"If the dislike between the Blackhawks and Canucks wasn't already white hot, Chicago winger Adam Burish has added fuel to the fire.

Burish on Friday ripped Vancouver forward Alex Burrows and defenceman Shane O'Brien, referring to them as "clowns" and saying the pair is targeting Blackhawks stars Patrick Kane and Jonathan Toews.

"The thing that upsets me about O'Brien and Burrows is they go and target (Kane and Toews)," Burish told ESPNChicago.com ahead of Game 4 of the teams' Western Conference semifinal at GM Place. "The clown Burrows goes after (Blackhawks defenceman Brian) Campbell in the middle of the ice.

"Give me a break. If you want to target someone, come find me or (Blackhawks forward Ben Eager). You guys want to pretend you're so tough, and yet you go and try to pick a fight with those guys. If you want to hit them and play hard, fine. But those clowns are pushing them after the whistle and punching them."

Burish said O'Brien only turns on the tough-guy act when the Blackhawks' physical players are on the bench.

"We call O'Brien a 'spot-picker,' " Burish told the website. "He picks his spots pretty nice. He knows who's on the ice and when he can be a tough guy and when he kind of has to shut up.""