Although they have begun to feel comfortable in the United Center, where they are 8-2-2 in their last 12 games, the Blackhawks lately have seemed to thrive on the road.
“We’ve played well at home over the last 10 games or so,” says coach Craig Hartsburg, “but we’ve had some success on the road so we’re confident and comfortable playing there. I think a veteran team does feel comfortable on the road.”
Last year they had a better record on the road than at home. This year, the Blackhawks’ road record of 11-7-7 is third best in the Western Conference and fourth best in the league.
On their last long road trip, the Hawks went 2-1-4. And even though that is better than .500, they’d like to do even better than that on the six-game trip that begins in Edmonton Wednesday night.
The Hawks, with 61 points, are tied with Colorado for second place in the Western Conference, 11 points behind Detroit.
“I don’t have any specific goals for the trip,” says Hartsburg, “but we’re playing six games against a lot of teams that are in big battles for the playoffs so we’d better be ready to play.”
With games at San Jose, Anaheim and Los Angeles after the Oilers, the Hawks will be playing four teams with below-.500 records before finishing the trip at St. Louis and Pittsburgh.
For at least the balance of the trip, Hartsburg plans to continue alternating goalies Ed Belfour and Jeff Hackett. “We’ve got six games and we want to have a fresh goaltender playing every night,” said Hartsburg, who has not yet decided on a goalie for Wednesday’s game.
Obviously the game against Pittsburgh should be the toughest of the six, even though the Blackhawks easily handled the high-scoring Penguins at home, 5-1, early in the season. While St. Louis is a respected division rival, the Hawks have yet to lose in the Kiel Center in the three games they’ve played there.