Blackhawks travel to Denver

November 6, 6:10 PMChicago Blackhawks ExaminerDieter Kurtenbach

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After the Blackhawks' run to the Western Conference Finals last season, no one believes that their early season success is a fluke. But for the Colorado Avalanche to be on top of the conference after 16 games played, well, that's totally unexpected. Because of that, one of the great debates amoungst puckheads regards whether the Avs are ready for prime time players. A similar debate surrounds the Phoenix Coyotes, and after a 3-1 win Thursday against the Blackhawks the 'Yotes proved, at least for one game, they are real.

The Avalanche hope to make a similar statement on Friday. With 24 points out of a possible 32, the Avalanche are riding former Blackhawks goalie and Chicago area native Craig Anderson, who has started all but one game in between the pipes for Colorado. With super rookies Ryan O'Reill and Matt Duchene at the helm, and Kyle Quincey coming to fruition on the blue line, the Avs are realizing some of the potential that was so dormiant last year.

The Blackhawks have called up power forward Bryan Bickell from Rockford of the American Hockey League for Friday night's game. Bickell will slide onto the fourth line, likely in place of Ben Eager, who is still out with concussion like symptoms. On the same front, the health status of Jonathan Toews is still up in the air, with only two hours until puck drop.

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