Blackhawks focused on clinching playoff spot
After their 4-3 shootout victory over the St. Louis Blues, it’s a given that Blackhawks players were glued to the TV to watch Phoenix and San Jose battle in a late-staring game. A loss by Phoenix in regulation would have clinched a playoff spot for the Hawks.
It didn’t happen.
“It’ll be nice if we can (secure a spot), but until you get in don’t take anything for granted, especially in our conference,” Patrick Sharp said after the game. “Last year, it was taxing on a lot of players down the stretch there, trying to get in, and then when we did get in you’ve got to ramp it back up for the playoffs.”
And no one wants to go through that again.
“We want to make sure we’re playing in the postseason and make sure it doesn’t come down to a last-game thing like it did last year where we had to beat Detroit at home,” Patrick Kane said. “So, make sure we get in and then try to keep moving up. If we keep winning games and playing right, things will fall in our favor.”
Ticket prices on the rise:
Here’s Blackhawks president John McDonough’s take on the team raising ticket prices next year:
“We have been in the bottom half of ticket pricing in the NHL for many, many years,” he said. “Recently I think we’ve just kind of crept up to the top half of that. It’s also commensurate with the caliber of product that we put on the ice.
“We want to make sure that there is consistent excellence going forward.”
Amazing stats:
How about this fact, courtesy of nhl.com on Friday: With 94 percent of the season played — 1,160 of 1,230 games — nine playoff spots, five division titles, both conference titles and the Presidents’ Trophy remain up for grabs.
Razer’s edge:
Ray Emery, whose doggedness in fighting off a potentially career-threatening hip injury last year and then surviving a training camp tryout this year with the Blackhawks, was named by the Chicago chapter of the professional Hockey Writer’s Association as the Hawks’ nominee for the Bill Masterson Trophy.
“That was different,” Emery said of his training camp battle with Alexander Salak for the backup goalie spot. “I haven’t had a tryout in 10 years, but I knew I’d get a chance to play somewhere.”
The hits keep coming:
Brent Seabrook tied a season-high with 7 hits Thursday against St. Louis. He now ranks third among Western Conference defensemen with 201 hits this year.
Danault to Rockford:
After signing a three-year contract in January, Blackhawks prospect Phillip Danault was assigned to the Rockford IceHogs.
The 19-year-old forward, the 26th overall pick in the 2011 NHL entry draft, collected 71 points in 62 games with the Victoriaville Tigres of the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League. In his last 16 games as captain of the Tigres, Danault had 22 points (8 goals, 14 assists).
He said it:
“I asked my coaches and they both said Bolland, so I said, ‘OK, let’s go with that.’ I got outvoted even if I didn’t want him.”
— Joel Quenneville on using Dave Bolland in the Hawks’ 4-3 shootout win over St. Louis on Thursday at the United Center. Bolland was 0-for-7 in previous shootout attempts.
mspellman@dailyherald.com