Pat Foley and Eddie Olczyk, one of the best and most respected tandems in broadcasting, were signed to three-year contract extensions on Thursday.

Foley's and Olczyk's credentials speak for themselves. They have a combined 38 years of experience in the Hawks organization.

John Scott put it bluntly after the Hawks' 3-1 loss to the Blues on Tuesday.

"It was embarrassing," Scott said. "If we play like that we're going to lose the rest of the year."

Hawks captain Jonathan Toews will be out two weeks with a shoulder injury suffered Tuesday night against the Blues.

The Hawks feel fortunate it's not a long-term injury. But any injury to Toews is bad news despite the severity. The Hawks are looking at playing seven games without Toews.

ST. LOUIS -- Jonathan Toews left Tuesday's game against the Blues with what is officially being called an upper-body injury.

But it looks like a right shoulder injury.

ST. LOUIS -- Patrick Kane is set to return from his ankle injury Tuesday against the Blues.

"I'm pretty excited and pretty happy about it," Kane said following the Hawks' morning skate at the Scottrade Center. "Skating and everything, shooting and everything, it's pretty fine. We'll see how it is during the game. Right now, it is as good as it's going to get for a while."

Blackhawks winger Patrick Kane said it's "probable" that he returns Tuesday from his ankle injury against the St. Louis Blues.

That's just more good news for the Hawks, who got a boost Sunday against the Blue Jackets when Marian Hossa came back from his lower-body injury. If Kane's in the lineup, the Hawks will be back to full strength.

The Predators haven't forgotten last postseason by any means.

Before Wednesday's 4-1 win, the last time the Hawks defeated the Predators at the United Center was their stunning come-from-behind win in Game 5 of their first-round series.

Patrick Kane scored the game-tying goal in the playoff game with 13.6 seconds left, and Marian Hossa got the game-winner in overtime after his five-minute boarding penalty.

Viktor Stalberg (concussion) was cleared to play , but coach Joel Quenneville opted to stick with the same lineup that defeated the Red Wings and Kings in back-to-back games against the Predators on Wednesday.

"I'm prepared to play but they've been successful the last two games," Stalberg said. "We'll go with the same lineup. It will be good for me to get a few extra days in between and make sure I'm 100 percent."

The Blackhawks gave a local marine a heart-warming birthday gift and his family an even better Christmas gift Tuesday after practice at Johnny's Ice House West.

Lance Cpl. George Handley, a West Aurora graduate, was flown in from Japan by the Hawks for a surprise reunion with his family in the team's locker room.

The USO of Illinois and Jonathan Toews and Patrick Kane played a huge role in arranging the surprise.

The first time was bloody. The second time ... not so much.

The Hawks' John Scott and the Kings' Kevin Westgarth met for the second time this season Sunday. It was a solid fight by both tough guys.

No blood. No stitches. Just a few good punches. Hats off to Westgarth for wanting more after their first scrap left him a bloody mess. He held his own against Scott this time, and, judging by his response after the scrap, he was satisfied with it.

Coach Joel Quenneville had a brief chat with veteran defenseman Jassen Cullimore about the Hawks' decision to place him on 24-hour waivers.

The most disconcerting development on the Blackhawks injury front Saturday was that Patrick Kane did not finish practice.

The good news is that Marian Hossa did, and he sounded more encouraged by his progress afterward.

Still, neither will play Sunday against the Los Angeles Kings. Viktor Stalberg (head) is also out.

Ryan Johnson, the newest Blackhawk, is a tough one.

The Hawks officially added Johnson, a seasoned shot-blocker who played through broken bones in each foot last regular season with the rival Vancouver Canucks, to their mix Friday with a one-year, $500,000 deal.

Blackhawks general manager Stan Bowman said he was looking for depth at center and made his first move at trying to address it Friday.

The Hawks signed veteran center Ryan Johnson to a one-year deal worth $500,000. Ryan, 34, signed a professional tryout offer with the Rockford IceHogs earlier this week, playing in one game on Wednesday.

Johnson played for coach Joel Quenneville years ago with the St. Louis Blues. He's played in 667 regular-season games, including the last two seasons with the rival Vancouver Canucks.

Patrick Kane was on the ice at practice Thursday. Then he came off and went into the locker room. He came back, skated a little bit and then went off again.

In other words, Kane, who suffered an ankle injury on Dec. 5, is "doubtful" for Friday's game against the Detroit Red Wings.

BY BEN MEYER-ABBOTT bmeyer-abbott@suntimes.com --- The Blackhawks got some good news Wednesday when wingers Patrick Kane and Fernando Pisani and center Dave Bolland all participated in the morning skate and seem to be on the road to recover from their injuries.

DENVER - For the Blackhawks, it's about thriving when trying to survive a spat of injuries that seem to add up while there are signs things are getting better.

The good news Monday was that Marian Hossa, Fernando Pisani and even Patrick Kane will be on the ice this week as part of their rehab and as their returns inch closer.

The bad news was that center Dave Bolland sat out Monday's game against the Colorado Avalanche and is considered day-to-day with an undisclosed upper-body injury that isn't serious.

DENVER -- Dave Bolland will sit out Monday's game against the Colorado Avalanche. Ryan Potulny was recalled to take his place in the lineup.

Coach Joel Quenneville said Bolland is day-to-day with an upper-body injury suffered against the San Jose Sharks Saturday. Bolland did finish the game and the injury is not believed to be serious.

DENVER -- Blackhawks goalie Marty Turco will be making his first start in more than a week Monday against the Colorado Avalanche.

Turco got the nod from the coach Joel Quenneville over Corey Crawford, who is 7-0-1 in his last seven starts.

DENVER -- Jordan Hendry may have earned himself another game at wing with his performance against the San Jose Sharks.

Hendry scored the Hawks' only goal - his first this season -- as fellow defenseman-turned-wing John Scott and center Jake Dowell assisted. He played 8:18 and had three shots and a big hit on Sharks defenseman Douglas Murray.

SAN JOSE, Calif. -- Blackhawks winger Viktor Stalberg raised his arms in celebration. He had just scored the go-ahead goal in the second period, putting a loose puck past San Jose Sharks goalie Antti Niemi.

But wait ... referee Greg Kimmerly had whistled the play dead. The goal was no good. Kimmerly thought Niemi had the puck buried in his pads after stopping Jack Skille's initial shot.

SAN JOSE, Calif. -- The blue-line line is back together for the Hawks Saturday against the San Jose Sharks. Defensemen Jordan Hendry and John Scott will play wing on the fourth line with center Jake Dowell.

The Hawks only recalled Jeremy Morin from the Rockford IceHogs. Morin flew in Friday night as the Hawks continue to shuffle him back and forth to limit his cap hit.

SAN JOSE, Calif. - The spotlight is shining brightly on Corey Crawford right now. He's won seven consecutive games and is a big reason why the Hawks have been able to rebound this season.

But he's not reading too much into his success or which records he's on the verge of tying.

SAN JOSE, Calif. -- The decision to head to California a day earlier was an easy one. Not only is the weather better, but Hawks coach Joel Quenneville wanted his team acclimated to the time change and rested.

The San Jose Sharks, despite being their hosts Saturday, may have some jet lag to overcome.

There weren't too many Hawks on the ice Thursday during practice at the United Center.

Here's the rundown:

Dallas Stars coach Marc Crawford was fuming following the Hawks' 5-3 victory over his team Wednesday night at the United Center.

In the waning seconds, defenseman Brent Seabrook fell during a Stars rush, and his stick was propelled at defenseman Trevor Daley.

Crawford thought Seabrook threw his stick at Daley, which would result in a penalty shot. No penalty was called. He confronted referees Dave Jackson and Dean Morton afterward.

Here is the video of Crawford's comments and the play in question (from the Defending Big D blog):

The Blackhawks might have a dilemma on their hands with Jeremy Morin in the near future if their injury situation doesn't improve.

Here are the Blackhawks projected lines with Patrick Kane, Marian Hossa and Fernando Pisani all out of the lineup:

The Blackhawks placed winger Marian Hossa on injured reserved Wednesday, and recalled Jeremy Morin and Rob Klinkhammer from the Rockford IceHogs.

Blackhawks star winger Patrick Kane is going to be out of the lineup for three weeks.

"We're hoping that's the maximum," coach Joel Quenneville said Tuesday after practice at the United Center.

Patrick Kane is going to be out for a bit, but his injury is not that serious. In other words, it could have been worse.

Replays showed that Kane's left skate appeared to be stuck against the boards when Flames defenseman Cory Sarich struck.

Here's the video of Kane's injury:

Blackhawks star winger Patrick Kane left Sunday's game against the Calgary Flames with a lower-body injury.

Kane was hurt moments into the first period when he tried to spin away from a hit by Flames defenseman Cory Sarich. He lay on the ice as play continued.

The Hawks training staff assisted Kane to the bench and into the locker room. He appeared to be favoring his left leg. Kane played only 23 seconds.

Vancouver Canucks coach Alain Vigneault's assertion that the Blackhawks ran up the score in their last meeting is the latest wrinkle in their full-blown rivalry.

That rivalry, as many of us know, also includes some name-calling, a line brawl, some hair-pulling, hard hits, run-ins with a certain goalie and on and on.

Backup goalie Corey Crawford has started the last three games and has won five in a row, but coach Joel Quenneville is turning to veteran Marty Turco Friday against the Vancouver Canucks.

With the Hawks having some days off between games, it's important that Turco sees some action. Both goalies get their fair share of games as the season progresses.