The Chicago Blackhawks are in Vancouver and set to begin a 6 game in 13 days road trip with the circus invading United Center. The annual trip known simply as the “Circus Trip” will see the Hawks play 3 games each in Western Canada and California. Success during the circus trip has often translated into successful seasons for the Blackhawks. The Hawks begin the trip riding a 3 game winning streak in which they have outscored their opponents 16-7. Chicago at 11-4-3 for 25 points is currently leading the National Hockey League and Western Conference standings. The Hawks will play Vancouver, Calgary, Edmonton, San Jose, Anaheim, and Los Angeles on the trip. The Hawks take a 4-3-1 road record into the Circus Trip and will look to continue building on their early season success. I will break down each matchup and the Hawks record against each opponent. Brent Seabrook made the trip and is day to day with a leg injury. Dave Bolland is expected to return against the Canucks with a “lower body” injury.
11/16 @ Vancouver (0-1-0)
Chicago will be out for revenge when they skate against their bitter rivals of the last three Stanley Cup playoffs on Wednesday night. Vancouver finally got the best of the Hawks in Game 7 of the first round playoffs last season after the Hawks had ousted the Canucks the previous two seasons. Vancouver embarrassed the Hawks in Chicago just a week and a half ago winning 6-2 in perhaps the Hawks worst effort of the season. Vancouver exposed the Hawks penalty killing unit going 5 or 6 with the man advantage. The Hawks showed a lack of discipline in the first meeting so look for staying out of the box to be a priority for Chicago in round 2 of 4 meetings this season. Favorite Hawks whipping boy Roberto Luongo is out for the game with what is being called and “upper body injury.” Corey Schneider will get the start. Expect Corey Crawford for Chicago.
11/18 @ Calgary (1-0-0)
The Hawks defeated the Flames on Friday night 4-1 in Chicago. The Hawks had a solid night and got two goals from the defense corps with Duncan Keith and Brent Seabrook both scoring with Seabrook’s goal coming on the power play. The Hawks outshot Calgary 31-25 for the game. The Flames won both meetings in Calgary last season. This will be the 2nd of four games against Calgary this year.
11/19 @ Edmonton (1-0-0)
The Hawks dominated the Oilers on Sunday night at United Center outshooting the upstart Oilers 35-23 in the 6-3 win. Jonathan Toews had a dominating performance tallying twice for the Hawks. Steve Montador also added a pair of goals as the Hawks were in sync on the offensive end of the ice. Edmonton had been hot and are a dangerous team with youngsters Taylor Hall and Ryan Nugent-Hopkins, the last two number one draft picks, leading the charge. The Hawks won both games in Edmonton last year by a combined score of 9-1.
11/23 @ San Jose (0-0-0)
This will be the first meeting of the year between the Hawks and the perennial Western Conference favorite San Jose Sharks. The Sharks are off to another strong start but have had more success on the road than at home and as of today are just 4-3-1 on home ice. Joe Pavelski leads the way for the Sharks with 9 goals and a team high 17 points. The Hawks were just 1-2-1 against San Jose last season who they swept out of the Western Conference Finals a year prior. The Sharks won both meetings in San Jose last season.
11/25 @ Anaheim (1-0-0)
The Hawks will face the Ducks for the second time this season after defeating them 3-2 in a shootout on October 25th in Chicago. Patrick Kane broke the Hawk’s shootout curse and had the winner. The ageless one Teemu Selanne leads the Ducks with 15 points. Corey Perry leads the team with 6 goals. The teams split a pair of games in Anaheim last season and this will be the 2nd of 4 2011-12 meetings.
11/26 @ Los Angeles (0-0-0)
The Hawks will conclude the Circus Trip with a visit to Staples Center to take on the Kings. The Kings upgraded their roster bringing in Mike Richards from the Flyers. The Kings are currently just 5-4-1 at home. Anze Kopitar leads the Kings with 21 points and also has the team lead in goals with 8. The Hawks were 4-0-0 against the Kings last season.
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