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Bolland proving his value to Hawks again

VANCOUVER, British Columbia — If we have learned anything from the Blackhawks' first-round playoff series with the Canucks, it's that Dave Bolland remains one of the key players on a team loaded with marquee stars.

Bolland's inspirational return from from missing five weeks with a concussion to get 4 points in Game 4 reaffirmed his vital status in the Hawks' lineup.

“He completes our lineup,” teammate Brian Campbell said.

It was too bad for the Hawks that Bolland couldn't have returned even one game sooner for Game 3, a 3-2 loss on home ice that gave the Canucks their commanding 3-0 series lead.

Bolland, who suffered a concussion March 9 when he was elbowed in the head by Tampa Bay defenseman Pavel Kubina, actually wasn't cleared to play until the morning of Game 4 on Tuesday.

“I just wasn't ready,” Bolland said about missing the first three games of the series. “There was still the testing and stuff like that I had to do. You don't want to take those chances with something like this. It's not like any other injury where you can just battle though it, like a shoulder, and deal with the pain. It was making sure I was 100 percent good and ready to go.”

While the Hawks see Bolland as their lock-down defensive center, that's not how the Canucks view him, particularly Daniel Sedin.

Bolland shut down Henrik and Daniel Sedin last year in the playoffs and frustrated them again in Game 4 of this series largely because Bolland and linemates Michael Frolik and Bryan Bickell made the Canucks' offensive stars play defense, which they don't like to do.

“He's a really good offensive player,” Daniel Sedin said. “That's his main strength, I think. We need to play him like we play Jonathan Toews or Patrick Sharp or Patrick Kane and all those guys.”

Going into Game 5 on Thursday, Bolland had 15 points in 13 career playoff games against the Canucks while the Sedins collected 20 combined.

The Hawks were 9-4 against Vancouver in the playoffs with Bolland in the lineup.

Bolland's skill often gets overlooked when it's held up in comparison to Hawks forwards Toews, Kane, Sharp and Marian Hossa, but Bolland was an offensive superstar in junior hockey who settled into a defensive niche as a pro.

“I don't know, am I an offensive player or a defensive player now?” Bolland said jokingly. “After last game I must be an offensive player, but for myself the big thing is the defense, taking care of my own zone and making sure that puck isn't in the back of the net when I'm on the ice.”

Bolland takes great pride in all aspects of his game and is only happy to let his more famous teammates bask in the media spotlight.

“I couldn't care less about the spotlight,” Bolland said. “I just want to have fun out there playing hockey.”