Blackhawks' Quenneville surprises with lineup moves

The Blackhawks made two surprising lineup changes Thursday before Game 3 of the Western Conference finals, sitting Antoine Vermette and Teuvo Teravainen for Kris Versteeg and Joakim Nordstrom.

Andrew Shaw, who played maybe his best game of the playoffs in Game 2, moved up to center the third line with Versteeg on the right wing and Patrick Sharp on the left.

Versteeg, who hadn't played since the Hawks' first-round series in Game 5 against Nashville, had just 2 goals and 2 assists in his last 24 games coming into Game 3. Quenneville didn't tip his hand earlier Thursday but was effusive in his praise of Versteeg after the morning skate.

"He's had a great week of practicing," Quenneville said. "He's not happy. He wants to play in the worst way. … We've had some decisions along the way. Last game we could have inserted him.

"We'll see. I like his approach. I told him we expect him in this series."

There was some good and bad in Versteeg's game. His best chance to score came at 12:54 in the second period, but Frederik Andersen stopped his shot from just a few feet away.

Nordstrom hadn't played since Game 2 vs. Nashville, and he was only on the ice for 7:06 on Thursday.

As for Vermette, he won 64.4 percent of his faceoffs against Nashville and Minnesota but won just 43.8 percent in the first two games against Anaheim. Vermette was a healthy scratch in Games 1 and 2 vs. Nashville.

Asked Sunday if he was a little disappointed that Vermette wasn't playing a month ago, general manager Stan Bowman held fast and told the Daily Herald:

"I know it sounds cliché, but I just don't look at it that way. If you get caught up in those kind of things, you get sidetracked. It's not really about one player.

"It's not about saying, 'We acquired this guy so he better do this or he better do that.' We're all about winning. It's however you can win and that's the most important thing. … So, honestly, I wasn't really focused on that."

Teravainen had played in the last eight games and registered a goal and 2 assists.

Commish talk:

NHL Commissioner Gary Bettman was at the United Center for Game 3 and, after a pregame meal with Rocky Wirtz at the Stadium Club, met with reporters between the first and second periods.

Among the subjects discussed were what the salary cap figures to be next season (in the $71 million area) and how good it is for the league to have competitive balance.

"The fact that seven teams were in the playoffs this year that didn't make it last year (is great)," Bettman said. "(So is) the fact that the games are unpredictable, exciting. (And) the fact that if you are a fan of any team, you have hope going into the season that your team can compete. That's what it's all about."

Asked about what he thinks about evidence of CTE being found in Steve Montador's brain after it was examined, Bettman said you can't blame hockey for that fact.

"From a medical and science standpoint there is no evidence yet that one necessarily leads to the other," Bettman said.

Big bucks:

Joel Quenneville was asked what he thought about the contract of new Toronto and former Detroit coach Mike Babcock. The eight-year, $50 million deal is the richest in the NHL and works out to $6.25 million a year.

"We'll let you guys talk about that," Quenneville said, drawing laughter. "I just watched his press conference prior to coming in here. Big cheer walking up to the microphone.

"Happy for him. We'll see how that all plays out."

Quenneville, signed through the 2016-17 season, is now the second-highest paid NHL coach at about $2.75 million a year.