Sharp may be back next week

It looks like when the Blackhawks hit the road next week for games in New Jersey, Boston and Long Island, they'll have a familiar face back in the lineup - Patrick Sharp, who has been sidelined since early November with a lower-body injury.

After originally thinking Sharp might be able to rejoin the Hawks this weekend, coach Joel Quenneville decided to wait just a little longer.

"Likely, probably next week on the trip," Quenneville said Thursday after practice. "We want him to be more than ready.

"I think whether it's more contact or he's comfortable in all areas where he feels that strength underneath him. The pushing and the shoving in the tight areas is what we're looking at. And we have time, so let's make sure."

Swapping defensemen:

After their win over St. Louis on Wednesday, the Hawks recalled defenseman Klas Dahlbeck from Rockford and reassigned defenseman Adam Clendening to the IceHogs.

Dahlbeck, 23, has 2 goals, 4 assists and is a plus-4 in 22 games with the IceHogs.

Clendening, 22, scored on his first NHL shot but has been a healthy scratch the last three games.

"We want him playing," Joel Quenneville said of Clendening. "This will get him back playing bigger minutes and get his game going and we'll get a chance to see how Klas does here."