Tue Mar 4 13:44:06 2008

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Blackhawks giving it up for their shorties

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(Sports Network) - It would be safe to assume that rarely in the NHL has a team's head coach pushed his players to take a penalty. Yet, when the Chicago Blackhawks find themselves down a man, they are the ones making the other team pay.

Chicago leads the NHL with 14 shorthanded goals a season after netting 12 shorties, which was tied for seventh in the league. The Blackhawks already tied a club record this year by netting three shorthanded goals in a game against Detroit on November 17.

Patrick Sharp and Rene Bourque have been doing the most damage on Chicago's penalty killing unit. Sharp is tied for the league lead with Ottawa's Daniel Alfredsson with seven shorthanded markers, while Bourque is tied for third with five.

Bourque has seven points this year while his team is down a man, and has twice this season netted two shorties in a game. He most recently accomplished that feat on February 28 against Dallas.

The 26-year-old forward is in his third NHL season and had just one shorthanded goal over his previous two campaigns. Sharp, meanwhile, had just five points (4 goals, 1 assist) while shorthanded prior to this season.

On the injury front, it is starting to appear less likely that forward Martin Havlat will play again this season.

The Blackhawks announced last Friday that the club will meet with team doctors to go over all of the tests on Havlat's injured shoulder to determine a course of action.

However, Havlat told the Chicago Tribune on Sunday that if he has to have surgery he likely won't play again this season.

"If I'm going to need surgery, it's going to be over for sure," Havlat told the newspaper.

Havlat missed 22 games after dislocating his left shoulder in the season opener this year, and then injured the shoulder again last Wednesday against Phoenix. The 26-year-old has 10 goals and 17 assists in 35 games this season.

The Blackhawks were hoping for more out of Havlat this season after he posted 25 goals and 32 assists in 56 tests last year. He missed 25 games in 2006-07, including 19 due to a sprained ankle.