"Forget the pressure high-scoring Blackhawks winger Patrick Sharp puts on opponents. Teammates apparently feel the heat too during Sharp's hot streaks.

"Everything is get him the puck, or every play on the power play he wants set up for him," Patrick Kane kidded hours before Wednesday night's 4-2 loss to the Stars at the United Center. "He's not really humble."

Kane isn't really serious. He can joke about the size of Sharp's ego because the Hawks know it is smaller than a hockey puck.

On the ice and off, Chicago's most overlooked sports star takes pride in knowing his place.

This is the guy who during last spring's NHL playoffs graciously finished a TV interview even after the interviewer confused him for somebody else. So it came as no surprise Wednesday to hear Sharp struggle trying to explain how only two players in the league scored more goals than his 23 in the first half of the season.

It took Sharp until the 74th game last season to reach 23 goals. Not even smart phones improve that fast.

"It's difficult talking about yourself, how good you are, how many goals you've been scoring," Sharp said. "It takes away some of the focus. It's only the first half and we have a lot of hockey to go. There are a lot more important things than how many goals I have."

That's experience talking. Sharp referenced his recent 29th birthday when downplaying a start that has him on pace to become the Blackhawks' first 40-goal scorer since Tony Amonte in 2000. He wants none of the attention he deserves. The Hawks are 14-4-1 when Sharp scores a goal, but the mild-mannered man with the GQ looks appears nearly ready to drop the gloves if you dare suggest he is the team's first-half MVP."