LOS ANGELES -- The Chicago Blackhawks' Stanley Cup celebrations were still going when salary-cap considerations forced them to part with key players who had given them great depth and character.
Dustin Byfuglien, Brent Sopel, Ben Eager, third-liners Andrew Ladd and Kris Versteeg and goaltender Antti Niemi -- all gone, in Niemi's case with no return after the Blackhawks walked away from an arbitration award.
What's left is still formidable but as the Blackhawks hit the halfway point of the season Monday they were outside the top eight in the West and still figuring out where they're heading.
"It seems throughout the year we've been giving games away and we haven't been finding ways to win," said winger Patrick Kane, who had 30 goals and 88 points last season and scored the Cup winner against Philadelphia but has 11 goals this season.
"All of us would like to be higher in the standings but we know we have a challenge ahead of us. This is a new challenge than we had last year and hopefully something that we can all learn from."
Simply put: it's difficult to win the Cup two seasons in a row. If it were easy, someone would have done it since the Detroit Red Wings triumphed in 1997 and 1998.
The Blackhawks have had more turnover than most recent Cup winners. And as they ask players to fill tougher roles, they're facing teams that have special inspiration to beat the Cup champions.
They might resolve this by April, but the first half of the season hasn't been a smooth ride.
"There's still a lot of confidence in this locker room but time does tick pretty quick in the NHL here so we've got to keep on trying to get up with those teams in the playoff race and not lose sight of that," defenseman Brian Campbell said.
"It's not an easy league and every year there's maybe two or three teams that are ahead and then there's a dogfight for the last few playoff spots. You've got to win and we didn't get off to a great start and that usually leads to a pretty tough time the rest of the way."
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SINGING IN THE RAIN
The NHL benefitted from the rain-delayed start for Saturday's Winter Classic because the atmosphere of playing at night under the lights at Pittsburgh's Heinz Field added a new element to this annual showcase event.
According to NBC's recap of Nielsen Media Research figures it was the most-watched NHL regular-season game in 36 years and was seen by 4.5 million viewers, up 22 percent over last year. The national rating was 2.3 and the share was 4.
That said, rain late in the game created sloppy and potentially dangerous conditions, and the pregame hype about Sidney Crosby facing Alexander Ovechkin was way over the top. Believe it or not, other world-class athletes played in that game, and as it turned out neither Crosby nor Ovechkin scored in Washington's 3-1 victory.
The NHL would love to stage the next game in New York but Yankee Stadium won't be available because a college football game is scheduled there when the league would need access to the field for its preparations.
A game in California is a long shot but it could be a novelty that would keep this fresh. It would also include teams besides the Penguins and make this a truly leaguewide event. A portable rink and sophisticated refrigeration equipment make it possible but the NHL seems to prefer a wintry atmosphere to the sight of palm trees next to the ice.
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SLAP SHOTS
The Lightning's acquisition of goalie Dwayne Roloson from the New York Islanders on Saturday was a surprise. Tampa Bay reportedly had considered free agent Evgeni Nabokov to stabilize its goaltending but instead traded defense prospect Ty Wishart for Roloson, who has had a solid season at age 41. The Islanders aren't much above the salary floor of $40.8 million and they're staying above the minimum mainly because they're still paying for a buyout of Alexei Yashin and because they must count all achievable player bonuses.
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HELENE ELLIOTT'S NHL RANKINGS
(Through Monday's games)
Rank; Team; Record; (previous ranking)
1. Vancouver; 25-8-5; Canucks have won six straight and have no regulation losses in their last 13. Most of Canada, however, is riveted to world junior championships. (3)
2. Philadelphia; 24-10-5; Flyers won at Detroit on Sunday for first time since 1988. They were 0-14-2 in that span. On Monday they waived goalie Michael Leighton, who got them to the Cup finals. (2)
3. Tampa Bay; 23-11-5; Lightning is 8-1-1 in its last 10, but has minus-1 goal differential (121 for, 122 against). Adding veteran Dwayne Roloson from the Islanders should steady their goaltending. (5)
4. Detroit; 24-10-5; Red Wings have played last two without winger Patrick Eaves (elbow injury). But Henrik Zetterberg (4-7-11) and Nicklas Lidstrom each have seven-game point streaks. (6)
5. Pittsburgh; 25-12-3; Penguins were fine hosts of the Winter Classic, even allowing visiting Capitals to win. Best news for them: injured center Jordan Staal returned. (1)
6. Washington; 23-12-5; Capitals celebrated their Winter Classic victory over Penguins like it was the Stanley Cup finale. Save it for June, guys -- if you get that far. (15)
7. San Jose; 21-14-5; Antti Niemi's 1-0 shutout of Kings on Saturday got his goals-against average below 3.00, to 2.91. Still not much to brag about but Sharks have won two of three. (8)
8. Dallas; 23-13-4; Stars extended their road winning streak to five with a third-period rally Sunday at St. Louis. Brad Richards has 45 points in 40 games. (4)
9. Boston; 21-11-6; Bruins' line of Marc Savard, Milan Lucic and Nathan Horton came up big against Toronto on Monday. (13)
10. Atlanta; 21-15-6; Dustin Byfuglien's overtime goal at Montreal Sunday was his 41st point -- most among NHL defensemen -- and sixth game-winner. (11)
11. St. Louis; 20-13-5; The Blues only recently regained all six defensemen who started the season with them. One or more had been hurt for a while. They've won five of six. (16)
12. Los Angeles; 22-16-1; Four-game losing streak showed extremes defensively and offensively. Consistently balanced efforts remain elusive. (7)
13. N.Y. Rangers; 22-15-3; Their 3-0 loss at Florida on Saturday could be even bigger: Useful winger Ruslan Fedotenko bruised a hand blocking a shot and is day-to-day. (12)
14. Anaheim; 21-17-4; Wins at Phoenix and at home over Flyers and Blackhawks were impressive, but they will be pressed to keep that up while Ryan Getzlaf recovers from sinus fractures. (20)
15. Chicago; 21-17-3; Blackhawks brought their moms on trip to Anaheim and Los Angeles. Those moms should be happy after their boys got a win in Los Angeles. (9)
16. Nashville; 19-13-6; Predators had lost five in a row before bouncing back to beat Minnesota, Columbus and end a three-game home losing streak. (18)
17. Colorado; 20-14-5; Avalanche lost to Canucks on Sunday to fall to 0-4 against division rival. Productive offense was stymied by Roberto Luongo and scored only once. (10)
18. Montreal; 21-16-3; After losing five of seven on the road, Canadiens returned home for an overtime loss to Atlanta. They're slumping at both ends of the ice. (14)
19. Phoenix; 17-13-8; The Coyotes have lost three of their last four games and have given up 16 goals in that span. They can't afford to play run-and-gun. (17)
20. Carolina; 18-15-5; Hurricanes have points in four straight and eight of 11. Rookie Jeff Sinner (11 goals, 28 points) continues to excel. (21)
21. Minnesota; 18-15-5; Wild, booed off home ice after losing to Nashville on Friday, redeems itself with rally and overtime victory over the Coyotes on Sunday. (19)
22. Calgary; 18-19-3; New General Manager Jay Feaster has said Jarome Iginla won't be traded. Fine, but how is Feaster going to rebuild? (24)
23. Columbus; 20-16-3; The Blue Jackets are reluctant visitors to Music City: Their loss to Predators on Sunday left them 0-10-5 in Nashville since April 2006. (26)
24. Florida; 18-17-2; The Panthers have only one regulation loss in their last eight games. They even took the tarp off the upper deck in their arena to accommodate extra fans. (22)
25. Buffalo; 16-18-4; Sabres' six goals in a New Year's Day rally past Boston was a week's worth of production in one day. (27)
26. N.Y. Islanders; 12-19-6; Don't look now, but the Isles have won three in a row and seven of their last 11. OK, you can look. If you must. (28)
27. Toronto; 14-20-4; Maple Leafs continue to spin their wheels. Rumors say they might be willing to trade Kris Versteeg, though waiting until the deadline would likely bring a better return. (29)
28. Ottawa; 16-19-5; Senators are winless in three after a 5-1 home loss to the Maple Leafs last Saturday. Speculation has begun over coach Cory Clouston's job security. (23)
29. Edmonton; 12-18-7; Growing pains return for young Oilers, who have won only two of their last 10 games. Ryan Whitney's ankle injury takes mobility, points out of their lineup. (25)
30. New Jersey; 10-26-2; The Devils have allowed 54 more goals than they've scored (68 for, 122 against). And they can't make a major move because no one claimed Brian Rolston off waivers. (30)
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