ESPN 2009 Stanley Cup Playoffs Blog

Posted by Pierre LeBrun

CHICAGO -- Finnish blueliner Sami Salo made himself available to the media and he may have delivered the line of the playoffs.

When pressed by a Chicago reporter to reveal the nature of his injury, whether it was a groin or an ankle or a knee, Salo didn't miss a beat.

"Maybe it's just a burning sensation when you pee. You never know," Salo said as the scrum exploded into laughter.

OK, so he remains day to day with the undisclosed injury. Is there a chance he'll play Thursday in Game 4?

"There's always a chance for anything," said Salo. "We'll see how it is tomorrow and go from there. The good thing is that it's been getting better every day and that's a positive thing."

Salo injured himself after scoring a goal early in Game 2. He said he's not feeling pressure from the team to rush back. "There's no pressure from anybody else except myself," he said.

Balsillie news hits home
The news of Jim Balsillie wanting to buy and move the Phoenix Coyotes to Canada certainly hits home for Blackhawks captain Jonathan Toews. He was 8 years old when his hometown Winnipeg Jets were uprooted to Phoenix in 1996.

"I went to a bunch of games," Toews said Wednesday after practice. "I didn't really understand [what was happening]. I don't really remember whether they were fundraising or whatever to keep the team in Winnipeg. I don't recall perfectly, I was still a little guy."

But he does remember coming up with a solution.

"I remember asking my dad why he wouldn't buy the Winnipeg Jets and keep them in Winnipeg," Toews said with a chuckle. "But now I kind of understand. It would be awesome to have a team in Winnipeg. I think the people there deserve it so much. I don't want to say anything bad about any other NHL city, I enjoy things about going to the other NHL cities and playing there.

"But I just know it's unfortunate when things happen like that, because you have a city like Winnipeg, for example, where people are dying to have an NHL team and they would appreciate it quite a bit more. That's where hockey belongs, I guess. But things happen and that's the way it is I guess."

Of course, Winnipeg is not getting its team back. If Balsillie's latest ploy works out, the Coyotes will be in southern Ontario.

"I don't see the downside of having another team in Canada," said Toews. "I think it would be good for the league and good for the fans in Canada and good for competition. But who knows, we'll see what happens."

Fighting adversity
The Blackhawks were never behind in their first-round series with the Calgary Flames and that's an important note to remember for a young team with very little playoff experience. They never really felt the squeeze. Now they are.

I asked Blackhawks coach Joel Quenneville about that Wednesday, whether he was concerned about the psyche of his young team, down 2-1 in its series.

"I think coming into today was a good way to evaluate their attitude, their approach in the meetings," said Quenneville. "On the ice, we still feel energized and excited about what we can achieve here. I think we just realize we have to be much better than we were last night."

Hawks star Patrick Kane said he's simply upset at the egg they laid in front of their great fans.

"That was a game we definitely wanted to have last night," said Kane. "But we didn't come out with the effort we wanted, obviously. It's no excuse, especially in front of a crowd like that, you want to give them a good show, be entertaining, give them something to cheer for. We didn't really give them anything to cheer for last night except for the one goal. We have to be 10 times better next game."

Said Toews: "Our jump wasn't there. It's something that we have to focus on in the next game, moving our feet and playing with a lot of energy."