Bodog Beat

Joel Quenneville has the Blackhawks primed and ready to take advantage of weak Avalanche goaltending. (AP Images)

The experiment is working so far. The 5-3-3 Chicago Blackhawks are 4-1-2 since firing coach Denis Savard and replacing him with Joel Quenneville. That includes a 3-0-1 record at the United Center, where the Hawks welcome Quenneville’s previous employers on Monday night.

The 5-6 Colorado Avalanche find themselves at the bottom of the Northwest Division, but only five points out of first place. Following the Avalanche this year has been like watching the stock market: three straight losses, five straight wins, three more losses. The Avs are getting substandard goaltending from both Peter Budaj (.891 save percentage) and Andrew Raycroft (.857).

In Chicago, the Hawks are enjoying what appears to be another resurgence from Nikolai Khabibulin (.918), who is outplaying Cristobal Huet (.910) as the two split time between the pipes. Yes, Khabibulin is a free agent next year. Chicago’s combined score after 11 games is 35-29; Colorado’s is 34-36.

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