Simmer classic: Even sans Raffi, there could be fireworks vs. Coyotes

LOS ANGELES — When the Blackhawks face Phoenix on Sunday night in Glendale, Ariz., Coyotes forward Raffi Torres won’t be on the ice. He’ll still have seven games left on the 25-game suspension he received for leaving his feet and giving Hawks winger Marian Hossa a concussion during last spring’s first-round playoff series.

So the next time these teams meet, back in Glendale on Feb. 7, ought to be awfully interesting. As for Sunday’s game? “I don’t know; we’ll see what happens,” Hawks winger Patrick Kane said. “I don’t think Torres is playing, so we’ll see what happens. I’m sure when he’s back, you’ll probably see a little fireworks. But we’ll see [Sunday].”

Even without Torres, there should be plenty of intensity in a rematch of last season’s six-game series — the first five of which went to overtime.

“Anytime you play a team in the playoffs, especially when they beat you, you’re going to want revenge,” Kane said. “If you play a team in a seven-game series, there’s always going to be a rivalry that starts there, so it’ll be nice to get back at them.”

Hossa said he’s treating the Coyotes game the same as any other game, even though his sea- son ended against them in Game 3 at the United Center. Hossa wasn’t cleared until mid-November after the April 17 shoulder-to-head hit.

“To tell you the truth, I don’t really think about it,” Hossa said. “For me, it’s going to be just another game. I don’t know what to expect, but, like I said, I’m going to prepare like usual and try to play my game. Nothing more, nothing less.”

Even the second meeting, with Torres back, is unlikely to devolve into a fight-filled debacle. Torres undoubtedly will be engaged by somebody in a Hawks uniform, but with so much at stake in every game in such a short season, teams are unlikely to take vengeance too far. So expect a rivalry, not an outright bloodbath.

“We’re not going to be out for any kind of [vengeance],” veteran Jamal Mayers said. “Our focus is going to be on two points, particularly in a shortened season. That’s got to be our main objective every night.”