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Road trip providing positive signs on, off ice

CALGARY, Alberta — Two straight wins hardly represents a total turnaround for the Blackhawks, but there are encouraging signs on the ice and inside the dressing room.

Coach Joel Quenneville sees a livelier room with the players finally getting to know one another while the team game on the ice is coming around at both ends.

“This road trip is probably really helpful for us,” Quenneville said Thursday. “Getting to know each other on and off the ice has been something where we're starting to see results.

“You can actually see the difference when you get on the road trip here. You start going to dinner with a guy here, have breakfast here, lunch here you become more comfortable with everybody. You hear a little bit more chirping.”

The Hawks dominated the Oilers in Wednesday's 5-0 win, but this was an Edmonton team coming apart at the seams, particularly defensively.

While Quenneville likes the progress he's seeing, he knows there still is improvement to be made.

“Results and wins are the best measuring stick for success, but at the same time after the Anaheim game (Sunday) you felt good about how we played, you felt there was more energy in our game, we were harder to play against, and we had more offensive-zone time. It was more reminiscent of how we play.

“I don't think we should be thinking (Wednesday) was good enough either. I think there's still a lot of room for improvement.”

The Hawks have allowed just 10 goals in the last five games, with 1 of them via the shootout.

“The last number of games the number of chances is at that single-digit number, which usually leads to being successful,” Quenneville said.

“That's one area we had to get better in order to be successful going forward because defense gives you a chance to win games, and there's enough offense within our group where we should find a way to score goals.”

Eight is enough:

While Patrick Sharp wasn't fretting his eight-game goal drought, he was happy to see one finally go in at Edmonton. And it came short-handed.

“It always hangs over your head when you hear people asking about it, but as a player the more you dwell on those things the worse off you're going to be,” Sharp said. “I feel the last few games I've got my fair share of scoring chances and as long as that continues I know I'll get my goals.”

Captain Ladd:

Andrew Ladd never wore a letter with the Hawks, but he still was one of the key leaders on the Stanley Cup team.

It came as no surprise to Patrick Sharp on Thursday to hear Ladd was named the Atlanta Thrashers' captain and Dustin Byfuglien an assistant.

“That's impressive,” Sharp said. “Ladd is a guy who was a good leader in our locker room last year. That doesn't surprise me at all.”

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