Savard already sick of penalty problems
It's a potential problem Blackhawks coach Denis Savard plans to nip in the bud.
Last season, the Hawks were the fourth-most penalized team in the NHL, and Savard isn't about to stand for a repeat of that.
Savard wasn't happy with Tuesday's preseason opener at Columbus when the Hawks took 15 minor penalties. Ten were for stick infractions, including 6 for hooking, putting the Blue Jackets on the power play 13 times.
"I told our guys our sticks have got to be on the ice," Savard said. "Anytime you go at an opponent you've got to lead with your shoulder, and stick on puck. We have to work at it, and we will, but you have to have the discipline not to take penalties, not to get your stick up on a body."
Dustin Byfuglien, James Wisniewski, Danny Richmond and Andrei Zyuzin each took 2 penalties at Columbus. Savard said he is not going to keep players on the roster that don't have the discipline to stay out of the penalty box.
"That's part of winning," Savard said. "It's discipline and winning. I don't mind the penalties where we stick together, but the holding, the hooking, the tripping, especially in the offensive zone, you can't have that. It's not what you need to do to win."
Mix and match: With the season opener at Minnesota two weeks away, forward lines are still a work in progress. But Denis Savard wants to see as much as he can of the line of Robert Lang between Martin Havlat and Sergei Samsonov.
"With Samsonov, Havlat and Lang, I've seen some chemistry (in the scrimmages)," Savard said.
Samsonov has shown a knack for being elusive between the circles and sneaking into the scoring areas.
"They are two very easy guys to play with," Havlat said.
Savard also likes what he has seen from the line of Yanic Perreault, Jason Williams and Patrick Sharp.
"I saw some type of chemistry there too, not to say they'll be together," Savard said.
In Wednesday's game against the Blue Jackets, Perreault centered a line for Jack Skille and Pierre Parenteau.
Impressive debut: Rene Bourque wasn't in the lineup Wednesday, but the left winger made a very good impression Tuesday at Columbus with a goal and an assist and a strong all-around game.
"He had a great game," said Denis Savard. "He was a force for us. He was on the puck, he killed penalties and he came back hard into our own end. He did a lot of good things."
Bourque is one of those guys who could end up on the first or second line, or on the fourth when the dust settles.