Blackhawks' Shaw might be out for series
The Blackhawks will play the Wild without Andrew Shaw again Friday … and he might miss the rest of the series.
Shaw, who has an undisclosed lower-body injury, has missed back-to-back games after being hurt in the first period of Game 1 at the United Center. He didn't make the trip with the Hawks on Thursday.
Asked if Shaw was in jeopardy of missing the rest of the series, Blackhawks coach Joel Quenneville's "uh, we'll see" reply didn't sound optimistic.
Quenneville's optimism about Shaw has steadily declined since the injury occurred. At first, Shaw was expected to play in Game 3 on Tuesday. After Shaw didn't make that trip, Quenneville mentioned Game 4 as a possibility. Shaw's status still was up in the air Wednesday, and he didn't participate at practice Thursday.
"Every guy's different and, you know, I think (Shaw's) a very competitive guy and probably he would've done anything he could to play," Quenneville said. "I think we've got to tame him a little bit in that regard, so I think that was maybe what we were talking about at the time."
Defensemen Duncan Keith and Niklas Hjalmarsson also sat out practice, but both will play Friday.
Leddy returns:
Hawks defenseman Nick Leddy spoke with reporters for the first time Thursday about being a healthy scratch for Game 3 in his hometown. Leddy hadn't been scratched in at least the previous three seasons, including playoff games. Quenneville indicated he will be back in the lineup Friday.
"I think any player would be disappointed to be scratched, but that was a coach's decision, and I think for me as a player I know I have to be better," Leddy said. "I think any competitor would get ticked at that. Like I said, I don't think I was playing the way the coaches wanted and it was a coaching decision.
"I've got to be better."
Asked about the mental challenge of being benched, Leddy bristled.
"Like I said, it would make you mad and (tick) you off," he said. "Like I said, it's out of my control. I've just got to be ready to go."
No excuses:
Left wing Patrick Sharp led the Hawks with 34 goals and 78 points this season, but he only has 1 goal and 2 assists in nine playoff games.
After leading the team in goals in the Hawks' 2010 and 2013 championship runs, his slump is drawing attention. The accuracy of his shot seems to be off, but if Sharp is fighting an injury, he's not revealing it.
"(My shot) feels fine," he said. "I'm not sure if it can get out of whack or not. I'm sure there's things that can happen that affect a player's shooting, whether it's physical, whether it's mental, but as far as me personally, I have no excuses."