A Day Without Me

The Blackhawks played their first game tonight without the injured Martin Havlat, dropping a 4-3 decision to the Blues. Havlat suffered an ankle injury last night and will miss 2-3 weeks. Havlat was leading the league with 13 points at the time of his injury, leaving a huge hole in the Hawks lineup.

The Blues were led by Lee Stempniak who had two goals and an assist, setting up Cajanek for the winner in the third.

St. Louis was missing their big free agent acquisition Jay McKee, who played his first game of the year yesterday and fractured a bone in his hand after playing just over a minute. McKee will reportedly be lost anywhere between 4-8 weeks depending on whether surgery will be needed.

These are two huge losses for teams that will be in tough to contend for a playoff spot in the very competitive Western Conference.

(AP Photo/Nam Y. Huh)