'Good chance' Anisimov will return Sunday
Artem Anisimov did not play in the Blackhawks' 3-2 overtime loss to Washington at the United Center on Friday, but coach Joel Quenneville did say there is a "good chance" his center can play Sunday when the Hawks host Montreal.
Anisimov is out with an upper-body body injury he suffered Wednesday in St. Louis.
Marcus Kruger skated in Anisimov's place as the second-line center with Artemi Panarin and Marian Hossa on the wings. Kruger, who has just 2 goals in his last 73 games, had two glorious chances to help the Hawks score in the first 22 minutes.
The first came 11:47 into the first period, but he failed to convert after Panarin found him right in front of Capitals goalie Braden Holtby.
The other came 1:46 into the second period when Kruger dished to a wide-open Hossa, but Hossa fired wide from about five feet away with Holtby out of position. Holtby then saved a shot by Kruger two seconds later.
"I thought that line was dangerous," said coach Joel Quenneville. "They were our most effective line tonight. (They) had a lot of zone time and good looks."
Kruger finished with a season-high 4 shots on goal and won 9 of 15 faceoffs.
Back in action:
After being a healthy scratch for four straight games, Vinnie Hinostroza made his return to the lineup Friday. Hinostroza centered the fourth line with Ryan Hartman and Jordin Tootoo as his wingers.
Hinostroza said he felt a sense of urgency to pick up his game.
"Yeah, definitely," he said. "It's hard to sit out and watch, but you learn a lot and you get better every day with the coaches after practice. So, yeah, I really just want to earn a spot every night."
Kind words:
Washington goalie Braden Holtby and Blackhawks goalie Corey Crawford played together with Team Canada during the World Cup of Hockey in September. Holtby, who won the Veznia Trophy as the NHL's best goaltender last season, came away impressed with the Hawks' netminder.
"I didn't know much before, but we got along there pretty well," Holtby said. "It was fun to spend a lot of time with him, because he's a lot similar to me. He's a pretty relaxed guy, calm. …
"It was great to watch him play in practice and work with him. He works really hard and has a lot of good things - good traits - that I can get better at in my game."
Alumni roster:
Troy Murray, Steve Konroyd, Daniel Carcillo, Eric Daze, Jamal Mayers, Darren Pang, Murray Bannerman, Brent Suter, Adam Burish and Jimmy Waite are among the 22 Blackhawks who will take part in the Winter Classic Alumni Game against St. Louis at Busch Stadium on Dec. 31 at 1:30 p.m.
The Blues' alumni include Wayne Gretzky (who played just 18 career games with St. Louis), Brett Hull, Al MacInnis, Adam Oates and Chris Pronger.
The Hawks and Blues will play in the Winter Classic on Jan. 2.