Blackhawks stay mum on injury to Kane
Depending on which rumor or source you believed Monday, the Blackhawks aren't going to have Patrick Kane available to play any time soon.
The Hawks only added to the mystery Monday, a day off for the team, by saying nothing about the injury Kane suffered in Sunday's victory over Calgary.
It appeared Kane hurt his left ankle when he fell into the boards minutes into the first period while spinning away from a check by Flames defenseman Cory Sarich.
A high ankle sprain is a bad injury for a hockey player and often can take at least a month to improve.
Kane suffered a high right ankle sprain in December 2008 against Detroit on a check by Dan Cleary. He tried to play on it, including appearing in the Winter Classic at Wrigley Field, but ultimately had to sit out two games.
Kane later said that even after he returned to the lineup the ankle wasn't right for the longest time.
Playing without Kane, potentially for at least the next month, will be the latest challenge facing a Hawks team still fighting to stay in a playoff spot in the Western Conference.
“You can never have a perfect year,” center Dave Bolland said. “Nothing can really go your way with guys battling injuries. But you can't let down and you can't let that get to you. It's in the game and you have to deal with that.”
Already playing without Marian Hossa because of a lower-body injury, the Hawks' offense takes another big hit with the loss of Kane. Playing gritty and thinking check first is one way to get through it.
“I don't think we want to change our mind-set,” Hawks coach Joel Quenneville said. “We're better when we think we have to check to win games and to be effective.
“When we do check we seem to produce offensively off that so I don't think we want to outscore the opposition with some key guys out, but it should help our mind-set going into games, particularly here at home.”
Hossa may or may not be close to returning this week, but Fernando Pisani (upper body) could be back as soon as Wednesday against Dallas.
The Hawks sent rookie winger Jeremy Morin back to Rockford on Monday for the purpose of allowing him to play for the U.S. in the World Junior Championships.
Playing through injuries is something the Hawks have become accustomed to this season with Hossa twice missing time as well as Bolland and defenseman Brian Campbell.
“Every season you can't forecast or foresee what's going to be coming at you, but injuries are always something you have to deal with,” Quenneville said. “It's never going to be the perfect season as far as health wise.
“You get tested, you get challenged; organizationally you find out about some people. That will be something we'll be finding out more without Kaner here.”
Patrick Sharp and Jonathan Toews can't be expected to carry the load offensively with Kane and Hossa out. Now is when getting secondary scoring from forwards such as Bolland, Troy Brouwer, Tomas Kopecky, Jack Skille, Jake Dowell and Bryan Bickell becomes even more of a necessity.
“We've found a way to play without some of our top players, guys like Soupy and Hossa, and now we don't have a choice and we're going to have to do it without Kaner,” Toews said. “This is about us, everyone else stepping up.
“You're going to have some ups and downs as the season goes along, and injuries are part of the game, so we'll just do our best to deal with it. That's pretty much all we can do.”