Brent Seabrook’s absence no excuse to Blackhawks
By Adam L. Jahns ajahns@suntimes.com November 21, 2011 9:14PM
Vancouver defenseman Kevin Bieksa and Hawks winger Jamal Mayers get into a fight at the end of the second period of the Chicago Blackhawks 6-2 loss to the Vancouver Canucks Sunday November 6, 2011 at the United Center. | Tom Cruze~Sun-Times
Related Stories
Updated: December 23, 2011 8:18AM
There’s a good chance defenseman Brent Seabrook will return to action at some point during the California portion of the Blackhawks’ circus trip.
Seabrook is expected to skate Tuesday in San Jose as he recovers from a leg injury suffered when he lost an edge against the Edmonton Oilers and fell skates-first into the boards last Sunday at the United Center.
Although the Hawks could definitely use Seabrook on the back end, they still feel like they have enough depth on defense to succeed without him. They won’t use Seabrook’s absence as an excuse for discouraging back-to-back losses against the Oilers and Calgary Flames.
“We feel like we have a lot of depth on ‘D,’ a lot of depth at forward and a lot of depth in net,” defenseman Duncan Keith said. “We win as a team. We lose a team. But, as individuals, we can all look at ourselves and know where we can be better.”
Seabrook had just started to find his groove offensively with a goal, three points and a plus-4 in his last three games before getting injured. The Hawks were without Seabrook against the Vancouver Canucks in the first game of their trip and thoroughly handled their rivals in a 5-1 victory.
“We did a good job the other day [against the Canucks] with his absence,” coach Joel Quenneville said after losing to the Flames 5-2. “It’s part of the game.”
Michael Frolik (left shoulder) also is expected to practice Tuesday. He sat out the last two games after going hard into the boards against the Canucks.
All-Star talk
Corey Crawford, on not being one of the 18 goalies on the All-Star ballot: “Obviously I’m competitive. I want to be at the top. I want to be one of the best. It’s something I would like to do. If it doesn’t happen, I’m just going to keep playing and do my thing.”
