With winger Tuomo Ruutu out of the Blackhawks’ lineup Tuesday night, Rene Bourque took his place on a line with center Curtis Brown and winger Martin Lapointe.
Bourque was a healthy scratch Saturday night at San Jose. He needed some stitches in his cheek after colliding with Colorado’s Alex Tanguay on Friday night in Denver.
“[Bourque] just needs to relax and play,” Hawks coach Trent Yawney said. “Things have happened pretty quick for him. In two years he’s gone from being an AHL rookie of the year to the NHL.”
Bourque and Yawney both believe the rookie is thinking too much instead of reacting.
“When you think, you don’t move your feet,” Bourque said. “In training camp I was playing pretty well. But there has been a little dip in my game. I think everyone goes through that at some point and I have to just get back on track.”
However, Bourque took two penalties in the first 26 minutes, and the second led to a power-play goal.
Dump-ins
Tuesday was a homecoming for several Blackhawks. Brent Seabrook, Matt Ellison, Todd Simpson and Bourque are from British Columbia and Adrian Aucoin played with the Canucks from 1994-2001. … With Aucoin back in the lineup, Simpson and Cam Barker were scratched. Having Aucoin back should also adjust the ice time for the rest of the defensive crew. Rookies Seabrook and Duncan Keith have been averaging more than 20 minutes a game, and Aucoin now figures to eat up some of that time. … Early indications are that if the Hawks can stay out of the penalty box, they’ll be OK. Through the first six games, they outscored opponents 11-8 while playing five-on-five or four-on-four. On special teams the Hawks were outscored 12-6.
