Jonathan Toews looking for offensive production

VANCOUVER, British Columbia - Jonathan Toews' dip in offensive production wasn't something the Blackhawks were overanalyzing going into Game 5 at GM Place on Saturday.

Toews, who has battled through a bad case of the flu and maybe an injury, had only 1 assist through the first four games of the series and was looking for his first goal since the second game of the Calgary series.

"I think he has progressed each and every game," Hawks coach Joel Quenneville said Saturday morning. "I think he's gotten stronger and I think he had more speed in his last game and energy around the puck.

"We're going to need that line (with Patrick Kane and Patrick Sharp) to be effective and Johnny to produce, but we like the trend that he's improving. Whether he breaks out offensively, we think he can contribute in a lot of ways."

Toews saw his minutes go back up to nearly 18 in the Game 4 win.

"We've found a way to win and stay in the series as a team, but there's still a lot more I'd like to accomplish," Toews said. "You look at the numbers and you know what you accomplished in the regular season and in the other series, and obviously it doesn't compare to that. The way I've played hasn't been enough and it's something I'm focusing on to improve."

Buckle up: There's nothing like having an open seat next to you on a long flight, but Joel Quenneville didn't mind in the least having Hawks senior advisor Scotty Bowman beside him on four-hour trip here Friday.

"There's a lot of different topics you can spend time on and you've got the best hockey mind out there," Quenneville said. "We're in a fortunate position to have him as part of our staff. He follows the league and our series very closely. He's a fanatic in all aspects of the game. Scotty's aware of a lot of things that sometimes you don't give consideration."

Feel the burn: After scoring 8 goals and giving up 9 in the first two games of the series and splitting on home ice, Canucks coach Alain Vigneault heard from the fans and media here that his team might have played too wide open against the Hawks.

Then after allowing just 3 goals in the two games in Chicago and splitting, Vigneault heard his team sat back too much.

"We gave up 9 goals to Chicago after the first two games and took a little bit of heat for that," Vigneault said. "We were a couple minutes away from going into Chicago and playing two games and only giving up 1 goal, and we took a little heat for that.

"We were the best team in the NHL protecting a lead, 30-0-3 I think, and only one of those losses wasn't in a shootout, and we took a little heat for losing the last game. I'd have to say this is a tough crowd to please."