Sharp well enough to play on phenom line
Patrick Sharp felt better Tuesday after missing the last two games of the road trip with the flu, and he wanted coach Denis Savard to know it.
"Tell Savvy I'm fine to play with Toews and Kane," joked Sharp.
When Sharp reported to practice Tuesday he found that Savard had juggled the lines and that Sharp would be the new left wing on the line with rookies Jonathan Toews and Patrick Kane for tonight's game against Tampa Bay at the United Center.
"Everybody knows what kind of players they are and I'm going to do my best to complement their game, chase down pucks and hopefully keep putting the puck at the net like they have been," Sharp said.
"They're pretty easy players to play with. I don't think it's going to be too difficult to fit in with them."
Sharp woke up Saturday in Edmonton so sick that he could not play against the Oilers that night or Sunday in Vancouver. In fact, he stayed the night by himself in Edmonton rather than fly with his teammates and risk contaminating them.
"It just hit me out of nowhere," Sharp said. "I'm not sure how much I lost in total, but I'm still down 8 pounds."
The flu bug that swept through the team last week apparently is gone.
"Nobody came in this morning, so that's good," Savard said after Tuesday's practice.
More home TV: The Blackhawks announced Tuesday that four more home games would be televised this season on Comcast SportsNet, bringing the remaining number to 10.
Added were games March 5 against Anaheim; March 12 vs. Carolina; March 19 vs. Washington and April 2 against Detroit.
"We want to continue the momentum that the Blackhawks have begun to generate in the marketplace," team president John McDonough said. "We have seen the surge in fan interest with the exciting team we have on the ice this season. We want to continue to give our fans an opportunity to be a part of that."
The next televised home game is Friday against Phoenix.
Winging it: Dustin Byfuglien will play right wing until further notice, with Andrei Zyuzin staying in the lineup on defense.
"We're giving him an opportunity there and we feel it's probably a good spot for him to be," Denis Savard said. "Big power forwards are tough to find. He's played forward before his first year here and was pretty good up front."
Byfuglien will continue to play the right point on the power play.
"I'll just go out and do the things they want me to do, bang and keep things simple," he said. "If that's what I've got to do to stay up here in the lineup, then that's what I'll do."
Tip-ins: Sergei Samsonov, still without a goal in 17 games, will be a healthy scratch tonight. … James Wisniewski, cut over the left eye Sunday at Vancouver, practiced Tuesday wearing a half shield. …
Forwards Kris Versteeg and Petri Kontiola were returned to Rockford with Martin Havlat and Jason Williams coming back from injuries. … Denis Savard set his goalie rotation for the week. Nikolai Khabibulin starts tonight and Friday against Phoenix, with Patrick Lalime getting the nod Saturday at St. Louis.
Tonight's faceoff
Blackhawks vs. Tampa Bay Lightning at the United Center, 7:30 p.m.
TV: None
Radio: WSCR 670-AM
The skinny: This will be Hawks goalie Nikolai Khabibulin's first game against the team he led to the Stanley Cup in 2004. The Hawks last played the Lightning in December 2005, but Khabibulin didn't start. Goaltending has been a problem in Tampa since Khabibulin left as a free agent, with Johan Holmqvist expected to start. The Lightning is 0-3-1 in the last four games and was 12th in the East prior to Tuesday's games, though its 74 goals ranked second in the conference. All-star defenseman Dan Boyle is out following wrist surgery.
Player to watch: Vincent Lecavalier. Tampa Bay's star center leads the NHL in scoring with 38 points, including 16 goals.
Next: Friday vs. the Phoenix Coyotes at the United Center, 7:30 p.m.
-- Tim Sassone