Versteeg has missed five weeks with a hand injury he suffered in the Winter Classic. He will be back in the lineup tonight, but there is no word yet on which line he will play on. He had been playing with Brad Richards and Patrick Kane prior to the injury and has registered nine goals and 18 assists (27 points) in 34 games this season.
Versteeg, who has been out since the Winter Classic, returned to practice on Thursday and will need a week of practice before he returns to the lineup. Monitor his status leading up to next Wednesday’s game vs. the Canucks.
Versteeg has been out since he suffered a hand injury in the Winter Classic. He was expected to miss “about one month” so his return to practice this afternoon is a good sign that he is progressing as scheduled. He skated in a no-contact jersey today, so he will need to shed that look before his return is imminent.
Versteeg has missed the last nine games with a hand injury that he suffered in the Winter Classic. He was expected to miss “about one month”, but he will miss at least one extra week as he wont’t travel out West this week.
Versteeg suffered a hand injury while blocking an Eric Fehr shot in the Winter Classic. He will be out until late-January or early-February with the injury, which will give the Blackhawks a good chance to get their first look at Teuvo Teravainen this season.
Versteeg suffered a hand injury while blocking a shot in the Winter Classic. Versteeg is expected to be sidelined for at least a few weeks, so the Blackhawks have recalled highly-touted prospect Teuvo Teravainen from Rockford (AHL).
The Hawks may have suffered a significant loss to their lineup when a shot from Eric Fehr hit forwardKris Versteeg in the left hand early in the third period. Versteeg left the game and did not return and afterward coach Joel Quenneville said, "He could be out for a bit, but we'll know more (Friday)." Versteeg is third on the Hawks in scoring with nine goals and 18 assists and has a team-best plus-14 rating.
Versteeg's three week timetable was right on as he returns 20 days after being injured. Versteeg will skate on the Hawks second line with Andrew Shaw and Patrick Kane, which gives him a nice opportunity to produce right away. He had 10 goals and 19 assists (29 points) in 63 games after coming over from the Panthers last season.
Versteeg has missed the first four games of the season, but he was back on the ice this morning and skated with Andrew Shaw and Patrick Kane, which is a good sign that he could make his season debut Tuesday vs. Philadelphia.
Less than a week ago the Blackhawks announced that Versteeg would miss three weeks with a lower-body injury, but if he is back on the ice in the next couple of days, that timetable could be cut a little short.
Versteeg suffered the injury in practice on Tuesday and will be out until November. Ben Smith will fill in for Versteeg on the Blackhawks third line with Brad Richards and Bryan Bickell.
Versteeg left practice early yesterday after suffering a lower-body injury. He is coming off of knee surgery, but it was said on Tuesday that the injury was not related to the surgically repaired knee. Monitor his status on Thursday, but it does not look like he will be in the lineup for the season opener. Expect Jeremy Morin to fill his spot with Brad Richards and Bryan Bickell.
Versteeg suffered a lower-body injury but the Blackhawks say it is not related to his surgically repaired knee. If Versteeg is to play in the season opener, expect to see him on the third line with Brad Richards and Bryan Bickell. He is coming off of a season where he had 12 goals and 24 assists (36 points) in 81 games with the Panthers and Blackhawks.
Versteeg is expected to skate on the top line with Bryan Bickell and Jonathan Toews. The Blackhawks are currently down two forwards: Andrew Shaw is injured and Brandon Bollig was suspended two games for his hit on Wild defenseman Keith Ballard in Game 4. Versteeg started the playoffs on the top line with Toews and looked good at the start. He struggled the rest of the way, however, and has been scratched several times, once for illness.
Andrew Shaw will drop to the third line, with Versteeg moving up to the top-line to play with Jonathan Toews and Brandon Saad. Versteeg has just one goal and one assist in his last eight games, a promotion should help spark some offence out of the former Panther.
Versteeg didn’t play the third period on Friday night, after he collided with teammate Bryan Bickell at the end of the second. Versteeg was down for a few moments before going off under his own power. The Blackhawks right wing, who practiced with the team on Saturday, said it was more precautionary that he didn’t return in the Blackhawks’ 4-2 victory over Anaheim.
Versteeg played for Chicago for three seasons from 2007-10. He scored 44 goals and 101 points in 170 games with the Blackhawks. Versteeg missed much of the lockout shortened season, he was held to four points (2G / 2A) in 10 games. This season he has two goals and seven points in 18 games. Versteeg has been a 20-goal scorer three times, so he adds extra firepower to an already strong Blackhawks lineup.
Versteeg was a healthy scratch on Saturday, but he draw back into the lineup tonight. He will play on a line with Marcel Goc and Tomas Kopecky. Versteeg has two goals, three assists and a minus-7 rating in 13 games.
Versteeg has had a hard time staying healthy lately. He has missed a total of 49 games in the last two seasons. That being said, when he is in the lineup he is productive. He is a high-risk, high-reward fantasy selection and is probably best served to start the season on the waiver-wire.
Versteeg had season ending knee surgery in March.
