The defending champion Chicago Blackhawks are set to kick off their 2010-2011 regular season against the Colorado Avalanche Thursday, October 7th at the Pepsi Center. Opening day will also feature the Pittsburgh Penguins introduce the new CONCOL Energy Center against their in-state rival Philadelphia Flyers. Other October 7 matchups include Montreal at Toronto and Calgary at Edmonton. The New York Rangers will begin their campaign Saturday, October 9th against the Buffalo Sabres before the Islanders welcome them into the Coliseum just two days later. A handful of teams are scheduled to showcase their talents in Helsinki, Finland; Stockholm, Sweden and Prague, Czech Republic (Carolina vs Minnesota, San Jose vs Columbus, Boston vs Phoenix). With the NHL draft approaching, numerous hockey clubs are looking to make moves early on before the new selections are set in stone. It’s been rumored for the Chicago front office to trade away someone like Kris Versteeg (guaranteed $3 million next season) for higher draft picks. “We know the draft is important to our franchise,” said Blackhawks GM Stan Bowman. “If we can pick up another asset somewhere, that’s kind of our goal, because we have to continue to have young players developing and coming into our lineup each season.” More NHL updates to come right here at Ace!

Patrick Kane squeezed the puck past Michael Leighton 4:06 into the first and only overtime period for the Chicago Blackhawks to claim victory over the Philadelphia Flyers 4-3, leading the organization to it’s first Stanley Cup title in 49 years. The shot was unnoticed where only Kane could initially celebrate when he found the net. It didn’t take long for officials to review the play and hand the series over to Chicago. “I knew it went in right away,” said Kane. “What a feeling. I can’t believe it. We just won the Stanley Cup. I can’t believe this just happened. It’s something you dream about.” The Blackhawks previously lost in the finals six times since their 1975 championship campaign. The 2010 roster would blaze a different path with captain Jonathan Toews leading the way. The 22-year old phenom racked up 29 points this post-season on his way to earn the Clarence Campbell trophy. In the process he became just the third player in NHL history to win a Gold Medal and Stanley Cup in the same year. “They’re both special in their own way,” said Toews. “To represent your own country, especially Canada, at the Olympics and your home country, that’s something you’ll probably never experience again in your lifetime as a hockey player. That’s pretty cool.” The windy city is set to celebrate downtown tomorrow afternoon. Check back with us at Ace for NHL offseason updates!

The Chicago Blackhawks produced three goals in the second period following a scoreless first block in the process of advancing to round 3 over the Vancouver Canucks 5-1 Tuesday at General Motors Place. Troy Brouwer was first to tack one on the board for Chicago two minutes into the second before Kris Versteeg found the net just 36 seconds later. Dave Bollard came through on a short-handed breakaway just before the start of the third. The Hawks maintained the momentum from there, outscoring Vancouver 2-1 in the final 20 minutes of regulation.  “Bolland’s goal at the end of the second was the most important goal of the game,” said Chicago captain Jonathan Toews. “It gave us that distance and confidence we could hold a lead going into the third period.” Chicago will now prepare to challenge the San Jose Sharks in the Western Conference Finals starting Sunday, May 16th. Purchase your Chicago Blackhawks playoff tickets right here at AceTicket.com!

Tomas Kopecky produced the only two goals in the third period to solidify the 3-0 Blackhawks victory over the Kings yesterday in Los Angeles. Chicago goalie Antti Niemi was stellar through the entire contest, blanking LA’s lineup in the process of adding 17 saves to his own stat line. “We knew they have a good team and we focused on defense,” said Kopecky. “Everything starts with the defense.” Troy Brouwer found the net halfway through the second block after both teams were shutout in the initial period. This marks the Blackhawks first win at the Staples Center since 2003. They also earned the regular season advantage against the Kings 3-1 with the recent W.  Chicago is scheduled to take on the Phoenix Coyotes this Saturday as the Kings matchup against the New York Islanders.

The Chicago Blackhawks notched their 5th win in six games courtesy of Niklas Hjalmarsson, Dustin Byfuglien and Jonathan Toews scoring in the final period to defeat the Edmonton Oilers last night at the United Center. Following a scoreless first period, both rosters adjusted offensively to post two goals apiece. From there it was all Blackhawks dominating to further prove their squad as one of the NHL’s major championship contenders. “The third period, that’s the way we can be,” said Toews. “I think we got our legs. The last two nights, we’ve played two teams everybody expects you to beat. There are 20-some games left, and you’ve got to focus on what you can do, no matter who you’re playing.” Chicago is scheduled to welcome the Vancouver Canucks on Friday as the Oilers travel back home to matchup with the Minnesota Wild.

It took five rounds in last night’s shootout for Kris Versteeg to notch the game-winning goal to lift the Chicago Blackhawks past the Dallas Stars 4-3 at the United Center. After a number of failed attempts the only thing required was a standard, accurate wrist shot for the puck to slip by veteran goalie Marty Turco. “It was just going in and shooting and hoping it went in,” said Versteeg. “Turco, he’s a heck of a goaltender. You don’t want to do too much in the shootout. Go down and keep it simple.” The first period featured a pair of goals from both teams before the defenses stepped up to hold each other scoreless in the second. Troy Brouwer netted the go-ahead score 6:13 into the third block before Loui Eriksson answered with just four minutes left in regulation.  The Hawks are scheduled to host the Atlanta Thrashers on Saturday, February 13th before taking on the Blue Jackets the following day. Chicago Blackhawks tickets are now available.

Jonathan Toews notched the initial score for Chicago 44 seconds into the contest to lead his squad past the Oilers 4-2 yesterday in Edmonton. The top ranked Blackhawks earned their 36th win of the season while denying access for the Oilers to earn a W for themselves. Edmonton has lost 11 straight heading into tonight’s matchup against the St Louis Blues. The game shifted immediately throughout the rest of the first block until Troy Brouwer found the net again for the Hawks 5:50 into the second. From there Chicago was able to jump out to a 4-0 lead. Fernando Pisani helped Edmonton avoid the shutout with a goal at the end of the period. The Oilers tacked another on the board early in the third when Ryan Potulny finished Patrick O’Sullivans dish to split the deficit. “I thought in the first two periods we did some good things, but I think that’s far from the way we can play,” said Toews. “There wasn’t much of an atmosphere in the building tonight, and I wouldn’t say that was an excuse, but some flat games like that you have to find a way to motivate yourself and try to remind ourselves when they scored that goal late in the second period, that it’s never over, until it’s over.” The Hawks will make their way west for a 10:30 PM ET game against the San Jose Sharks. Chicago Blackhawks tickets are now available!

The Chicago Blackhawks scored five in a row to win their fifth straight over the Boston Bruins Thursday night at the TD Garden. The B’s started strong with a pair of goals by Blake Wheeler and Miroslav Satan, but from there what started as a contest turned into a clinic courtesy of the Blackhawks. Duncan Keith brought Chicago within one before Tomas Kopecky tied it up to end the first period. Keith notched another following an Andrew Ladd score early on in the second. The Bruins were held scoreless again in the third as Patrick Kane found the net to tack on the extra insurance. “We realized there’s still a lot of hockey left, so we didn’t want to get down on ourselves or anything like that,” said Keith. “We have a lot of confidence. I think a lot of that comes from just knowing the fact we have … so many guys who can put the puck in the net. I think that just gives us confidence, knowing that we can score some goals if we’re down some.” The Bruins will look to pick it up against the New York Rangers this Saturday at 1:00 PM. They last faced New York on January 4th, which resulted in a 3-2 Rangers victory. Chicago will next travel to Minnesota to matchup against the Wild, a team they handled earlier this week 4-1.

Marian Hossa found the net the twice yesterday as the Chicago Blackhawks went on to coast by the Minnesota Wild 4-1 at the United Center. Minnesota took the lead early courtesy of Guillaume Latendresse 13:52 into the contest. John Madden then tied it up before the start of the second period. Hossa’s first goal helped Chicago gain the lead, where the lineup proceeded to pad the stats from there. “We like the way we’re playing,” said Chicago coach Joel Quenneville. “I think at home, we’ve been very effective in a lot of ways. Ask me at the end of that eight-game road trip we got coming up at the end of the month and we’ll have a better idea.” The Blackhawks have now won four straight and will look to continue their streak against the Boston Bruins Thursday at the TD Garden. The Wild are next set to host the Calgary Flames back in Minnesota.

Chicago Blackhawks RW Dustin Byfuglien supplied the final dagger with a thrilling goal 3:43 into overtime for his squad to edge out the New York Rangers 2-1 Wednesday night at the United Center. The 257 pounder raced 2/3 the length of the ice past defenseman Matt Gilroy before netting the puck past Henrik Lundqvist. “It was the highlight of the year,” said coach Joel Quenneville. “Great speed, great presence of mind. He cut in. Nice finish as well.” Christopher Higgins notched the initial score for New York 12:10 into the first period before the two-way defensive battle really kicked in. Both teams were held scoreless until Jonathan Toews tied it up under six minutes to go in regulation. The Blackhawks are scheduled to meet up with the Buffalo Sabres on Friday before the Rangers play host to them on Saturday. Chicago Blackhawks and New York Rangers tickets are available all season long with us at Ace!