Hossa hopes to return to Blackawks for Thursday's Sabres game
Between what seemed to be an endless series of 3-on-2 drills during Blackhawks practice Wednesday, Marian Hossa and Jonathan Toews often found themselves hunched over and gasping for air.
For Hossa, who will likely return to the lineup Thursday after missing five games with an upper-body injury, it was good to feel the burn.
"I needed it," the veteran winger said. "And I felt pretty decent."
The Hawks, of course, have looked anything but decent with Hossa out, going 1-3-1 in his absence. While the Hawks lead the Central Division with 51 points, Minnesota is just 1 point behind while having played four fewer games.
Hossa, who is tied with Artem Anisimov for the team lead with 16 goals, said he wished he could have come back faster but "it was smarter to wait" until he felt 100 percent. The question now is how effective he'll be in his first action in two weeks.
"Hopefully it's not going to be too bad," Hossa said. "You can look at it as it's not that much (time), but when you play in the middle of the season, you can feel it."
The other concern for Hossa and Toews is they are breaking in a new linemate in Spencer Abbott, whom the Hawks called up from Rockford. Putting a 28-year-old with just one previous NHL game under his belt on that line may seem odd, but he'll only stay there as long as coach Joel Quenneville likes what he sees.
"We'll see how he does and he'll determine how much (high-quality ice time) he gets," Quenneville said.
Hossa liked what he saw from Abbott in practice and said he and Toews will do everything they can to make him feel comfortable.
"Sometimes you can say they throw him in the water and now we have to swim," Hossa said. "On the other hand, we're just going to try to help him. He's got what I heard (is) a good hockey IQ. I like to play with players like that.
"Hopefully we can click right away and keep it simple. Don't try to complicate things too much. But he's a smart player, so it should be good."
Abbott, who the Hawks signed to a one-year deal last off-season, leads Rockford with 8 goals and 13 assists.
In addition to the 3-on-2 drills, the Hawks worked a lot on 5-on-5 play, trying to emphasize the importance of offensive zone time.
"Well, I think we still have good possessions, especially Kaner's lines does an excellent job," Hossa said. "The other lines can be better. …
"Every year we've got a bunch of new guys coming up, and they try to understand the system. It's going to take some time. But at this point of the season, everybody should understand the system.
"So I think we can be better in that department, definitely."
• Follow John on Twitter @johndietzdh
Scouting report
Blackhawks vs. Buffalo Sabres, 7:30 p.m. Thursday
TV: Comcast SportsNet
Radio: WGN 720-AM
The skinny: Buffalo may have the fewest points in the Eastern Conference, but don't expect the reeling Blackhawks to take the Sabres lightly. "You're coming in against a team tomorrow that's coming in off a big win (Tuesday) against the Rangers," said Patrick Kane. "So they've got some confidence." Buffalo led New York 3-0 after just 21:03 thanks to goals by Zemgus Girgensons, Evander Kane and Justin Bailey. … Kyle Okposo is the team's top scorer with 11 goals and 14 assists. … Corey Crawford starts in net for the Hawks. Crawford has faced 33 or more shots in eight straight starts.
Next: Carolina Hurricanes, 7:30 p.m. Friday
- John Dietz