"In his role as Blackhawks captain, it often falls to Jonathan Toews to demand more from teammates when things aren't going well. Before he does so, the NHL's youngest captain first makes sure his own game is in order.

"There's not much to be said if you're not playing well yourself," said Toews, who is playing exceptionally well with three goals and 14 assists in the last 11 games for a Hawks team that has captured points in six of its last seven games.

"First and foremost, it's probably the No. 1 thing you're trying to worry about and after that you always have to be saying the right things at the right moment."

Toews' third season wearing the ''C'' on his sweater hasn't gone as smoothly as last season when the team soared to win the Stanley Cup.

"It's always more challenging when you go through some tough moments and you're losing games and you're competing for a playoff spot," Toews, 22, said. "You can make all the excuses in the world and say what's different about this team and last year's team.

"(But) we're not talking about last year. There are no easy games for us (this season), especially at this time of the year. Sometimes maybe we expect that. It's tougher as a leader especially when you're trying to spark the rest of the guys … and things aren't going your way. It definitely has been more challenging this year."

Toews displayed some of the fire the Hawks needed after some lackadaisical play during the first period of Monday's 5-3 victory over the Blues. The captain lit into the team at the intermission and it came out like it was shot out of a cannon to score four second-period goals."