Lang hopes for more stability on his line

It seems that every time Blackhawks center Robert Lang looks over to his left or right, there's a new winger skating on his line.

While Lang might prefer a bit more stability when it comes to lines, coach Denis Savard has tinkered with things in order to find the most balanced attack.

"It makes a big difference because you develop sort of a chemistry and you know where the other guy is going to be or his tendencies," Lang said. "If you keep getting new guys you're never going to get that."

Lang was back with Martin Havlat on Wednesday against Los Angeles, and it's likely a pairing Savard will keep together for a while. They were joined by Dustin Byfuglien, who has played well since being moved to forward from defense.

Lang admires Byfuglien's versatility but warns not to label him the next Keith Tkachuk just yet.

"He's a big guy with good hands," Lang said. "He's not afraid to throw the body around, but I would sort of stay away from the power forward (comparison) and just let him be. Hopefully he'll keep improving and getting more comfortable and we'll see from there.

"It's definitely a big adjustment even though he's doing well. I think just getting out of our zone and being stationary on the wall and all that is a lot different than being in a defensive position and having the whole game ahead of you. He's a good hockey player and I hope he does great. So far he's been really good."

Very interesting: Edmonton Oilers general manager Kevin Lowe watched Wednesday's game.

There have been rumors of Lowe being ready to make a trade with Oilers forwards Jarret Stoll and Raffi Torres possibly being available.

The NHL's holiday trade freeze begins Dec. 19 and runs through Dec. 27.

Learning curve: Rookie Patrick Kane is hoping to learn from his goal-scoring drought.

"I think this losing streak is going to make us better overall because we have to fight through streaks like this," Kane said. "It's the same for me to go through this early in my career to try to battle through it and not let it happen again."

Kane took a 12-game goal drought into Wednesday's game against the Kings.

"I think the longest one I had before this was five games last year and I thought that felt like a long time," Kane said.

"It's going to make him hungrier because he won't want to go through that phase again," said coach Denis Savard.