Blackhawks' Morin just trying to improve

While a crowd gathered around Patrick Sharp's locker Monday at Johnny's IceHouse after practice to talk of his return to the lineup, in the next stall over sat the forgotten man, Jeremy Morin, who reportedly is mulling a departure from the Blackhawks over a lack of playing time.

"I'm not really thinking about that at all," Morin said of his desire to be traded after being a healthy scratch the last eight games. "I'm trying to work on my game and trying to get back in the lineup here and just improve every day."

Coach Joel Quenneville feels Morin's frustration, but with the Hawks always in "the winning business" mode, the chances of the young forward cracking the lineup are slim at best.

"You're trying to get established; you're trying to get your foot in the door; you're trying to get that spot; you're trying to keep it," Quenneville said. "It's a competitive business.

"It's competitive right here. That's why we're at practice, which I thought was very competitive today as well. We had good pace and guys want more and they want to get more quality ice time. They want to move up in the line situation as well. It's a healthy situation.

"Some guys obviously aren't always going to get that spot. He's looking to nail that. I understand where he's at."

Odd man out?

With the return of Patrick Sharp to the lineup, initially on the third line alongside Andrew Shaw and Bryan Bickell, it might mean Joakim Nordstrom will be ticketed back to Rockford.

If that's the case, the young forward certainly made a good impression during his stint with the big club.

"I like what he's brought to our team," Joel Quenneville said. "Gives us some pace, gives us some physicality.

"That role of being a checker, kind of a relentless type of player - comparable to Krugs and Benny - they all take on that same kind of demeanor."

They'll be back:

After stopping 32 of 33 shots in a win over Nashville, Scott Darling will be back in goal Tuesday night against New Jersey.

Also penciled in to play is rookie defenseman Klas Dahlbeck, who impressed Joel Quenneville with his steady play Saturday in Nashville.

He said it:

"It was just one of those entertaining hits, I guess. He just flipped up into the bench, and I just gave him that extra push. I got a lot of texts and calls and laughs about it."

- Andrew Shaw on checking Nashville's James Neal into the Hawks' bench during the first period Saturday