Bolland, Eager out for Detroit game
The Blackhawks will be short-handed Thursday night when they take on the Red Wings at Joe Louis Arena.
No Dave Bolland and no Ben Eager.
They might also be without Troy Brouwer, who will be a game-time decision, according to coach Joel Quenneville.
Bolland still is bothered by a sore back, which kept him out nearly the entire preseason. Quenneville is hoping to have Bolland back in the lineup for Saturday's home opener against Colorado.
Eager has what the Hawks are calling an upper body injury. Eager has a history of concussions with Quenneville saying only the left winger was undergoing further testing and evaluations.
Brouwer has a lower body injury.
Left wing Radek Smolenak will be in the lineup against the Red Wings along with either Aaron Johnson or Jordan Hendry moving up from defense to play forward - maybe both if Brouwer can't go.
Quenneville said after Wednesday’s practice nobody would be recalled from Rockford, although that could change by Thursday if there’s bad news on either Eager or Brouwer.
Here were the line combinations from Wednesday’s practice:
Versteeg-Toews-Sharp
Byfuglien-Madden-Kane
Ladd-Kopecky-Smolenak
Johnson-Fraser-Hendry
http://www.tsn.ca/nhl/story/?id=294121
Anyone have an opinion on Grentree?
Am I the only guy who thinks AJ is a good defensemen? I can't believe Sopel beat him out for the 6th spot. It seems like we need depth at D, not another forward. Maybe this is the kid the Hawks are looking to fill the void left by Burrish.
There could have possibly been some issue behind the scenes also.
Same agent as Havlat (Walsh)
Greentree to Rockford. Roster room for call up now.
Who's girlfriend did AJ mess with?
This game tommorow has a major ass kicking coming our way written all over it. Why the f*** can't they call up Jack Skille to play wing instead of Buck Henry?
The Hawks won last year because they were getting production from all four lines on a consitent basis almost every night. How many other teams had a goon like Ben Eager putting up double digit goals on their 4th line? The Hawks don't have 3 of the top 10 players in the world like Detorit or Pittsburgh where your 3rd and 4th lines don't need to contribute to win.
I thought we had enough depth to fill 5 decent lines heading into this year, but after a few key injuries this team looks average at best. There are still enough skill guys to beat weaker teams, but no way they can compete with Detroit, San Jose unless they stay healthy.
Totally agree with you JebJeb. That fourth line looks pretty weak to me. I don't know why they didn't bring up Skille and Klinkhammer or Bickell !
I believe the Hawks are at 23 man roster limit and would have to IR or demote someone (hendry) to bring someone else up. This may still happen depending on the results of Eager's "further tests"
Buff's back seemed to make it through the long flight okay. I am concerned about Bolland though.
Well, they should be good enough D on the 4th line to prevent being scored on...
"How did you shut down Detroit's forwards?"
"Well, we just put 4 D-men out on one line!"
The team loses a lot with Bolland out of the lineup and Brouwer has been decent. Madden might click well with Buf and kane, so watch out.
Actually I'd like to see a couple of forwards called up like you could do back in the old days...
Do you think the Hawk Players keep a shrine in the lockerroom to Dale Tallon who set most of them up for life?
>Hope the Hawks have back experts who utilize a variety of re-hab methods that include more "cutting edge" approaches.
>Too many athletes with back trouble have their careers ruined by a rush to traditional
solutions like surgery, when a forward-thinking combination of things like acupuncture, isometric stretching, yoga, specialized strength-training etc. can make all the difference.
>The explosive movements of hockey encourage muscles to shorten, while yoga and even pilates-type movements strengthen the core and lengthen the muscles.
>Best to Bolland...
...pictures of Bolland doing Pilates and yoga in the November S.I.
I love that fourth line....Oh boy....
It is too soon to say about everyone else but Bolland's back is now officially a major cause for concern even if he plays Saturday. When guys start missing key regular season games you know things aren't good and back problems are the worst. It's hard to believe that another guy who got a long-term deal has immediate injury problems but it does appear to be a "here we go again" story. We'll keep fingers crossed that this isn't the case but I don't like what we've seen so far.
Remember, Daze had a history of back problems, and then one offseason he decided that instead of spending money to fly from Montreal to Chicago, he would drive with Jocelyn Thibault.
His back was never right again, and he admitted later it was dumb. Not shocking for Daze.
Now you get bolland, who has a bad back all preseason long, so lets stick him in an airplane for 16 hours, both ways, so he can play in 2 games? Was the risk worth the reward? No.
Should've kept him home, especially since he has a history of back problems and played through it last year.
Let him rest up now. The Hawks open the season at home for the most part. Obviously the back is the biggest ? injury there is but there is no reason for him to press it now. Yes we need as many points as possible before we go on the road, but I would rather have him healthy(ier) than to play through something that is going to last all season. I'm hoping Toews can get on the board. The kid scores in bunches and it would be nice for him to light it up while Hossa is out. Could be a nice scenario after tomorrow night, 5 points up after 3 games??