Dad's recovery and goal put Brouwer's mind at ease

Troy Brouwer was such a key part of the Blackhawks' regular season success as a 22-goal scorer and physical presence at forward.

The last month, however, has been more like a nightmare for 24-year-old winger.

It began when Brouwer's father was diagnosed with a blood clot on his brain that required surgery. Brouwer missed the last four games of the regular season to be with his dad in British Columbia, but when he returned for the start of the playoffs he admitted his focus and concentration weren't there.

Brouwer made a bad turnover in Game 1 against Nashville in the first round that resulted in the winning goal for the Predators. He admitted later in the series he was having difficulty regaining his confidence because he felt he had let down his teammates.

Brouwer's play slipped to the point where he was benched for Games 3, 4 and 5 against Vancouver.

"It was probably tough taking him out of the lineup, he was such a big part of our year," Hawks coach Joel Quenneville said.

But after Sunday's disappointing Game 5 loss to the Canucks, Quenneville decided to make a lineup change and put Brouwer back in for Game 6 in place of Tomas Kopecky.

Brouwer scored the opening goal in the Hawks' 5-1 win that sent them to the Western Conference finals. The hope now is that Brouwer has regained his confidence for the showdown with San Jose.

"He's been going through so much, so to see a guy like that come back and score a big first goal for us and really get the all rolling, it's special," teammate Kris Versteeg said. "He's been through a lot off the ice and now it's good to see him back on the ice doing what he does best. He had 22 goals this year so we know he can score."

Brouwer spent some time with his dad last week when the Hawks were in Vancouver for four days and it helped put his mind at ease.

"I was able to see him two times last week and that really helped me a lot, to see how much progress he had made," Brouwer said. "My mom keeps me up to date all the time, but until you see it for yourself and how well he's doing, it was a big morale booster and brought quite a bit of confidence and good life to me."

Brouwer said his dad has been watching the games from the hospital, and Brouwer hopes his goal in Game 6 helped in the recovery.

"He's got a long road to go still, but hopefully this helps him and lifts his spirits," Brouwer said. "My dad was watching the game and I know he's going to be real proud of me and I was happy to score a goal for him."

It was Brouwer's first goal of the playoffs in nine games.

"Obviously, when players score a goal your legs get a little lighter and your mind clears a little bit," Brouwer said. "For me, I've been struggling, but this lifts everything and the confidence my dad has in me lately really helps and clears my mind so I can just play hockey."