claimed Ebbett.
A 3-goal first period got the Hawks started the right way in the second stop on their six-game road trip.
"We liked the way we've played our team game," Hawks coach Joel Quenneville said. "We've got four tough teams going ahead here to finish our trip, but it's the beginning we were hoping for and we'll try to sustain some momentum here."
Jonathan Toews scored 2 goals and had an assist with the Hawks now 6-0 since the captain returned from a concussion.
"He's playing great," Quenneville said. "He does the right things all game. We love the way he's playing whether he's scoring or not."
Toews, Kris Versteeg and Kane got the early goals. Kane assisted on Toews' goal that opened the scoring, extending his points scoring streak to nine games.
The Hawks lost rookie winger Bryan Bickell for the night 3:18 into the game when he struck his head on the ice after colliding with Dustin Penner.
"Hopefully he'll be OK for (today); we'll see," Quenneville said.
John Madden made it 4-1 with a second-period goal that resulted from strong work by linemates Andrew Ladd and Troy Brouwer.
Jeff Deslauriers started in goal for the Oilers after Nikolai Khabibulin was a late scratch because of sore back.
Hawks goalie Cristobal Huet made several big saves in the third period after Penner's goal made it 4-2.
Toews got his second goal on a power play with 11:07 to play from in the slot on a feed from Patrick Sharp.
• The Hawks face the Canucks tonight at GM Place for the first time since Vancouver defenseman Willie Mitchell's hit on Jonathan Toews on Oct. 21 at the United Center knocked the captain out of the lineup for six games with a concussion.
"It's unfortunate what happened to him last time so hopefully he can put a few (goals) on the board," Patrick Kane said about Toews.
• Marian Hossa told reporters Saturday he would make his Hawks debt either Wednesday at San Jose or Friday afternoon at Anaheim.
"I'll talk to the trainers and pick the right date," Hossa said. "Skating by myself is getting old."
<p class=factboxtext12col><b>Tim Sassone's game tracker</b></p> <p class=factboxtext12col>Three stars</p> <p class=factboxtext12col>1. Jonathan Toews, Hawks: Two goals and an assist for the captain.</p> <p class=factboxtext12col>2. Cristobal Huet, Hawks: Goalie made countless timely saves to go 9-2 in his last 11 starts.</p> <p class=factboxtext12col>3. Andrew Ladd, Hawks: His dirty work set up John Madden's goal in the second period.</p> <p class=factboxtext12col>Key stat</p> <p class=factboxtext12col>The Hawks are 8-0 when they've scored 4 goals or more.</p>