Kane not playing like 18-year-old

Blackhawks general manager Dale Tallon walked out of the coaches' office at the Edge Ice Arena in Bensenville on Thursday and tapped a reporter on the shoulder.

"I have scoop for you," Tallon said. "We're not sending Kane back."

Tallon couldn't get the line out of his mouth without cracking himself up.

The Hawks play their 10th game of the season tonight in Boston, and it's before the 10-game mark when NHL teams must decide whether to send players who still have junior eligibility left back to their junior team or keep them.

Once a kid plays 10 NHL games, he can't return to juniors. Return him, and he couldn't come back until the junior season ends.

Talk about a no-brainer for Tallon when it comes to 18-year-old Patrick Kane.

Kane would have had to look totally lost on the ice in his first nine games with the Hawks to be returned to his junior club, the London Knights.

The Hawks expected Kane to be with them all season, but what they didn't expect was for the No. 1 pick in last June's draft to be their leading scorer after nine games with 13 points (3 goals, 10 assists).

Heading into Wednesday's schedule of NHL games, Kane was tied for fourth in the league in scoring behind Henrik Zetterberg, Mats Sundin and Paul Stastny.

"He's been our best player," Hawks coach Denis Savard said.

Even in Tuesday's 7-4 loss to Columbus at the United Center, Kane knocked everyone's socks off again with 2 goals and 2 assists.

"He's just been brilliant," Tallon said. "He plays like he's been in the league 10 years. Wait until he grows up and is 185 pounds."

Kane is doing all right at 170 pounds, strong on his skates and a gifted playmaker with the puck.

"He battles and works hard," teammate James Wisniewski said. "He's got so much poise for a young kid, 18 years old. He's really stepped into a big role with (Martin) Havlat out. He's really coming through and has actually become a leader on this team."

And the best looks as if it's still to come.

"I guess I'm still looking for that complete game," said Kane, who didn't think he played all that well in the loss to the Blue Jackets despite the 4 points.

That's the kind of attitude Savard would like to see from certain other players.

"They should hear that in there," Savard said with a nod toward the dressing room. "These kids (Kane and Jonathan Toews), they always feel there's more to give. Guys got to look up to them. From the drop of the puck they're right in it. They're just relentless."

Savard called out some Hawks on Thursday morning, though not by name, saying there were only six or seven players who played well enough in Tuesday's loss.

"We need players to be consistent," Savard said. "We don't want to be a 6-5 team or a 7-6 or 8-7 team. We want to be a team in the upper echelon, but for us to get there we need everybody to play at the same level."

Kane and Toews have flourished with linemate Tuomo Ruutu, but others have been up and down. Sergei Samsonov has no goals in nine games, and Rene Bourque no goals in six games. Martin Lapointe and Adam Burish have no points, Kevyn Adams and Yanic Perreault 1 assist each.

"We need them to play better, too," Savard said. "They playing good, but they have to play harder. If they're not scoring, they've got to do something to help the team, whether it's hitting some people or blocking a shot or making a great play defensively.

"I'm asking for all of them to be consistent. Let's take it to the next level because we've got the people here that are able to do it. You have to bring it, and that's a choice they have to make. As Dale said, if they don't want to do it we've got kids down (at Rockford) ready to play."

Scouting report

Blackhawks vs. Boston Bruins at TD BankNorth Garden, 6 p.m.

TV: Comcast SportsNet

Radio: WSCR 670-AM

The skinny: Nikolai Khabibulin starts in goal against a Bruins team that had a four-game winning streak snapped Monday with a 6-1 loss at Montreal. Boston is 5-3 after eight games thanks to a power play that ranks seventh in the NHL. Patrice Bergeron has 2 of the Bruins' 7 power-play goals. Tim Thomas has played better than Manny Fernandez in goal for the Bruins. Thomas is 3-1 with a .962 save percentage, allowing only 5 goals in three starts. The two teams met only once last season, the Bruins winning 5-3 at the United Center when Khabibulin was pulled after the first period.

Player to watch: Patrick Kane. The Hawks' rookie has 13 points in nine games and is quickly becoming the talk of the league.

Next: Atlanta Thrashers at the United Center, Saturday

-- Tim Sassone