Hawks hot, and still hungry

There were more media people than players in the Blackhawks' dressing room Wednesday - a sure sign the Bears season finally was over.

The Hawks are 30-10-3, first overall in the NHL standings and more than happy to welcome aboard any bandwagon jumpers.

One thing the Hawks aren't is satisfied by what they have accomplished over their first 43 games.

"You want to be talked about and have that pressure," Patrick Kane said. "But I think the team we have in here now, you can say if we don't win the Stanley Cup this year were not going to be happy.

"Obviously that's a pretty bold statement, but at the same time I think we know we have a good group in here and we can't get too full of ourselves."

It's still almost two months to the March 3 trade deadline and as of now the Hawks don't appear to be on the lookout for anything in particular, even if some think adding another veteran defenseman would be a good idea.

"To be honest with you, I don't know if you'd mess with this team too much with team we have right now," Kane said. "Obviously you'll probably have to make some moves at the end of the season with the salary cap and things like that.

"I wouldn't mess with it too much, and I don't think they will either. I think they know we have a good group in here and a team that can do well in the playoffs."

Niemi to start: It will be Antti Niemi's net Thursday night against the Bruins in Boston, but Hawks coach Joel Quenneville claimed it wasn't only the first-year goalie's terrific play on the road that influenced the decision.

"That, plus the schedule is part of it, too, the number of games in such a tight stretch of days," Quenneville said. "I think both reasons are factors."

The Hawks are in a stretch of 10 games in 16 days.

Of Niemi's last 7 victories, he was won at Vancouver (1-0), at Pittsburgh (2-1) and at Detroit (3-0).

Tim Thomas is expected to start for Boston looking for his 12th straight victory.

"He's quick," Quenneville said. "He gets everything. He competes as hard as any goalie we've seen. You can never relax at any time around the net."

Injury update: Defenseman Cam Barker won't play Thursday night with an upper-body injury and still is listed as day to day.