Jan. 25--The Blues and Blackhawks have both been fairly busy over the last few weeks.
On Sunday night each team played its 52nd game, most in the league.
They have played so many games thanks in part to a busy January. The Blues played their 12th game in 23 days on Sunday while the Hawks played their 13th in 22 days.
The heavy workload has meant both teams have had little time for practice this month -- each has practiced just once in January.
That can have its advantages and drawbacks. Hawks coach Joel Quenneville said he is trying to maximize rest for his players.
"It keeps you fresh," Quenneville said. "That's the whole mindset. They come ready for the games and focus on that. You come to the rink with a purpose in mind. Sometimes with fatigue you lose either that concentration or the energy."
But Blues coach Ken Hitchcock lamented having to give his team rest without being able to practice.
"We've got a list that's three pages long of things that we want to work on," Hitchcock said. "I'm sure Chicago does, (too), but you can't work on it. You've got to decide whether you're going to have energy or structure with no energy, so we've opted for energy, just as the Hawks have."
The Hawks navigated their busy stretches fairly well with most of their 12-game winning streak coming in January while the Blues were up and down, dropping five straight before securing points in six of their last seven.
"There's so many things that both teams need to work on, that you at least need 30 minutes on the ice once or twice a week to get it done," Hitchcock said. "We're supposed to be teachers, and it's hard to teach with just video."
Shaw cut up: The Hawks had a rough night in their 4-0 loss to the Panthers on Friday, but it was especially rough for winger Andrew Shaw, who said he took two pucks to the face and had a gash on his lower lip and a cut above his left eye to show for it.
"It was just a bad game," Shaw said.
But Shaw missed only a few minutes of Friday's game and was on the ice again Sunday against the Blues.
