April 01--As the Blackhawks await word from Duncan Keith's hearing with the NHL's Department of Safety this afternoon, the Hawks have a game to prepare for against the Jets on Friday.
Marian Hossa will miss the game becuase of an illness, coach Joel Quenneville said.
To replace Keith, Quenneville said the other defensemen will get added responsibility. Trevor van Riemsdyk will take Keith's slot on the top defensive pairing with Niklas Hjalmarsson while those defensemen who play will likely see an increase in ice time.
"Other guys maybe go from 12 to 15 (minutes) to 16, 17," Quenneville said.
Quenneville said Viktor Svedberg will get time on the penalty kill while Erik Gustafsson will be on the power play. Christian Ehrhoff figures to be the healthy scratch among the seven defensemen in Winnipeg.
"Everybody's going to get more important minutes than they've been used to, but I think that can help as we go along here to get exposure to top players and to get top situations," Quenneville said.
Quenneville said Corey Crawford made "good progress" Friday in his return from an upper-body injury but said Crawford was not skating. He is hopeful Crawford can skate Saturday.
chine@tribpub.com
