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Blackhawks aim to score lots of points
By TonyH | September 14, 2007
Blackhawks aim to score lots
The Blackhawks wasted little time in trying to develop a high-powered scoring line for this season.
Martin Havlat, who led the Hawks with 25 goals last season despite missing 26 games with injuries, hooked up with veteran newcomers Sergei Samsonov and Robert Lang on a line as head coach Denis Savard had his first on-ice practice of training camp Friday at United Center.
After scoring 201 goals last season, tied for 28th in the NHL, the Hawks acquired Samsonov via trade and signed Lang as a free agent in an effort to bolster the anemic offense.
“It’s going to take some time to get used to them but they are both very skilled and very smart players so it should be easy,” Havlat said.
Havlat, 26, had shoulder surgery in the off-season but says he’s healthy and eager for the season to begin.
“We’ll see how the shoulder feels under the hits and the physical games but I feel great,” Havlat said. “I have three weeks like everybody else to get ready for the first important game. We’ll make sure everything is fine.”
Savard certainly will juggle line combinations throughout camp and eight exhibition games, but Havlat believes his coach has a lot more offense to choose from this season.
“They want to see who clicks with who,” Havlat said. “We have many more options than last year.”
Young gun
After his summer became a whirlwind following his selection as the No. 1 overall NHL draft pick in July, Patrick Kane finally got a chance to just play hockey.
“It was good,” the 18-year-old winger said of his first official practice. “I was paired on a line with Jonathan [Toews] and Tuomo Ruutu and right now they’ve put me with some good players. I’m pretty excited about it. I thought we had a good day.”
“Summer was great this year. I had fun with the draft and now it’s nice to get out here and finally play and prove why they picked me.”
Source: Chicago Sports / Chicago Tribune
Topics: Blackhawks |