Wanted: Hawks offensive turnaround

This was billed as a Blackhawks team with a much-improved offense, but six games into the season it hasn't looked that way.

The Hawks' 11 goals are fewest in the Western Conference and coach Denis Savard already is talking about how his players need to drive to the net more and create traffic.

If that sounds familiar, it's pretty much what Savard said nearly every day last season when the Hawks had the second-worst offense in the NHL.

So far among the top nine forwards, Sergei Samsonov, Yanic Perreault, Patrick Kane and Adam Burish are without goals, while Tuomo Ruutu, Patrick Sharp and Jonathan Toews have 1 each. Injured winger Rene Bourque has no goals in five games as well.

Is it too early to panic, especially with Martin Havlat out for at least another month, or are the Hawks showing the same disturbing signs as a year ago of being a poor offensive team?

"If you look at the goals for, we should be better than that, and we will be better than that," Savard said Thursday. "We've had lots of chances to score plenty of goals, so it's just a matter of finishing."

It was a topic Savard said he brought up to the team prior to Thursday's practice.

"We need to drive the net harder without the puck," Savard said. "We need traffic in front of the goalie. We've had net presence at times and guys driving the net at times, but not enough. We need more. You have to have that will."

Perreault was signed as a free agent to produce offense, especially on the power play. But now he's not even on it and has been bumped down to third center behind Robert Lang and Toews.

Perreault has no points in five games with 8 shots on goal and is minus-2.

"I know I can still be a little bit better, so I have to work harder and try to get better," he said.

"He probably feels he should be on the power play, and rightly so with his numbers in his career, but right now he has to earn it," Savard said. "He has to be grittier 5-on-5, he has to compete more for loose pucks, and he has to want to protect pucks more.

"He's just in a bad little rut right now, and I've got to get him going because we need him. He's got to create offensive chances."

Perreault has lost power-play time to Toews, who has taken over the spot low on the goal line.

"The way we've got our units set up it's difficult for me to put him out there," Savard said of Perreault. "You've got to earn that responsibility because it's not going to be given. Kane is doing a great job, and Toews is probably our best goal-line player on our team, and that's where Yanic fits. I have no choice because the kids deserve to be there."

Perreault says it's no secret the Hawks need to score more goals.

"It's still early, but we need to get better at scoring more goals," Perreault said. "There have been some games where we didn't get much offense, so we need to get better in that area for sure."

Scouting report

Blackhawks vs. Colorado Avalanche at the United Center, 7:30 p.m.

TV: None

Radio: WSCR 670-AM

The skinny: The Avs have started 4-2 and are fresh off a big comeback win over Calgary on Tuesday. Colorado trailed 4-0 but wound up winning 5-4 in a shootout. Second-year center Paul Stastny, son of Hall of Famer Peter Stastny, is off to a hot start with 5 goals and 8 assists in six games. Joe Sakic and Milan Hejduk each have 4 goals, but Hejduk is questionable with a back problem. The two teams split last year's season series 2-2, with Tyler Arnason leading the Avs with 5 points.

Player to watch: Ryan Smyth. The Hawks get their first look at the former Edmonton Oilers star in an Avalanche uniform.

Next game: Saturday vs. the Toronto Maple Leafs at Air Canada Centre.

-- Tim Sassone