The Chicago Blackhawks now have 2 preseason games under their belts, losing to the Ovechkin-less Washington Capitals 3-2 in overtime Saturday in the United Center, and getting blanked by the Havlat-ful Minnesota Wild 3-0 in Minnesota on Sunday.

The preseason isn't really that big a deal, considering the Hawks are really only evaluating to fill the backup goalie spot, and the end of the bench at both forward and defense. But, still...

Saturday night, Kris Versteeg suffered the ubiquitous "upper body injury" after a hit. Now, as we know, "Upper body injury" can mean anything from jammed pinky to decapitation. Since Versteeg's head appeared to be attached as much as it ever is, it's a fair guess that it's really not that severe.

During the Minnesota game, Adam Burish skated off the ice pretty gingerly. This is less than good. Burish is one of the players the Hawks can ill afford to lose. First, he settled into his new role as instigator pretty well last season. His penalty minutes went way down, and the number of power plays he generated grew. This was, of course, after he taped his "one goal" spot about sticking up for his teammates, and earning penalty minutes. Nice timing.

Aside from Burish's on-ice contributions, which also include at least 2 shifts per night where he (along with Ben Eager and Colin Fraser) were able to cycle the puck deep in the offensive zone, and keep the opposing defense on their heels for a couple minutes, despite having hands of masonry, he's cheap. Less than a million dollars against the cap. Given the Hawks' cap situation (which is eased slightly by Marian Hossa's 2 month stint on the Long Term Injured Reserve), bargains are to be embraced.

The Hawks have a game in Washington on Wednesday night, and a home game against the Wild on Friday. Then, they fly to Switzerland for a pair of exhibition games before the season starts in earnest on October 2, with a pair against the Florida Panthers.

The key between now and October 2 is to not see anyone else leave before the game ends.