In the set of pre-season games that happened over the weekend the Blackhawks lost to Washington in overtime and lost to Minnesota in regulation. These games don’t mean crap, so we won’t dwell on the poor record thus far. Still there are a few things that can be talked about.
Aside from Marian Hossa sitting on the shelf as he rehabs from his summer shoulder surgery, the Blackhawks are already facing other injury concerns. Dave Bolland still has yet to see any time on the ice during training camp or during either preseason game. Also Kris Versteeg was pulled from the Washington game in the first period with an upper-body injury, and Adam Burish limped off the ice in the first period against the Wild.
Reports out of camp are stating that Jack Skille appears to finally be ready to play at the NHL full-time, and his play in Saturday’s game backed up that observation. His presence on the ice was noticeable. Skille skated well and was able to show off some of his offensive skill with a quick wrist shot that beat Michal Neuvirth. He is making a solid case to avoid being sent back to Purgatory – a.k.a. Rockford.
The Blackhawks’ defense did a nice job limiting the Wild to seventeen shots on net, but Antti Niemi was only able stop fourteen of them in his three periods of work – one goal with only three men on the ice. It was initially thought that Corey Crawford would see some action in last night’s game. Crawford will have a whole game to himself to better Niemi’s performance.
A third round of cuts should come before the team’s third pre-season game on Wednesday. With only a few small roster spots to be fought for, any cuts coming shouldn’t really surprise anyone. Yet, I still like the process of building a team out of training camp and reading up on cuts when they happen.
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