Monday, Dec. 27, 2010
1:31 p.m.
By Tracey Myers
CSNChicago.com
Patrick Kane has had to practice patience while healing his left ankle injury. Now it looks like hes ready to go again.
Kane is likely to start when the Chicago Blackhawks play the St. Louis Blues on Tuesday night, coach Joel Quenneville said on Monday. Kane, who is currently on injured reserve (retroactive to when he was hurt on Dec. 5), said hell give the ankle one more test Tuesday morning before deciding.
Im really happy with the last couple of days. Once Im in a game itll feel a little bit different but (Monday) it was good, said Kane, who was on a line with Troy Brouwer and Jonathan Toews on Monday. Weve played together a lot over the past couple of years, so you know where each other is going to be. Right now dont care who I play with. Itll just be nice to get back into the lineup. Hopefully itll be tomorrow.
Marian Hossa said he felt good Monday morning after playing for the first time in 10 games on Sunday.
Nothing snuck up on me so thats a good sign, he said. I feel pretty good this morning.
NHL
Marty Turco will get his second consecutive start on Tuesday after stopping 26 of 27 in the Blackhawks 4-1 victory over Columbus on Sunday. Corey Crawford was back at practice on Monday but said hes still not 100 percent recovered from the flu. Still, hes available for backup duties Tuesday in St. Louis. The Blackhawks sent Hannu Toivonen back to Rockford on Monday morning.
Quenneville said that outing could help bolster Turcos confidence again.
It was a big win for him and us as well, he said. Its been a while since he got into the net and he responded to a great opportunity and took advantage of it. He looked sharp, looked quick. It was good for everyone. Its a great situation to be in when both guys are playing well and we have a tough decision to decide who plays.
Stalberg good
Viktor Stalberg played nearly 12 minutes in his first game back since sustaining a concussion against Colorado on Dec. 15. He finished plus-1 with two shots on goal and a blocked shot.
I thought he played well, Quenneville said. He did a lot of good things and he protected the puck better.
Morin injured
Quenneville said he didnt know the status of BlackhawksRockford wing Jeremy Morin, who TSN.ca reported suffered a shoulder injury in Team USAs victory over Finland on Sunday night. Quenneville did not have any update on Morin on Monday.
Tracey Myers is CSNChicago.com's Blackhawks Insider. Follow Tracey on Twitter @TramyersCSN for up-to-the-minute Hawks information.
