CHICAGO — After he had two goals and an assist in the Blackhawks’ 6-2 romp past the Avalanche on Monday night, Chicago winger Patrick Sharp said the hiring of Joel Quenneville as head coach three weeks ago was a wake-up call.
“The coaching change was a shock to everybody,” Sharp said. “I think naturally everybody dug in a bit harder and tried to impress the new coach. But Joe’s done a great job of trying to keep things on an even keel, trying not to get too high after the wins and too low after the losses. . . .
“He’s been good. There’s no free nights with him. He’s always honest. He’s always in people’s ears, whether it’s a tied game or we’re up 6-3 in the third period. I think that’s important for a young team.”
Moves.
Avalanche winger David Jones, who had missed one game with the flu, was a healthy scratch for the first time this season. He has only a goal and an assist in 10 games for the Avalanche. Jones’ absence meant Colorado again had both Codys — McLeod and McCormick — in the lineup.
Colorado coach Tony Granato had Wojtek Wolski and Marek Svatos on the Paul Stastny-centered line, with Joe Sakic centering Ryan Smyth and Milan Hejduk. That left Tyler Arnason in the middle on the third line, between McCormick and Darcy Tucker, and Guite’s wingers on the fourth line were McLeod and Ian Laperriere.
Svatos, still stuck on one goal after major knee surgery last March, said after the game that “the knee doesn’t bother me at all. I feel good. My legs are moving right now, but my arms are not.” He said of the move back to the top two lines: “I’m happy with that. I want to play more of the game. I want to be better. I got a few chances and I just couldn’t bury it.”
Terry Frei, The Denver Post
