Chicago Blackhawks' Saad gets the message, gets to play

All signs pointed toward Brandon Saad being a healthy scratch Thursday, but coach Joel Quenneville removed his $6 million player from the doghouse and opted to play Saad against Arizona at the United Center.

"I thought he had a really good week of practices, so that was part of the decision," Quenneville said.

Saad wore a white jersey at MB Ice Arena on Monday and Wednesday, which usually signifies a player won't dress in the next game.

Quenneville hoped Saad got the message.

"We talked the other day," Quenneville said before the Hawks 4-1 loss. "When a player misses shifts or misses games, you can handle it a variety of ways. The best way is to go about it like a pro. Go out there and demand more ice time based on how you're competing, how you're working and complementing the team game. (That's) what this business is all about."

Saad was on the fourth line for a second straight game, skating with David Kampf and Marcus Kruger. He also saw some 4-on-4 time with Alexandre Fortin in the second period and lost the puck after Fortin dropped it for him just over the offensive blue line.

Quenneville wants Saad to improve in a variety of areas and to display the "emotion or the intensity" needed in the critical scoring areas on the ice.

"He can be more influential with his speed and use that body of his with strength and power," Quenneville said. "But more so what he can do with the puck, because positionally he's pretty sound in that area. We think he can have more impact on the game."

Hinostroza shines:

One day. That's all the time it took for Vinnie Hinostroza to move on after the Blackhawks traded him to Arizona in July.

"The next day, after I got traded, I was all Arizona. All Coyotes," Hinostroza said Wednesday. "It wasn't a hard transition going down there. The guys were really welcoming. It's a great locker room to come to and I'm excited to be a part of it."

He also was thrilled after scoring 2 goals in the Coyotes' 4-1 victory over the Hawks on Thursday. He gave Arizona a 2-1 second-period lead when his blast from the right slot whizzed past Corey Crawford, then added an empty-netter with 2:20 remaining.

As for playing his first game at the UC in a visiting uniform, Hinostroza said: "In warmup and stuff, it was kind of weird skating on the other end. But after the first shift, it just turns into another hockey game. It wasn't too weird. It was really fun and it was a good win. Happy all around about today.

Raanta remembers:

Antti Raanta, who played 39 games for the Blackhawks from 2013-15, was in net Thursday for Arizona. Raanta was Corey Crawford's backup for the first half of the 2015 championship season but lost his job to Scott Darling.

Beforehand, Raanta talked about how much Crawford helped him become a No. 1 goalie.

"As a young goalie, I was always nervous and thinking about the bad things before the game," Raanta said. "When you just watched him … on a daily basis, you kind of learn, 'Hey, even though hockey is a big thing, it's (still) just hockey.'

"Focus on your own stuff. You don't want to start overthinking things. If you do the right things in practice, they will follow you into the game. Those are the big things you learned from him."

Johnson assigned:

To make room for Corey Crawford on the roster, the Hawks assigned Luke Johnson to Rockford.

Joel Quenneville said the team may carry three goalies for a few more days. The Hawks are at Columbus on Saturday and host Tampa Bay on Sunday. At that point, they likely will place Anton Forsberg on waivers and - if he clears - assign him to Rockford.