Marian Hossa, right, will finally make his Blackhawks debut in San Jose on Wednesday after undergoing off-season shoulder surgery.Marian Hossa, right, will finally make his Blackhawks debut in San Jose on Wednesday after undergoing off-season shoulder surgery. (M. Spencer Green/Associated Press)

1. Long time coming

Almost five months after he signed a lucrative $62.8-million US, 12-year contract with Chicago, Marian Hossa will make his debut with the Blackhawks in San Jose on Wednesday after undergoing off-season surgery on his right shoulder. .

The 30-year-old right winger will play on a line with the dynamic duo of centre Jonathan Toews and Patrick Kane, who will switch to the left side.

The game between the Sharks and Hawks brings together the top two teams in the Western Conference. Chicago is riding a seven-game win streak and coach Joel Quenneville is only two wins shy of career number 500.

The Sharks won back-to-back games last weekend with their new No. 1 line of Joe Thornton, Dany Heatley and Patrick Marleau that checked in with six goals and 13 points.

2. Water under the bridge

Detroit Red Wings defenceman Niklas Kronwall is a forgiving person. While most felt that Montreal's Georges Laraque delivered a dirty hit by sticking out his leg, Kronwall wasn't nearly as upset.

"I really don't think he's a dirty player whatsoever,'' said Kronwall, who will miss at least a month with a severely sprained left knee.

"I think he's one of those guys that has a really good reputation, plays hard. I think this was more of an accident.''

Kronwall, however, agreed with the five-game suspension the NHL sentenced Laraque for his questionable knee-on-knee hit.

"I think it was fair,'' Kronwall said. "It was kind of in the range I thought he would get. We have people in the league who look over things like this. They've done their job.''

3. Getting there

Rick DiPietro, who was limited to only five games last season because of a right knee injury that required surgery, participated in his first full 45-minute practice with the New York Islanders on Tuesday.

He didn't want to discuss a return date, but the 28-year-old DiPietro is expected to work himself back into game shape with a stint in the AHL and if all goes well he could be back in the NHL by mid-December.

4. Hot Hab

Even though linemates Scott Gomez (lower body) and Brian Gionta (broken foot) are on the sidelines, Mike Cammalleri keeps providing the Montreal Canadiens with offence.

When he scored the opening goal in the Canadiens 5-3 win at home against Columbus on Tuesday, he had scored his team's last four goals. The sniper is responsible for 12 of the Canadiens' 62 goals this season and is on pace for a career-high 41.

5. It could be worse

The one-year anniversary for Brian Burke as general manager of the Maple Leafs officially arrives this weekend, and his club played its 82nd regular season game with him at the helm on Monday, a 4-3 loss in overtime at home to the Islanders.

The Leafs have gone 31-37-14 under Burke, which is not the worst mark during this span. See below for the records of all 30 teams in their past 82 games.

POS TEAM W L OT PTS
1. Washington 50 21 11 111
2. Chicago 51 23 8 110
2. San Jose 48 20 14 110
4. New Jersey 53 26 3 109
5. Boston 49 23 10 108
6. Detroit 47 25 10 104
7. Calgary 47 27 8 100
8. Philadelphia 45 29 8 98
9. Pittsburgh 47 30 5 97
9. Florida 43 28 11 97
11. Buffalo 44 30 8 96
11. Columbus 43 29 10 96
13. Vancouver 43 31 8 94
14. St. Louis 40 30 12 92
15. Nashville 42 33 7 91
15. Dallas 39 30 13 91
17. NY Rangers 41 33 8 90
17. Ottawa 40 32 10 90
19. Carolina 39 33 10 88
20. Montreal 39 35 8 86
21. Anaheim 39 36 7 85
22. Edmonton 37 35 10 84
22. Los Angeles 37 35 10 84
24. Phoenix 38 38 6 82
25. Atlanta 37 38 7 81
26. Minnesota 34 38 10 78
27. Colorado 34 40 8 76
27. Toronto 31 37 14 76
29. Tampa Bay 27 37 14 68
30. NY Islanders 25 43 14 64