TAMPA, Fla. -- Chicago Blackhawks coach Joel Quenneville doesn’t appear as if he’s going to mess with success.
Quenneville is likely go with the same lineup for Game 2 of the Stanley Cup finals as he did in the Blackhawks’ 2-1 victory in Game 1, based on his comments Friday and the team's practice.
Quenneville had previously mentioned the possibility of rookie defenseman Trevor van Riemsdyk entering the lineup during the series. Quenneville said Friday he expected to play the same six defensemen he used in Game 1. He again relied heavily on the team's top-four defensemen -- Duncan Keith, Brent Seabrook, Niklas Hjalmarsson and Johnny Oduya -- and played David Rundblad and Kyle Cumiskey just a combined 12:23 of ice time in Game 1.
“I think we'll probably keep the same group on the back end,” Quenneville said.
Blackhawks forward Bryan Bickell may also remain out of the lineup after sitting Game 1 with an upper-body injury. Bickell participated in the team’s practice Friday. He was unsure what he was dealing with injury-wise.
“I don’t know exactly what it is,” Bickell said. “It’s something that comes and goes. It could come after I’m done talking to you. I don’t know. The verdict of why it happened or what caused it, it’s there. Just taking it day by day right now.
“We did all those concussion tests and everything was clear. It’s just how I feel. I want to help out the team and I don’t want to hurt that team. I’m just taking it day by day.”
Bickell was replaced by forward Kris Versteeg in Game 1, and Versteeg again skated with the team’s second line during practice Friday. Quenneville said Versteeg will likely play in Game 2.
Keith and forward Marcus Kruger did not participate in Friday’s practice, but Quenneville said they were just resting.
