Skille hoping gates will open
By ROSS JACOBSON - rjacobson@nwherald.com
CHICAGO – Jack Skille is enjoying his time with the Blackhawks. He just doesn’t know when he’ll be there to stay.
The 22-year-old right wing, whom the Hawks chose seventh overall in the 2005 NHL Entry Draft, has been either reassigned to Rockford or recalled by the Hawks in each of the past four days.
On Wednesday, Skille scored his first goal of the season, giving the Hawks a 2-1 lead in the first period.
“It’s always good to get the first one out of the way then the floodgates open sometimes,” Skille said. “We’ll see what happens from here.”
Skille said he would continue to play his role, which he described as an “energy forward,” but that the Hawks’ salary cap issues had forced them to tinker with the roster each day.
Playmakers: Defenseman Brian Campbell and team captain Jonathan Toews both recorded two assists Wednesday.
After 12 scoreless games to start last season, Toews has yet to score in the Hawks’ first six contests this year.
Penalty shot drought: Hawks left wing Patrick Sharp was stopped by Nikolai Khabibulin on a penalty shot in the second period.
Sharp was awarded the shot after being taken down on a breakaway by an Edmonton defender. He is 0 for 3 in his career in penalty shot attempts.
Peppering the net: The Hawks continued their pattern of taking a lot of shots on their opponent’s goal and not allowing many on their own.
The Hawks entered the game ranked second in the NHL in shots a game at 37.4 and first in shots allowed, at 21.8. The Oilers had 19 shots on goal Wednesday, the Hawks took 38 shots.
• The Associated Press contributed to this report.
