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There has been nothing special about the Blackhawks' 2-3-1 start.
Particularly when it comes to special-teams play. The Hawks came out of the weekend ranked 27th on the power play (2-for-29) and 25th in penalty-killing. Of the 17 goals they've surrendered in six games, 8 have been with the opposition on the power play.
"Our special teams have kind of let us down," defenseman Jon Klemm said. "We've got to do something about the penalties we're taking, especially with the penalty-killing struggling.
"We've been a little inconsistent on the kill. If we can play more 5-on-5 hockey, I think we'll be all right. But first things first; we're taking too many penalties."
The Hawks were short-handed 10 times in Friday's 6-4 loss at Minnesota, with 4 of the Wild's goals coming on the power play. In Sunday's 2-2 tie with Columbus, the Hawks were short-handed eight more times, the Blue Jackets scoring twice with the man advantage.
Last season under former coach Alpo Suhonen, the Hawks were the second-least penalized team in the NHL behind only Nashville. If the players are trying to impress new coach Brian Sutter with their aggressive play, he warns they are going about it the wrong way.
"We've got to slice the margin in what makes the difference between winning and losing," Sutter said. "Bad penalties - undisciplined, selfish penalties - are a sign of a team that has been losing."
The power play appears no better than last season (when it ranked 28th), even with the addition of Phil Housley. Sutter is still searching for the right mix, but the biggest problem remains that not enough shots are being generated from the point and there is little traffic in front.
"We're trying something different on the power play, different people playing together," Sutter said. "I know the (combinations) here last year didn't work. We're going to keep moving guys until we get it going.
"Power plays aren't complicated. You can make them a lot more than what they are, and when they don't work, believe me, they become a lot tougher than they should be."
Up and down: After playing a strong game at Minnesota, Alex Zhamnov couldn't get much going offensively against Columbus and heard about it from the small crowd of 10,216.
"Alex is a proud, proud individual who doesn't get near the credit that he deserves," Brian Sutter said. "He wants to do more, no question."
Sutter is the latest in a long line of Hawks coaches who wish Zhamnov would shoot the puck more often. So far in the Hawks' first six games, Zhamnov has 10 shots on goal.
"I'd love to see Alex shoot more," Sutter said. "I talk to him constantly, and he knows. He has a world-class shot.
"But you've got to remember something about Alex and Tony (Amonte). Every time they jump over the boards, the other team changes lines or, if we're on the road, they put their best checkers on the ice against them and the best two defensemen. They don't have as much open ice as the (Steve) Sullivans and the (Michael) Nylanders."
Amonte also would like to see his longtime linemate start looking more for the shot.
"It's good for Alex to take more shots because then guys might back off him a little," Amonte said. "If they know you're going to pass so much, they try to take away all your receivers. Just to keep the defense honest, you've got to take a few shots here and there. Throwing the puck on the net, we've been talking about it all year. It's a good play."
Pat on the back: Street and Smith's Sports Business Journal has praised the Hawks for their online town-hall meeting last summer.
The publication said the Hawks "gave the industry a glimpse into how a team can improve its profile and fan-friendly agenda in an efficient manner. Choosing to use the Web to house a forum like this ensures that the event is accessible to fans from across the globe."