May 15--Coach Joel Quenneville used the Blackhawks' final practice in Chicago before the Western Conference finals to look at some new defensive pairings.
Duncan Keith -- who had been skating alongside the now-injured Michal Rozsival -- was paired with Niklas Hjalmarsson, while Brent Seabrook was with Johnny Oduya and Kimmo Timonen with David Rundblad during practice Thursday at Johnny's IceHouse West.
"The pair that probably didn't see much of one another (during the season) was David and Kimmo," Quenneville said. "We'll see if we can utilize that as we go along in games, but it's something we wanted to see."
Keith-Seabrook and Hjalmarsson-Oduya were consistent pairings the last several seasons, but Quenneville decided to split the veterans this season. Asked the reason, Quenneville said: "Balance, maybe."
"You can talk about matchups and things like that, but either way, I'm sure they'll see each other," Quenneville added. "They play a lot together, whether they're rotating with one another or not."
With Rozsival undergoing season-ending surgery on his left ankle, which he broke in the clincher against the Wild, Rundblad is set to make his postseason debut Sunday in Anaheim. That could force Quenneville to lean heavily on his top two units.
"Their play dictates that," Quennneville said. "Performance will dictate how much, and the opponent, the score -- a lot of things (are) variables. (It's) tough to forecast."
Waiting game: Kris Versteeg continues to be the odd man out among forwards. After playing in all six first-round games against the Predators, he was a healthy scratch during the four-game sweep of the Wild and appears headed that way for Game 1 against the Ducks.
"Whenever you get your name called, you have to be relied upon," Versteeg said. "Whenever that is, then I'll be ready to go."
Versteeg, who scored one goal against the Predators, was replaced in the lineup by rookie Teuvo Teravainen against the Wild.
"I have to understand that there are things that can happen," the veteran said about being patient. "I know what I can do. I just have to stay ready."
Time travel: Quenneville was asked if he had ever experienced a long layoff like the nine days between series the Hawks are experiencing. He reminisced about his playing days in the AHL with Hawks faceoff consultant Yanic Perreault.
"Me and Yanic, when we played in Newfoundland, we were off for 17 days," Quenneville said.
What did they do during that time?
"Not much," Quenneville said with a laugh.
And how did they do when they finally started playing?
"Not good," he said. "We lost all our home games."
