When Brent Seabrook happened upon Patrick Sharp in a hallway outside the Blackhawks dressing room at Bridgestone Arena on Tuesday, the temptation was too enticing.
"You interviewing Mr. Wall Street?" Seabrook deadpanned.
Sharp, with a scarf wrapped perfectly around his neck to perfectly complement his coat and perfectly styled hair, chuckled and carried on with his conversation.
The Blackhawks made a low-risk, one-year, $800,000 investment during the offseason to assure the 15th-year veteran would be dressed in red and white after Sharp spent the last two seasons playing for the Stars.
And the soon-to-be 36-year-old left winger's return to the team with which he helped to three Stanley Cups in 11 seasons was grand. He registered two goals and two assists during the Hawks' first six games.
During the next 16, though, Sharp's struggles far outweighed his production _ zero goals, zero assists.
The stretch was a microcosm of the team as a whole. It also wasn't unfamiliar to Sharp.
"You learn how to manage it a little differently," he said. "When I was younger I was way higher and way lower after good or bad results. Now I try to stay a little more even-keeled.
"But I've had good and bad stretches from my rookie year till my 15th year. I don't think that's ever going to change."
Neither is Sharp's veteran approach.
He has a goal and two assists in his last two games. On Monday, he had his first goal since Oct. 14 and his first assist since Oct. 10.
He was credited with another assist Tuesday during a 3-2 loss against the Predators.
"It doesn't really change the outlook," Sharp said. "I've been around long enough to know what I need to do to be successful. It's no secret. Joel (Quenneville) talks about it all the time _ it's playing with pace; it's moving my feet; it's getting the puck in my hands in the dirty areas.
"The last four or five games, I've been doing that and having no results. Then when you add the previous couple weeks with no results, it starts to wear on your mind. Those are just games that you play with yourself throughout the course of the season."
During that six-week lull, Sharp sometimes turned his thoughts to Martin St. Louis for a little reassurance. Sharp, who like St. Louis played collegiately for Vermont, looked up to the right-winger who scored 953 points in 16 seasons.
By no means was Sharp comparing himself to St. Louis, whom he called a "Hall of Famer." But he does take solace in the fact that even the best players aren't always at their best.
"He had stretches where the puck wasn't going in and he was the top scorer in the league, so I always figured if a player of that quality is going to go a few games without scoring, anybody can," Sharp said. "Just keep battling and hope the bounces keep going your way."
They didn't for the Blackhawks on Tuesday.
But the way Sharp sees it, they will again soon.
"Everybody had the same problem," Quenneville said of the team's struggles. "Hence, for a 10-game stretch there we had maybe less than five even-strength goals.
"We have enough guys that should be able to score. We feel it's just a matter of time before guys find that confidence."
For some of them, such as Sharp, it's always been there. And he's happy to share it if he sees a teammate in need of reassurance.
"I try not to ramble on too much, but I'll say some things to certain players if I feel it's necessary," he said. "It is kinda cool to take on that role."
