"Marian Hossa was close to breaking out. He was regaining his stride and showing signs of dominance again. His scoring chances were increasing, and so were their quality.

And then another setback.

Hossa was ruled out two to three weeks Tuesday after suffering a lower-body injury when he collided with Nick Boynton a day earlier at practice. It comes 10 games and three weeks after he first returned from an undisclosed upper-body injury that kept him out five games.

''Since he came back from when he was injured, I thought [Hossa] was progressing,'' coach Joel Quenneville said. ''He was coming off a great game in L.A.

''He's useful in so many different areas. ... There is a void there, but you're always going to be missing players [because of injuries] over stretches of games or in games. You have to adapt.''

The Hawks adapted earlier and adapted last season when he sat out 22 games after shoulder surgery in the summer. And this season, the Hawks have been adapting whether it's because of all their new players or injuries to key returners. Jeremy Morin was recalled from the Rockford IceHogs.

The timing and circumstances of the injury aren't ideal. Starting with the game Tuesday against the St. Louis Blues, the Hawks play 10 of their next 13 games at home. Quenneville also appeared to have settled on his lines during the circus trip, but now things will change.

The Hawks went 2-3 with Hossa out of the lineup this season. This injury appears to be more serious; Hossa could miss anywhere between six and nine games. Hossa was on the first power-play and penalty-kill units. "