Blackhawks Looking Forward to the Regular Season

By Todd McClamroch in News on Sep 25, 2006 2:05PM

Last year, the Blackhawks won just 26 games, ahead of only two teams in the NHL. Although it is just the preseason, Blackhawk fans have to feel good about the upcoming season. The Chicago Blackhawks have played five of their eight preseason games and are off to a perfect 5-0 start.

The Blackhawks have not had troubles sounding the horn, scoring 19 goals for an average of 3.8 goals per game. In four of the five games, a player has stepped up to score multiple goals. David Bolland scored two on Sunday versus the Minnesota Wild, Martin Havlat scored two against Columbus on Saturday, Patrick Sharp and Jim Vandermeer each scored two against the Bluejackets on Friday, and Bryan Smolinski had two against Florida last Thursday. Another positive for the Blackhawks is that they are spreading around the wealth with over a dozen different goal scorers.

The Blackhawks finish their preseason on the road, visiting the St. Louis Blues on Wednesday, Florida Panthers on Thursday, and then the Minnesota Wild on Saturday. The regular season also will begin on the road in Nashville before their home opener against the Columbus Blue Jackets, who they defeated twice during preseason play.