Hartman experiment at center may be over for Hawks
Joel Quenneville was so impressed with Ryan Hartman's play at center in a 5-4 OT loss Tuesday night that the Blackhawks coach gave the rookie another shot at it Thursday against Dallas.
But after the Hawks won a sloppy game against the Stars, Quenneville made it sound like the experiment of playing Hartman with Patrick Kane and Artemi Panarin may end awfully soon.
"It was OK," Quenneville said. "I'm not sure how much longer (that will last)."
Hartman, who scored twice in that setback to Vancouver, was called for a tripping penalty midway through the second period, then got into a fight with Dallas D-man Dan Hamhuis 30 seconds after leaving the box. He finished with just 1 shot on goal in 14:45 of ice time.
Quenneville said playing Hartman at center is something the coaches have thought about for a while, and with Artem Anisimov out with a leg injury, this was a good time to give it a try. Before the game, Hartman sounded confident he could step into the role.
"It's always been something I've taken pride in - trying to be a role player and contribute wherever I'm needed," Hartman said.
Hartman took plenty of faceoffs in Rockford last season because the center on his line was dealing with a wrist injury. He also said the IceHogs had everyone - centers and wings - work on draws.
Hartman went 6 of 14 against Dallas on Thursday.
Comeback kids:
Jonathan Toews said he wasn't worried about the Hawks having to come back in games against Colorado and Vancouver this week.
"We won one game and lost the other in overtime," Toews said. "You can't win them all - even some of the teams at the bottom of the standings, they're still going to test you. They're still going to want to show up to play and take two points from you."
'Ed-die! Ed-die!'
Former Blackhawks and Stars goalie Ed Belfour participated in the One More Shift promotion Thursday and said "it's a great honor to be back here." Belfour stood next to Corey Crawford for the national anthem and was serenaded with plenty "Ed-die! Ed-die! Ed-die!" chants.
"Growing up as a kid, I always wanted to be a Chicago Blackhawk, and Tony Esposito was my favorite goalie and Bobby Hull my favorite player and Stan Mikita," Belfour said. "So coming here to play in Chicago Stadium was a dream come true.
"Going to the Stanley Cup Finals (in 1992) was awesome. ... Unfortunately we didn't win. That's probably my biggest regret is that we didn't play that well in the Finals. That still haunts me on some days."
Slap shots:
The Blackhawks agreed to a two-year extension with Tanner Kero (5G, 7A in 38 games). Kero has played in every game since being called up from Rockford on Dec. 22, 2016. … The Hawks are the only team in the league with six 20-goal scorers. It's the first time they've accomplished that feat since 2009-10.