Keith pays no mind to what others are saying

Technically speaking, the Blackhawks backed into the playoffs Sunday when they lost to Detroit only to have Minnesota knock off Dallas.

One newspaper poll on Monday indicated 70 percent of respondents believe the Hawks didn’t deserve a spot in the postseason.

None of that mattered to Hawks defenseman Duncan Keith or his teammates.

“We had 2 more points than Dallas (97-95), so we deserved to be in,” Keith said. “We definitely feel fortunate that they didn’t win, but at the same time, looking at the standings, we deserve to be in. You go by points and we had more points than Dallas.”

Keith paid no attention to the talk about backing into the playoffs despite the 97 points and 44-29-9 record.

“We felt we could have been better, but having said that, we’re in,” Keith said. “I don’t really take offense to it, but the bottom line is we had more points than Dallas and that’s why we’re in.”

The Hawks could have finished fifth in the Western Conference instead of eighth had they defeated Detroit, but getting the Canucks in the first round is OK with them.

“We know that this year anybody can win,” coach Joel Quenneville said. “The teams are so close and so even. We’re excited about the chance to play Vancouver.”

Encouraging news:

Injured forwards Dave Bolland and Troy Brouwer traveled with their teammates to Vancouver on Monday and might play in the series sooner than later, although Joel Quenneville wouldn’t commit either to being ready for Game 1 on Wednesday.

“They’re both coming and we’re optimistic they’ll be playing in this series,” Quenneville said.

Bolland has missed the last 14 games with a concussion but has been skating for almost a week. He could be a key to the Hawks’ chances of upsetting the Canucks because of his defensive work against Henrik and Daniel Sedin.

“We’re looking forward to maybe having Bolly back pretty soon,” Jonathan Toews said.

Brouwer sat out the final three games with an injured shoulder.

Insurance policy:

The Hawks recalled four players from Rockford to have on hand in case of injuries.

Defensemen Jassen Cullimore and Garnet Exelby were brought up along with center Jeff Taffe and goaltender Hannu Toivonen.

Taffe finished eighth in the American Hockey League in scoring with 30 goals and 67 points.

Tip-ins: The starting time for a potential Game 6 at the United Center was changed to 6:30 p.m. ... The Hawks will practice this afternoon in Vancouver at Rogers Centre. ... It was announced Notre Dame defenseman Joe Lavin signed a two-year contract. ... Duncan Keith and Brent Seabrook were the only Hawks to play in all 82 regular-season games.