BLACKHAWKS TOEWS TOSIT AGAIN
CAPTAIN GIVING BAD BACK PLENTY OF REST
Michal Rozsival has been here before. A few times, actually. So many times, in fact, that he knew the inevitable question — about how an eight- man rotation on the blue line would work— was coming the moment a reporter asked to speak with him.
“That’s funny,” he said, laughing. “I was just telling everybody that was the question you were going to ask. I still don’t know the answer. In the job we do, there are things you can’t control. You go out there, you play your best, you hope you get to keep playing. You’ve got to ask somebody else these questions. As players, we know very little about who’s going to play or not.”
Trevor van Riemsdyk’s pending return to the lineup Saturday at Philadelphia after missing six weeks with an apparent shoulder injury further complicates an already- crowded Blackhawks blue line. Nobody’s quite sure how it’s all going to play out.
Unlike in 2013- 14, when Sheldon Brookbank and Michael Kostka rotated with Michal Rozsival in and out of the No. 6 defensemen spot, there is no clear top six — or even top five — for the Hawks. Duncan Keith, Niklas Hjalmarsson, Brent Seabrook and Brian Campbell are locked into the lineup each night. Michal Kempny has been very good, but has been a healthy scratch five times and likely will be out again in Philadelphia. Gustav Forsling has had some growing pains, but coach Joel Quenneville and the organization are very high on him, yet he’s likely a healthy scratch for the fifth time against the Flyers. Van Riemsdyk played al 82 games last season.
And Rozsival, expected to play very little this season and to serve as a safety net, of sorts, has played in five of the last seven games and has played well, throwing a wrench into those plans. He’s likely going to be van Riemsdyk’s partner on the third pairing on Saturday.
“We don’t mind the wrench he’s throwing at us,” Quenneville countered. “We feel he’s playing well. We’ll try to keep everybody in it. If everybody’s playing well, we’ll try to move it around a little bit.”
For a coach, this is a good problem to have. For the players who feel they deserve to play every day, it can be frustrating.
“Obviously, everyone would rather be in the lineup every day, and it’s easier to be at your best when you’re playing all the time,” Rozsival said. “It can be hard when you’re in and out. But I’ve done it before, and you just have to stay as ready as you can.”
Van Riemsdyk appeared to lose his spot to Forsling at the start of the season, playing in two of the first five games before injuring himself while falling into the net in Columbus on Oct. 21. Despite playing in every game last season, van Riesmdyk said he never took his spot in the lineup for granted Now, with two capable players sitting out behind him, he knows more than ever how important each game is, and how short the leash might be.
“But you don’t want to try to be doing too much, or play outside your game,” van Riemsdyk said. “That usually leads to trouble. You never really know exactly how it’ll work out, but you’ve just got to do your part and do your best. We have eight great defensemen here, so it’ll be up to the coaches.”