One of these things is not like the others... Troy Brouwer and four Olympians.

Coach Joel Quenneville’s pre-game speech before Sunday’s game in the United Center will probably focus on reminding his young team that games consist of three periods, not two.

In the first 40 minutes on Saturday night, the Blackhawks dominated every aspect of the game in Minnesota. Cristobal Huet stopped 11 of the 12 shots he faced, while Niklas Backstrom allowed five of the Blackhawks’ 12 shots to find the net as the Hawks stormed to an emphatic 5-1 lead.

In fact, the scoring for the Blackhawks read like a countdown. Patrick Sharp scored his 15th, Jonathan Toews his 14th, Kris Versteeg his 13th, Troy Brouwer his 12th and Marian Hossa his 11th, in that order. Patrick Kane picked up two assists to stretch his point streak to 11 games, and Versteeg’s goal extended his quiet point streak to seven in what looked like a blowout. The crowd was dead, the Wild were overmatched, and the high-powered offense of the Blackhawks could do no wrong.

But that was the first 40 minutes.

To begin the third period, in a move that perhaps signified the coming storm, Minnesota pulled Backstrom in favor of Josh Harding. At the time, the change appeared to mean little more than the Wild trying to put a bandaid on a terrible night. After the game, it proved to be precisely what the Wild needed.

What followed was a complete contrast to everything the Blackhawks have done this year in becoming the best team in the Western Conference: the Blackhawks stopped playing.

The Hawks began passing the puck in a way that looked more like the legendary “Four Corners”  basketball offense than an aggressive hockey team. They stopped fighting for pucks in the corners, were out of position regularly, and the Wild took advantage. To the credit of Minnesota, they didn’t stop skating, fought for pucks, continued to work hard and capitalized on lazy goaltending by Cristobal Huet to erase a four-goal deficit in only seven shots.

Yes, those number are right. Four goals. Seven shots.

The flurry that shell-shocked the Hawks happened when the Wild scored three goals in just over two minutes. The first, scored by Jim Johnsson, came off a nice pass from former Blackhawk Andrew Ebbett. The second, by Mikko Koivu, came only 45 seconds later, and the third, by Marek Zidlicky, was only 80 seconds later. Huet looked more like the goaltender that had many fans questioning his position as the team’s number one netminder in early October than the one that ranks fourth in the NHL; he dropped to his knees early and allowed long rebounds and a wide-open top shelf, all of which were exploited by the aggressive Wild.

With only a minute and a half left in regulation, Guillaume Latendresse scored his second goal of the game off a Huet rebound to tie the game. The crowd was now fully into a game that appeared to be over after two period. Unfortunately, the Blackhawks bought into that thought as much as the crowd, and paid the price.

The overtime period featured solid back-and-forth action, but it was clear that the Blackhawks didn’t have their mojo back. Harding made a number of impressive stops, keeping all 13 shots he faced in 25 minutes out of the net. He was also great in the shootout, where the Blackhawks could only get a Patrick Kane goal in eight rounds. When Owen Nolan scored the first shootout goal of his  1,166 game career, John Madden failed to answer and the Blackhawks wandered off the ice not knowing what had just happened to them.

Gone is the Hawks’ five-game winning streak, and Sunday we’ll see if their swagger has been hurt when a good, healthy Anaheim team invades Chicago.

Huet’s performance raises questions yet again about his ability to be a championship goaltender. On Saturday night he allowed five goals in 21 shots, and he has now allowed nine goals on only 63 shots (.857 save percentage) in his last three starts. Those three starts, in St. Louis and two against the Wild, haven’t been against the elite of the NHL and yet Huet has not been effective. Whether or not he’ll be in net on Sunday for a chance at quick redemption will be interesting.

On Saturday, the Blackhawks lost forward Andrew Ebbett to a Minnesota Wild waiver claim.

Bryan Bickell’s been a better player, and Ebbett never established a role with the Hawks.

Thanks for stopping by, Ebbett. We’ll look forward to beating you a couple times later this year.

He gone!

According to Bob McKenzie of TSN, the Blackhawks placed Andrew Ebbett on waivers on Friday.

Ebbett was claimed off waivers from Anaheim on October 17. He played in 10 games for the Blackhawks, averaging 10:43 in ice time and scoring just one point.

Strong play from Bryan Bickell, and his size, have made Ebbett’s presence in the lineup irrelevant. He never found a niche on the roster, and didn’t do enough as a fourth line center to keep his spot in Chicago.

Ebbett is the third player to leave the Hawks this season via trade or waivers. Radek Smolenak was placed on waivers when the Hawks returned to the States, and Aaron Johnson was traded in October.

San Jose's Joe Thornton accepts defeat as Brent Seabrook celebrates his game-winner.

It took some catching up on Sunday night, but the Blackhawks scored a big victory both in the standing and their confidence against the San Jose Sharks on Sunday night.

The game was filled with ironies, the biggest of which was the scoring column. On Sunday night, the Blackhawks celebrated the career of Jeremy Roenick, one of the greatest goal scoring forwards in team history. And yet it was Brent Sopel who opened the scoring.

Brent Sopel? Really?

Yeah, that’s right, Sopel scored the first goal of the game for Chicago, his first goal since Halloween 1998. Sopel goal came early in a first period that saw a lot of back and forth action, good skating from both sides, a lot of physical play in the corners. and mediocre passing that led to a lot of turnovers in neutral ice.

Dany Heatley tied the game after a turnover deep in the Hawks’ zone, and the first period ended with a 1-1 score. The Hawks outshot San Jose 9-7 in the first period, numbers that are low for both teams. Evgeni Nabokov and Cristobal Huet both made a handful of nice saves in traffic early on, but the sloppy passing from both teams kept either team from having extended rushes at the net.

Just as the second period was beginning, Ben Eager decided to drop the gloves with Doug Murray. Murray didn’t look like he wanted to dance, but Eager put the music on and started swinging, so he obliged Eager with a decent round. Murray landed a couple blows before Eager ended the fight with a solid right hook. Both earned a five minute break for fighting, and the refs assessed Eager with a two minute penalty for unsportsmanlike conduct as well.

Less than 35 seconds into Jordan Hendry serving Eager’s two minutes, Jason Demers scored his first career NHL goal. Hendry left the box on one of the rare occasions the Hawks stellar power play defense allowed a goal this year, only to watch Patrick Marleau his 12th goal of the season only 45 second later.

Unlike many instances in the past when the Hawks have given up multiple goals in a short period of time, coach Joel Quenneville opted to let the team skate through the down swing in momentum rather than use his timeout.

On a night when the Hawks would celebrate scoring, they would now need to come up with some of their own, as the Sharks were up 3-1 less than two minutes into the second period.

That scoring would start almost six minutes after Marleau’s goal, as Jonathan Toews fought a puck out from behind the net and found Patrick Kane streaking for the net for a goal to stop the bleeding. From this point forward, the Hawks appeared to take a shooting approach the rest of the period. The approach paid off as John Madden followed a couple hard Andrew Ladd shots with a rebound putback to tie the game at three heading to the third period.

The Hawks outshot the Sharks 13-8 in the second period, and both teams took a few penalties in a period that saw significantly better passing than previously. The goal was Madden’s third already this year in what was by far his best game as a member of the Blackhawks; he won all nine of his faceoffsand was credited with a blocked shot and a hit as well.

The third period was more physical and tentative from both teams, as both goalies made good stops in traffic and the teams skated through a fairly uneventful 20 minutes to earn a point each in the standings.

As overtime began, the Hawks made a strong push at Nabokov. they were credited, officially, with only two shots but it seemed like there were at least four, the last of which found the back of the net off Brent Seabrook’s stick. It was Seabrook’s second goal of the season, and both have been clutch.

Seabrook’s first goal was the overtime game-winning shot that capped the incredible Hawks’ comeback win against Calgary early in October, when they trailed 5-0 in the first period. Sunday night was also an overtime game-winner, also capping a comeback against a good team.

For his efforts, which included two blocked shots, one hit and a plus-two rating, Seabrook was the Number One Star of the game. Niklas Hjalmarsson was the second star of the game, playing nearly 20 solid minutes on the blue line.

The ironies that the Hawks got three of their four goals, including the game-winner, came from players that rarely score on Jeremy Roenick Heritage Night seemed fitting on a team as deep as these Hawks are on a night that celebrated one of the great offensive players in the team’s history.

It was also perfectly fitting that it was Seabrook, wearing Number Seven on his jersey, that would score the game-winner. In the middle of the third period, the jumbo screen in the United Center showed the alumni box where Roenick was seated. Next to Roenick, leaning out of the picture until JR pulled him in and the camera panned out to include him, was Chris Chelios. Chelios was the captain on many of the great teams Roenick led in scoring in the early 1990s, and also famously wore Number Seven for the Blackhawks.

The shot of Roenick and Chelios brought the crowd to its feet for an ovation worthy of a game-winning goal, as the hard work and quality play both of those great icons of the franchise put forth in the 1990s was finally appreciated in one moment. I’m sure I wasn’t the only person in the United Center crowd that had goosebumps during that ovation.

Kris Versteeg and Andrew Ebbett were both scratched from the game, and the Hawks recalled Brian Bickell late Sunday afternoon to play in Versteeg’s place. Quenneville mentioned that Versteegwas dealing with an “upper body injury” after Friday night’s game against Toronto, in which he took a couple hard hits from behind late.

The Hawks won’t play at the United Center again until December 1st, as the circus will take over the United Center for the next two weeks.

Jeremy Roenick drops the puck Sunday night.

Are the Hawks interested in Canes' center Matt Cullen?

This past summer, especially after Marian Hossa signed with the Blackhawks, the team became a favorite in everyother trade rumor. A young team with lots of good players, both in Chicago and not yet in the NHL, that also happens to be suffocating on the salary cap is prime for speculation, and the Hawks have certainly had their share.

As the issues in goal and injuries started to hit the Hawks in October, the whispers again began. On November 3, we reported that there were a number of trade rumors swirling around with the Blackhawks involved. The next day, a response from a Blackhawks’ beat writer, ironically one that had printed rumor mill material back in August, brought further speculation to whether or not Stan Bowman would make a move before Christmas.

Over the last couple weeks, the Hawks have settled their goalie situation and the full return of Jonathan Toews, Brent Seabrook and Ben Eager have brought the mojo back to the Blackhawks.

Their mounting concern over the power play has subsided, their PK has stayed among the best in the league, and the Hawks rank third in the league in their ability to win faceoffs. So why would the Hawks start popping up in trade rumors again?

When Dave Bolland had surgery on a herniated disc in his back, it presented the very real possibility that he won’t be back at 100 percent this season. The doctors have estimated a three to four month recovery, which (counting on my fingers) puts him back on the ice in the middle of March.

Looking back at the summer, and the early parts of this season, Bowman did a nice job of presenting coach Joel Quenneville with options to fill in for faceoffs. Toews currently ranks third in the NHL in faceoff win percentage, and John Madden is also in the top ten. After that, the Hawks have added Tomas Kopecky (as a free agent with Hossa) and Andrew Ebbett (off waivers from Anaheim early in the regular season).

Kopecky, Ebbett, Kris Versteeg and Colin Fraser have all spent time in the circle in the past couple weeks, each with varied levels of success.

Versteeg has not only the best ability on the ice, but the biggest price tag among the group. He figures to best serve the team from his natural wing position.

Fraser has had some stretches recently where he’s been incredible in the circle. On November 6 in Denver, Fraser won nine of his 10 faceoffs.

The problem with Kopecky, Fraser and Ebbett is that none of the three has established a firm niche with the offense yet this year. Fraser, for all of his success in the circle and quality work on the PK, has taken some stupid penalties and is seen sprinting for the bench after many even-strength faceoffs. Kopecky has started to find a role in front of the net, but hasn’t been effective yet anywhere else on the ice.

Which makes the great question mark Ebbett. On a number of occassions in the last couple weeks, Ebbett has centered between Patrick Kane and Versteeg. That line is as fast on their skates as many of the fastest lines in hockey, but none of them is taller than 5′10; the obvious concern is that they can be pushed around the ice because of their size.

Ebbett’s ice time has drawn some speculation that the Hawks might make a move to bolster the center position via trade. And, circling back to the rumors from early November, the Carolina Huricanes are coming up again.

The ironic thing, again, is that the columnist that called out the rumors as being pure fancy on November 4 is now the one claiming there’s some validity, and potential, to a Hawks deal with the Canes.

In Sunday’s edition of the Daily Herald, Tim Sassone writes that the Hawks might have interest in Canes center Matt Cullen. A couple weeks ago, Hockey Buzzreported that the Hawks and Canes had spoken about trade options; Sassone quickly called these rumors false and dismissed the reports within hours of their publication. Yet now, just ten days later, it’s Sassone apparently confirming such a conversation between Chicago and Carolina.

Whether or not the Hawks make a move likely won’t happen until after Hossa returns to the ice, and Quenneville is able to feel comfortable with his bounty of forwards. Hossa, for what it’s worth, has spent some time at center in practice since he started skating with the team last week, but seems to be a distant option to play the position at length in games.

If Cullen were considered, there would need to be some salary concessions made to fit his $2.875 million salary onto the roster. Rumors out of Carolina have been that the Canes are looking for a defenseman to quarterback their power play. A logical fit with a similar salary would be Cam Barker, who has a cap number of $3 million; Barker’s name has been mentioned in previous rumors with Carolina.

After practice Tuesday, Blackhawks’ coach Joel Quenneville informed the media that center Dave Bolland minimally invasive surgery to repair a herniated disc in his back. While a timetable for his return has not been determined, a spokesman for the team’s medical staff estimated between 12 and 16 weeks.

This news comes the day after a triumphant return from Jonathan Toews on Monday night in the Hawks’ 4-1 win over the Los Angeles Kings. Toews had been out since October 21 with a concussion. Ben Eager also returned after missing most of the season, also with a concussion.

Bolland’s back has been an issue for him for some time. It reportedly bothered him during the playoffs last year, and continued to be an issue all summer. He did not skate at all during the preseason, and his minutes have been limited at times because of the injury. He has missed the last two games already.

In Bolland’s absence, Kris Versteeg has been spending some time in the circle. Andrew Ebbett was primarily a center in his time with the Anaheim Ducks, and could fill the role as well. Colin Fraser and John Madden have done a good job in faceoffs so far this year, and Madden scored the Hawks first goal Monday.

Marian Hossa is expected to return in late November.

Jonathan Toews' impact on Monday's 4-1 win over LA was obvious.

There shouldn’t be any question about Jonathan Toews’ value to the Chicago Blackhawks after Monday night.

It appeared all of the Blackhawks’ ills were cured by the return of their captain, even without Dave Bolland in the lineup, as the Hawks played perhaps their most complete game of the season.

The Los Angeles Kings came in with one of the best offenses in the NHL, and the Hawks had struggled to put points on the board. Specifically, the Blackhawks’ power play had been a sore spot; the Hawks had scored three goals on their last 33 power plays entering Monday’s action.

But Toews returned in a way that felt like a JRR Tolkein script, leading the Hawks to a dominating defensive performance and a steady scoring offense.

Almost everything that could have been considered wrong with the Blackhawks appeared to be fixed on Monday night. The power play, that didn’t exist for a couple weeks, scored on two of three opportunities. The third period, in which the Hawks were the lightest scoring team in the league, saw them score three goals to blow open a 1-1 tie. And Cristobal Huet was spectacular when called upon, stopping 17 of the 18 shots the high-powered Kings offense threw at him.

Troy Brouwer had his best performance of the season, scoring his fourth goal, adding two assists and being credited with six hits in the win. Brouwer and Toews both scored power play goals in the third period as the Hawks extended their lead, and Andrew Ebbett capped the scoring with his first goal with the Blackhawks, redirecting a Brian Campbell shot with what appeared to be his face.

The Blackhawks defense backed up claims that they’re the best in the NHL by holding the prolific Kings to their lowest shot total of the season so far (18). Huet was great in net, handling shots in traffic and after a few sloppy turnovers right in front of him by Duncan Keith and Campbell in the second period.

Chicago had 18 takeaways to the Kings’ seven, and were credited with 25 hits to LA’s 22. Overall the performance from the Blackhawks was nearly complete.

But it all comes back to Toews. In his first action since October 21, he led Chicago forwards in ice time (19:09), won 13 of 20 faceoffs, scored the power play goal and also drew a key penalty late in the third period to help the Hawks put the game away. Despite his absence being caused by a concussions, he didn’t shy away from contact; Toews was also credited with two hit on Monday night.

Dave Bolland will likely miss Monday night's game against Los Angeles.

After a practice skate over the weekend, it appears the Blackhawks will get one center back on the ice but could be without another for some times.

Captain Jonathan Toews was a full participant in practice and should return for Monday night’s game against the Los Angeles Kings. He has been out since being hit on October 21 against Vancouver.

Dave Bolland, however, missed practice and was limited in his playing time in Phoenix. He did not play in Denver, and has struggled with a bad back for some time now, and it appears the injury could cost him games moving forward. Bolland missed the entire preseason because of the back issues, and it has become a big enough problem that the Hawks are now considering him missing time.

Ben Eager should also be back on the ice for the four-game homestand this week before the circus comes to town.

ESPN’s Jesse Rogers has reported that Bolland’s injury could be more serious than the Blackhawks are letting on, and he might miss significant time. For now, though, the Hawks are plsying it close to the vest and are only looking at Bolland missing Monday’s game.

If Bolland misses significant time, he’ll join a growing list of Blackhawks to miss action this year because of injury. Toews, Eager, Marian Hossa and now Bolland were all viewed as key contributors for the 2009-10 season, but all have dealt with injuries already in the first quarter of the season.

Hossa just recently started practicing with the team in the last couple weeks after summer shoulder surgery.

Reports are that the Hawks were again playing roulette with their lines in practice this weekend, trying to fins healthy combinations that will be offensively effective.

Toews reportedly skated between Dustin Byfuglien and Patrick Sharp, while Kris Versteeg continues spending time at center between Andrew Ladd and Patrick Kane. John Madden slid back to their line, where he was playing with Troy Brouwer and Tomas Kopecky, while Colin Fraser was between Eager and Andrew Ebbett.

Fraser was especially spectacular on Friday night, winning nine of his ten faceoffs. Versteeg and Madden were also good in the circle. Ebbett has also played center for the Hawks after being acquired from Anaheim, and Kopecky has played center a little this year as well.

The momentum of Friday night’s game bounced back and forth like a pinball, and the Hawks fought hard to win a point against the best home team in hockey without some key players.

Chicago got the scoring started with a rocket fron Dustin Byfuglien on the power play, which appeared to finally get the Hawks back in the saddle with a man advantage. The Hawks power play had been miserable for a couple weeks, so capitalizing on an early chance was big for the Hawks momentum.

Later in the first, Duncan Keith turned around a great pass from Kris Versteeg to give the Hawks a 2-0 lead. The Hawks dominated the first 15 minutes of action, as Versteeg and Patrick Kane both assisted on each of the first two goals.

But the last five minutes of the first period started to show a little fatigue from the Hawks. Whether it was the altitude or games on consecutive nights against good competition, Ryan O’Reilly’s goal late in the first kept Colorado in the game going to the first break.

The second period was the polar opposite of the first.

The Blackhawks got a number of chances and were grossly outshooting the Avalanche, but sloppy play was their undoing. In fact, the power play unit that capitalized early looked like a junior high kid trying to work his way through a bra clasp for the first time.

If the clock is reviewed, both of Colorado’s goals in the second period appeared to be shorthanded on the same power play, and the momentum had fully jumped into the Avalanche bench. The Hawks looked tired and slow on the ice, and Colorado was taking advantage.

But just like the first period, the last few minutes of the period saw the team without any momentum get one good chance to go in and the game was squared. Andrew Ladd got a nice layup in front of a Craig Anderson rebound and the game went to the third tied at three.

The third period saw the Hawks and Avalanche play physical, aggressive hockey that left the game tied again. Ladd took a boot to the face at one point and was escorted to the locker room, but returned to the game with what appeared to be a broken nose.

Two young players that are on the bubble for playing time when Jonathan Toews and Ben Eager return, Andrew Ebbett and Colin Fraser, both played exceptional games.

Ebbett played nearly 16 minutes and was in the middle of a lot of the action while on the ice. He played the puck well and fought for possession, earning praise from the Hawks broadcast booth.

Fraser won nine of the 10 faceoffs he was involved in, and played very well on the penalty kill again. Fraser only logged a little over eight minutes on the ice, but was physical when he was out there. He also served a few minutes in the box for a fairly uneventful fight that broke out just feet from the Hawks bench when he first entered the game in the first period.

John Madden wasn’t very effective with the puck, but won 12 of 17 faceoffs in the game. Brian Campbell, Keith, Brent Seabrook and Versteeg all played more than 20 minutes between regulation and the overtime period.

Versteeg played a lot of center in Dave Bolland’s absence and was very effective, winning six of 13 faceoffs and assisting on the two early goals.

The game went to a shootout, where Antti Niemi was up to the challenge. Even though Niemi allowed Colorado’s three goals on their first eight shots, he shook off the rust and made a dozen clutch saves in the third period to preserve the tie.

In the shootout, Kane opened the shooting by throwing a gorgeous move on Anderson. Versteeg shot second, and did a nice job of working Anderson to his heels but just couldn’t slide the puck into the net. Marek Svatos was able to get one past Niemi to tie the shootout going to Patrick Sharp, the Hawks third shooter, who missed high.

And so, just as they did at the United Center earlier this year when these two teams set the Blackhawks’ franchise record for longest shootout (9 rounds), the shootout continued to extra skaters.

It took until the eighth round of shooters, one shy of the nine that skated in October, for Colorado to eventually get the win and the second point. I’m not sure why, but coach Joel Quenneville decided to go to Cam Barker as the Hawks’ sixth shooter and, already down in the eighth round, opted to ask Byfuglien to tie it. Byfuglien broke his stick trying to unload a missile from 15 feet, and the game was over.

Niemi, playing for the first time in six contests, settled down to play a tough third period. The Hawks only gave up eight shots through the first two periods, but were surprisingly outshot 12-7 in the third. Niemi was solid in that third period and allowed only two of the eight shooters to score in the shootout.

For Colorado, former Blackhawks draft pick Anderson stopped 27 of 30 shots in the game. These two teams face each other again on Wednesday night, Bobby Hull Heritage Night, at the United Center.

Is All Star center Peter Forsberg on his way back to the NHL?

A number of sources are reporting that 36-year old center Peter Forsberg, currently playing with Team Sweden in the Karjala Cup, is trying to make a comeback to the NHL. Reports are that he’s as healthy as he’s been in at least three years, and is skating well enough to draw interest from a number of NHL clubs.

Among the teams that reportedly have scouts watching Forsberg are a couple of his former teams, the Philadelphia Flyers and Colorado Avalanche, as well as the Montreal Canadiens, Washington Capitals, Detroit Red Wings and Chicago Blackhawks.

Perhaps the hottest rumor surrounds the Red Wings, who are playing without two of their top three centers because of injury. Johan Franzen is out for most of the season with a torn ACL, and Valterri Filppula is expected to miss up to eight weeks with a broken wrist. 

The Blackhawks potentially scouting another center raises at least my eye brows for a number of reasons. When healthy, the Blackhawks have three solid centers in captain Jonathan Toews, Dave Bolland and John Madden. Whether or not Forsberg, who has scored 885 points in 706 career NHL games, would want to return as a third or fourth line center is questionable.

But my eyebrows stay in an upright position considering the health of the Hawks centers. Toews has now been out over two weeks with concussion-like symptoms, and Bolland has been dealing with a bad back for the entire season. The Hawks are currently playing well, but have been mixing up their centers on the third and fourth lines every night because of injuries. Andrew Ebbett, Colin Fraser, Tomas Kopecky and Jake Dowell have all spent time in the faceoff circle, and even Jordan Hendry has been asked to play forward because of the injuries.

How, when, and where Forsberg returns to the NHL will be interesting. If it’s in Chicago or Detroit, the balance of power in the Central Division could shift with his arrival.