Facing Sidney Crosby old hat for John Madden

Nobody in the Blackhawks' lineup knows more about what makes Sidney Crosby tick than John Madden.

Madden not only faced the Pittsburgh Penguins at least six times a season while a member of the New Jersey Devils, it was usually his assignment to check Crosby.

Crosby will be looking to extend his hot streak of 11 points in the last three games tonight against Madden and the Hawks at Mellon Arena.

"It's a huge challenge," Madden said. "I mean, he gets 120 points a year so you've got to figure at some point he's going to factor in on the game sheet.

"Going in you really have to be aware. He can score all kinds of different ways. He hits, he battles, he gets greasy in front of the nets, he wins faceoffs, he backchecks, plus on top of that he scores big goals for their team. That's why he's their leader."

Hawks coach Joel Quenneville is looking forward to the challenge the defending Stanley Cup champs will provide for the Hawks.

"It'll be a good test," Quenneville said. "We're looking forward to that matchup and that challenge. We were hoping to get a chance to play them last year late in the year, obviously, in the playoffs."

The Penguins are one of the hottest teams in the league at the moment with six wins in their last seven games.

"They've got some key guys we have to be aware of, whether they put their top three centers (Crosby, Evgeni Malkin and Jordan Staal) on different lines or are all three together," Quenneville said.

Quenneville hinted strongly Friday that backup goalie Antti Niemi would get the start in Pittsburgh.

Niemi hasn't played since Nov. 22 when he shut out the Canucks 1-0 in Vancouver. He faced the Penguins last season at the United Center when the Hawks lost 5-4 in overtime.

Bolland update: Hawks general manager Stan Bowman said Dave Bolland "for sure" would be back in the lineup. That should happen either in late February or at some point in March.

Bolland is a month into his rehab from the back surgery he underwent Nov. 10.

"He's on track with his rehab," Bowman said. "Much like we used to report on Marian Hossa, he's right on schedule and Marian came back right when he was supposed to. We expect Dave to as well."

Ideally, the Hawks would like to know exactly where they stand with Bolland before the March 3 trade deadline in case there is a need to look for another center.

"We may end up doing something, but at this point we've actually handled it pretty well since he's gone down," Bowman said.

One last detail: Duncan Keith's 13-year, $72 million contract includes a no-movement clause.