Quenneville praises effort in win

Newly acquired Radek Smolanek and Patrick Kane each scored 2 goals Monday as the Blackhawks routed Swiss League champ HC Davos 9-2 in an exhibition game in Zurich, Switzerland.

"That was our best preseason game to date," Hawks coach Joel Quenneville told chicagoblackhawks.com. "We had good contributions across the board."

Goalies Antti Niemi and Corey Crawford split the game, allowing 1 goal each in their battle for the Hawks' backup job. Neither goalie faced any kind of significant test in what Quenneville said would be their final game of the preseason.

"We'll talk about everything," Quenneville said. "They didn't get a lot of work, but I thought both were sharp. They continue making it tough on us."

Niemi saw 7 shots and Crawford 6 as the Hawks outshot HC Davos 42-12.

Also scoring goals for the Hawks were Troy Brouwer, Brian Campbell, Evan Brophey, Patrick Sharp and Duncan Keith.

Smolenak, picked up on waivers from Tampa Bay last Friday, could have taken a giant step towards making the opening day roster. A winger with some scoring pop and toughness, Smolanek could be in line to fill Adam Burish's spot on the fourth line.

"It felt good, but it was just an exhibition game," Smolenak said.

The Hawks' roster stood at 29 prior to Monday's game with Brophey, Bryan Bickell, Rob Klimkhammer, Jake Dowell and Jack Skille all getting an opportunity to play along with Smolanek and defensemen Aaron Johnson, Brent Sopel and Jordan Hendry.

"Guys on the bubble didn't hurt their chances," Quenneville said. "Some guys had special games."

The Hawks play their final exhibition game today against ZSC Zurich for Europe's Victoria Cup. Cristobal Huet will start and is expected to play the full game in his final tune up for Friday's regular-season opener on Friday against the Florida Panthers in Helsinki, Finland.

Quenneville was hopeful injured wingers Kris Versteeg (upper body) and Dustin Byfuglien (groin) could play for the first time in more than a week.