Rookie van Riemsdyk not quite ready
Defenseman Trevor van Riemsdyk, who is trying to come back from a wrist injury, skated Wednesday with the Hawks as they prepared for Game 6 of the Western Conference finals at the United Center.
He said he is improving every day but isn't ready to play.
Hawks coach Joel Quenneville hasn't ruled out the possibility of the rookie returning, but at this point it's looking like the earliest that could happen would be if the Hawks advance to the Stanley Cup Final.
Van Riemsdyk knows full well that the intensity will be far different from any of the 18 games he played in at the beginning of the season before shattering his kneecap in November.
But if called upon, TVR believes he'll be up to the task.
"It's obviously a big step up in the playoffs," he said. "My brother's been through it, I've watched it since I was a little kid. You definitely notice that step up (in intensity). I've never been a part of that necessarily, but I had some good experience early on in the year.
"It'll obviously be a little different out there if I got the chance to play, but just be as ready as you can be. You can't simulate something like that no matter how much you practice … hopefully you get out there, keep your head on straight and just keep doing what got you here."
In and out:
Joel Quenneville made one lineup change for Game 6, inserting David Rundblad for Kimmo Timonen. Rundblad, who struggled badly in Game 1, was on the ice for just short of six minutes, but coach Quenneville liked what he saw.
"Much better," the coach said. "He was safe, simple. Quicker with pucks and quicker to the puck."
Timonen had played in all 15 postseason games, averaging 9:25 of ice time, but he struggled against the hard-hitting Ducks.
Bickell still in:
Despite the fact Bryan Bickell hasn't scored all postseason and had a rough Game 5, coach Joel Quenneville left his big veteran in for Game 6.
It paid off as Bickell played one of his best games, crunching Sami Vatanen twice early in the first period and finishing with 5 hits.
"Obviously a tough one the other day," Quenneville said. "But Bick gives us a presence and physicality. I still think we need that element in our team game."
He said it:
"It's a time to prove to yourself and your teammates what you've got and how much you care about winning for this group."
- Jonathan Toews on why the Hawks perform so well in high-pressure games
Tip-ins:
Duncan Keith has 16 points this postseason. He needs 1 to tie his career high of 17 set in 2010. … After stopping 112 of 117 shots (.957) in the first three games of the series, Frederik Andersen stopped just 78 of 91 in Games 4-6 for an .857 save percentage. …
Going into Game 5, Keith (34:53), Brent Seabrook (31:44) and Niklas Hjalmarsson (30:18) all were averaging more than 30 minutes of ice time vs. Anaheim. The Hawks' fifth and sixth defensemen were averaging a combined 21:56.