Kane not worried about another Hawks line change
When Jonathan Toews returns to the lineup, the speculation is he’ll center the top line alongside Patrick Kane and Marian Hossa.
But who’s going to move to left wing?
“I’m sure I’d be the guy that would move over there,” Kane said with a laugh. “I’ve tried it with Hossa before and there’s no talking with that guy about it. Plus, he’s got a little more rank on me, too.
“Sometimes I’ll joke around with him and say, ‘I’ve got right (wing) this shift,’ and he’ll look at me like I’ve got three heads. But it’s fine because he’s pretty good there.”
Moving to another position should hardly faze Kane after what he’s been through this season.
“I’ve dealt with it the whole year,” he said. “It’s really something I’ve never really done before — I’ve been on the right wing pretty much the whole time. Between center, then right wing and back to center, there’s been a little bit of movement (this year).
“I haven’t played left wing this year, so I might as well try that one, too.”
But it’s all speculation until Toews makes his return.
“We’ll see what happens,” Kane said. “We don’t know when Johnny’s going to be back or what the lines are going to be when he gets back. There are a lot of options, a lot of good lines that could be put together. With him coming back, it just makes the lineup that much better.”
More of the same:
In a rematch of a feisty game Sunday at the United Center, the Hawks are expecting more of the same Thursday night against the Wild.
“You would think so, and you have to go ahead and prepare the same way,” said Brandon Bollig, who was involved in one of a handful of fights in Sunday’s game. “If that happens, it happens.”
“They’re playing hard; they’re competing right down to the end,” Joel Quenneville said of the Wild. “You have to commend them for how they’re competing right down to the end. We expect the same kind of game.”
New face on the PP?
With the way he’s been playing of late — 5 goals and 5 assists in his last 11 games — it’s not a surprise that Viktor Stalberg’s name has been bandied about as a possibility for some playing time on the power play unit.
“He got some consideration last game and we’ll see going forward,” Joel Quenneville said.