Nordstrom goes back to Rockford

The Blackhawks on Sunday sent fourth-line winger Joakim Nordstrom to Rockford.

In eight games, Nordstrom, 21, scored 1 goal, that coming on Oct. 11 against the Islanders.

That leaves the Hawks with exactly 12 forwards with Ben Smith expected to absorb Nordstrom’s ice time.

Nordstrom made the team largely because of his work as a penalty killer, but the Hawks have started slowly in that department, ranking 28th at 73.1 percent.

Smith has 1 goal and 1 assist in four games and is plus-2.

Up-close look:

Dave Bolland said his new Toronto teammates are always asking him about what it takes to win a Stanley Cup, but on Saturday they got an up-close look in their 3-1 loss to the Hawks.

“They’re a professional team through and through,” Maple Leafs center Nazem Kadri said. “Just talking to Bolland about what the atmosphere is like in there, it’s definitely not lackadaisical. That’s what you have to do to win championships.”

Shaw’s turn now:

With Bryan Bickell finally getting his first goal Saturday, it leaves Andrew Shaw as the only top-nine forward without a goal.

“Shawzy’s been alright,” coach Joel Quenneville said. “I don’t think he’s gotten any production to reflect how he’s playing. I think he’s given us energy. I think he’s been consistent. He’s competing, the finish, basically the production part of it hasn’t been to where we’re accustomed to. I still like the way he’s playing and I think eventually it will turn for him.”

Toews-Kane split:

Joel Quenneville basically prefers Jonathan Toews and Patrick Kane to play apart like they did in the win over Toronto.

“I look back on over five or six years here, the majority of the time they’ve been apart,” Quenneville said. “I think we put them together once in a while, more so on a need basis, but I think over an extended period of time they’re usually apart.

“I think that balance that we look for and that consistency, more like that four-line rotation that we liked and looked forward to that we had most of last year, is something that gives us a better chance of having that.”