Blackhawks have yet to bring their A-game

They've won more than lost, but this is not the start the Chicago Blackhawks were hoping for this season.

They're 4-3-1, with the Los Angeles Kings on tap Sunday at the United Center, but that record could just as easily be 1-7-0 were it not for some third-period heroics - including late goals to force the last three games past regulation with a sixth attacker on the ice.

"We're resilient," defenseman Brian Campbell said after practice Saturday. "We care. We don't want to give up. We've still got some steps to get better and play better, but I think a lot of it early in the season here is we just haven't had our 'A' game yet, so we've had to battle back that way."

The Blackhawks, who also blew a 4-0 lead against the Flyers before rebounding to win, scored 6 goals last season with their goalie on the bench for a sixth attacker. They've scored half that amount in their first eight games this season, a byproduct of chasing the puck too much, falling behind and struggling to kill power plays.

On the bright side, their puck-possession numbers are rising and the penalty kill - which has allowed at least one short-handed goal in every game - has killed 6 of the last seven opposing power plays it has faced.

"There's some positives, but we still have to grow and get better," Campbell said. "We don't want to be trying to win games the way we are winning them or tying them right now. We want to be in the lead and be protecting the lead, and playing up-tempo."

Coach Joel Quenneville concurred, saying the Hawks should consider themselves fortunate to have earned 9 points to date.

"The start of our season, when we handicap it, we know we have to get better in a lot of areas, and playing catch-up hockey is not usually winning or productive or effective," Quenneville said. "We've got to try to find that consistent identity that we're going to play the right way from start to finish and check well, and try to keep the puck."

Hinostroza motivated:

Marian Hossa missed practice as a maintenance day off Saturday, which meant rookie Vinnie Hinostroza was back among the top 12 forwards.

Hinostroza, who played the first four games without recording a point, has been scratched the past four games. He skated at left wing on the fourth line in practice with Dennis Rasmussen and Jordin Tootoo. Hossa is expected to play, but Quenneville indicated Hinostroza will return to the lineup.

It's unclear who will be scratched, but Hinostroza is looking forward to his next opportunity.

"There's always an adjustment," he said. "There's adjustments going to college, there's adjustments going to the AHL. I got off to a slow start (with Rockford) last season and had to learn a bit, how to control the puck at that level and stuff like that. So, I think this is just part of a learning curve, and it's going to make me a better player."

This and that:

Hossa will be honored with a pregame ceremony prior to the game Sunday to commemorate scoring his 500th career goal. … Rookie defenseman Gustav Forsling practiced, but will not play. It was Forsling's first practice since Tuesday, when he left early against the Calgary Flames with an upper-body injury. Forsling's target date to return is Tuesday against Flames. … Andrew Desjardins, sidelined with a lower-body injury since the preseason, skated on his own prior to practice.