Hjalmarsson should return to Blackhawks lineup Thursday

Blackhawks fans who have watched Niklas Hjalmarsson over the past 10 years know he's one tough son of a gun.

Truth be told, it's almost scary how willing the veteran D-man is to step in front of pucks to prevent a goal.

"A lot of times you're just wincing on the bench," Trevor van Riemsdyk told us two weeks ago. "It almost hurts you more than it hurts him."

So whatever ailment kept Hjalmarsson out of the last three games, it must have been fairly serious. Hjalmarsson, though, practiced at Johnny's IceHouse West on Monday and should be ready to resume playing when the Hawks take on Anaheim on Thursday at the United Center.

"I just can't wait to get back," said Hjalmarsson, who tried to play through the injury against Arizona on Feb. 23 but came out midway through the first period. "It's never a good feeling to watch the games."

Coach Joel Quenneville plans to pair Hjalmarsson with Johnny Oduya, while keeping Duncan Keith and Brent Seabrook together as the team's top pairing. Like Seabrook, Hjalmarsson found out about the trade for Oduya when his cellphone lit up.

"The guys that played with him here ... all of us got super excited," he said. "We know what kind of guy he is and we know what kind of game he brings to the team."

Hjalmarsson, who is third in the league with 156 blocked shots, missed just four games from 2012-16, so this break might have come at the perfect time.

"He does play a lot, he does takes a lot of shots, he takes a lot of hits and he gets beat up a little bit, but you never hear or see him complain," Quenneville said. "He finds a way to fight through it all. This one kept him off the ice a little bit, but let's make sure he's more than ready to come back."

Said Hjalmarsson, who will come back to a team that is riding a seven-game winning streak: "The guys obviously did a great job. I didn't feel like they needed me. They've been playing unbelievable, so hopefully I can come in and just play my game and contribute ... and keep the game rolling here."

Give it a rest:

Jonathan Toews, Patrick Kane, Marian Hossa, Duncan Keith, Brian Campbell, Jonathan Toews and Corey Crawford did not practice Monday. Joel Quenneville said after the Hawks' win at Nashville on Saturday that he planned to give some veterans a rest during the four days between games.

"Some guys are going to get couple more days off than the rest of the guys," Quenneville said. "But it'll be good for us to try and recapture (energy) and try and refocus, and keep pushing forward.

"It's been a good stretch for us and fun. But enjoy some time off for some guys here and let's come back for the last stretch because we're busy."

The Hawks' next game is against Anaheim at the United Center on Thursday and it begins a run of 17 games in 31 days to close out the regular season.

Slap shots:

Going into Monday's games, Patrick Kane was tied for second in points (70) and sixth in goals (29). ... Brent Seabrook reached 400 career points in the 5-3 win over Nashville on Saturday. ... Richard Panik has 14 points (6G, 8A) in his last 11 games. ... Duncan Keith is third among defensemen with 40 assists. ... Jonathan Toews is now tied with Tony Amonte for seventh in Blackhawks history with 268 goals. ... Among forwards, Artemi Panarin is tied for 13th in points (58) and eighth in assists (38).