CHICAGO — Their coach remains in the hospital, but the Chicago Blackhawks don’t have the luxury of worrying about Joel Quenneville‘s continued absence.
Instead, the defending Stanley Cup champions are preparing for another tough home game Friday at the United Center against a Central Division rival, the Columbus Blue Jackets.
Columbus is just two points behind the 11th-place Blackhawks in the Western Conference, while Chicago is just four points outside the top eight.
“You look at the standings, like we have every day for the past two weeks, and things aren’t changing that much,” Blackhawks forward Patrick Sharp said. “The points are valuable and we want to make sure we keep these guys behind us. At this point, I think it’s still a little too far out to start solidifying those playoff spots. Anything can happen down the stretch. If we play our best, we like to think we control our destiny.”
All Things Hockey 