Blackhawks to play without Hossa for 2-3 weeks

The Blackhawks will be without winger Marian Hossa for 2-3 weeks with an upper-body injury, coach Joel Quenneville said Monday.

Hossa suffered the injury during the first period of Saturday's game against the Pittsburgh Penguins at Soldier Field when Craig Adams checked him into the boards.

“There's going to be some quality ice time shared amongst the guys,” Quenneville said. “I thought (Brandon Saad) did a real good job being put up on that line there as the game progressed the other day. We'll probably put him there. We'll get Peter (Regin) back in the lineup, and we could always put (Andrew) Shaw on the right. We'll see what happens.”

Hossa has 24 goals, 26 assists and a plus-25 rating in 57 games this season.

Quenneville didn't know if anyone would be called up at this time.

“I don't know if we're going to do that on a need basis or just have them here as we go along,” Quenneville said.

Quenneville was asked if Pierre-Marc Bouchard might get a look.

“We'll see,” Quenneville said. “There's two or three guys probably in that boat and we'll definitely get them up here at some point. Whether they're going to be here immediately, we're not sure of that, but (Bouchard's) played very well down there and (we've gotten) very positive reports about Bouchard's contribution.”

Bollig extended:

Left winger Brandon Bollig was rewarded with a three-year contract extension Monday that averages $1.25 million a year.

“I was hoping it would happen,” Bollig said. “Obviously we've been talking and my contract was up after this year, and I was hoping I would remain a Blackhawk and it worked out for me.”

Bollig felt all the work he put in during the summer has paid off.

“This summer, I stayed here and trained and utilized all the things in this organization that we have to make us better,” Bollig said. “Our strength coach and our skills and skating coach were huge for me. It was kind of all the little things, the skill part of it and I think confidence is a big part.

“Coming into the season, for whatever reason, my mind kind of changed. Last year, I obviously enjoyed the success, but as far as my own personal game, I kind of let that stay behind me and focused on a new part of my game and expanding my role.”

Bollig could have become an unrestricted free agent this summer.

“We take a great amount of pride in having watched Brandon come up through our system and become a big part of our lineup on a daily basis,” Hawks general manager Stan Bowman said.

What next?

First, Corey Crawford's specially made mask didn't arrive at Soldier Field for Saturday's outdoor game.

On Monday, Crawford was missing his pads, glove and mask that he wore in the special game.

“No, I didn't find my mask and you're not going to believe this, but my pads got stolen at Soldier Field,” Crawford said. “White pads, gloves — gone. Actually, I think they did catch someone on camera. I still can't believe it. I think they're joking. I think my pads are in the back and they're playing a joke on me.

“I don't even know what to think anymore. Seriously, I'm stunned by the whole thing. It's crazy. Unbelievable. I've never seen this before. I've never heard of this before. It's crazy. The trainers are all stunned that it happened. I was speechless, too.”

Long time gone:

Tuesday's game against Colorado will be the first at the United Center for the Hawks since Jan. 26.

“Wow, it's been a long time,” Joel Quenneville said. “Being out there on the ice for practice was like – you miss this place. It's a special place to play and I'm sure from the anthem on tomorrow night, I'm sure we'll be excited about being here and feeling comfortable as well.”