Oct. 29--In the middle of the Blackhawks' practice Wednesday, there was an unusual sight -- the Hawks were running through their lines, but only without a puck.
Coach Joel Quenneville said he ran the drill as a tribute to his late friend Jimmy Roberts, a five-time Stanley Cup champion with the Canadiens and the first member of the Blues who died of cancer Friday.
Roberts used to run the drill sometimes with no pucks.
"We do the (line rush) drill every day, but without the pucks is his flavor added to it," Quenneville said. "Players get a kick out of that part of it."
Roberts served as an assistant with the Blues from 1996-02 when Quenneville was head coach.
During the drill, players were faking passes and shots, goatlenders were faking saves and the players were celebrating after the pretend goals.
"And we had some bad passes as well," Quenneville said.
