Between the Circles

Patrick Kane is hoping a change of scenery back to center for Friday's key game with Detroit at the United Center can help him find a way to put the puck in the net again. Kane has 1 goal in his last nine games and just 2 in the last 18. He had 2 goals in 12 games after he had gone back to playing right wing. “There's been a lot of stress on trying to get me going here over the past week or so,” Kane said following Friday's morning skate. “It's something I'm worried about, something I'm trying to figure out and maybe get hot for the rest of the season.” Kane has only 9 goals for the season, well behind team leaders Jonathan Toews (20), Patrick Sharp (19) and Marian Hossa (16).

Blackhawks coach Joel Quenneville will wait until Friday's game against Detroit to get Daniel Carcillo back into the lineup. Carcillo was to miss his sixth straight game Wednesday against Los Angeles with an upper body injury. Center Marcus Kruger won't play Wednesday either because of concussion symptoms he still is experiencing. Kruger, who was first hurt last week against Pittsburgh, returned Monday against Columbus but took several big hits that set him back. “I don' think it was one definitive hit,” Quenneville said. “He's feeling better.” Patrick Kane and Steve Montador will face the Kings despite missing practice on Tuesday.

Marcus Kruger was expected to be in the Blackhawks' lineup tonight against Columbus at the United Center, but rookie center Brandon Pirri was recalled from Rockford following the morning skate. Daniel Carcillo will miss his fifth straight game with an upper body injury. Carcillo returned to practice Monday and could be playing later in the week. “He's been off the ice for 10 days,” coach Joel Quenneville said. “I don't feel too good right now, but once my lungs stop burning I'll feel a little better,” joked Carcillo. Carcillo didn't want to discuss how he got hurt during the Dec. 14 game at Minnesota when it appeared he took a forearm to the head from Kyle Brodziak, who was not penalized.

For Jeremy Morin, it was a long journey back to the Blackhawks. The 20-year-old Morin, who was recalled from Rockford on Sunday and in the lineup against Calgary at the United Center, hadn't played a game for the Hawks since Nov. 6, 2010. In between then and now, Morin missed the final 41 games of last season at Rockford and most of training camp with the Hawks because of symptoms of a concussion suffered on Jan. 15. Once Morin was cleared by doctors to play, the Hawks sent him back to Rockford to start the season and get his game back to where it was. During his time on the shelf, Morin was passed by Ben Smith on the organization's depth chart at forward, but it was Smith going back to the minors on Saturday to make way for Morin.

Just when you think you've seen it all from Patrick Kane, he pulls something else out of his bag of tricks. Kane's shootout goal in Wednesday's 4-3 Blackhawks win at Minnesota was so good you weren't sure if you just saw what you think you saw. Jonathan Toews, who like most of the time was the best player on the ice in the Hawks' fifth straight road win, called Kane's shootout goal “sick.” It was that, and then some. Kane skated down on Wild goalie Niklas Backstrom, slowed to a crawl, stickhandled the puck more than a dozen times, then fired the puck into an empty net after Backstrom was faked out of his pants. “I was ready to bring it to my forehand or backhand, and he bit on the backhand,” Kane said.

After sitting out the last five games because of ineffective play, left wing Bryan Bickell will be back in the Blackhawks' lineup at Minnesota on Wednesday. Bickell went the whole month of November without a point and lost most of his edge from a physical standpoint. He has 50 hits in 24 games, but coach Joel Quenneville needs to see more. “With his speed and his size and his presence he should be, whether it's more hits, more of a factor,” Quenneville said Tuesday after practice. “I think we saw that a lot over the last year and I think we need to see that more consistently in his game. If he does that then he's a player you can use in all situations and you have a real appreciation what he brings to our lineup as well.”

Blackhawks coach Joel Quenneville liked what he saw from Daniel Carcillo on the first line with Jonathan Toews and Patrick Kane so much at St. Louis that he's sticking with the threesome tonight against Phoenix. Carcillo had the backs of Kane and Toews against the Blues when the going got rough. “He played a good game and he stuck up for us,” Kane said. “He's a guy that, say me and Johnny are on the ice, a team might be lining up thinking about him a little more than another winger there.” During once sequence at St. Louis, Carcillo rushed from helping Kane to aid Toews in a scrap with David Backes. Carcillo said a guy like Backes going after Toews is something that can't happen, although it didn't surprise him the Blues' captain challenged the Hawks' best player.

Bruce Boudreau wasn't out of work very long. Two days after being fired as the coach in Washington, Boudreau was hired in Anaheim late Wednesday night to replace Randy Carlyle. Ducks general manager Bob Murray fired Carlyle less than an hour after Anaheim's 4-1 win over Montreal on Wednesday night. The Ducks were off to a miserable 7-13-4 start and sit in 14th place in the Western Conference. “At this time we simply felt a new voice was needed,” Murray said in a statement. The coaching change in Anaheim likely means star forward Bobby Ryan is off the trade market. There had been serious rumors that Murray was shopping Ryan in an attempt to shake up his struggling team that many predicted would be a contender in the West.

After being a healthy scratch at Los Angeles last Saturday, Daniel Carcillo will be back in the Blackhawks' lineup Tuesday night against Phoenix at the United Center. “I haven't been playing as well as I'd like to,” Carcillo said. “Obviously sitting out last game I wasn't very happy about it. “For me to be effective I have to play the same way every night and I got a little away from that. The biggest thing is being on the forecheck, being on the body and getting under people's skin. That comes with skating and working hard, getting those guys (Patrick Kane and Marian Hossa) the pucks and finishing my checks.” Hawks coach Joel Quenneville wants to see the same things that Carcillo does from himself, and it has nothing to do with scoring goals.

Unfortunately for the Blackhawks, defenseman Brent Seabrook wasn't able to play against San Jose on Wednesday for the fourth straight game. Seabrook had practiced on Tuesday, but obviously the leg he injured last week wasn't ready to be tested in the game. “It's tough sitting out anytime, I hate it,” Seabrook said. “It's tough to watch your team play. You feel like you could be out there helping out.” Michael Frolik returned from his shoulder injury, bumping Ben Smith from the lineup as a healthy scratch.