Phew. That was close.

The Hawks rode the Motorboat Line's 5 points (Troy Brouwer with a goal, Dave Bolland with 2 assists, Bryan Bickell with a goal and an assist) to jump out to a 4-1 lead before hanging on by their fingernails to defeat the Dallas Stars 5-3 in Adam Burish's return to the United Center.

Let's get to it:

THE GOOD:

Two years ago, Bolland centered a damn good line with Andrew Ladd and Martin Havlat on his wings. Last season he centered Dustin Byfuglien and Kris Versteeg. This year he's starting to gel with Bickell and Brouwer. It can't be a coincidence that Bolland keeps centering strong lines, can it? He's starting to dent the scoresheet, and his linemates are joining him. With injuries decimating the top two lines, this is exactly what the Hawks need.

Jonathan Toews. +10 in the faceoff circle, strong as Hossa on the forecheck and backcheck, scores a goal in a hole that nobody saw, like Kane. He can play like these guys, but there's nobody in the world who plays like Jonathan Toews.

Firsts. Rob Klinkhammer had his NHL debut, and Jeremy Morin got his first NHL goal. This has got to be heady stuff, going from Rockford to 20,000 screaming fans. Good on ya, kids.

THE BAD:

Losing focus. The Hawks allowed a goal 20 seconds after going up 3-0, then scored one less than 40 seconds later. A nice, comfy 4-1 game became a 4-3 nailbiter in a big hurry. The Hawks had been extremely effective at sealing off shooting lanes, then pretty much rolled out the red carpet after squandering a 5-on-3 (although, to be fair, they scored immediately thereafter). Once the boot is on the neck, you don't let it up. Even the Very Handsome Patrick Sharp said after the game that the Hawks were getting too cute.

THE UGLY:

The United Center glass. Two panes popped out, and the hitting wasn't really all that hard. Not sure if Hollywood Gil is representing the crew that put the glass in, but twice during the game, they had to stop play. When you've got the Stanley Cup Champions hosting one of the top teams in the West, that't too big an event to have a game changer like glass popping out.

The Hawks now travel to San Jose to take on the Sharks Saturday night. See you in the Shoutbox.