Bolland's worth goes beyond goal scoring

Dave Bolland didn't need the 2 goals he scored in Friday's loss to St. Louis - his first of the season - to validate his importance to the Blackhawks.

The 22-year-old Bolland has been a highly dependable third-line checking center and penalty-killer, and a guy with more than enough skill to be considered a scoring threat with linemates Andrew Ladd and Dustin Byfuglien.

Nevertheless, it was a relief for him to get his first goals of the season after drawing blanks for 14 games.

"I was happy to score, but I would have been happier if we had got the win," Bolland said.

Hawks coach Joel Quenneville said he doesn't measure what Bolland means to the team by how many goals he scores.

"They've been playing well and have been effective in a lot of ways," Quenneville said. "It was nice to see Bolland score."

Team toughness: Even though the Hawks don't have a clear-cut enforcer, Joel Quenneville thinks his team is tough enough.

Quenneville pointed to Friday's game against the Blues when four different players got fighting majors, including Brent Seabrook and Cam Barker, both of whom don't normally drop the gloves.

Nine different Hawks have earned the team's 17 fighting majors through the first 15 games with Dustin Byfuglien, Colin Fraser and Ben Eager leading the way with three scraps each.

"The guys really stick up for one another," Quenneville said. "I think we have good team togetherness and good team toughness. Everybody wants to be a part of it and contribute. We had guys that don't fight a lot (Friday) and did a very nice job. So if that needs to be addressed, I don't think it's an issue."

Shark alert: There's one more order of business before the Hawks head out of town for six games - taking on the speedy and skilled 14-3-1 San Jose Sharks tonight at the United Center.

"They just don't make a lot of mistakes," Brian Campbell said of his former team.

"They're probably playing as good as anybody in the league," Joel Quenneville said. "It's a good test for us, probably our toughest test to date, although Detroit is always going to be a test. We would like to have a little momentum going into the road trip."

Tip-ins: Cristobal Huet starts in goal for the first time since last Sunday when he beat Calgary. ... Sharks No. 1 goaltender Evgeni Nabokov is questionable with a lower body injury. Backup Brian Boucher, a former Hawk, has played well and is 4-1 with a .940 save percentage.