Losing streak not a concern for Savard

It's going to take a lot more than a four-game losing streak for Blackhawks coach Denis Savard to lose faith in his team.

Even though the Hawks failed to win again Sunday night at the United Center, Savard had no problem with the effort he saw from them in a 3-2 loss to the Calgary Flames.

"We've got to stay together and stay up because the effort is there and we're playing well, it's as simple as that," Savard said. "We made some mistakes, but I like the way we're playing.

"It's not about effort. We'll get out of this and I strongly believe this will make us better in the long run if it makes us work harder. It'll make us closer as a team and make us dig in more. We can't get down."

There still are a lot of games to play, and the Hawks remain in the thick of the playoff chase in the Western Conference.

"The last thing to do is hang our heads and feel sorry for ourselves because it's a tough league," center Patrick Sharp said. "You look at the standings and a couple points separates first, second, third place and out of the playoffs.

"We've got a good team here and we've just got to get ready for our next game. It's going to turn around for us."

In and out: Magnus Johansson was back on defense for the Hawks for the first time since Nov. 24, a stretch of seven games.

Johansson replaced Jim Vandermeer and played a solid 14 minutes, getting an assist on Robert Lang's first-period goal.

"He's practiced well and we felt it was time for him to get in," Denis Savard said. "Jimmy needs to watch a few games here and get his game back on track."

Vandermeer was minus-2 in Friday's loss to Anaheim. He was a healthy scratch for four games back in October.

Forwards Yanic Perreault and Sergei Samsonov were scratched with Vandermeer.

Deal or no deal: The trade rumors involving Anaheim Ducks defenseman Mathieu Schneider continue to make the rounds, with the Hawks still named a possible destination.

However, Hawks general manager Dale Tallon is said to be reluctant to take on the 38-year-old Schneider's hefty contract, which runs through next season at $5.7 million.

The Ducks are looking to deal a defenseman to make room for Scott Niedermayer's return. Schneider, Francois Beauchemin and Sean O'Donnell are said to be available.

"It's a unique situation in that everybody knows something is going to happen," Schneider told the Los Angeles Times. "There's always speculation. Rumors are fine, but (this time) something is going to happen."

Tip-ins: The Hawks were 0-for-4 on the power play and are 5-for-43 over the last 10 games. … Jonathan Toews and Brent Seabrook will appear today at Center Ice of DuPage in Glen Ellyn from 5:45-7:15 p.m. They will sign autographs after helping in a practice for Admirals Mites.