Will Olympics take toll? Quenneville not worried

While most of the NHL takes a 15-day break for the Olympics starting Feb. 15, five of the Blackhawks' core players won't get much rest.

But Hawks coach Joel Quenneville still thinks the positives outweigh the negatives for stars Duncan Keith, Jonathan Toews, Brent Seabrook, Patrick Kane and Marian Hossa all going to the Olympics along with fourth-liner Tomas Kopecky.

Defense partners Keith and Seabrook play the most minutes for the Hawks and likely will get a lot of playing time for Team Canada, but Quenneville isn't worried about his top pair wearing down at the end of the season and into the playoffs.

"I think you watch them during games, in between days off and going into practices," Quenneville said. "Maybe you give them a day off here or there, but I think the way they manage their ice in the course of games, their minutes some nights are harder than others.

"At the same time with these guys, the more they play the better they play as well. So just gauging it on a daily basis and knowing if we need to back off, we'll back off."

This season has been even more grueling with fewer days off because of the condensed schedule to accommodate the Olympics.

"It's one of those things where you want to take care of yourself all the time, but in a year like this it helps that I'm a little younger," Kane said. "But if you ask any of us when we're having the most fun and it's playing hockey."

Hawk vs. Hawk: Olympians Patrick Kane, Jonathan Toews, Duncan Keith and Brent Seabrook are already looking ahead to Feb. 21 in Vancouver when Canada faces off against the U.S. in the preliminary round.

That means a likely matchup of Kane, one of the Americans' top offensive threats, against Canadian defensemen Keith and Seabrook.

"I sat next to Dunc on the plane (to St. Louis) and he was pretty funny about it, saying going down 1-on-1 that he knows all my moves," Kane said. "We'll see when that comes.

"It's going to be pretty fun. You play with them so long and they become good friends of yours, too, but when that comes around it will be business first."

Hjalmarsson sits: Defenseman Niklas Hjalmarsson didn't make the trip to St. Louis because of the cut he suffered Thursday against New Jersey while sitting on the bench. There's a chance Hjalmarsson could play tonight against Anaheim at the United Center.

A must read: The Hawks have made another strong acquisition, hiring former Tribune columnist and legendary hockey writer Bob Verdi to contribute historical pieces to their Web site.