Hawks ready to take on quartet of ex-Mates
A bond for a lifetime interrupted by a few hours of hatred.
OK, maybe it won't be to that extent, but the bottom line is when the Blackhawks take on Atlanta tonight, there will be no love lost between the two teams even though four former members of the Stanley Cup champion Hawks Dustin Byfuglien, Andrew Ladd, Brent Sopel and Ben Eager now play for the Thrashers.
“It's a little weird,” admitted Hawks forward Troy Brouwer. “It'll be good to see old friends, but that's as far as it goes. After that it's business as usual.”
“When the game comes around you can't let up on a hit and you can't take it easy on these guys just because they were your teammates.”
Said Hawks coach Joel Quenneville: “It was great having them around and we certainly wish them well, but we're playing to win when the puck's dropped. “We certainly had a nice relationship with all the guys, including Torch (Thrashers' associate coach John Torchetti).”
And the new guys in Atlanta are certainly making their presence felt; Byfuglien and Ladd led the Thrashers with 12 points apiece heading into the weekend, a fact that doesn't surprise Quenneville at all.
“When you look at the guys and the depth we had last year and you give them the opportunity, they probably were deserving to pick up more ice time and more quality ice time.”
“They're doing really well so you're happy for those guys,” defenseman Brian Campbell said. “Buff's got I think 5 goals on the back end which is pretty good. Those guys are good people.
“It will be interesting to play against them.”
When they do get on the ice, Byfuglien plans on having a little fun with his old mates.
“Hopefully we have some good smiles and laughs and then go to work and be (jerks) against each other for a while and then just go back to being friends afterward,” he said.
Brouwer, who planned on dining with a couple of his ex-mates Friday night, was asked how the newest Thrashers are adjusting to life in Atlanta.
“I don't know, it's a big change obviously going from Chicago and this team and going to Atlanta,” he said. “It's just a different lifestyle change and they're still trying to get used to it.”
Blackhawks game day
<P>
Atlanta Thrashers at Phillips Arena, 6 p.m. </P>
<P> <b>TV </b>: Channel 9 </P>
<P> <b>Radio: </b> WGN 720-AM </P>
<P> <b>Game notes: </b> Here's the game that has been circled on many a calendar in Blackhawks Nation for a while as the Hawks go up against former teammates Dustin Byfuglien, Andrew Ladd, Brent Sopel and Ben Eager. Patrick Sharp (minus-5) and Duncan Keith (minus-4) look to rebound from a tough night against New Jersey. </P>
<P> <b>Next: </b> Edmonton Oilers at the United Center, 6 p.m. </P>