Morning Bag Skate: Blackhawks still believe in fourth line

Happy Thursday! Apologies for being unable to watch the first episode of the "Road to the Winter Classic" with everyone last night as planned. I'll be sure to watch it at some point today, you'll probably notice when I'm tweeting a bunch of comments like "That Coach Q has quite the potty mouth, huh?!!?!?!?!" So that'll be fun. Anyways, here's the latest news on Thursday morning:

**The Blackhawks still have faith in their fourth line despite some recent struggles. The team definitely needs more out of Daniel Carcillo, Marcus Kruger and Ben Smith. (CSN Chicago)

**The 'Hawks held a holiday party for players and staff members at the United Center on Wednesday. (Chicago Tribune)

**Calgary announced a multi-year extension for coach Bob Hartley amid an impressive season for the team (Flames)

**It's off to AHL Norfolk for goaltender John Gibson after missing a few weeks due to a groin injury. Ilya Bryzgalov is the backup in Anaheim for now. (Ducks)

**James Neal received a $2,000 fine from the NHL for diving, becoming the first player under the new policy to be fined for embellishment. (PHT)

**Mumps is going through the Penguins' locker room and now Marc-Andre Fleury, Olli Maatta and Robert Bortuzzo are undergoing testing for the illness. Sidney Crosby and Beau Bennett have already received confirmed diagnoses. (Penguins)

**The Dallas Stars have purchased their AHL affiliate, the Texas Stars, becoming the 14th NHL franchise to directly own their AHL affiliate. The Blackhawks are not one of those teams. (PHT)

**The Seguin-Eriksson deal isn't exactlyyyyyy going well for the Bruins (Puck Daddy)

**The Maple Leafs placed forward Brandon Kozun on waivers (PHT)

**Henrik Tallinder's brief stay with the Rangers' AHL affiliate has ended (Hartford Wolf Pack)