Quenneville anticipates 'fun trip'

The Blackhawks said goodbye to the United Center again Sunday night, hitting the road today for a three-game swing through Western Canada that starts Tuesday at Edmonton.

Now 10-1-4 on home ice following their 3-1 win over Columbus, the Hawks won't play at the UC again until the day after Christmas against Philadelphia.

Stops in Calgary and Vancouver follow Tuesday's game with the Oilers.

"It'll be a fun trip for us," coach Joel Quenneville said. "It's a good test playing those teams up there. They're all teams that are in the pack that we're in, so they're all meaningful games."

The Hawks have evened their road record at 5-5-3 after an 0-3-1 start.

"It's always tough playing out in Western Canada, but we're going into these three games on a high," Duncan Keith said. "I think we have a lot of momentum right now and we want to take that into the game with Edmonton."

Keith made a huge play late in Sunday's win when he got his stick on a Rick Nash wraparound with the net open and goalie Cristobal Huet late arriving.

Hat's off: James Wisniewski finished his two-game conditioning stint at Rockford in style Saturday night by getting a hat trick in the IceHogs' 7-2 victory over the Wolves.

"My first hat trick as a pro," said Wisniewski, who is scheduled to return to the Hawks' lineup Tuesday night.

Wisniewski hasn't played since last spring after tearing the ACL in his knee working out during the off-season.

Decision time: With James Wisniewski set to return and Matt Walker continuing to get significant minutes, Brent Sopel could be the odd man out on defense come Tuesday's game against the Oilers.

Walker has gained Joel Quenneville's confidence with his steady play in the last week. Walker played 16 minutes Sunday after getting more than 22 in Friday's win at Colorado.

"I love it," Walker said. "I had a slow start and now I'm getting into a few more situations as of late, which as been really nice."

Good idea: The Hawks' stop as a team at that McDonald's in Ontario last month gave Kris Versteeg an idea.

"I think we should do a commercial, you know, with all of us walking in," Versteeg said.

Now, that's something president John McDonough would love - if he hasn't already thought of it.

Add it up: The Hawks sold out the United Center for the 15th time in 15 games. They lead the NHL in attendance with their 21,475 average.