Shoring up defense a top priority for Hawks
It's time for the Blackhawks to regroup, but not relax.
After two days off as a reward for their successful 5-3 road trip, the Hawks return to practice today to prepare for Wednesday's game against the St. Louis Blues at the United Center.
The Hawks have six games remaining before the two-week Olympic break and need to grab as many points as possible to stay in the thick of the races for first place in the Western Conference and the NHL's overall standings.
The Hawks find themselves 3 points behind San Jose and 2 back of the streaking Washington Capitals, who have won 10 in a row.
Barring a collapse of significance, the Hawks are going to win the Central Division. They currently have a 15-point lead on Nashville, but that only would guarantee them home ice in the first round of the playoffs.
Finding their game again defensively certainly will be a priority for the Hawks, who were outscored 27-25 on the road trip yet still managed to win five of eight games.
When the Hawks lost, as they did in Ottawa (4-1), Vancouver (5-1) and Carolina (4-2), it was largely because of sloppy team defense.
"Too many mistakes," defenseman Duncan Keith said after the loss at Carolina.
Throughout the two weeks on the road the Hawks knew they weren't playing their best hockey, though they did rise to the occasion and put it all together in wins at Detroit and San Jose.
Leading the pack: There's a frantic playoff race building in the West and the Hawks want no part of it.
While San Jose and the Hawks are solidly entrenched in the top two spots, only 8 points separated the next seven teams coming out of the weekend.
"At the beginning of the season one of the things we said was we wanted to try to avoid being in that position where you're six, seven, eight, nine, 10 and 11, where every game is life and death," Hawks coach Joel Quenneville said. "You try to be out of that pack. That's the motivation."
Great cause: Defenseman Brian Campbell has started a foundation, "Campbell for Kids," to help promote autism awareness in the Chicago area.
Campbell will host a celebrity poker tournament Feb. 10, at the Horseshoe Casino in Hammond, Ind., featuring teammates, coaches, former Hawks and various celebrities. Tickets are $115 and include drinks, dining, tournament viewing, entertainment and live and silent auction.
A buy-in for the tournament is $125.
All proceeds will benefit the Chicagoland chapter of Autism Speaks and the Chicago Beard School.
"I was given a gift of being able to play hockey and to be in Chicago and sign a long-term contract, and I want to give back personally," Campbell said. "To be able to help with autism felt right for me."