Blackhawks hoping for good news from today's Sharp MRI

Blackhawks leading goal scorer Patrick Sharp will undergo an MRI today to determine the extent of what is believed to be a left-knee injury suffered in Saturday's 6-2 victory over Dallas at the United Center.

Hawks general manager Dale Tallon was hopeful the injury was- n't too serious, although Sharp won't accompany the team this week on its three-game road trip to Tampa Bay, South Florida and Dallas.

"I'm confident," Tallon said Sunday. "The preliminary (exam) sounds like it's good, but there's no sense speculating until we find out what the MRI says."

The Hawks are expected to recall a forward from Rockford for the road trip, likely either Pascal Pelletier or Jack Skille.

Sharp, whose 23 goals lead the Hawks, was hurt in the first minute of the game on a hit by the Stars' Steve Ott along the boards.

"It looked like it was a straight-on knee to knee, but I don't think it was anything intentional," Tallon said. "It was just an accident."

Hawks coach Joel Quenneville said following the game the play appeared innocent to him as well.

"Those things happen," Quenneville said. "Sometimes fluky injuries, they can happen."

Jonathan Toews was on the ice at the time and didn't get a good look at what happened to his linemate.

"I didn't see the hit," Toews said. "It was one of those things that might have been pretty innocent. If it's a player on your team, especially a guy like Sharpie, or a guy on the other team, you don't want to see that happen to anybody.

"We're looking forward to having him back as soon as we can. Hopefully he takes care of it and everything heals properly."

Even with a positive MRI result, there's a good chance Sharp will miss at least the next four or five games.

"We got a little worried, but hopefully it's not going to be anything bad," Martin Havlat said. "I hear it's not bad, so that's good because he's one of our best players."

Sharp's injury will force Quenneville to juggle his lines like he did against the Stars, when Toews saw shifts between Patrick Kane and Troy Brouwer and also with Havlat.

Havlat played more than 20 minutes and had one of his better games in three years with the Hawks with 2 goals and an assist.

"We did all the little things," Havlat said. "We made good passes and played with a lot more energy than the last three games."

Winger Dustin Byfuglien and defenseman James Wisniewski were two of the most energetic Hawks as they responded with big efforts after being benched for two games.

Byfuglien was more physical than he has been in most games this season, and Wisniewski's big hits early got his teammates and the crowd at the UC into the game quickly.

"It was a great game by both of those guys," Toews said. "Buff was running guys and using his body the way he can. We had a bunch of guys checking well, and I think that takes a lot of energy out of your opponent when you're playing like that."