( Nuccio DiNuzzo, Chicago Tribune)

So let’s start with the good Blackhawks news. Brent Seabrook was able to put on his jacket after the game (HOLY SHIT!) and traveled with the rest of the team to Pittsburgh today. However, it seems unlikely that he dresses tomorrow against the Pens. Not traveling with the team was Dan Carcillo.Those radio shows don’t plan themselves people!

Jeremy Morin was quiet in his season debut last night, but Joel Quenneville kept him with  Johnny Toews and Patrick Kane the entire game – so he must have seen a few things he liked. The return of Morin is probably bad news for Viktor Stalberg. Stalberg was able to hold off Andrew Brunette and Dan Carcillo for top line duty with the living legends, but one has to wonder if his rope is up now that Morin is here.

Still no word on Rene Bourque’s status after his blatant hit from behind on Seabrook. If he gets off easy, I sincerely hope that is marks the end of the constant loving of Brendan Shanahan by some Blackhawks fans. It’s like these people don’t remember that the 1990′s happened. HE IS EVIL FOLKS. 100% PURE EVIL.

Mum also is the word on the goaltending situation for the Penguins/Canadiens back to back. It stands to reason that Q rolls with Ray Emery against Pittsburgh tomorrow. The Pens are the toughest opponent the Hawks will face this month and they can try to get Corey Crawford going again at the UC against the team he cheered for growing up (Montreal) on Wednesday.

Some random notes from around the league:

♦ The Kings have fired Terry Murray and replaced him with former Blackhawk captain Darryl Sutter. The Kings have grossly underachieved and despite having a loaded roster, they simply cannot put the puck in the net. Sutter will crack the whip. It’ll be interesting to see how that all goes down. Many had the Kings as favorites to win the Western Conference when the season started but things just haven’t worked out.

♦ Montreal  fired Jacques Martin and replaced him with Randy Cunneyworth. This sparked outrage in Montreal as Cunneyworth does not speak French. This just goes to show you that a lot of Montreal fans are complete morons. The English speaking Cunneyworth visits with the Canadiens Wednesday night at United Center.

♦TRADE! Phoenix traded malcontent Kyle Turris to the Senators for a fucking bundle. It hasn’t been confirmed, but Phoenix GM Don Maloney might have been holding a gun to Bryan Murray’s head when this deal went down.The Coyotes received highly regarded young puck-mover David Rundblad and a 2nd round draft pick in exchange for Turris. Keep in mind, Turris has never scored more than 11 goals in a season. Stan Bowman should seriously consider trying to work out a deal with Murray if he is looking to beef up the Hawks. That guy can be had!

♦ The Blackhawks lead the NHL in points. HI-O!

♦ The Hawks schedule gets a LOT more interesting from here on out. Looking ahead a few weeks here, Toews and Co. will face the Penguins, Canadiens, Kings, Red Wings and Flyers. These are legit teams folks. It’ll be fun to see how the Hawks stack up.