Return of Hawks’ Niklas Hjalmarsson welcome

After missing 7 games with a concussion, defenseman Niklas Hjalmarsson was back in the lineup against Dallas.

And his presence was appreciated.

“It’s good to have him back,” coach Joel Quenneville said. “He defends properly and his positioning’s strong for us. It’s good to have that reliability back.”

Hjalmarsson admitted he was a little nervous heading into the game, hoping his conditioning would be up to par.

“The last four games here, when I’ve been in the stands, I’ve been really proud of the guys, the way they’ve played defense,” he said.

The “Hammer” played on the right side Thursday alongside partner Sami Lepisto.

“It’s been a while since I’ve played on the right side,” Hjalmarsson said.

“I’m obviously a little bit more comfortable on the left side, but it’s been pretty good so far.”

Round of shots:The Hawks#146; offense came alive in the second period as they outshot the Stars 16-5 and jumped out to a 1-0 lead.#147;I think we were a little bit sloppy in the neutral zone (in the first period), but we cleaned that up a little bit,#148; Jamal Mayers said. #147;We started to back off their defensemen by chipping the puck in and because of that we#146;re able to enter the zone with the puck, and create some plays.#148;He#146;s baaack:Former Hawk Adam Burish made his presence felt early on Thursday when he cruised in on a breakaway in the first period only to be stoned by Hawks goalie Corey Crawford.Ominous outlook:Joel Quenneville didn#146;t sound very optimistic when it came to the outlook for defenseman Steve Montador (concussion).#147;No change,#148; Quenneville said. Asked if it might be a season-ending injury, the coach responded: #147;You never know. It would be nice to give you a timeline on it but we don#146;t have the precise forecast of exactly where it is.#148;