Hawks out to pile up points at home

If the Blackhawks want to stamp themselves as legitimate playoff contenders in the Western Conference, now is the time to make that statement.

The Hawks open a four-game homestand Wednesday against the Vancouver Canucks and will play only two road games the rest of the month, with nine of the next 11 at the United Center.

"I'm not one to look too far ahead, but this is a key stretch," Hawks coach Denis Savard said.

After a shaky start, the Hawks have rolled to 5 straight victories on home ice thanks in part to a surge in attendance, which has helped charge the atmosphere at the UC.

The Hawks have made it a point to jump on the opposition early at home. They led Phoenix 5-0 after the first period Friday after Wednesday jumping out to a 2-0 lead against Tampa Bay.

"Our starts are important," Savard said. "We've had better preparation."

That's better preparation than early in the season, when Savard threatened to put the team in a hotel on game-day afternoons as a way to improve play at home.

The Hawks don't play back-to-back games again until Dec. 15-16 against Buffalo and Florida, so that would allow goalie Nikolai Khabibulin to start at least the next five games.

Savard elected to rest Khabibulin on Saturday at St. Louis despite the fact the Hawks' No. 1 goalie is 6-1-2 in his last nine starts with a .921 save percentage and there were three off-days before the next game.

But goaltending wasn't the main issue in Saturday's 3-1 loss to the Blues. The Hawks had nothing going in the first two periods with just 9 shots on goal and trailed by 3 before showing some life in the third.

They played tired and sluggish despite the fact it was a critical Central Division game.

"We just have to get some rest and be ready to play (Wednesday)," center Patrick Sharp said.

The West standings are so tight that winning at home is going to be vital from here through the end of the season. It's going to be especially important for the Hawks this month considering they have a killer schedule awaiting them in January and February with 19 of 27 on the road.

Blues coach Andy Murray already was trying to calculate what it might take to make the playoffs following Saturday's victory, his team's 15th of the season.

"You're pleased you've got 15," Murray said. "To me it's nice, but you worry about how many of them you have to go after."

Last season the Calgary Flames grabbed the eighth and final playoff spot in the West with 43 wins and 96 points. Colorado won 44 games but missed the playoffs by 1 point.

• Defenseman James Wisniewski is expected to return to the lineup against the Canucks. He hasn't played since Nov. 25, when he had his face plastered into the glass at GM Place by Vancouver's Matt Cooke.

Wisniewski suffered a deep cut above his left eye and a mild concussion on the play, which was ruled a clean hit by the NHL despite the protests of Hawks general manager Dale Tallon.

Tallon also blamed the seamless glass in Vancouver for adding to Wisniewski's injury.

Many newer arenas have the seamless glass in order to improve sight lines for fans and to help eliminate odd bounces. The United Center has glass with dividers for more give.

"The seamless glass is less forgiving," Tallon said. "I'd take a bad bounce to protect a player any day."