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Quenneville makes home debut as Blackhawks host Canucks

Oct 19, 2008 - 12:57 PM Vancouver (3-2-0) at Chicago (1-2-2)

CHICAGO (Ticker) -- Joel Quenneville's debut with the Chicago Blackhawks did not go according to plan, but he's not discouraged.

Quenneville makes his home debut on Sunday when the Blackhawks will look to rebound from a tough loss against the Vancouver Canucks.

Chicago, which has missed the postseason nine of the last 10 years, entered the 2008-09 campaign with high expectations. The team has promising stars like reigning Calder Trophy winner Patrick Kane and captain Jonathan Toews to skate alongside star defenseman Brian Campbell, which signed an eight-year, $57 million deal in the offseason.

However, a slow start cost Denis Savard his job just four games into the season.

His replacement is Quenneville, who was fired by the Colorado Avalanche after last season. One of Quenneville's former teams, the St. Louis Blues, spoiled his debut on Saturday as Andy McDonald forged a tie late in the third period and T.J. Oshie scored the deciding goal in a 4-3 shootout win.

Quenneville was happy with the effort, just not the result.

"That was a heck of a hockey game," Quenneville said. "There was great pace and both teams worked hard. ... If we play hard like that, we're going to find a way to win hockey games."

The Blackhawks have a tough test against a rested Roberto Luongo. The Montreal native was given a night off on Friday after allowing 12 goals in his last three starts. With backup Curtis Sanford in net, the Canucks dropped a 5-2 decision to the Buffalo Sabres. Luongo is 7-5-0 with one tie and a 2.14 goals-against average in 13 career starts against Chicago.

The Canucks, who went 3-1-0 against the Blackhawks last season, have scored two goals or less in two of their last three games.