Will Bolland's return give Hawks the lift they need?
NASHVILLE, Tenn. -- In desperate need of any sort of spark, the Blackhawks hope to get one Saturday with the return of center Dave Bolland.
The game against the Predators at Bridgestone Arena will mark the first time all season the Hawks have had a full lineup.
• Brian Campbell missed the first 13 games with a sprained knee, then Marian Hossa and Bolland went out of the lineup with upper body injuries. Bolland missed six games and Hossa five.
• Niklas Hjalmarsson has missed two games because of a suspension, and Nick Boynton has missed one.
• Patrick Sharp sat one game with a concussion, and Patrick Kane one game with the flu.
“We've had some tough breaks with all the injuries going on with Soupy and Hossa and with me,” Bolland said. “To have everybody back together is good.
“It does get tough losing guys with injuries. It screws up the chemistry because your lines get screwed up and everything gets a little mixed up in games. Now with everybody back together we can get some good stuff going.”
Coach Joel Quenneville's seemingly never-ending tinkering with his lineup in an attempt to find scoring balance and consistency will continue.
Quenneville has plans to use Bolland at center between Hossa and Kane, with Kane playing his second game at left wing.
Bolland is considered the Hawks' checking center, but he is also one of the more highly skilled players on the team. Bolland doesn't see the need to think more offensively while playing with two skilled stars such as Hossa and Kane.
“You have your offense with Hossa and Kaner knowing what to do,” Bolland said. “For me it's the same thing, taking care of my own zone and chipping in on the offense.”
The Hawks are entering maybe their most critical juncture of the season with seven of the next eight games on the road, including the annual six-game circus trip through the West that starts next Wednesday.
A bad two weeks here and the Hawks could put themselves permanently in catch-up mode, which more times than not in the NHL doesn't turn out well in the end.
“Everybody knows what's ahead for us at the end of November,” defenseman Brian Campbell said. “We have to be better all the way around.”
With the Hawks just 4-7 at the United Center and 4-2-1 on the road, maybe getting away from home is what's needed at this point.
“You always look at it as a fun road trip, going on the road there for six games to really get together and hang out, but that's too far ahead to think about right now,” Campbell said. “We have a couple more games here where we need to desperately find a way to get points.”
The Hawks are as upbeat as they can be sitting at 8-9-1 after 18 games and Quenneville thinks getting away on the road could be coming at the right time.
“I think it's going to be a good thing,” Quenneville said. “We've had a lot of day trips and one-gamers, but this will be a chance for us to really be together for an extended period of time.
“As coaches and players you get to be a little more familiar with one another. You're around each other every day for a couple weeks and we have a fun part in the middle of the trip as well. It will be healthy for us.”
The fun part is a two-day side trip to Las Vegas between games in Vancouver and San Jose, but the Hawks should keep this in mind: Early in the 1998-99 season there was a Las Vegas stopover cancelled by then general manager Bob Murray because of poor play during a 1-12-2 stretch. Instead the players had to spend a few extra days in the cold of western Canada.