Just a few things that caught my eye:

• Mike Richards vs. Jonathan Toews -- advantage Toews. Neither man got a point. Both were on the ice for too many goals. But Toews dominated the face-off circle. Seventy-five percent is an incredibly impressive number; it's a lot more impressive than 40 percent.

• I have to wonder if Michael Leighton wasn't just a little spooked Saturday. Not from playing in Chicago but from having Brian Boucher as his back-up. He knew the job was 100 percent his when Johan Backlund was his wing man; I don't think he feels the same way right now. And neither do I.

• Troy Brouwer was a healthy scratch for three games against Vancouver; since then, he has six points in six games. And here I thought the naughty chair just didn't work any more...

• Ben Eager may be many things but he sure knows how to inject some life into his team and the Madhouse on Madison.

• Eleven goals -- welcome to the Wild West. It's a great way to gain new fans and to give old ones heart attacks.

• Antti Niemi looked awful early -- his rebound control sucked. But give the guy credit -- he scrapped his way through a bad night to get the win. Not that he'd get pulled, though -- it's pretty clear coach Joel Quennville doesn't trust Cristobal Huet to fill the team's water bottles.

• What exactly is "a good first-shot goalie?" That's how Michael Leighton was described earlier this week by a former Leafs and Rangers pugilist turned hockey analyst from a major Canadian sports network (yah, most of you know who I'm describing). I don't think he meant it as a slag but it sure sounded like that to me.

• I want Chicago to win. But we really shouldn't forget that Philly was tagged as a Cup contender in a lot of preseason columns. And anything can happen now it's clear that you don't need a multi-million dollar twine tender to win.