The injury bug has hit the Chicago Blackhawks hard over the last few days, and now casts a shadow over a great start that has propelled the club to 2nd place in the Central Division. After losing star forward, and then leading scorer Martin Havlat to an ankle sprain, which will keep him from the lineup for a few weeks, the Blackhawks have now lost goaltender Nikolai Khabibulin and Michal Handzus to injury.

Khabibulin suffered a broken finger on his blocker hand during the pre-skate on Saturday, and is expected to miss up to two weeks. The biggest blow to the team is the loss of Michal Handzus. The newly acquired center tore a ligament in his knee (the ole ACL) against the St. Louis Blues Saturday night and will miss the remainder of the season.

Havlat and Handzus have been a solid addition to the Blackhawks who have floundered in mediocrity for several seasons, and while their acquisitions were widely panned by critics the two were the leading scorers on the club prior to their injuries. Havlat has often been criticized because of his injury history, and I guess this is doing little to change the minds of said critics.

Quick Shave:
Anyone catch that sweet move Anaheim Ducks forward Ryan Getzlaf pulled on the shootout last night to give his team the win? Talk about a deke! Garon was on the wrong side of the stadium after Getzlaf was finished burying the puck.

Game of the Night:
Buffalo at Montreal 7:00 PM

If you haven't watched the Sabres thus far, turn this game on, and find out why they are destroying every team they face. Habs defenceman Janne Niinimaa has apparently called down the thunder and predicted a win for his team over the undefeated team from Buffalo. At least he will get the Sabres 'A' game tonight. Good Luck Janne! Enjoy the games!

Your friend on ice,
Captain Bosh