Hawks hoping for good news on Havlat
The last time Martin Havlat injured his right shoulder it was the game prior to the Blackhawks facing the Detroit Red Wings in their home finale at the United Center.
The injury ended Havlat's season and required surgery.
On Thursday in the season opener, Havlat re-injured that same shoulder. The Hawks will reopen the doors to the United Center just as it did a year ago with the same opposing Red Wings and without their same star player.
This time, though, the Hawks feel better equipped to play without Havlat but also hope the results of Friday's MRI will bring more promising news than it did last season.
The Hawks are expected to provide more information on Havlat's status today.
"I just hope it's just strained," Hawks coach Denis Savard said after Friday's practice. "It could be. It's a possibility. If it is, (it could be) a two- or three-week thing, maybe. Who knows? It's unfortunate."
General manager Dale Tallon clung to the same belief.
"I'm very hopeful we get good news this afternoon," Tallon said. "Obviously, you're horrified when you see something like that go on, especially with the way we played and the talent we do now have for him to blossom and excel. Hopefully it's a minor thing and he'll be back in a couple weeks."
Last season the Hawks struggled without Havlat in the lineup. He missed some of October and all of November following an ankle injury. The Hawks lost their first eight games and went 6-15 overall in the time Havlat missed.
With the addition of players such as Patrick Kane, Robert Lang, Yanic Perrault and Sergei Samsonov, Savard believes his team can fare better without last season's top goal scorer. Kane, Lang and Tuomo Ruutu will start on the first line tonight.
"For us, we have to move forward," Savard said. "Havy is a great player for us. We know that. … I don't expect us to miss a beat. The way we played yesterday we're going to continue to play the same way.
"We're deeper. We're faster, better. Lot of those things are going on."
It'll be strange: Robert Lang was with the Red Wings the last regular-season game he played in Chicago. Tonight, in the home opener at the United Center, Lang will be a Blackhawk and will be going up against his former team.
"It's always strange to play your old team for the first couple times," said Lang, who signed with the Hawks as a free agent. "It's our home opener, so it's even little bit more special. It's going to be strange, a lot of familiar faces and all that."
The 36-year-old Lang played in his 800th career game Thursday. The milestone put him far ahead of most of his Hawks teammates.
But on the Red Wings, Lang's games played weren't even in the same ballpark as teammates such as Chris Chelios and Niklas Lindstrom, who each have played more than 1,000 games.
"It's two different groups," said Lang with a laugh. "I was a young kid in the old locker room. You go from a very veteran team to a very young team. You can't really compare. You definitely have the eagerness on this side and then the sort of patience on the other side. It's totally orange and apples. I think both is fun and different."