Byfuglien, Wisniewski not happy to sit again
ST. LOUIS - Blackhawks coach Joel Quenneville didn't expect Dustin Byfuglien and James Wisniewski to be happy sitting out a second straight game on Friday, and they weren't.
"I don't even want to talk about it," Wisniewski said. "It is what it is. It's not my decision so I worry about what I can worry about, and that's playing hard when I get back in there."
Wisniewski had appeared in 20 straight games before being a healthy scratch on Wednesday in Atlanta. He had been a plus-3 in the three games before that.
Byfuglien's benching was more expected since he has struggled with consistency since opening night.
Quenneville was brief and to the point when asked what he wanted out of Byfuglien that he wasn't getting.
"I just think, maybe overall, a little bit more," Quenneville said. "If you're not playing you shouldn't be happy and you want to get back and prove you don't want to let it occur again."
Byfuglien has only 9 goals in 48 games, but it's not only about his lack of offense. There are a lot of games where the Hawks' biggest forward doesn't play to his size.
"Things weren't going as good as I wanted for myself and obviously they're not happy either, so it's something I have to deal with," Byfuglien said.
Byfuglien admitted sitting out for the first time all season for a non-injury reason was a wake-up call.
"It has to be," he said. "Obviously it can't get any worse if you're getting pulled out of the (darn) lineup.
"Obviously they're not happy with what I'm doing and every guy knows what they have to do to be in the lineup and what their job is. Maybe I've got to play a little more physical and get more chances and get on the forecheck more. I know myself I have to do better things."
Yet Byfuglien didn't think he was playing poorly enough to come out of the lineup.
"I wasn't playing, like, really bad," Byfuglien said. "I wasn't out there not doing anything. I was getting plenty of chances and I couldn't score and my physical game probably wasn't at the top where it should be, but I don't think it was all that bad.
"I don't know if I shouldn't be sitting, but when I'm sitting out I need to look at what I need to be doing and just think positive and when I get back in there do the things I'm built to do."
Khabibulin update: Nikolai Khabibulin skated Friday morning and shouldn't miss too much time with a likely return Tuesday at Tampa Bay.
"He skated today and we're confident he'll be back soon," Joel Quenneville said. "I don't want to say exactly when, but the fact he (skated Friday) is a good sign. It's definitely on the minor side."