Ex-Blackhawk Garbutt good fit for Ducks

In 43 games with the Chicago Blackhawks, Ryan Garbutt scored just 2 goals.

After being traded to the Ducks on Jan. 21, it took him all of four games to equal that total and eight games to pass it.

"I think it's been a good fit for sure, maybe a little bit more my style," Garbutt said Friday in advance of the Ducks-Blackhawks game Saturday at the United Center.

The Hawks sent Garbutt to Anaheim for Jiri Sekac, a speedy 23-year-old winger who looked impressive in a 4-2 loss to Dallas on Thursday. Sekac was sick for a time and has played in five games with the Hawks.

As for Garbutt, he didn't think it was a bad fit in Chicago, just that he was playing a fourth-line role on a team with an awful lot of firepower.

"It was just maybe a good trade for both teams," he said.

Garbutt's last 2 goals - Friday at Columbus and Feb. 4 at Los Angeles - both came on impressive, thread-the-needle shots that beat the goaltender top shelf. He said the trade took him by surprise but understands it was a "business move" and something players have to deal with.

"He's played well for us," coach Bruce Boudreau said. "He hasn't done any of the stuff that he did in Dallas, which sometimes got him into trouble. He can skate and he's reliable. … He's been a good (addition) for us."

Garbutt, who was with Dallas before coming to the Hawks in the Patrick Sharp trade, is on pace for 43 penalty minutes this season after recording 55 last year and 106 in 2013-14.

Feeling better:

Artemi Panarin, who missed two games with an illness, played against Anaheim on Saturday. Panarin said he started feeling bad after the Hawks' win in Dallas on Feb. 6 and just needed some time to get back to 100 percent.

The rookie winger watched the two games on TV while drinking a cup of tea mixed with raspberry jam, an old Russian remedy for colds.

D-manding:

Defenseman Viktor Svedberg, called up from Rockford on Friday, played against the Ducks and was paired with Michal Rozsival. Erik Gustafsson was a healthy scratch.

He said it:

"I think he's a really great player. I mean we've seen him twice and that was enough, quite frankly."

Ducks coach Bruce Boudreau on Artemi Panarin

He said it, II:

"Looking forward to it. Yeah, it's a third trip. And with the same president, it's pretty amazing."

Coach Joel Quenneville on the Hawks' upcoming White House visit with President Obama on Thursday.