Are relaxed rules resulting in fewer NHL power plays?

The Blackhawks haven't been the only team struggling to score goals. It's happening as well in places such as Boston, Detroit, Dallas, Philadelphia and Calgary.

Checking is tighter, goaltending better, and power plays are happening with less frequency than when the new rules first were implemented coming out of the lockout.

The Hawks, for example, are averaging just 3.6 power plays per game. Dallas leads the NHL with an average of 4.5 power plays per game.

"Teams are adjusting and they don't take penalties anymore," Hawks coach Joel Quenneville said. "We've had enough time to get ourselves friendly with restricting fouls, the hooks and the holds. The guys have learned what is and what isn't a penalty.

"You look at the games around the league the last few weeks there's a lot of low-scoring games."

Hawks defenseman Brian Campbell believes referees are easing up on the stick fouls.

"I honestly think that they're not calling it as strict right now," Campbell said. "Maybe there are a few more sticks on guys that they don't feel is a penalty. Personally, I feel it's good to see more penalties called. It's exciting for the fans."

With fewer power plays being awarded it's making each one more important now.

"You've got to be prepared on your power play right from the beginning," Campbell said. "A lot of times it was like, 'OK, we're going to use the first one to get going here, and then the second, third and fourth to try make some havoc on it.' That's not the case anymore."

Looking for answers

It's getting serious in Columbus, where the Blue Jackets are sinking fast in the West thanks to a 2-7-4 slide they hoped to break Tuesday night in Minnesota.

The Blue Jackets went into that game having allowed a staggering 117 goals - 50 more than the Hawks have given up.

"Something's not right," defenseman Mike Commodore told the Columbus Dispatch. "We've done the meetings. We've done the talking. It's a good group of guys in here and I know the guys care, but it's just not happening.

"We need to start turning this around here pretty quickly before our confidence is shot."

Team USA almost set

Brian Burke, general manager of the U.S. Olympic team, told reporters on Monday the 23-man roster for Vancouver was nearly set.

Burke said his staff still was considering six players for three remaining spots including two who weren't at the orientation camp at Seven Bridges in August.

Those two players are believed to be Colorado goalie Craig Anderson and Buffalo center Paul Gaustad, the NHL's top faceoff man.

Burke and his people must decide between Anderson and the Kings' Jonathan Quick as their third goalie behind Buffalo's Ryan Miller and Boston's Tim Thomas.

"Canada can be wrong on three or four players and it's not going to change their team," Burke said. "We have to be right on each guy."

Burke and his assistant GMs, Paul Holmgren, Ray Shero, Don Waddell and Dean Lombardi, met Monday at Pebble Beach at the Board of Governors meeting to pick the team.

Wings hobble along

The Red Wings remain hot on the heels of the Hawks in the Central Division despite two more key injuries to winger Dan Cleary (shoulder) and defenseman Jonathan Ericsson (knee).

The Wings now have six regulars out of the lineup with injuries in Cleary, Ericsson, Niklas Kronwall, Johan Franzen, Jason Williams and Valtteri Filppula. And that's not counting defenseman Andreas Lilja, who has missed all season with a concussion.

Around the rinks

• The NHL's holiday roster freeze starts Saturday and runs through Dec. 27.

• The Los Angeles Kings aren't going anywhere. They were tied with San Jose for the most points in the Western Conference before Tuesday's games.

"We feel we haven't reached our potential yet," Kings winger Justin Williams said. "We've shown this season that we're an elite team in this conference and a team that deserves respect."

• The Edmonton Oilers are playing their best hockey of the season despite Nikolai Khabibulin being out indefinitely with a back injury. The Oilers already might be regretting giving the aging Khabibulin a four-year contract.

• Nashville will be without pesky winger Jordin Tootoo for the next four weeks because of a broken right foot.

The list

Five things to either love or hate about the St. Louis Blues, who make their first appearance of the season at the United Center Wednesday night.

1. They took defenseman Erik Johnson with the first pick in the 2006 draft instead of Jonathan Toews. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you.

2. Keith Tkachuk. Yes, he's still around causing havoc in front of the net.

3. Brett Hull. Bobby's kid knew how to play the game.

4. Barrett Jackman. He's no Matt Cooke when it comes to cheap shots, but you better keep your head up nonetheless.

5. The Blues' best off-season pickup? Hiring Darren Pang as their television analyst.

Ex-Hawk of the week

Martin Havlat appears to be finally getting his game together in Minnesota.

After struggling terribly early, Havlat had doubled his goal output to 4 in the last week heading into Tuesday's game against Columbus.

"A visible change," is how Wild coach Todd Richards described Havlat's recent play.