Blackhawks

It gets better: Hossa's coming

SAN JOSE, Calif. -- Brace yourself: Marian Hossa is about to make his Blackhawks debut.

Blackhawks send Bickell to Rockford

The Chicago Blackhawks have reassigned left wing Bryan Bickell to the American Hockey League’s Rockford IceHogs.

Niemi, Bickell steal the show In the Blackhawks Oct. 21 loss to the Vancouver Canucks at the United Center, Canucks' defenseman Willie Mitchell delivered a clean but hard hit on Hawks' captain Jonathan Toews, leaving Toews with a concussion that sidelined him for six games. Hawks coach Joel Quenneville didn't think the Mitchell hit would have an impact on Sunday's game.

Bickell's days with Hawks may be numbered Bryan Bickell's days with the Blackhawks may be numbered with Marian Hossa close to making his debut with the club. Bickell, though, got into his sixth game after being called up again from Rockford. ''It's a great opportunity to be up here, even if it's just for a game and I get sent down again,'' said Bickell, who played on a line with Jonathan Toews and Patrick Kane during the first two games of this trip until he banged his head on the ice checking Edmonton's Dustin Penner in the first period of the Hawks' 5-2 win Saturday. Bickell spent the rest of the game recovering in the dressing room but was in the lineup Sunday. ''It's been exciting playing with two of the best guys in the league. I do what the coaches tell me. I'll just go day by day and see what happens.''

No Khabibulin helps That first matchup between Nikolai Khabibulin and Cristobal Huet -- the Blackhawks' well-paid goaltending tandem of last season -- still hasn't materialized. Only Huet played Saturday as the Hawks took a 5-2 win over Khabibulin's Edmonton Oilers in the second game of their six-game road trip. The Hawks are 2-0 on their journey, which resumes tonight at Vancouver.

Blackhawks notebook

The third game of the road trip tonight at Vancouver will rekindle a bad memory for the Blackhawks. The last time the teams met, on Oct. 21 at the United Center, Canucks defenseman Willie Mitchell flattened Jonathan Toews with a hit that resulted in the Hawks captain missing six games with a concussion. The Hawks admit that Mitchell's hit was clean, and Toews said, ''I'm not looking for any retribution. I want to play a great game and show them something like that isn't going to change the way I play.'' Coach Joel Quenneville also had no complaints about Mitchell's hit, despite the damage it caused. ''If [Mitchell] wanted to hurt him, maybe he leads with his elbow, but he kept it down,'' Quenneville said. ... Rookie goalie Antti Niemi is the projected starter tonight. It'll be his first start since a shootout loss Nov. 6 at Colorado. ... Andrew Ebbett's stay with the Hawks lasted 10 games. The Hawks claimed him on waivers from the Anaheim Ducks on Oct.17, and the Minnesota Wild acquired him off waivers from the Hawks on Saturday. Ebbett was tried as the second-line center when Dave Bolland required back surgery but couldn't do the job. He had a goal and two penalty minutes with the Hawks and was a healthy scratch the last two games before being waived. ... Kris Versteeg's two goals Thursday at Calgary represented the Hawks' first multiple-goal game by a player this season. They were the last team in the NHL to have one. ... Quenneville reiterated that Marian Hossa's debut will come ''probably in California -- San Jose [on Wednesday] or around that time.'' Hossa continues to work out with the team and says his surgically repaired shoulder is getting stronger. ... The Hawks were 10-0-1 against the two Alberta clubs, Calgary and Edmonton, over the last two regular seasons entering Saturday.