Troy Murray says he can`t understand what`s wrong with the Black Hawks.
”We`re having good practices and then we go out on the ice for games and nothing`s happening,” said Murray. ”It must be mental, I guess. But I`m to blame, too. I`ve missed my share.”
Not really.
Right now, Murray and linemate Curt Fraser are the best thing Chicago has going for it on offense. They have moved into a sixth-place tie in scoring in the National Hockey League, one notch behind Wayne Gretzky, with 14 points in nine contests.
Denis Savard was the only Hawk in the top 25 scorers in 1984-85 with a brilliant 105-point total that tied him for seventh. ”Last year, it seemed like we got a lot more goals in the crease,” said Savard.
Murray and Fraser have scored in every Hawks` game except one. Furthermore, Murray leads the team with seven goals while holding down the second-best shooting average at 33 percent.
In his fourth full season with the Hawks, Murray is well on his way to surpassing a career-best 26 goals and 66 points accumulated last season.
— Medical report: Hawks` defender Keith Brown, recovering from a broken bone in his hand, has been taking full turns in practice and most likely will return to action before the week is over. Ed Olczyk missed Monday`s workout because of a virus, but he has returned home from the hospital and is expected to be ready for Wednesday`s game in Minnesota.
— Nick Polano, Detroit`s assistant general manager, attended Sunday`s game in the Stadium, rekindling trade rumors between his team and Washington. The Red Wings, who spent millions on free agents in the off-season, are extremely twitchy after a 0-8-1 start. They`re one loss or tie from equaling a club record for inept starts.
Furthermore, Detroit`s new high-priced help isn`t even aiding the farm club in Adirondack. Former Illinois-Chicago star Ray Staszak, signed to a $1.4 million contract last summer, has two assists in six games since his recent demotion.
— The Hawks` upcoming six-game trip is their longest of the season and rookie Bruce Cassidy warmed up over the weekend by going to Nova Scotia for three games.
Cassidy, who`s played in only one game, may see action this week and is deserving after the effort he put in Monday. Starting in Halifax, the 20-year- old defender was able to make airplane connections and got to the Stadium in time for practice.
Unfortunately, he didn`t know the workout was in Franklin Park, and instead of finding skating Hawks, he found circus hands pitching tents. So, he grabbed a taxi and still was less than an hour late before taking the ice with his teammates.
— The Norris Division has a terrible 5-22-1 record against nondivision foes, and two of those victories have come against weak New Jersey. ”If someone could just put together something in the Norris, they could fly away and hide,” said Hawks` coach Bob Pulford.
— More from the farm: Hawks` rookie Mark LaVarre pulled knee ligaments in his first game back with Nova Scotia, missed three games and is expected to play next Sunday. Defender Kent Paynter has missed 10 games with a knee problem and he is also due back Sunday.
A Nova Scotia official reports right wing Wayne Presley has been playing great on a line with Jeff Larmer and John Ollson. On the other hand, goalie Jim Ralph has struggled and is 1-2-1 with a 4.02 goals-against average.
— Edmonton has the best power play after three weeks of action, scoring on 44 percent of its chances. Quebec leads in penalty killing with a 90.2 percent effort.
The Hawks are a disappointing 15th and 10th, respectively, in those departments with 16.7 and 81.3 marks. The most embarrassing statistic has to be winless Detroit`s 8 percent average on power plays.
