Quenneville has no problem mixing up his lines

While it's a stretch to say Blackhawks coach Joel Quenneville was delivering a message by shaking up the forward lines for Wednesday's game against Los Angeles, it does get the player's attention when it happens.

And it happens a lot with Quenneville.

But that has been one of his coaching strengths in three years behind the Hawks' bench finding the right combinations at the right times.

“I think it's a good thing when it happens,” Patrick Sharp said. “It keeps everyone on their toes.

“I've moved back and forth so much that I'm used to it.”

Sharp was part of this week's shake-up, moving from center to left wing on the top line with Jonathan Toews.

“We do have the flexibility of moving Sharpie back (to center) at any time,” said Quenneville, who shifted Tomas Kopecky from left wing to center to play between Marian Hossa and Troy Brouwer.

“Over the course of the year you probably try every combination possible,” Quenneville said. “After a couple losses we wanted to mix it up a bit.”

Kopecky is no stranger to playing center.

“I used to play center a little bit in Detroit and in juniors to it's new to me,” Kopecky said.

“We've seen him play some center,” Quenneville said. “It gives us a different look so we want to try it and see how he handles it there. I think him and Hossa have been a real good pair together and that's going to stay like that.”

Two of a kind::

Wednesday was a big day for Jack Skille, getting to play on the first line with Jonathan Toews and Patrick Sharp.

“He brings a lot of speed to our lineup and he has a big frame,” Sharp said.

Skille also fills another void on the team, at least in Sharp's eyes.

“He reminds me of (Adam) Burish a little bit,” Sharp said. “He never stops talking.”

Burish is doing his talking in Dallas these days and this week apologized to Philadelphia's Chris Pronger for calling the Flyers' defenseman the “biggest idiot in the league” after the clinching Game 6 of the Stanley Cup Finals.

“I said some stupid things I probably shouldn't have said after that game,” Burish told the NHL Network.”

Royally improved:

The Kings are showing signs early of being a team capable of battling the Hawks, Detroit, San Jose and Vancouver for the top spot in the Western Conference.

“They're a team not a lot of people talk about in the West, but they're good,” Patrick Sharp said.