New Hawk Brendan Morrison feels like rookie

Brendan Morrison's debut with the Blackhawks on Tuesday night made him feel like a rookie again.

Acquired in a trade with Calgary on Friday, Morrison centered the second line for Marian Hossa and Patrick Sharp as the Hawks returned from the all-star break against Vancouver at Rogers Arena.

“It's kind of like your first day in the NHL almost coming here,” Morrison told reporters before the Hawks' 3-2 loss to the Canucks in overtime. “These guys have a lot of guys who can break open games by themselves. Just to be in that mix should be fun.”

The Hawks dropped their third straight game when Daniel Sedin scored on a pass from brother Henrik with 1:23 left in overtime.

The goal came moments after the Hawks felt Viktor Stalberg was slashed on a breakaway, failing to get off a shot.

Hawks coach Joel Quenneville didn't waste any time seeing if Morrison could find chemistry with Hossa and Sharp in the second-line center role that has been a problem to fill.

“We like his experience and we like him in the middle,” Quenneville said. “He gives us some speed and can make plays. He adds a real nice dimension in the middle for us. Watching him move around he can definitely keep up. We don't want him to do more than hes basically done his whole career.”

The Hawks had Sharp and Jonathan Toews back in the lineup for the game.

Toews had missed one game with a left hand injury while Sharp missed three weeks with a broken left wrist.

“I'm ready to go and feel great,” Sharp told reporters. “I'm 100 percent healthy.”

Sharp was expected to miss 3-4 weeks at the time he was hurt on Jan. 8 against Detroit from a Jiri Hudler slash.

“It's a little bit early, but it's ready to go,” Sharp said.

The Hawks certainly needed Toews and Sharp back on the ice with Tuesday being the start of their critical nine-game road trip.

“We value these guys in the lineup, with their leadership and the key minutes they play,” Quenneville said.

Corey Crawford started in goal with Quenneville making it a point to note how the Hawks need their No. 1 goaltender to be a difference maker down the stretch in the final 32 games coming out of the break.

“He had an outstanding stretch last year,” Quenneville said.

“When you look at the position we're in in our division and our conference, the challenge here every day will be important and goaltending, that area will be important. We're going to give him the opportunity.”

Crawford was sharp in the first period, stopping 11 of 12 shots.

He made a big save early on David Booth but was beaten on a shot by Ryan Kesler at 7:58 that deflected into the net off the stick of Duncan Keith.

The Hawks were out of whack early, but they quickly regrouped after Kessler's opening goal and tied it at 11:11 on Jamal Mayers' fourth goal.

Schneider was the story in the second period when the Hawks outshot the Canucks 15-6. Schneider made at least three four-star stops in the middle period, robbing Stalberg twice and Morrison once, to keep the game tied.

Stalberg scored to put the Hawks ahead 2-1 at 1:17 of the third period, but the Canucks' Cody Hodgson tied it minutes later.

tsassone@dailyherald.com