Ex-Hawk playing leading role for Flames

CALGARY, Alberta - Who would have thought that after three games of this Western Conference quarterfinal series between the Blackhawks and Calgary, winger Rene Bourque would be such a factor for the Flames?

This is the same Bourque who blended into the background during his two seasons with the Hawks, a mostly forgettable stint that ended last July 1 when he was traded to the Flames for a draft pick - news that got overshadowed by the signing the same day of free agents Brian Campbell and Cristobal Huet.

"Rene has done a little bit of everything for us this year," teammate Adrian Aucoin said. "He had 21 goals, none on the power play, and was injured.

"It wasn't a matter of getting out of Chicago, but I think it was a fresh start for him. It could have happened in Chicago, too, but sometimes you need that little turn around."

Bourque was a restricted free agent with arbitration rights at the time he was traded and Hawks general manager Dale Tallon felt he had young players coming along such as Troy Brouwer and Kris Versteeg who were likely ready to play in the NHL.

Bourque has been in the middle of a lot of the nasty stuff in this series physically. He laid a big hit on Patrick Kane in Game 1 and took two slashing penalties in Game 3 the Hawks didn't like.

Adam Burish went after Bourque in the final minute of Game 3 in an attempt send a message that the Hawks were tiring of his act.

Burish and Bourque were college teammates at the University of Wisconsin.

"What happens on the ice stays on the ice and hopefully I can still sit down and have a beer with him after the season," Burish said. "If he can't accept it, then it's too bad. This is playoff hockey."

Flames coach Mike Keenan claimed Burish's cross check injured Bourque, who is listed as day-to-day with his undisclosed problem.

"He's day-to-day as a result of the incident (Monday) night," Keenan said.