Don't Panik! The Blackhawks are on the right track

OK, Blackhawks fans, you can stop Paniking … for now at least.

Just two games into the regular season, some of you were certainly freaking out about an 0-2-0 start, but an inspired, impressive performance Saturday night against Nashville ought to calm the nerves.

Certainly the highlight of the 5-3 victory over the Predators was journeyman winger Richard Panik scoring 3 goals for the first hat trick of his career.

There was a lot more to like, though, and plenty of reasons to be encouraged that the Hawks are on the right track.

Chief among them:

• The fact that Patrick Kane, Jonathan Toews, Artemi Panarin, Artem Anisimov and Marian Hossa haven't scored a single goal yet. How long, exactly, do you think that will continue?

• The fact that the 7 of the Hawks' 9 goals have come from Panik (4), Marcus Kruger and rookies Ryan Hartman and Nick Schmaltz. These are all guys who need a confidence boost early on and have certainly gotten it by contributing offensively.

• The fact that the Hawks have led in all three games. Joel Quenneville's team blew 2-1 leads to St. Louis and Nashville, but only because of massive failures on the penalty kill. That doesn't figure to be a recurring theme all season long, especially as a player like Tyler Motte gets more comfortable on the PK.

Now, this hardly means there are no issues and there won't be any more bumps in the road.

The rookies will at times be fantastic, at times be mediocre and at times make you want to cover your eyes. In just three games we've seen plenty of that from Nick Schmaltz, who looks more and more comfortable with each shift. The 20-year-old had himself a rough opener, improved in the second game and potted his first NHL goal Saturday.

The Hawks also are still trying to find ways to consistently generate shots on goal and quality scoring chances. In the first three games, they had 9 SOG after two periods vs. the Blues, 11 after two periods at Nashville and 11 midway through the second Saturday at the United Center.

(Sidenote on the obviously small sample size: The Hawks are actually connecting on 12.9 percent of their shots, well above the 9.4 percent they connected on last season).

Two final thoughts:

• Scott Darling is ready to become a starting NHL goalie and should get his chance next season. He did allow 3 goals to Nashville, but some of the saves he made were flat-out spectacular.

• Panik's emergence is a big, big deal. Obviously, the hat trick was nice, but Panik has looked strong and has been skating with confidence from Day 1 in camp. Do yourself a favor and take a look at his first goal Saturday if you missed it. It's must-see viewing and shows how much his game has grown.

Panik took the puck at the blue line, and drove toward the goal 1-on-1 with Nashville's Matt Carle all over him. Panik kept control of the puck, spun, drove Carle into the crease and proceeded to lift a backhanded shot past splayed-out goalie Marek Mazanec.

If he keeps this kind of play up, a huge hole on the top line will have been filled, which will only lead to better play from Jonathan Toews and many more "W"s for the Blackhawks this season.