Bob Pulford and Tony Rossi have seen the rise and fall and rise again of the Chicago Blackhawks franchise a few times over in their decades of being connected with hockey in the area.

Count them among the many people in the area who are ecstatic about the current state of the Blackhawks.

“I go to a lot of games,” Pulford, a longtime executive with the club, said. “Certainly Rocky Wirtz and John McDonough and Stan Bowman have done an outstanding job with hockey in Chicago. It is as popular or more popular as it has ever been.”

Added Rossi: “Right now their marketing is so good, you see kids in the stores wearing Blackhawks shirts instead of Bears shirts. It has really changed.”

Rossi was in the stands during Pulford’s tenure with the organization, but his devotion to the team goes back much further. 

“I’ve always been a big fan of the game,” Rossi said. “I used to go down to the Blackhawks games with friends from high school and we’d go up to the third balcony and buy standing-room only at the time. This was in the 50s, so times have significantly changed since then.”

Pulford joined the Blackhawks from Los Angeles in 1977 and helped guide the franchise to a pair of appearances in the conference finals in the 1980s.

“Hockey goes in cycles. There’s ups and downs, peaks and valleys,” Pulford said. “When I first went there in ’77, they were in a valley. It was after the Mikita-Hull Era and hockey was down and not drawing very well at all. We were fortunate to have some great drafts, and by the early ‘80s we were a very good hockey team and selling out every night. Hockey was popular again and very good.

"Eventually those players got older and moved on in their lives as hockey players, but now it is back. It has gone through another cycle and it is as strong in Chicago as it has ever been -- maybe better."

Rossi has done so much work with youth hockey in the state of Illinois, and it is big part of why he’s being recognized this evening. Participation has grown tremendously in the state, as has the number of talented players who go on to college and professional careers.

He thinks the Blackhawks have had a lot to do with that.

“Frankly, the financial support from the Blackhawks in the last 20 years has been terrific with Illinois hockey,” Rossi said. “They just never got it out in the public. They got a lot of shots about “Dollar” Bill Wirtz and everything, but all that time people were criticizing them, nobody helped Illinois hockey financially as much as Bill Wirtz and the Blackhawks foundations. We are fortunate and blessed with what the Blackhawks have done from a marketing point of view in the past few years,” Rossi said. “They are really selling the hell out of the sport. Registrations are up, and there are just a ton of little kids who are telling mom and dad they want to play. They’ve gotten the sport out of the United Center. It is still there obviously, but they’ve got players going to youth arenas, they’ve got signs in all the arenas. They’re terrific with that. 

"I’ve probably had season tickets for 30 years, and I’ve been there when the stadium was empty and the United Center was empty. It is just a whole new ballgame now."

People around here like to call Minnesota “The State of Hockey.” Passion for the sport at all levels might be unparalleled anywhere else south of the Canadian border, so when NHL Commissioner Gary Bettman spent a few minutes with the media here at RiverCentre before the 2011 Lester Patrick Awards, a much-talked about subject in this region was bound to come up -- the Winter Classic.

The Winter Classic has been a huge success for the NHL. The game this January will be the fifth installment, and speculation where it might be next or in the future is always a popular topic for hockey fans.

So what about the Twin Cities as a future host?

"There's no shortage of demand, but clearly, ultimately, this is one of the places we will probably get to if for no other reason the climate and the interest," Bettman said.

There a couple of enticing venues in the area, namely a brand-new baseball stadium in Target Field and a brand-new college football stadium in TCF Bank Stadium on the University of Minnesota campus. There could also be a new facility for the Vikings at some point in the future.

Finding people to come to an event like that in this region certainly wouldn’t be a problem. It was also a logical place to host this event tonight, given the order on the docket is to celebrate people’s contributions to hockey in this country.

“I love to come to St. Paul. The level of interest in our game here is phenomenal,” Bettman said. “This has been a terrific franchise for us. I love the arena, the Xcel Energy Center. To be able to bring an important event that recognizes the accomplishments that have been devoted to our game -- there is no better place to do that than here.”

We're live and ready to go at RiverCentre in downtown St. Paul, Minn., for the 2011 Lester Patrick Award dinner. There will be media availability with the honorees in a few minutes before a cocktail reception and the ceremony, which gets rolling at 8 p.m. local time.

Haven't been to Xcel Energy Center before, but it looks splendid from the outside. It is next door to RiverCentre, and this whole complex overlooks the Mississippi River. The view from what has been designated the media room alone is very nice. Given the time of year, the leaves are a million different colors and walking along the river made for a nice little afternoon in the Twin Cities. 

Four men who have helped thousands of Americans develop their passion and talents in the sport of hockey will be honored tonight at the RiverCentre here in St. Paul, Minn., as the recipients of the Lester Patrick Award for 2011 are honored.

U.S. Olympic hero Mark Johnson, longtime college coach Jeff Sauer, longtime volunteer Tony Rossi, and former player, coach and executive Bob Pulford will be presented with the award, given to people for their contributions to hockey in this country.

Johnson and Sauer have many ties to the University of Wisconsin, while Pulford and Rossi have been staples of hockey in Illinois at different levels. Check back here throughout the night for observations and stories and anything that comes an evening of celebrating hockey in the United States and particularly in the Midwest.

The Florida Panthers will see their past in net Tuesday night when Tomas Vokoun starts for the Washington Capitals, but they might also get a glimpse of their future.

It is possible Jacob Markstrom will make his first career NHL start against the Capitals after starter Jose Theodore played Monday night in a win against Tampa Bay. Markstrom, the 31st pick in the 2008 Entry Draft, is with the club because backup Scott Clemmensen is injured.

Markstrom is generally considered the best goaltending prospect in the world. He tops the list for Justin Goldman, who runs the site Goalie Guild and contributes to NHL.com. He’s the second-ranked goaltender on Hockey’s Future top prospects list behind Los Angeles’ Jonathan Bernier, who has appeared in too many NHL games to be eligible for Goldman’s list.

The Gavle, Sweden, native (same hometown as the No. 1 center he’d face if he plays, Washington’s Nicklas Backstrom) was a star for Brynas IF in the Swedish Elite League and at the world junior championships before spending last season with Rochester in the American Hockey League.

Markstrom made a relief appearance for Clemmensen last season, playing the final two periods Jan. 23 against New Jersey. He allowed two goals on 14 shots, but should he get the nod tonight it would be the first start for the tall goaltender who turns 22 in January.

Here is what the lineup should look like for the Panthers:

Tomas Fleischmann – Stephen Weiss – Kris Versteeg
David Booth – Tomas Kopecky – Scottie Upshall
Sean Bergenheim – Marcel Goc – Jack Skille
Ryan Carter – Shawn Matthias – Matt Bradley

Ed Jovanovski – Erik Gudbranson
Mike Weaver – Dmitry Kulikov
Brian Campbell – Jason Garrison

Jacob Markstrom
Jose Theodore

Goaltender Michal Neuvirth is still ailing because of a bruised foot, so the Washington Capitals have recalled Dany Sabourin again Tuesday.

Neuvirth was injured during warmups before the Capitals played the Tampa Bay Lightning on Oct. 10 when he took a shot in the foot. Tomas Vokoun has started three straight games for Washington, and he will likely be in net against his former team, the Florida Panthers, for the Capitals at Verizon Center.

The Capitals have recalled both Braden Holtby and Sabourin during the time Neuvirth has been injured, but neither has seen any game action. Holtby would likely be the one who gets the call if either Neuvirth or Vokoun is out for an extended period.

Vokoun had a shaky outing in his debut with Washington, but has had two consecutive strong performances in wins against Pittsburgh and Ottawa.

Here is what the Capitals’ lineup will likely be against the Panthers:

Alex Ovechkin – Nicklas Backstrom – Troy Brouwer
Alexander Semin – Marcus Johansson – Mike Knuble
Jason Chimera – Brooks Laich – Joel Ward
Matt Hendricks – Jeff Halpern – Mathieu Perreault

Roman Hamrlik – Mike Green
Karl Alzner – John Carlson
Jeff Schultz – Dennis Wideman

Tomas Vokoun
Dany Sabourin

The Ducks continue to lead 1-0 through two periods. There were more penalties in the second, but both teams' penalty killers have been up to the task.

Henrik Lundqvist made a few great saves in that period, and he might not make a better one the rest of the season than the beauty he had on Bobby Ryan after a tic-tac-toe play from Anaheim's top line. The Rangers had more pressure in the final minutes of the period, but still only have 12 shots on net.

Andrew Cogliano not only has the lone goal, but he's been Anaheim’s best player. He's got four shots on net, and three of them have been great chances. One in the second in particular could have found the top right corner of the net if not for a fantastic save from Lundqvist.

After falling behind 2-0 early in the first period Friday night at Hartwall Areena, Andrew Cogliano put the Anaheim Ducks ahead at 9:26 of the opening period here at Globe Arena and they held a 1-0 lead through 20 minutes of a penalty-filled period.

Andrew Gordon went into the right corner and sent a pass to the slot for a wide-open Cogliano. Gordon got blasted into the boards as he let it go, but it was on the mark and Cogliano didn't miss on the one-timer. It was Gordon's third career NHL point, while rookie Devante Smith-Pelly collected the first of his career with a secondary assist.

This game has definitely been full of the rough stuff after both teams lost last night. Even star players have gotten into it -- Corey Perry and Brandon Dubinsky fought (even if they weren't assessed fighting majors), while Ryan Getzlaf and Marian Gaborik got into a shoving match.

Cogliano had another chance alone in front with less than a minute left, but he didn’t have much time to do anything with it. Brian Boyle had the best chance for the Rangers, getting behind the defense for a shot from between the circles that Hiller got a piece of with his right arm/glove.

STOCKHOLM -- While the Anaheim Ducks will get to wear their home uniforms Saturday night at Ericsson Globe Arena, they know they had their “home” game last night at Hartwall Areena and this contest against the New York Rangers here could feel more like a contest at Staples Center than Honda Center.

"Yeah, I would assume so," Anaheim forward Bobby Ryan said. "Obviously it was a pretty special night for Teemu and Saku. The crowd fed off them and the energy they brought, so I wouldn't expect anything less [for the Rangers] here."

The Ducks will also have the challenge of a short turnaround to contend with. New York played here last night, while Anaheim played in Helsinki and traveled afterwards.

This contest is at 7 p.m. after an 8 p.m. start Friday, though with the time change the games will start 24 hours apart. The Ducks who played against the Sabres did not skate this morning after a team meeting.

"It is challenging enough that we got to the hotel at 3:00 or 3:30 [a.m.], so obviously we're not really too fresh here this morning at 11:00," coach Randy Carlyle said. "We think it is important that we have our rest here today, and that's the most important factor of the day in our preparation. You can't ask them to give you 110 percent if they're not rested. That's our mandate for the team today."

The Ducks will try to bounce back after dropping a 4-1 decision to the Sabres in Helsinki. Buffalo's strong defensive effort frustrated Anaheim, especially because the Ducks controlled the puck for long stretches in the final two periods but weren't able to generate much offense.

Anaheim's top line of Ryan, Corey Perry and Ryan Getzlaf in particular will look to get off the mark against the Rangers. That trio controlled the puck for long stretches, especially in the third period, but had little to show for it.

"There's different ways. I think they did a good job of collapsing low and taking away plays that our line is so good at," Ryan said of changes to make. "We had to get the puck high, and when you're shooting from the point and getting traffic things can happen, but a lot of times when they are boxing out like they were Ryan Miller is just going to eat those shots up. We've got find a way to spread them out some more and create some more room, but we we’re in there all night and couldn't find a way to crack Miller.

"Lundqvist is just as good, so we've got the spread them out and get more traffic right in front of him not just near him."

The Ducks got off to a slow start last season, dropping the first three games and eight of 12 to start the 2010-11 campaign. Not repeating that feat has been the reason for changing things up a bit this preseason -- beyond the obvious change of coming to Europe.

"Whenever you get down, and our team seems to have a lot of back-to-backs every year, when you get down and you're 0-1, certainly the intensity, the focus, the discipline -- whatever you want to call it -- they definitely go up a bit and it's what we missed in Game 1."

Added Carlyle: "I know our guys aren't happy with the way we played last night and some of the things we did. I know with this group I can trust that they'll have a better performance than we did last night."

Try as they did, the Anaheim Ducks couldn't break through in the third period and the Buffalo Sabres came away with a 4-1 win at Hartwall Areena.

The Ducks outshot the Sabres 11-0 in the final period, but few of those were "Grade A" chances. Anaheim hit the post twice, but other than one floater through traffic, Ryan Miller was solid in making 29 saves.

After the game, Buffalo captain Jason Pominville and Miller praised the team's effort in its own end, particularly in the third. Thomas Vanek said he might feel that stick in the back he took as he scored the first goal, but those types of hits are worth it when the goal light goes on.

Ducks coach Randy Carlyle felt his team played well at times, but lost the battle on special teams and in front of the nets. Buffalo found a couple of rebounds, but Carlyle also said poor defensive positioning played a role. He didn't fault goalie Jonas Hiller for any of the goals, though he assumed the Swiss netminder would want Pominville's goal back.

It is on to Stockholm for the Ducks now, while the Sabres are off to Berlin. Expect a role reversal for both clubs -- Anaheim will now be the "visiting" team in the home country of Rangers goalie Henrik Lundqvist when they play the New York Rangers, while Buffalo can expect more support in Germany against the Los Angeles Kings, with Christian Ehrhoff in the lineup.