Stephane Matteau hasn`t made the impact yet that the Blackhawks expected from the big, physical winger. But coach Darryl Sutter sees some improvement in his willingness to battle in the corners.
”He`s coming along,” Sutter said. ”After he was out with tonsilitis to start the season and lost all that weight, he didn`t want any part of the physical stuff. He`s getting back to it now.”
However, since a four-game point streak ended in early November, Matteau has gone the last seven games with just one assist.
Caught in a cycle: The offensive slump the Hawks are experiencing has caused Sutter to sit out Dave Christian the last several games. Christian is still looking for his first goal.
”I feel a little badly about doing that,” Sutter said, ”after I`d said all along he`d been playing well and giving us a good defensive effort.
”But we`re just not scoring enough as a team to use him right now. We have too many checkers and not enough scorers. That`s basically why he`s not in the lineup.”