Coach Joel Quenneville believes he has the right guy to replace injured Chicago Blackhawks defenseman Michal Rozsival in the Western Conference finals. Enter David Rundblad.
Rozsival won't play against until next season after an on-ice accident in which his right ankle went every which way but what is was supposed to. For Quenneville, a thin defense corps lost a guy who was playing with top-four man Duncan Keith.
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Here's the challenge: Rundblad, 24, hasn't played a tick of Stanley Cup playoffs time.
The upside? The Blackhawks on Sunday began their preparation for the Western finals with time to hone the Keith-Rundblad duo. Plus, the lads have played together this season, and Rundblad will be on his natural right side, according to Tracey Myers of CSNChicago.com.
"He's going to come in and play, and minutes are dictated by how he plays and how the score of the game goes," Quenneville told The Chicago Tribune. "Other guys are accustomed to playing significant minutes. Every game's going to be different, but his play and the game and the score will play a lot into it."
As he reacquaints himself with Keith, Rundblad also must prepare for his first action since April 11. No problem.
"Especially if you get a couple of practices like this, it's pretty quick to get into it again," he said Sunday. "I've just got to try to do everything game-like, even in practices. It won't take that long."
Expect Rundblad to see about 15 minutes a game.
Meanwhile, journeyman Kimmo Timonen likely will get more than his accustomed 10 minutes. Timonen, 40, was a trade deadline pickup, told the Chicago Sun-Times he is in the best shape he's been in years.
"Once I get out there I do my job as well as I can," Timonen said, "but it hasn't been easy. It's a role I've never been through before. It takes a little time to get used to it. It's a lot of mental thinking. Every player wants to play more. When you play more you usually play better."
The Blackhawks await the winner of the Calgary Flames-Anaheim Ducks series. Game 5 was Sunday in Anaheim as Calgary tried to ward off elimination.