Kopecky shows he's happy to be back on ice

Kris Versteeg said maybe it was a little pent-up anger.

Tomas Kopecky didn't exactly disagree.

Missing five straight playoff games will do that to a guy.

"Yeah, you know, you've got all that energy and you're just watching the guys," Kopecky said. "You just have to keep your head up, keep working hard and keep yourself in it."

That's exactly what Kopecky has done the past few weeks, and Saturday he got his big chance after being inserted into the lineup to replace the injured Andrew Ladd.

"I was a little nervous the first couple of shifts," Kopecky admitted. "But we stuck with it and the nervousness came down during the game."

And, boy, did he make his chance to get back on the ice pay off by playing one of his best all-around games, he capped off the evening by scoring the game-winning goal on a great pass by Versteeg from the corner and scoring on a tough angle shot on Brian Bouchard, who had come on to replace starter Michael Leighton.

"Steeger made a great play," Kopecky said. "I kind of knew he was going to pass it. I got it on a long reach. I saw (Bouchard) come out and I was a little patient and slid it in."

"Remarkable comeback," Blackhawks coach Joel Quenneville said. "Great play and good patience on the game-winning goal."

And a pretty fair goal celebration afterward.

"I liked that," linemate Dave Bolland said. "When they were showing it up on the JumboTron, his face was right in the camera. I don't know how pretty his face is, but it looked pretty fun."

It was a fun night all-around for the Kopecky-Bolland-Versteeg line. Each had goal and an assist in a game where the Hawks' biggest guns were fairly muted.

"That line was very dangerous, very effective," Quenneville said. "Their production offensively seems to be timely as their goals. Nice return to the lineup."

"It's a confidence boost," Kopecky said of the game-winner and the Game 1 win. "At this time of year it's about who wants it more. Today we played good, but we have a long way ahead of us."