So far, so good with Kane at center

Barring a trade for a second-line center, it certainly appears as if Blackhawks coach Joel Quenneville plans to keep Patrick Kane in the middle for the forseeable future.

“He looks like he can do it,” Quenneville said Saturday.

Kane was noticeable in his regular-season debut at center Friday at Dallas with the puck on his stick more than when he plays right wing.

“I think he has the puck a lot more when he's in the middle,” Qyuenneville said. “He did have the puck a lot (Friday) and was dangerous. I like his patience and play selection when he has it.”

Quenneville has had no issues with Kane defensively since he made the switch to center in the preseason.

“He's fine and he's only going to get better when he sees situations and learning exactly where he can be and how to kill plays and how to be in position offensively down low, too,” Quenneville said. “It's no surprise.”

Mikita and Hull:

Hawks president and CEO John McDonough announced Saturday the statues of Hall of Famers Stan Mikita and Bobby Hull will be unveiled outside the United Center on Saturday, Oct. 22, before the game against Colorado.

The bronze life-sized statues, sculpted by the Rotblatt-Amrany Fine Art Studio, will be located on the northeast plaza outside the UC on Madison Street.

Plans for the ceremony will be announced later.

More like it:

As passive as the Hawks were physically in Friday's loss at Dallas when they were outhit by the Stars 37-19, it was just the opposite Saturday.

The Hawks came out hitting in front of the home crowd led by wingers Bryan Bickell and Jamal Mayers.

Joel Quenneville admitted what happened on Friday was not acceptable.

“Not enough,” Quenneville said. “They were more physical than us, definitely more physical than us.”

The Hawks did have the puck more than the Stars in the opener, which Quenneville said can lead to a lack of hitting.

“When you have the puck a little more you're not doing much hitting,” Quenneville said. “I thought we had more zone time than them.”

Back already:

The Hawks recalled center Marcus Kruger from Rockford on Saturday and assigned center Brandon Pirri to the American Hockey League team.

Pirri struggled in Friday's opener, especially defensively. He lost a key faceoff before the Stars' second goal.

Joel Quenneville sees Kruger as a more dependable player in his own end. “We feel in that role he can give us some responsibility defensively,” Quenneville said. “We didn't mind (Pirri's) game last night. Offensively he did some good things. Defensively, he needs to play a little bit.”

Tip-ins:

Winger Rostislav Olesz and defenseman Sami Lepisto were Saturday's healthy scratches. ... John Scott dressed as the seventh defenseman. ... Rookie Brandon Saad started the night at left wing with Patrick Kane and Marian Hossa.