When Mike Keenan began as Blackhawks coach four years ago, the power play was solid and the penalty killing was vulnerable. Now, the special-teams`
results have been reversed.
Through Monday`s NHL games, the Hawks are tied for 17th place in power-play efficiency at just 17.8 percent, while their shorthanded work was third best in the league. They have killed off power plays 84 percent of the time, behind only top-rated New Jersey and Winnipeg.
The Hawks have had plenty of practice at stopping power plays. The 357 run against them are second most in the league, trailing only Calgary, and the Flames have been hurt so much by their 365 shorthanded situations they may miss the playoffs.
Cheers: Left wing Michel Goulet will be recognized before Thursday night`s game at the Stadium against New Jersey for scoring his 500th goal last Sunday. He became the 17th NHL player to compile those totals.
Not ready: Keenan offered no hope that defenseman Keith Brown could return by the weekend. The four weeks he was estimated to miss run out later this week. ”I don`t expect him by the weekend,” Keenan said, looking ahead to back-to-back games with Detroit and St. Louis. ”He`s skating but not doing stops and starts.”
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Left wing Dan Vincelette also is skating but remains two to three weeks away from playing again.
Callups: With Greg Gilbert suffering a broken ankle last game, Keenan recalled wing Trevor Dam from the minors to fill out his roster and added an extra defenseman, Steve Bancroft, from Indianapolis.
Staying positive: Keenan remains optimistic that defenseman Igor Kravchuk will be in his lineup by late February or early March. Kravchuk scored a pair of goals Sunday in a 5-4 Unified Team (former Soviet Union) victory over Canada. Keenan believes Hawk senior vice president Bob Pulford will be able to complete a financial arrangement to get the Russian out of his Red Army contract.
”I`m hopeful he`ll be released,” Keenan said. ” `Pully` is just giving the downside when he`s cautious about it. I think it can be worked out.”