(My Sportsbook) - Thanks to the circus being in town, the Chicago Blackhawks have ventured away from the Windy City on a seven-game road trip. However, this is not the start the team envisioned.

After dropping the opener of the set in Edmonton, the Blackhawks were turned away, 5-3, by the Vancouver Canucks on Wednesday.

"Special teams is the way we lost," said winger Eric Daze. "Tonight they score one big shorthanded goal at the start and they have three power-play goals. That's the game right there and we just couldn't get anything going on the power play."

Before it could even blink Chicago found itself in a two-goal hole. Vancouver's Trevor Linden tallied 14 seconds into the contest, then Matt Cooke scored less than three minutes after that, and the Blackhawks trailed 2-0 and would never recover.

Daze, rookie Tyler Arnason and Steve Sullivan all scored for Chicago, which dropped its second straight after a six-game unbeaten streak (4-0-2).

Despite the team's recent slide it still sits just three points back of the Detroit Red Wings for first place in the Central Division.

Chicago could, however, be getting some help in the form of troubled winger Theo Fleury, who is close to returning from his league-sanctioned suspension for violating the NHL's substance-abuse aftercare program.

Fleury, who has yet to skate with the team, has been more visible in the locker room in recent weeks, spurring the speculation on his impending return.

"He has been around a bit more," Arnason told the Chicago Sun-Times. "It's getting close to when he is going to be a significant part of the team again, so he has been hanging out with the guys. You get a sense he's coming back soon. I think he's getting ready."

Head coach Brian Sutter, who stays in constant contact with his volatile forward, believes Fleury is ready to return and put all of his troubles behind him.

"He has been ready to come back for a month," Sutter said. "In a lot of ways, this has been good for him. All the things Theo took for granted over the years, he can't take for granted anymore."

WHAT'S NEXT

THe Blackhawks will conclude their trip with stops in Calgary, Colorado, Phoenix, Los Angeles and Anaheim.