May 12--The Blackhawks had five days off before their second-round series against the Wild.
Now, as they await the conclusion of the Eastern Conference semifinals, the Hawks are looking at a layoff that will likely exceed a week before they finally drop the puck against the Ducks in the Western Conference finals.
It's a departure from the normal rhythms of the season, when breaks as extended as these are few.
At some point, the Hawks might get tired of the monotony of skating against each other, running through drills and hearing Joel Quenneville's whistle.
But though they're resting, the Hawks can't get too relaxed.
"You get in that routine of every other day games and getting that momentum and playing, getting into the games. It's kind of tough, but it's also nice to have the rest," winger Bryan Bickell said. "These last practices have been a good pace."
Goaltender Corey Crawford said the Hawks ramped up the competition and emotions in practice later in the season to get ready for the playoffs. That has helped the Hawks maintain their focus even when not playing for several days at a time.
"We did a pretty good job of practicing hard and getting intense in practice," Crawford said. "That makes a big difference. It's easy to carry it over when practice is really intense."
Quenneville said he has tried to make practices interesting and add variety to what the Hawks do in each session.
"You don't mind having the extra time off," Quenneville said. "And sometimes you've got to make sure you balance it. when it gets a little longer (we) try something different in practice, simulate a game situation ... that first game type of intensity that's going to be there."
Cumiskey considered: Quenneville said he thought about deploying 28-year-old defenseman Kyle Cumiskey before settling on David Rundblad to take the place of the injured Michal Rozsival.
"(They were) both options, absolutely," Quenneville said. "We've got a lot of consideration when we're looking at who's in and who's out."
One of the points in Rundblad's favor was that Rundblad is more comfortable playing the right point, which is where Rozsival played.
Desjardins still out: Fourth-line center Andrew Desjardins missed his second consecutive practice because of an illness, Quenneville said. But Quenneville added that Desjardins should be healthy enough to skate when the Hawks practice again Wednesday. The Hawks are off Tuesday.
chine@tribpub.com
