Versteeg confident he'll ride out latest tough stretch
ST. PAUL, Minn. - A year after a disappointing playoff performance, Kris Versteeg is again looking to overcome a postseason rough patch.
The Blackhawks' veteran is back to practicing and available to play following a recent lower-body injury that sidelined him for a few days, but he doesn't have a spot in the lineup. The role he played during the first round against the Nashville Predators belongs to Teuvo Teravainen now, and the Finnish rookie has played well against the Minnesota Wild.
It's another round of personal adversity for Versteeg, who scored just 1 goal in the six-game series against Nashville.
"You just wait and hopefully get back in," he said Thursday, before watching the Hawks complete a Wild series sweep at Xcel Energy Center. "There's nothing you can do. I think if you're happy about sitting out, you shouldn't be playing the game. So, I'm not happy that I'm not playing, but I'm also excited for the challenge to get back in whenever I do."
It's been a roller-coaster season for Versteeg right from the start.
After working hard in the off-season to rebound from last year's subpar performance, Versteeg showed up to training camp in great shape.
The jump was back in his skating and he quickly impressed the Hawks' coaching staff.
Versteeg said he felt fully recovered from major reconstructive knee surgery that cut short his 2013 season with the Florida Panthers and was ready for a fast start to the season. Instead, a lower-body injury caused him to miss the first four games.
Once he returned to action, he picked up where he left off in the preseason. Versteeg scored 9 goals and had 27 points in 34 games and earned the role of left wing on the second line with Brad Richards and Patrick Kane.
The trio became the Hawks' most productive forward line, but another injury again set Versteeg back. He hurt his hand blocking a shot in the NHL Winter Classic against the Capitals on New Year's Day in Washington and missed the next 16 games.
Upon returning to the lineup again, he scored 4 goals in his first seven games back before going ice cold down the stretch. Versteeg had only 1 goal and had just 2 assists in the final 20 games of the regular season.
"There's always adjustments, especially coming off something like that, and getting back up to game speed and dealing with that when you come back," Versteeg said.
"But there's really no excuses. For whatever reason, sometimes it goes in and sometimes it doesn't. Obviously, since I came back from my hand, it didn't go in well, but it's just part of the game.
Fortune, good and bad, is part of it too. Versteeg hasn't had much of the good kind the past three seasons, so he's banking on a market correction at some point.
"Sooner or later, the luck's got to turn you'd think," he said. "For myself, it's just trying to play at the top of my game and help the team out in any way I can."