Inside the Blackhawks

It's official. Blackhawks coach Joel Quenneville confirmed what many already felt. Antti Niemi will start Tuesday night against the Dallas Stars at the United Center.

They haven't been pretty, dominating wins. But the Dallas Stars have definitely gotten the better of Blackhawks so far this season.

The Stars have beaten the Hawks in both meetings this year, 4-3 on Oct. 17 and 5-4 on Dec. 29. Cristobal Huet lost the first game, and then was chased in the second after squandering the Hawks' lead. The Hawks host the Stars on Tuesday.

The Blackhawks had their goaltending tandem back on the ice for Friday's morning skate, but Cristobal Huet will start for the fifth straight game against Phoenix.
Rookie Antti Niemi was scheduled to start on Wednesday against St. Louis but came down with the flu on the day of the game. Niemi didn't practice on Thursday, either, so the decision to stick with Huet wasn't surprising. Niemi could get back between the pipes on Saturday when the Hawks visit St. Louis.
Coach Joel Quenneville added some mystery to his lineup for the Phoenix game. He wouldn't name the forward to get scratched, but said it wouldn't be Colin Fraser. Fraser sat out his first game of the season against the Blues on Wednesday when Dave Bolland returned after nearly three months off recovering from back surgery.
The scratch could be John Madden, who was dropped to the fourth line at Thursday's practice. He's gone nine games without a point and is a minus-6 in that stretch.

Mark Bernard, the Hawks' general manager of minor league affiliations, was in net for Thursday's practice at the United Center ... because Antti Niemi is still "quarantined" with an illness.

The Blackhawks altered their goaltending plans for Wednesday night's game against St. Louis at the United Center. Antti Niemi, who was scheduled to start, didn't take the ice for the morning skate. Coach Joel Quenneville said Niemi ``wasn't feeling well,'' and said that Joe Fallon will probably be called up from Rockford to serve as Cristobal Huet's backup.
With Dave Bolland returning to the lineup the forward sitting out will be fourth-line center Colin Fraser, who had played in all of the previous 55 games.
Defenseman Niklas Hjalmarsson didn't participate in the morning skate but Quenneville said he was likely to play against the Blues. Andrew Ladd, who skated off early at Tuesday's practice with a lower body injury, participated in the morning skate and will remain in the lineup. He's played in 157 consecutive regular-season games since being acquired in a trade with Carolina. That's the longest streak by a current Hawk in a Hawks' sweater. Brian Campbell has played in 375 straight games with Buffalo, San Jose and the Hawks.

Dave Bolland skated between Marian Hossa and Patrick Sharp in the Blackhawks' first practice since returning from their eight-game road trip.
Out since November back surgery, Bolland will return to the lineup in Wednesday's home game vs. St. Louis.
It's uncertain which forward will sit out, but Andrew Ladd skated off early in Tuesday's workout with what coach Joel Quenneville called a lower body injury. Niklas Hjalmarsson didn't practice, Quenneville saying that was for ``maintenance.''
Antti Niemi will get the call in goal vs. the Blues.
The other noteworthy bit of news off Tuesday's practice at Johnny's Ice House was the return of Adam Burish. He skated with the full team for the first time since undergoing major knee surgery in training camp. Burish said he'll likely be able to return to the lineup a week or two after the NHL break for the Winter Olympics. That'd mean a return in mid-March.

Trading season started with a bang Sunday. But the Hawks were not involved.

The Calgary Flames traded star defenseman Dion Phaneuf, a promising 24-year-old who will earn an average of $6.5 million a season until his contract runs out after 2013-14, to the Toronto Maple Leafs.

Here is a clip of Phaneuf dropping the gloves with Brent Seabrook:

RALEIGH, N.C. -- And I thought this trip was a chance to a get away from winter for a few days. A snow storm has descended on Raleigh and there is about eight inches of snow on the ground.

Anyways, here are some updates for tonight's game vs. the Carolina Hurricanes:

The Blackhawks involved in the limousine pictures from Vancouver all faced the media at Thursday's morning skate.
``Obviously it's not the way we want to represent the team,'' said Patrick Kane. ``But's it's been dicussed internally with the team.''
John Madden and Kris Versteeg also said the issue was between them and the organization, and none thought it would be a distraction down the road.
Asked if he regretting being involved, Madden said: ``I think that's obvious.''
As for the night's big game against the San Jose Sharks, coach Joel Quenneville named Cristobal Huet his starter in goal and said Brent Sopel would return to the lineup after sitting out one game to let some injuries heal.

It remains to be seen whether those recent pictures of the Hawks' Patrick Kane, Kris Versteeg and John Madden enjoying the Vancouver nightlife will impact the season.

I hope not.