• Preview
• Recap
• Bleachers

Quenneville debuts for Blackhawks against Blues

Oct 18, 2008 - 10:07 AM Chicago (1-2-1) at St. Louis (3-1-0) 8:30 p.m. EDT

ST. LOUIS (Ticker) -- The Chicago Blackhawks are hoping a change in leadership helps them bounce back from a rough start to the season.

New coach Joel Quenneville makes his debut behind the Blackhawks' bench Saturday, when they face the St. Louis Blues.

In what amounts to a curious move by a franchise that is expected to contend for a playoff spot, Chicago on Thursday fired coach Denis Savard and replaced him with Quenneville, who was hired as a scout in September. Quenneville has registered a 438-283-118 record in parts of 11 seasons as a coach for the Blues and, most recently, the Colorado Avalanche.

Led by youngsters Jonathan Toews and Patrick Kane, the Blackhawks entered this season with high expectations. They had lost their first three games before posting a 4-1 victory over the Phoenix Coyotes on Wednesday.

Chicago now aims for back-to-back wins against St. Louis, which has won two straight and is coming off a 6-1 rout of the Dallas Stars on Thursday in the opener of a seven-game homestand.

The Blues have scored at least five goals in three of their first four games this season and a league-leading 18 overall.

Veteran Keith Tkachuk has powered the offense, scoring in each of the first four contests. The 36-year-old left wing is a two-time 50-goal scorer but has not reached the 30-goal mark since 2003-04, when he netted 33.

Paul Kariya leads the Blues with eight points, while Martin Havlat paces the Blackhawks with five.