"After too many missed opportunities to earn points during the season's early portion, the Blackhawks realize they can't afford to just bide their time until Patrick Kane and Marian Hossa return from injuries.

The news that Kane will be sidelined up to three weeks with a left leg injury suffered Sunday night during a 4-2 victory over the Flames was good in that the winger won't be gone for an extended period, but bad because the Hawks stumbled out of the gate and need victories. Combined with Hossa's lower-body injury that will keep him out of the lineup until at least next week, the Hawks must forge ahead without two of their offensive stars.

"It's tough when they are out but injuries do happen and we're going to have to try and find ways to win games and not just tread water waiting for those guys to return," winger Troy Brouwer said.

Entering Tuesday night's action around the NHL, the Hawks were fifth in the Western Conference with 32 points and had played as many as four more games than conference opponents.

"We need wins — there's no secret about that," forward Patrick Sharp said. "It's different with those two guys out of the lineup. We probably won't be scoring six or seven goals a game but if we keep things simple and play the way our coaches stress and talk about every day there's no reason why we can't continue to win."

With the balance in the conference, few teams can be considered out of the running for the eight playoff spots as 12 are within nine points of the front-running Detroit Red Wings. Despite more than half the season remaining, a sense of urgency has creeped into the Hawks' minds as they stand with a 15-12-2 record."