Despite the news of losing Brian Campbell for four to five weeks, an upbeat crowd of nearly twenty thousand came out to support the defending Stanley Cup Champion Chicago Blackhawks against the rival St. Louis Blues in their final preseason game.  Judging by the first period, the defending champs looked lethargic, which left the crowd scratching their heads.  The Blackhawks retreated to their old ways of dump and chase hockey while St. Louis attacked the net from all angles only to come up empty on twelve shots compared to five for the home team.  While the core players from last year appear to not have missed a beat in the short offseason, the new blood looks as though they haven’t found their groove.  Coach Joel Quenneville said, “Some of the games were better than others.  We still have some work to do with our team game.  Our personnel is capable of improving off last year’s numbers.”  Tomas Kopecky spent his time cutting toward the net and trying to disrupt Ty Conklin but to no avail.  The dejected Blackhawks would head to the locker room with the game knotted at zero after one.

A break is all the team needed as they came out looking rejuvenated in the second.  The Hawks were firing on all cylinders and reverted back to their new style of high octane hockey.  After Marian Hossa took a Nicholas Drazenovic high stick to the face, Kopecky would unload and net his first preseason goal giving the home team a 1-0 lead with approximately 11:30 left to play in the second.  With the crowd still buzzing the Hawks would once again light the lamp on a Troy Brouwer goal assisted by the speedy newcomer Viktor Stalberg and center Jake Dowell.  Yet another high sticking penalty would give the Blackhawks a one-man advantage.  Once again they would make St. Louis pay as Marian Hossa scored his team-leading fourth preseason goal.  Rookie Jeremy Morin and Brent Seabrook were credited with the assists.  The Blues were looking for answers but the Blackhawks weren’t slowing down or giving them time to find any.  One answer came on a rare rebound opportunity to the stick side of Marty Turco.  The veteran goaltender was unable to stop a BJ Crombeen putback with just over three minutes left in the second.  The Blackhawks were unfazed by the goal as visions of last year’s dynamic duo returned to the Madhouse on Madison.  Jonathan Toews would score on yet another power play on a beautiful centering pass from Patrick Kane with help from Tomas Kopecky making the score four to one, which is where it would stay as the highly entertaining second period came to a close.  Jonathan Toews would sum up the team’s second period success this way, “The good news is we’re finding ways to score.  The more you score, the more confidence you have, too.”  As the Blues would take the second intermission trying to get Chelsea Dagger out of their head, the Blackhawks breathed a collective sigh of relief as all wheels look to be rolling. 

The final period would be one of a game of keep away as the Blackhawks attempted to hold on to a three-goal lead.  TJ Hensick would strike quickly in the third after an errant pass by Turco cutting the lead to 4-2.  The miscue by Turco doesn’t have coach Quenneville worried, “He’s been fine.  His play selection can complement our game.”  The Blackhawks would tighten up on defense and keep their lead out of danger until center Patrik Berglund scored with a little over two minutes left in the game.  The Blues last ditch effort at a comeback would be too little, too late as the final horn sounded with the Chicago Blackhawks coming out victorious and keeping the humans happy.  After a disappointing 3-4 preseason the team will have three days to regroup and prepare for battle.  The captain summed up the preseason by saying, “We have a few days to rest our legs.  Everyone’s healthy and ready to go.”  The team will begin their defense of Lord Stanley’s Cup by traveling to Colorado to face the Avalanche Thursday.  Emotions will be running higher than usual Saturday as their first home game will be against longtime rival Detroit in which they will place their newest decoration in the rafters prior to the game.  With a lot of new faces replacing key role players from last year’s championship season, the team and fans alike are in store for an interesting season hopefully devoid of any major speed bumps.