Before the season is over, the Blackhawks might use their entire roster at Indianapolis.
Add Jeff Shantz to the Hawks’ seemingly endless injury list. The versatile forward suffered a separated left shoulder in the third period of the Hawks’ 3-1 victory Sunday over Detroit and will be out two to three weeks.
The injury occurred when Shantz was driven into the boards by Mathieu Dandenault on his first shift after setting up Tony Amonte’s game-winning goal. Shantz joins Bob Probert (torn rotator cuff), Ethan Moreau (broken ankle), Chris Terreri (broken finger) and Sergei Kriovkrasov (sprained knee) on the injured list.
“He had become a pretty valuable guy for us,” said coach Craig Hartsburg, who had been using Shantz to center the fourth line the first two periods and then as a wing on the top line in the third period.
Ryan Huska took Shantz’s roster spot, becoming the seventh player from their farm club at Indianapolis to play for the Hawks this season.
Right place, right time: Chris Chelios and Gary Suter assisted on Alex Zhamnov’s power-play goal in the second period Monday. Chelios has been on the ice for every Hawk goal (15) in the last five games, and Zhamnov has a goal in each of the five games.
“He’s been working real hard so it’s good to see him finally get some goals,” Chelios said of Zhamnov.
Start punching a clock: Calgary has played 16 overtime games this season, tied with Colorado for the league lead. The Flames are 4-3-9 in OT.
“Every time you look up they have three guys back,” said Amonte. “It’s tough for them to win games, sitting back like that.”
Deal in the air? Montreal scout Mario Tremblay attended his second straight Hawks game Monday, and Florida’s Jim Clark and Ottawa’s Phil Myre also were on hand. Florida reportedly has had some interest in defenseman Gary Suter, Montreal has a surplus of forwards and Ottawa reportedly is shopping Alexandre Daigle, the No. 1 pick in the 1993 draft.
A coach behind each bench: Rookie Dmitri Nabokov’s coach last season at Regina, Rich Preston, is an assistant for Calgary. He knows, like every one of Nabokov’s coaches, the 21-year-old has tremendous offensive skills. Nabokov had 39 goals and 95 points in the Western Hockey League.
“You don’t worry about those guys when they have the puck,” Preston said. “It’s their play away from the puck and their intensity you have to watch.”
After scoring four goals in his first four NHL games, Nabokov hasn’t had a shot on goal in four straight games. Hartsburg had been using Shantz instead of Nabokov on the top line in the third period, and not just for defensive reasons.
“It’s situations where he stops competing,” Hartsburg said. “We were down 3-1 the other night (against Toronto), and that wasn’t a defensive situation he didn’t play. We’ve got to have him where he’s going and competing every night.
“It’s not as if we’ve uncovered a 50-goal scorer here, but he’s got a chance because he’s smart and skilled.”
Helping hand: The Hawks continued their support of youth hockey, donating $136,000 to the Amateur Hockey Association of Illinois.
