The Blackhawks wiil be early risers this weekend. They will take on the Flyers in a Saturday matinee in Philadelpha, then head back to Chicago for an 11:30 a.m., nationally televised showdown Sunday against the top team in the NHL, the Washington Capitals, at the United Center.
The games kick off a stretch of five contests in eight days for the Hawks, and includes a trip to the West Coast and Phoenix next week.
"We have some top opponents and some tough games in some tough buildings," Hawks coach Joel Quenneville said. "We're going to Philly. We haven't been there in a while. We know they're playing better. They're one of the teams that we have to be aware of and then you come home against a very good Washington team and then we go out west. A lot of tough game. If you look at our schedule ... there are no easy games. They're all competitive right down to the end."
Sunday's game figures to be particularly difficult as it will begin at 11:30 a.m., right after the Hawks lose an hour coming back from the Eastern time zone.
"It's almost like having a 10:30 game on Sunday so it's going to be a little different," defenseman Brian Campbell said. "We got some experience last week from 11:30 (against the Wings last Sunday)."
Cristobal Huet will get the start in goal for the Hawks against the Flyers and Antti Niemi will likely get the call against Alex Ovechkin and the Capitals.
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