Blackhawks Keeping Busy

The winless Chicago Blackhawks gathered a few of their former greats, including Keith Magnuson and Stan Mikita, for a pep talk after Wednesday’s practice at the United Center.

General Manager Bob Murray talked tough Tuesday after Pittsburgh’s Darius Kasparaitis elbowed Jean-Pierre Dumont in the head Saturday, giving the Chicago winger a concussion.

“If Mr. Kasparaitis wants to play that way when he comes to town, I hope he’ll be a man about it, drop his gloves and settle it that way,” Murray told Chicago reporters.

The latest ruckus comes in the wake of the postgame rumble between Washington General Manager George McPhee and Chicago Coach Lorne Molleken after a fight-filled exhibition game. There also was an Oct. 4 brawl with the San Jose Sharks, which led to the suspension of two Blackhawks.

Distractions? What distractions?

The Ducks are not about to take the Blackhawks lightly tonight, however.

“We don’t even look at a team’s record or where they are in the standings,” Coach Craig Hartsburg said. “We have to get ourselves ready to play. We have to play with the desperation we had [Tuesday] night [in a 7-1 rout of the Washington Capitals]. . . . We want to play well here. It’s the end of our trip and it’s been a very good trip so far.”

The Ducks have victories over Washington and Tampa Bay and losses to New Jersey and Florida on their trip.

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As of Wednesday afternoon, Hartsburg hadn’t decided whether to play defenseman Fredrik Olausson tonight. Olausson has sat out the last two games because of a sprained left ankle.

TONIGHT

at Chicago, 5:30 PDT

Fox Sports West 2

* Site--United Center.

* Radio--XTRA (690).

* Records--Ducks 4-4-0-1, Blackhawks 0-3-3-0.

* Record vs. Blackhawks (1998-99)--3-1.

* Update--The Ducks have won five of six against the Blackhawks, including the Feb. 1, 1998 game in which Paul Kariya was cross-checked in the jaw by Gary Suter and sidelined for the Nagano Olympics and the final 28 games of the NHL season.