s old self.I feel strong with hitting, Bickell said after practice on Sunday. Against Vancouver, there was a lot more hitting. I felt comfortable. I feel like I was never out for a month.I think moving theres times its sore, but I know its going to happen. I just have to play through it, and its going to get better as the time goes on.Aside from the minor soreness and adjusting to wearing a brace, Bickell said he has felt good in his first two games back after missing 14 games with the injury. Bickell is still trying to get back into the rhythm he had prior to the injury, but the two games werent ideal to do that in either. There were a total of 20 penalties during those two games, and Bickells minutes were affected by that because hes not on the power play or penalty kill. He played 9:40 against the Predators and 10:30 against the Canucks.The games have been kind of slow with the penalties, Bickell said. I feel great. I feel like Im back into things. To get this rolling, I know we have one more game before the break, but to get back the chemistry and get the lines sorted out is important.Part of that is Bickell again becoming more of an offensive threat. He displayed his offensive potential last season with 17 points in the playoffs and was on pace prior to his injury to score about 20 goals this season. Bickell said he realized theres no pressure to produce now because of the offensive power in the lineup, but hed like to contribute more.We got a lot of scoring in here in our locker room, said Bickell, who had one shot on goal in the last two games. You cant go wrong with that. But itll be nice to score. Everyone wants to score. But to do the little things to help this team win is the ultimate goal.Blackhawks coach Joel Quennevilles hope was for Bickell to first be that physical presence, and that to lead to more offensive chances.I would expect him to make sure you bring that physicality to your game, Quenneville said. I think the more intense he is and more involved he is in that aspect, (it) seems he has the puck more. But hes got a great shot. Hes got a big body, goes to the high-traffic areas and should be able to finish some plays.To quantify him as saying this is what were looking for, this amount of goals, with him we expect him to be consistently producing, and that consistency with being physical will only compliment that part of his game. We got a lot of guys who can score, but that consistency is what were looking for from Bick.Crawford progressing: Goaltender Corey Crawford has skated four consecutive days and could return to practice the week of Dec. 29, Quenneville said. Crawford has been out with a lower-body injury since Dec. 8.Hes not that far away, Quenneville said. But he needs some practicing and some real pace and shots. Lets get a little more exertion. Getting out there before, but you still havent seen live bodies and pucks moving.Quenneville said he did not have a timetable on goaltender Nikolai Khabibulin's return yet. Khabibulin hasn't played since suffering a lower-body injury on Nov. 16.HBOs 24/7 series: Quenneville didnt give a glowing review of HBOs 24/7 Red Wings/Maple Leafs: Road to the NHL Winter Classic on Sunday.It was all right, said Quenneville, who saw the first episode.Quenneville was asked if he was glad the Blackhawks didnt have to participate in the all-access series when they had the Winter Classic at Wrigley Field in 2009. Quennevilles answer was, Exactly. Good timing.
CHICAGO -- The Chicago Blackhawks earned the right Monday to not have to think about hockey over the next three days.The Blackhawks entered the NHLs three-day holiday break with one of their most dominant performances of the season, defeating the New Jersey Devils 5-2 at the United Center.The Blackhawks possession numbers speak for themselves. The Blackhawks had 65 total shots (37 on goal) to the Devils 32 total shots (12 on goal). The Devils didnt have more than six shots on goal in any period, and Duncan Keith and Patrick Sharp combined for more shots on goal (13) than them.As clich�� as it may sound,Jonathan Toews Authentic Black Jersey, Chris