Campbell's return to Hawks big help for Hjalmarsson
NEW YORK -- Brian Campbell's return to the Blackhawks' lineup Monday night against the Rangers was good news for Niklas Hjalmarsson, his struggling defense partner.
Hjalmarsson was minus-8 in 11 games without Campbell, who had been sidelined since the last weekend of the preseason with a sprained right knee.
“I always have the same attitude when I play, but it's a bit of a comfort thing having the guys that you played with for a while and played in big games with,” said Hjalmarsson, who was minus-1 in the Hawks' 3-2 loss at Madison Square Garden.
“I've been playing OK, but I'm always the toughest critic on myself, so obviously I'm not happy with the way I've played so far.
“The minus is not the best right now, but you just can't focus on that. You just have to stay positive and try to turn it around. I know I can play better.”
Campbell was minus-1 himself but played 20 mostly solid minutes.
“I felt all right,” Campbell said. “My timing was off a lot on my gap and a lot of my reads, but my knee felt good, so it's a step in the right direction.
“I just have to continue to get my timing down, get a practice in (Tuesday) and get ready for Wednesday.”
Having Campbell back can only help settle down the Hawks' all-around defensive game, which has been mostly inconsistent despite Saturday's 3-1 win at Minnesota.
“He certainly can help our team game,” Hawks coach Joel Quenneville said. “Soupy moving the puck and his speed and quickness he can help the pace of our game.”
With Campbell back Quenneville is hoping to cut back on the minutes Duncan Keith and Brent Seabrook play. Keith was averaging a league-high 29:09 a game, while Seabrook is at 25:51.
“We'd like to get them down to the mid-20s, but every game is different,” Quenneville said. “I think we can get them down a few minutes as we go along here.”
Keith played 27:23 in Monday's loss and Seabrook just 21:46.
Campbell was ready to get back into the mix after more than four weeks on the shelf.
“It's been pretty boring the last month,” Campbell said. “I'm ready to go to try and help out and get the feel for it again. I feel pretty strong skating.”
As for what Campbell has noticed with Hjalmarsson watching from the press box?
“Maybe he's gotten off to a slow start, but it's a challenge playing with someone new sometimes,” Campbell said. “We want him to keep skating and moving the puck. Sometimes he's stopping a little bit with the puck. The thing is he's always there for us.”