– Step by step: Goalie Darren Pang took another step on the comeback trail when he put on the pads and faced shots in Wednesday morning`s workout at the Stadium. Pang, who had anterior cruciate ligament surgery on his left knee last September, hopes to be playing in the minors by March.
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– Four on the floor: The Hawks` offense is so good and so deep that they were one of only two teams with four players with 20 or more goals going into Wednesday`s action.
Before playing Buffalo, Adam Creighton had 25, Steve Thomas 22, Denis Savard 21 and Steve Larmer 20. Only the North Stars also had four players who`d scored 20 or more: Brian Bellows (31), Mike Gartner (27), Dave Gagner
(23) and Mike Modano (20).
– Calendar boys: Dave Manson is counting the hours and crossing out the days like a jailbird. ”I can`t wait,” he said. The defenseman returns Saturday in Hartford after serving a 13-game suspension for returning to the ice to pursue a fight and pushing a linesman on the way. Left wing Wayne Van Dorp will be back from his 10-game suspension next Thursday in Los Angeles.
”If the situation allows me, I might break in Manson slowly in games,”
said coach Mike Keenan. ”We`ll have to see if I can do that or not. His timing could take a little while to come back.”
– A pain: Center Denis Savard had hoped to heal his sprained left ankle in time not to miss a game, with the All-Star break giving him extra time. But Savard sat out Wednesday`s game against Buffalo because the ankle didn`t allow him to cut the way he must. It`s the second straight game he`s been sidelined after having played in the first 47 games.
Savard`s condition is day-to-day, and the Hawks would like to see him return Friday night in Buffalo when the team opens a six-game trip. He is four points from scoring 1,000, which will make him the 27th player in the NHL to reach that mark.