The case to make Kris Versteeg a healthy scratch for Game 1
The Blackhawks currently find themselves in a familiar position heading into a second round series against the Wild, but something just doesn’t feel right about this year’s team in comparison to the ones in recent seasons.
By their standards, they’ve struggled on both ends of the ice all year, and they’ve lost their ability to control games with offensive dominance like they did during their Stanley Cup runs in 2010 and 2013. Their defense has been porous at times too, and Corey Crawford has born the brunt of it.
But there is one player that has grossly underachieved what’s been expected of him, and no I’m not talking about Michal Rozsival. Despite Rozsival’s poor play at times, not much was ever expected of the 36-year old defenseman on the last leg of his career.
I’m talking about Kris Versteeg, who apparently has lost his ability to produce consistently since returning from an injury he suffered against the Capitals in the Winter Classic.
Versteeg got off to a hot start this season. He compiled 27 points through the first 34 games, placing him among the team’s scoring leaders, but when he left the Winter Classic with a hand injury on New Year’s Day, he seemed to leave his ability to score as well.
Since his return, Versteeg has looked extremely uncomfortable. He only managed to tally seven points over the remainder of the regular season, and although many were hopeful that the return of Patrick Kane in the first round of the playoffs would help catalyze the return of Versteeg's stellar play, many were disappointed to see him contribute just one measly point over the six game series despite the Blackhawks’ win.
Joel Quenneville seems to be taking action against Versteeg and his poor play as well. According to a report by Randy Holt of Second City Hockey, “On Monday, [Versteeg] skated with the fifth line, with Bryan Bickell occupying his spot on the left wing on the second unit, and Tuevo Teravainen holding down the third line.”
This seems to be the Blackhawks’ strongest lineup at the moment, and it’s rather likely that we see these line combinations used in at least one game this series.
If Versteeg does end up being the odd man out, maybe watching a playoff game from the press box while wearing a suit will be enough to wake him up; and his stick too.
