Saad’s experience with Hawks ‘unbelievable’
It was two weeks ago that the Blackhawks came to Brandon Saad with the news he had been waiting to hear: Get your own place to live.
While it might have been a forgone conclusion to some that Saad would be staying, it still was welcome news for the 20-year-old rookie who had been living in a hotel.
“It’s been unbelievable,” Saad said. “I always wanted to be here, and with the success we’re having it’s been a great year.”
It only adds to Saad’s experience as a rookie in the NHL that he has been playing on a line with two of the biggest stars in the NHL in Jonathan Toews and Marian Hossa.
“I’ve learned a ton,” Saad said. “They’re great players that came into the league young just like I’ve done and tried to do. They’ve been a big help with on-ice game and off the ice.
“It’s been a great learning experience for me.”
Emery encore:If Ray Emery starts Tuesday night against the Flames as expected, he will be looking to pick up where he left off Feb. 2, when he played a special game in Calgary.Emery made 45 saves in a 3-2 victory that coach Joel Quenneville still marvels at.#147;It was probably the first game where we got dominated the way we did,#148; Quenneville said. #147;But the response that we got in the net, it was a special performance and one we#146;ll always remember.#147;To that point we had a lot of things going our way and that kind of sustained what we had going. The performance he had in that third period was all-world, from start to finish a spectacular performance.#148;Emery downplayed his game that night.#147;Playoffs are important and a game in the first week of the season isn#146;t that big,#148; Emery said. #147;You want to win every game, but I don#146;t look back too much.#148;Deadline talk:With the trade deadline approaching this always is a tough time of the year on players, especially for a contending team such as the Hawks.Do they add a piece or stand pat? That is the question general manager Stan Bowman must ask and answer before April 3.#147;We haven#146;t reached that point yet, but I#146;m sure when it gets down to the last week or couple days you#146;ll start thinking about it a little more,#148; Patrick Kane said.#147;You see the trades starting to happen now, so it#146;s inevitable that players will be moving. Hopefully we can make some additions to our team that make us even better, or if not we#146;ve had a pretty good season so far with the group we#146;ve had. We#146;ll see what happens.#148;This and that:Andrew Shaw wasn#146;t in the morning skate Monday, but he was in the lineup for the game against Los Angeles.Shaw had been fighting the flu.#147;He didn#146;t skate this morning, but we gave him some rest and he#146;s good to go,#148; Joel Quenneville said.Marian Hossa didn#146;t play Monday and is doubtful for Tuesday#146;s game against Calgary. Quenneville maintains the shoulder injury suffered by Hossa last week at Colorado isn#146;t serious.#147;Hopefully by the weekend he#146;ll be playing,#148; Quenneville said. #147;He hasn#146;t been in the ice the last couple days, but he is progressing.#148;Daniel Carcillo was a healthy scratch.