Whew! Burish breathes sigh of relief

Blackhawks winger Adam Burish won't be suspended for leaving the bench as an altercation broke out late in the third period of Monday's win over Colorado.

Burish had just come off the ice for a line change when he stepped back out the door briefly as Colin Fraser and Cody McLeod got into a scuffle.

The fact that Burish was in the midst of a line change with the door still open likely saved him from what might have been a 10-game suspension and a possible suspension for coach Joel Quenneville.

Burish had an informal hearing with Colin Campbell, the NHL's chief of discipline, on Tuesday.

"I didn't think a whole lot about it, but then some guys were talking about it after the game and said I could get 10 games for that," Burish said. "I didn't sleep a whole lot that night.

"I was pretty upset about it, but then I got to the rink in the morning and sat down with coach, we had a nice talk about it. Then we called Colin Campbell and he gave me the news I wasn't going to get suspended and that was a relief."

Burish was fined an undisclosed amount by the league.

"I made a mistake, so I deserve it," Burish said. "I think Andrew Ladd grabbed me by the collar and pulled me back on the bench, so Colin Campbell said I probably owe him dinner or a nice bottle of wine or something for pulling me back in.

"I should have stayed on the bench. Coach Q and I had a nice talk and it's over with, it's done with, and it won't happen again."

All-star snubbing: The Hawks have three players on the Western Conference all-star ballot for fan voting, but not Duncan Keith or Patrick Sharp. Jonathan Toews, Patrick Kane and Brian Campbell are the three Hawks on the ballot with fan voting beginning Nov. 12.

All Keith did last season was finish a plus-30 with 12 goals and 32 points. He did appear in the All-Star Game as a reserve.

Sharp scored a career-best 36 goals last season and already has 9 this year in 12 games.

"Sharp's got off to a good start and has played well and is up there among the leaders (in goals)," Joel Quenneville said. "Hopefully he gets some attention."