Martin Havlat criticizes his coach for tirade Tim Sassone, Daily Herald

Havlat claims Savard didn’t air his frustrations with the team before speaking to the media:

"He wasn't talking to us after the game, so if he had something to say he should talk to us first," Havlat said after practice Monday, the first following the three-day all-star break.

Havlat doesn’t read newspapers or the internet:

"I just heard some stuff, but I don't really know everything. I know he wasn't happy, that's all I know. I don't think anybody was happy. We all want to win."

Havlat tells the media to go talk to Savard:

"He never mentioned names, and he never talked to us after the game," Havlat said. "If he had something to tell us, or what he told you guys, he should tell us after the game.

"If you guys want the answer, you have to ask him who are the names. Like I said, he should talk to us. I think it would be better."

Savard, who was clearly refrencing Havlat, Lang and Ruutu, backs off of Havlat a bit, at least to the media, at practice Monday:

"Havvy has played good, I'll give him that. He has played good five of the last six games, but it's still not good enough," Savard said. "For us as a group we need to be better, everybody needs to be better from goaltender on out. It's as simple as that."

* I completely agree with Havlat.  However, he better be practicing what he preaches.  Hopefully he went to Savard with these statements before commenting to the media.  If not, nothing is accomplished and this balloons into a disconcerting matter in the Blackhawks’ locker room going forward.  Someone in that room, and it will probably wind up being Martin Lapointe, will have to resolve this before the locker room splits into pro/anti-Savard factions.  Savard went about this the wrong way and now someone will need to order a close-door meeting so everyone can get back on the same page.  I’m sure Havlat’s not the only one in that room who feels as though his coach has just shown them up.  The younger guys will respond in fear of their jobs or ice time.  Veterans have likely been through this before elsewhere and would prefer to be treated like men.

To me, I didn’t see the Hawks performing any differently last Thursday than they did in San Jose or Phoenix on Saturday.  Why wasn’t Savard frustrated with his team after those games?  His post-game tirade Thursday on the eve of the All-Star break seemed contrived and will go down as a ‘rookie mistake’ by the second-year head coach.

** C-49-Jacob Dowell, D-42-Jordan Hendry and RW-11-Jack Skille were all sent back to Rockford last Friday for the purpose of playing in the IceHogs’ home games against Chicago on Friday and Iowa on Saturday.

** Jordan Hendry and Jack Skille were recalled from Rockford yesterday.  Dowell remains with the IceHogs.

** David Koci has been placed on waivers.  Finally.  He’ll be sent to Rockford if no other NHL team picks him up.

** Word from yesterday’s practice has Nikolai Khabibulin getting the start tomorrow night in Denver, Colorado.

** Following Wednesday, the Hawks travel to San Jose for a Saturday matinee (3pm Chicago time) but don’t play again until next Wednesday in Edmonton.  They’ll be in Calgary Thursday the 7^th and Vancouver on Sunday Feb 10.  The road trip finishes with back-to-back dates in Columbus Wed Feb 13 and Nashville Feb 14.

Savard restates goal; commit to making playoffs Chris Kuc, Chicago Tribune

Lashing out at his team in the media; Savard has no regrets Tim Sassone, Daily Herald

GM Tallon agrees change is needed, will listen to Savard's 'gripes' Chris Kuc, Tribune

Ben Eager believes he was injured before trade Tribune

Steve Rosenbloom Commit to the Indian Chicago Tribune

Duncan Keith proving he's a star Tim Sassone, Daily Herald

Patrick Kane and Sam Gagner (Oilers) maintain friendship in NHL Nhl.com

**Poll Result**

Which player would you Most-like to see moved by the Feb 26^th trade deadline?

23% - Cam Barker

18% - Dustin Byfuglien

05% - Martin Havlat

32% - Nikolai Khabibulin

05% - Tuomo Ruutu

18% - Other (you can choose Zyuzin, Perreault, or Lapointe – but we’re looking to get something in return)

No one selecting other left a response in the comment section which is disappointing because I’d be interested in knowing just whom on this team they’d consider to have decent trade value other than those listed above.

ChrisBlock@TheThirdManIn.com

** Chris Chelios is celebrating his 46^th birthday today.  Smash them plates~!

** 13 years ago today, the Blackhawks played their first game at the United Center.  Chicago trounced the Edmonton Oilers 5-1 on January 25, 1995.  The Hawks opened up the 48-game season with losses in Detroit and Winnipeg before opening the UC on Wednesday the 25^th.  Joe Murphy scored the first goal in the United Center.  Chicago would go on to finish third in the Central (24-19-5).  Bernie Nicholls and Joe Murphy finished 1-2 in team scoring with 51 and 41 points respectively.  Jeremy Roenick would have his shortened by Derian Hatcher’s knee on April 2, 1995, but would return against Vancouver in the second round of the playoffs.  Ironically, Denis Savard would be acquired from Tampa Bay to help fill the void left in Roenick's absence.  Savard was originally sent to Montreal in part because Roenick was ready to claim the number one center spot.  The Hawks were eliminated by Detroit in the Western Conference Finals four games to one.

The 1994-95 season was shortened as stalled NHL/NHLPA labor negotiations precipitated a lockout on behalf of the league.  An agreement was reached on January 11, 1995 and the season opened up on January 20^th.  The ’94-95 campaign ended on June 24^th when the New Jersey Devils completed a four game sweep of the Detroit Red Wings.

175 million dollars was needed to build the new home of the Bulls and Blackhawks.  Construction was completed in just about 28 months.

The building officially opened on August 18, 1994 but the UC didn’t host its first event until eleven days later, when the World Wrestling Federation put on its annual summer super card, SummerSlam.  For our professional wrestling historians, the main event on that card saw the Undertaker take on the ‘Imposter’ Undertaker.  The ‘real’ Undertaker (Mark Calloway) won the match, ending the run of the imposter’s (Brian Lee) run in the WWF.  In the co-main event, Bret “Hitman” Hart faced his brother, the late Owen Hart, in a steel cage match.  Pro football Hall of Famer and Chicago Bears running back Walter Payton made an appearance cornering Razor Ramon (Scott Hall) in his Intercontinental Title match with Diesel (Kevin Nash).  The storyline of this match had Ramon acquire the ‘services’ of Payton to help prevent Diesel’s cornerman, Shawn Michaels, from interfering in the match.  The announced attendance for the event was 23,000.  If that’s wasn’t the real number, it was very close and would be the single-most attended event in the building’s history.

**Poll Result**

How do you rate the Hawk’s defense as a group?

(Keith, Seabrook, Sopel, Byfuglien, Wisniewski, Barker, Hendry)

26% - They’re the future.  Go with it.

13% - Two will emerge as top-2 d-men.

09% - Oh boy  We’re in trouble.

22% - Good enough to be average.

30% - We’re in need of an upgrade

There could've been multiple answers here.  I don't see anything from Keith suggesting he can be a consistent offensive force on the blue line.  He's a wonderful skater, but if he didn't have that attribute, I don't know if he'd even be in the league.  Seabrook could wind up being a number two guy.  I don't think we have to wait any longer to refer to Cam Barker as a first round bust.  The Hawks should move him and avoid making the same mistake as they did in holding on to Mark Bell hoping one day he'd eventually become something he wasn't cut out to be.  On Dustin Byfuglien; what Denis Savard and Dale Tallon are trying to say when they insinuate he may be better suited to play forward and not the position he's been at his entire life, is they believe Byfuglien's too stupid to play defense in the National Hockey League.  Mental mistakes can hurt a team no matter where they occur on the ice.  Byfuglien can hurt the team just as much at wing as he can on the point.  If he’s susceptible to mental errors or they don’t have faith in Byfuglien being able to adjust to speed of the NHL game, he should be traded while he still has value.  The Hawks are in need of a player who’s not currently in their organization, an elite defenseman who can shut down the other team’s top line and quarterback their own power play.

ChrisBlock@TheThirdManIn.com

Tonight – Game 50 of 82

Home Game #27 – Thursday January 24, 2008 – 7:30 – United Center

Columbus Blue Jackets 24-20-6, Overall 54pts, 10^th WEST, 3^rd Central (8-14-2, on Road)

at Chicago Blackhawks 23-22-4, Overall, 50pts, 13^th WEST, 5^th Central (13-12-1, at Home)

Columbus is wrapping up a five-game road trip tonight (2-2-0) as both teams head into the All-Star break.

Denis Savard has decided to go with Nikolai Khabibulin in goal.  Patrick Lalime had started six of the last eight, going 4-1-1.  Savard had been quoted last week that he intended to go with Lalime until he lost.  Well, Lalime and the Hawks lost Tuesday in San Jose, though blame should hardly be placed solely upon Lalime.  Khabibulin last played Friday January 11, a 5-2 loss to Minnesota before a crowd of 21,139 fans at the United Center.

Only three teams in the league (Ottawa-92, LA-88, Detroit-84) have scored more goals at home than the Blackhawks.  Denis Savard’s team has tallied 82 goals in 26 games on its’ home ice.  It’s the goal differential that counts, however.  Ottawa is a plus-15 at home.  Detroit is a whopping +30 in 25 home dates to the Blackhawks’ plus-9. 

On the other hand, only LA and St. Louis have scored fewer goals than Chicago on the road. (LA-49 in 22gp, STL-53 in 21gp, CHI-53 in 23gp).  More so, the problem is, the Hawks have allowed five more power play goals than they’ve scored at the United Center.

Ben Eager returns tonight after being sidelined for the past 14 games with concussion symptoms.  He’s appeared in just three games and a little more than 17 minutes of ice time since being acquired from the Flyers for Jim Vandermeer on December 18.

With tonight’s crowd, the Blackhawks will surpass the 8.5 million mark in United Center-Hawks’ attendance (regular/post season).

Blackhawks expected line-up as listed at blackhawks.nhl.com

Scratches are expected to be: C-94-Yanic Perreault (42gp, 4g, 4a, -5)…. D-27-Andrei Zyuzin (27gp, 1g, 2a, -10)…. LW-48-David Koci (worthless)…. RW-22-Martin Lapointe (bruised kidney) has been placed on injured reserve to make room for the returning Ben Eager.  What will it take to get rid of David Koci?

Other on Injured Reserve:  C-17-Kevyn Adams (knee surgery, out for season)… RW-29-Jason Williams (sports hernia)…. C-36-David Bolland…. C-19-Jonathan Toews (knee sprain)…. LW-32-Kris Versteeg (shoulder)…

Columbus Blue Jackets anticipated line-up

GM: Scott Howson

Coach: Ken Hitchcock

Assistants: Gary Agnew, Gord Murphy, Claude Noel

Goaltending coach: Clint Malarchuk

16-Brassard will play some with Nash and Modin, but if Tuesday’s game was any indication, Ken Hitchcock will shuffle his lines quite a bit….. C-91-Sergei Fedorov is out with a concussion.  He’s on injured reserve and will miss his 4^th straight game tonight…... W/C-51-Andrew Murray dressed Tuesday in Dallas but it’s expected he’ll sit vs. the Hawks…. W-11-Curtis Glencross may get the nod over Shelley…. LW-45-Jody Shelley does not have a point in 33 games this season…..

Last meeting – Wed November 14 in Columbus:

-- Blue Jackets win 4-2

-- First game of Hawks’ six-game November road trip (2-2-2)

-- Hawks goals: Keith (3), Byfuglien (2)

-- Jacket goals: Nash (12), Fedorov (4), Fritsche (2), Chimera (5)

-- Patrick Lalime: 17 saves, 21 shots against

-- Pascal Leclaire: 16 saves, 18 shots against

-- Stars of game: 1-Sergei Fedorov, 2-Rick Nash, 3-Jason Chimera

-- Fight~!  Dustin Byfuglien vs. Jared Boll (14:50-1^st) --Jim Vandermeer vs. Rick Nash (20:00-3^rd)

’07-08 - 2^nd match – Wed November 7 at United Center:

-- Blackhawks win 5-2

-- Hawks goals: Wisniewski (4), Toews (6), Seabrook (2), Keith (2), Sharp (6)

-- Jacket goals: Rusty Klesla (2), Zherdev (4)

-- Patrick Lalime: 24 saves, 26 shots against

-- Fredrik Norrena: 30 saves, 35 shots against

-- PP: Hawks 0-2 … CBJ 0-6

-- Ole-Kristian Tollefsen hit on Kevyn Adams in 1^st – ends Adams’ season (acl/mcl)

-- Fight~!  Adam Burish vs. Curtis Glencross (2:40-1^st)

’07-08 - 1^st match, October 23 at United Center:

-- Blue Jackets win 7-4

-- Hawks goals: Kane (2, 3), Toews (3), Wisniewski (2)

-- Jacket goals: Nash (6, 7), Novotny (2, 3), Fedorov (2), Tollefsen (1-SH-en)

-- Hawks 0-6 on power-play.  ‘Jackets 1-4 (Fedorov)

-- Fredrik Norrena started for Columbus and stopped 24 of 28 Hawks’ shots

-- Khabibulin had one of his worst games of the season, allowing 6 goals on 25 shots

-- Ruutu 3 assists, line with Toews and Kane (3 goals, 5 assists, +7)

-- Hawks out shot Columbus 28-26

-- Fight~!  None

Blue Jackets notes: (with help from Columbus’s media notes)

-- Slick-skating D- Kris Russell (46gp) scored the first 2 goals of his career Tues in Dallas

-- CBJ (8-14-2) rank 27^th out of 30 teams on the road in NHL

-- Rick Nash career: 331gp – 142g, 108a, 250pts, 350pim, 53ppg, 3shg, 22gwg

-- Nash has only 2 career hat tricks

-- 1 for 11 on PP vs. Chicago this season  … Killed all 11 Chicago PP’s against

-- Rick Nash is the lone ‘Jacket headed to the All-Star game

-- Of tonight’s roster, 10 players were drafted by CBJ, 5 via trade

-- Acquired thru free agency: David Vyborny (‘00), Jody Shelley (’00-01), Adam Foote (‘05), Jan Hejda (‘07), Mike Peca (‘07), Jiri Novotny (‘07)  

-- Shelley (380gp, 11g, 18a) and Vyborny (517gp, 109g, 198a) have played their entire NHL careers with Columbus and along with Rusty Klesla, are the only players remaining from the Blue Jackets’ inaugural 2000-01 season

-- Ron Hainsey (‘05) and Manny Malhotra (‘03) have both been acquired through waivers.

-- Pascal Leclaire was won 8 of his last 10 decisions

-- Jared Boll was born in Charlotte, NC, but grew up in Crystal Lake, IL

Blue Jackets’ goal scoring droughts:  Jan Hejda (74), Adam Foote (48), Jody Shelley (46), Ole-Kristian Tollefsen (26 -Chicago 10/23 empty netter), Jared Boll (14), Manny Malhotra (13), Jiri Novotny (11), David Vyborny (10), Curtis Glencross (10), Mike Peca (9), Dan Fritsche (6), Jason Chimera (4), Rusty Klesla (3),

Hawks notes:

-- In case you missed it, Adam Burish scored his 1^st NHL goal Tues in San Jose

-- Hawks (13-12-1) have 16^th best home record in NHL

-- Will have 5 top-ten 1^st round picks in lineup tonight, CBJ- 4

-- Only 8 other teams have given up more goals than the Hawks (142 in 49gp), just two of those (Carolina, Calgary) would qualify for the playoffs as of today.

-- Ottawa (1^st East, 2^nd NHL) has surrendered one less goal (141 in 49gp), yet scored 27 more goals than the Hawks (166-139)

-- Kevyn Adams, Toews, Bolland, Lapointe, Jason Williams and Jim Vandermeer were all in the lineup the last time Columbus visited the UC

Blackhawks’ goal scoring droughts: Ben Eager (30), Andrei Zyuzin (22), Kevyn Adams (20), Tuomo Ruutu (19), Duncan Keith (19), James Wisniewski (17), Jake Dowell (12), Cam Barker (10), Craig Adams (10), Martin Lapointe (7), Martin Havlat (5), Brent Sopel (5), Kris Versteeg (4), Dave Bolland (3), Patrick Sharp (4), Robert Lang (4),  and Adam Burish (0)

Blackhawks +/- losers