Blackhawks’ Shaw even provides some comic relief

Centering the fourth line Sunday night, Andrew Shaw had a special game with a goal, an assist and 2 hits.

The 5-foot-10, 180-pound Shaw also supplied some comic relief in the first period by mixing it up with 6-7, 243-pound Nashville defenseman Hal Gill.

“Actually, (Brandon) Bollig was saying if you guys are going to go I’ll go get Shaw a stepladder,” Shaw said jokingly. “I’ll always stick up for myself, no matter who it is.”

The incident came when Shaw was battling for position in front of the net.

“I was just kind of battling for space in front of the net and I tried to get low on him,” Shaw said. “He’s a big boy and he didn’t like it. I didn’t like it either, so I thought I’d swing back.”

Blackhawks coach Joel Quenneville praised Shaw for his play but wondered what he was thinking by messing with Gill.

“I think he’s definitely not in the right weight class there,” Quenneville said.

What goalie controversy?There#146;s no goalie controversy #133; not yet, anyway.The Hawks#146; No. 1 job still belongs to Corey Crawford despite coach Joel Quenneville#146;s decision to come back with Ray Emery on Sunday against Nashville, partly as a reward for his 1-0 shutout of the Predators on Saturday.#147;He#146;s coming off a rock-solid win and deserves to get some consideration to get right back in there,#148; Quenneville said.Both goalies have nearly identical numbers: Emery is now 14-1-0 with a 1.95 goals-against average and .923 save percentage (before Sunday), while Crawford is 15-4-4 with a 2.01 goals-against average and .922 save percentage.Quenneville still maintains he does not need to have a No. 1 goaltender going into the playoffs.#147;I would think all that stuff will get resolved on how we#146;re going,#148; he said. #147;The decisions will be made by what#146;s going on.#148;Quenneville was asked if he would consider playing both his goalies in the postseason. #147;You never know,#148; he said. #147;I don#146;t want to say no. We#146;ll see. I#146;m not worried about it right now.#148;Sharp on Tuesday?Patrick Sharp will be accompanying the team to Minnesota for Tuesday#146;s game, Joel Quenneville said, but he hasn#146;t been ruled in or out.Sharp missed his 14th straight game Sunday with his injured left shoulder.Meanwhile, Dave Bolland sat for the second game in a row with a foot injury Quenneville doesn#146;t consider serious.#147;Sharpie is really close,#148; Quenneville said. #147;We expect him (back) here this week. We#146;ll see with Bolly. We don#146;t think it#146;s serious.#147;It will be nice to get (Sharp) going here. We probably added a few days here to his time away. He#146;s been skating well and he wants to play. We look forward to getting him in the lineup because it gives us a lot more options.#148;Killing them off:The Hawks are 17-for-17 in penalty kills in the last nine games.#147;I think the guys have been working well together,#148; Quenneville said. #147;Krugs and Fro (Marcus Kruger and Michael Frolik) have been a good pair all year long and they#146;ve been getting the bulk of the duty.#147;It goes from that. I think whether it#146;s up front or the back end, the goalie at the end of the day has to help out as well.#148;