Quenneville demanding more production from third line
Early on here, Blackhawks coach Joel Quenneville has been pretty complimentary of his top two lines and the job the fourth line has done as well.
But as for that third line of Bryan Bickell, Brad Richards and Ben Smith?
Eh, not so much.
Quenneville realizes that Richards may have been expecting to play in between Patrick Kane and Brandon Saad when he signed this summer, and that before he was injured, Kris Versteeg was penciled in on the third line ... but things change, and now Q wants to see some production from the line, which has been held without a point.
"Just get a little bit more comfortable with each other and have more presence with the puck, patience with it, and more offensive zone time," Quenneville said. "That line had a couple shifts in their own end. Let's get a little cleaner and neater in that area and let's spend some time in their end."
Message received.
"You always want to produce, always want to help the team," Smith said. "I'm not sure if we're feeling pressure, I just think we put that pressure on ourselves.
"We want to play well, we want to produce, we want to help the team. That's what motivates us to try and improve and gel together."
But finding that chemistry has been a bit elusive.
"We haven't played that much together other than the games," Smith said. "Unfortunately Kris got hurt - we want him back, we need him back.
"To be thrown together kind of last minute, it's been OK. We're working hard at it."
Bittersweet return:
On Wednesday, former Hawk forward Brandon Bollig made his first visit to the United Center since being traded to Calgary.
"It's pretty weird walking into the building with another team," Bollig said. "I've been looking forward to it. I talk to the guys quite regularly. I had this one circled on the calendar for awhile."
The Hawks traded Bollig to the Flames in June, and he still sounds a little stunned by the whole thing.
"I wasn't expecting that; it was a shock," he said. "I wasn't sure how it would go down. Once I got up there and everyone was welcoming and meeting the guys and coaches and things like that, it's been great."
But ...
"Obviously I miss my time here. I couldn't have asked for anything more. Can only hope maybe I'll end up back here one day."
He said it:
"I think he forgot how to celebrate. He started trying to fight the guy after he scored a goal. It was hilarious. It was a good shot, though - I'm happy for him."
- Patrick Kane on former teammate John Scott scoring just his third career NHL goal on Tuesday night.