Toews planning to not miss Hawks' opener

Jonathan Toews doesn't plan to miss the Blackhawks' season opener.

The rookie center was wearing a splint on his broken right index finger Thursday morning after getting the good news that the injury he suffered Wednesday against Columbus was nothing more serious than a small crack.

Toews is expected to miss 2-3 weeks, if that. The opener at Minnesota against the Wild on Oct. 4 is just 13 days away.

"I'm going to be optimistic about it and hopefully it's shorter than that," Toews said. "I want to be there for sure. I don't want to miss the first day of the season."

Toews reported to the United Center on Thursday ready to skate but was told by coach Denis Savard to stay off his skates for a day or so. He will be able to skate and maintain his conditioning while the finger heals.

Toews was injured while blocking a shot in the second period of the Hawks' 4-3 loss to the Blue Jackets.

"I didn't think he was going to shoot it because he was so close to me, but he let it go anyway," Toews said. "I kind of felt it, not so much the pain, just the feeling that something wasn't right. I didn't want to take my glove off because I knew when I looked at it, it wasn't going to feel pretty good.

"They took a couple X-rays and it's just a minor fracture and nothing too serious. It's just something that happens, I guess. It's going to be a little thing that nags a little bit, but it's not the end of the world."

Toews had a goal and an assist in his pro debut Tuesday at Columbus. He was held off the scoresheet Wednesday up to the time of his injury.

"We're going to let things calm down a bit for a few days and then we'll keep his conditioning up," Savard said. "He's such a great kid. He said, 'I'm going (back on the ice after he got hurt Wednesday night),' but I said, 'Oh, no, you're not going.'

"It's going to take time, but how well conditioned he was when he came to camp, he'll be fine."

If this were the regular season or the playoffs and not the preseason, Toews might be able to play with the break.

"I go back from experience with mine and I had that in the playoffs (and played)," Savard said. "There are things they could do for it, but right now we're not doing that at all. We're not even thinking that."

Hawks rookie defenseman Ryan Stokes probably was more fortunate than Toews with the injury he suffered in Wednesday's game. Stokes needed 100 stitches and some plastic surgery to repair the cut he received near his mouth and cheek from the skate of Blue Jackets winger Jared Boll.

Stokes crushed Boll with an open-ice check late in the third period and was cut by a skate as both players fell to the ice. Stokes was first stitched at the United Center, then had it re-done at the hospital.