Hawks recall van Riemsdyk, but he won't play Saturday

Relief for the Blackhawks' overworked defense may be coming soon.

But will it be soon enough?

The Hawks recalled Trevor van Riemsdyk on Friday from Rockford, where he was rehabbing from a November knee injury when he suffered a wrist injury on April 3.

Coach Joel Quenneville said TVR won't play in Game 4 of the Western Conference finals against Anaheim on Saturday, but beyond that anything is possible.

"He'll need a few days out here and we'll get an evaluation," Quenneville said.

If van Riemsdyk, who played in the first 18 games of the regular season, can return for Game 5 or 6 (if necessary), Kyle Cumiskey or Kimmo Timonen figure to go to the bench.

On Friday, Van Riemsdyk wore a permanent smile for the duration of his nine-minute Q&A session with reporters at the United Center following his first on-ice workout since the wrist injury.

"It feels good to be back on the premises again, being around and skating out there," he said.

Van Riemsdyk was rehabbing in Rockford from a broken kneecap that he suffered on Nov. 16. He said he's going to listen to his body for aches and pains in the wrist that would keep him from helping the team and causing a setback. The 23-year-old rookie, who made the Hawks after an impressive training camp, has kept a positive outlook through all the injuries he has suffered, including a broken ankle 16 months ago when he was in college with New Hampshire.

"Things could be a lot worse. I'm lucky enough to be playing the game that I love," he said. "And, yeah, I've had some injuries but just blessed to be part of a great organization, to be playing hockey.

"The year might have been a little more banged up than I would like (it) to, but overall you just kind of take a step back and appreciate things. It's been a year with a lot of lower moments, but it's been a year with a lot of moments that I'll never forget."

Honest Antoine:

Being a healthy scratch for the third time in 13 playoffs games did not sit well with Antoine Vermette, who was centering the third line with Patrick Sharp and Teuvo Teravainen as his wingers.

"I thought I had a good Game (2), I was playing well there," Vermette said. "So obviously it came as a surprise, a disappointment - I'm not going to lie. I was not happy with that.

"But my job is to be ready whenever I have a chance to be in the lineup, and that's what I'm going to do."

Teravainen also expressed disappointment but the youngster wasn't about to rock the boat, saying it'll be up to the coaches if he plays in Game 4 on Saturday.

So will they?

"They both could play," said Quenneville, who added that he made the changes hoping to get more energy and speed on the ice with Joakim Nordstrom and Kris Versteeg. "As it turned out, we didn't win the game so that's where we're at today."

He said it:

"Obviously being an opponent of his isn't a fun thing to do. He's annoying on the ice, he agitates, he does little things that people don't agree with all the time - and sometimes we don't agree with. But he puts the puck in the net, he goes to the dirty areas, he plays hard and he plays to win. … Obviously in our locker room we love him."

- Ryan Getzlaf on teammate Corey Perry