Dec. 02--Midway through the Blackhawks' circus trip, Blackhawks coach Joel Quenneville, never one to shy away from a line change, made perhaps his most radical shakeup before a loss to the Canucks.
Quenneville kept the second line of wingers Artemi Panarin and Patrick Kane and center Artem Anisimov intact, but he changed every other line. He even broke up Jonathan Toews and Marian Hossa, moving Hossa down to the third line, where Hossa skated with Marcus Kruger and Marko Dano.
Quenneville mostly stuck to those changes Tuesday against the Wild.
Quenneville has been pleased with what he has seen from keeping Toews with Andrew Shaw and Ryan Garbutt on the top line. Garbutt scored his first goal as a Hawk on that line against the Canucks last week.
"That line had some energy and pace to it," said Quenneville, who coached his 1,400th NHL game Tuesday. "I think it gave us more balance in our lineup."
Meanwhile, Teuvo Teravainen keeps bouncing around the lineup and was skating on the fourth line with Brandon Mashinter and Tanner Kero on Tuesday. Teravainen had missed three games because of an upper-body injury before returning to the lineup on Friday.
Quite the debut: Last season, Lemont native Scott Darling made waves in his first season as a goaltender in the NHL with the Hawks.
Now, Darling isn't the only local product making a name for himself in the league between the pipes.
On Monday, Elmhurst native Garret Sparks, 22, got his first career start in net for the Maple Leafs -- and he made the most of it.
Sparks made 24 saves as the Maple Leafs defeated the Oilers 3-0. It marked the first time in Maple Leafs history that a goaltender recorded a shutout in his first start.
Sparks had played in 11 games with the Toronto Marlies of the AHL before the Leafs called him up when starter James Reimer suffered an undisclosed injury.
Back on the ice: A day before the Blackhawks and the Wild will face off outdoors at TCF Bank Stadium in Minneapolis as part of the NHL's Stadium Series, former players from both teams will take the ice in an alumni game on Feb 20.
Approximately 50 players and coaches will participate.
The Hawks roster includes Chris Chelios, Steve Konroyd, Jamal Mayers, Troy Murray, Jeremy Roenick, Denis Savard, Brent Sopel and Jimmy Waite. Tony Esposito and Pat Foley will serve as coaches for the Hawks.
The Wild alumni will be a mix of former Wild players and former North Stars, including Mike Modano, Dino Ciccarelli and Andrew Brunette.
