Burish happy to be practicing again

Even though Adam Burish returned to practice Tuesday for the first time since undergoing surgery to repair a torn ACL on Sept. 25, the Blackhawks' winger knows it could be another month before he rejoins the lineup.

"I don't think for me being ready to play will be a month; it's more what the doctors say it takes for my type of injury," Burish said. "If it was playoffs I'd be playing tonight."

Burish felt good on the ice with his teammates, which eased his mind.

"I was a little anxious, not knowing how I would feel, but I was surprised I felt pretty good," Burish said. "I felt like my speed was good. I'm pleased with how it went."

Burish plans to ramp up his rehab during the two-week Olympic break in order to be ready to play when the Hawks resume their schedule March 2 on Long Island.

"Everyone's going to be down in Mexico and Jamaica drinking and having fun and relaxing and I'm going to be here working," Burish said. "Those two weeks are going to be like my little training camp and hopefully after that I'm ready to go."

Niemi's net: Hawks coach Joel Quenneville decided to start Antti Niemi on Wednesday night against St. Louis.

It will be Niemi's first start since Jan. 23 at Vancouver, when he was pulled after the first period trailing 3-0.

"Antti hasn't played in awhile," Quenneville said. "He had a tough period at Vancouver and this is a chance for him to get back in the net."

There's a chance Niemi could get two of the next three starts with the Hawks set to play back-to-back games this weekend against Phoenix and St. Louis.

Quenneville had to stress yet again that Cristobal Huet is his No. 1 goalie, but only because he was asked.

"Huey has been that guy all year, so we're not worried about that," Quenneville said. "I'm looking for a response from Antti from his last game."

Tip-ins: It was all quiet on the trade front Tuesday despite speculation the Hawks might be close to acquiring a defenseman. - TSN.ca's Darren Dreger reported of the Hawks' possible interest in Tampa Bay defenseman Andrej Meszaros, who is signed through 2014 with a cap hit of $4 million. - Niklas Hjalmarsson didn't practice Tuesday, which is becoming the norm because of foot and hand problems, but he will play against the Blues.