Few positive moments exist in the hearts of Chicago Blackhawks' fans since the team moved to the United Center in 1994. Unquestionably, this past Sunday night’s game against Edmonton was one of the fondest regular season memories for success-starved fans over the past decade. Upon capping off yet another come from behind victory, the second such win in successive nights, the Blackhawks returned to the ice after the three stars were announced to salute the season-high 20,151 fans in attendance. For a team that has largely been ignored for the better part of ten years, the good feelings from Sunday night’s gesture were palpable.

Chicago opened December losing six out of seven games before soundly beating Nashville 5-2 last Wednesday. Still, a difficult weekend of back-to-back games at Ottawa and then home against Edmonton lay ahead. Thanks to strong goaltending by Nikolai Khabibulin and rookie Jonathan Toews’ overtime game-winner, the Hawks gutted out a tense and exciting come from behind victory against the Eastern Conference-leading Senators. Making matters more difficult, though, was losing winger Martin Havlat to a groin strain in the second period.

Realistically, Chicago could be expected to come out flat against Edmonton on Sunday, but this Hawks team has exceeded expectations at every turn. Two fights, many hard hits, more stellar goaltending from Khabibulin, and the second and third goals in two nights for defenseman Brent Seabrook gave Chicago a third period lead they would not relinquish. And only after the final horn sounded did the night truly become magical for Blackhawks' fans and players.

The Week Ahead

Joining Havlat on the injured list was Dave Bolland, who broke a finger on Sunday and will be out of the lineup indefinitely. No specific timetable has been set for their return. The good news is that winger Rene Bourque and center Jake Dowell both could be returning to the lineup from IR by the weekend.

Bourque especially will be welcomed back into the lineup. He has been a mostly enigmatic player battling injuries and inconsistencies, but he finally was playing his best hockey of his young career before suffering a broken thumb more than five weeks ago. His speed and big shot should help the team with its depth as they likely forge on without Havlat.

The Blackhawks will host a pair of revenge games this week to close out the 2007 portion of the schedule. Nashville is back at the United Center on Wednesday night after suffering a 5-2 loss from one week earlier. Los Angeles then comes to town on Sunday for the first of a home-and-home series looking to avenge a wild 6-3 loss from the middle of December. Expect both games to be physical, especially the Kings game since the prior affair had several misconduct penalties.