Left wing Dan Vincelette sprained a knee ligament at Sunday`s practice here and the Blackhawks will be without him until at least early March, coach Mike Keenan said.
”It`s the medial collateral ligament,” Keenan said. ”He was driving to the net, shot a puck into it and then spun backward and crashed into the boards. I`m not exactly sure what happened.”
Vincelette`s injury will pave the way for Michel Goulet`s return to the lineup Monday against Calgary, said Keenan, who scratched Goulet from Saturday`s 2-0 victory in Minnesota. He is seeking to motivate the 31-year-old to play better.
Goulet is in the first year of a $2.9 million, four-year contract that pays him $600,000 this season in base salary. St. Louis originally made that free-agent offer to Goulet and the Hawks matched it to keep him.
Tough enough? The question about new acquisition Rob Brown is whether he will be tough enough to stand up to Keenan`s pressure. Rightly or wrongly, Brown had developed a reputation in Pittsburgh and Hartford for being a little soft when it comes to work ethic.
”I didn`t see it Saturday when he played hard and intelligently,”
Keenan said of the winger`s debut with the Hawks. ”And Sunday he practiced as hard as anybody. I don`t know if that claim is justified.”
Keenan doesn`t think immediate judgments should be too harsh, either, on former Flames winger Stephane Matteau, who will play his third game Monday since coming back from a thigh injury.
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”He`s not a bit tentative with that leg,” Keenan insisted. ”And remember this, he`s going up against people in midseason form. He hasn`t played in three months. I think he`s doing fine so far.”