It’s been more than a month since the Blackhawks have played a game at full strength. More than two months if you count Trevor van Riemsdyk’s early season injury.
Well, it’s going to be at least a few more days.
Artem Anisimov returned to the lineup Tuesday night against the Winnipeg Jets, but Marian Hossa missed his second straight game with an upper-body injury suffered last Tuesday against Ottawa. The Hawks’ leading goal-scorer is expected to miss the road games at Nashville and Carolina this week.
Joel Quenneville said he’s “hopeful” that Hossa will be ready for the Winter Classic at Busch Stadium in St. Louis on Jan. 2.
“He checked things out [Monday] and came in today,” Quenneville said after Tuesday’s morning skate. “There’s no progress. That’s where it’s at.”
Quenneville offered no specifics on the injury, but said there wasn’t a “defining blow.”
Hossa simply swapped places with Anisimov, who was activated from injured reserve for the game against Winnipeg. Anisimov was back in his usual spot between Artemi Panarin and Patrick Kane. He said the timing of his injury was particularly frustrating because he had four goals in his last six games before getting hurt Dec. 17 in St. Louis. He missed three games.
“I feel good,” Anisimov said. “The break helped a lot because it was three days off. No skating, no practice, and just rest and refreshing everything. I’m ready to roll.”
Long day
Teams typically fly in the night before a road game, but because of the NHL’s three-day Christmas break, the Jets had to fly into Chicago on Tuesday morning, and go right to their morning skate. It’s something nine other teams around the league had to do, as well.
“I never really woke up at 5:30 for a game,” Jets defenseman Jacob Trouba said.
Blake Wheeler said it’s “just part of the process. No excuses. Half the teams are doing the same thing we’re doing today.”
This is the second straight year the Hawks have had the luxury of a home game the day after the break. Two years ago, they flew to Denver in the morning for a skate, then went on to win 5-2. Quenneville said the three days off negates much of the physical strain of skating and then playing on a travel day.
“You don’t know what to expect in games like this,” Quenneville said. “They’ll be ready, [but] it’s a hard game. As you go along 82 games, this is probably the one game where everybody’s going to be as fresh as they possibly could be, and that’s a good thing.”
PK is A-OK
Patrick Kane had 21 goals at the Christmas break last season. This year, he had just 10, with Hossa, Anisimov and Artemi Panarin scoring at a higher rate. But with 34 points in 36 games, Quenneville has no complaints about Kane’s season so far.
“I’m not criticizing his play,” Quenneville said. “I think you [reporters] are. He’s been fine. He’s been one of our key guys. He finds a way to get production; it’s a tough league to score in. His numbers are fine as far as we’re concerned.”
Roster report
Michal Kempny and Michal Rozsival were once again healthy scratches, as was Jordin Tootoo. Kempny has played just once in the last 10 games.
Email: mlazerus@suntimes.com
Twitter: @marklazerus
