Blackhawks ready for opener

You won't see it on the back of their sweaters.

There will be no distinguishing marks on their helmets, either.

But make no mistake, when the season kicks off tonight in Colorado, the defending Stanley Cup champion Blackhawks will have a target on their backs.

A big one.

Every night.

Everywhere they go.

“Teams are going to be really excited about playing ourselves and we have to make sure we have the same mind-set, Hawks coach Joel Quenneville said. “Every game is important and it's going to be competitive right from the drop of the puck (tonight) right through the year.

“We have to have our focus in the right place. We don't have the luxury of looking past any opponent; that's how close the league is. The start to our season is very important and we place a premium on getting off to a great start knowing teams are going to be ready for us.

Starting tonight.

“The first game of the season is going to be like Game 7, Quenneville said.

Marian Hossa is one of the few Hawks who have been through The Season After.

He joined Detroit after they won the Cup and knows just what it takes to survive.

“Focus, Hossa said. “Because now that we've won the Stanley Cup we cannot just take it easy. We have to be stronger and we have to be more focused.

“Every team is going to be ready for us, and we have to be ready, too.

Despite the huge changeover on the Hawks' roster, they're still the defending champs, and the players realize there's a huge difference between being a Cup contender and being the defending Cup champion.

“It's one of those things if we have an off night we're going to get exposed, Troy Brouwer said. “We just have to be ready to play every team. Teams that are low in the standings are going to be wanting to prove something and teams that are higher in the standings are going to want to make sure they push us down in the standings.

“It's going to be a tough year as far as having to play every single night. Last year we may have been able to squeeze our way through a game or two maybe not at our best. We won't be able to do that this year.

As the players have been saying all preseason, this is a new team, a new year. Now is the time to back up those words.

“You have to be mentally ready for a new start, Hossa said. “Don't live in the past.