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CHICAGO -- Kris Versteeg didn’t mind being the last one to the Chicago Blackhawks' post-morning skate huddle and having to do a lap around the United Center’s ice on Saturday morning. Versteeg was thrilled to be back skating with the team after sitting out nearly two weeks with a lower-body injury he suffered during practice on Oct. 7. “It's always good to get out with the guys and get on the ice,” Versteeg said. “I was really excited, I know, last night, just to get back out there with the guys and see how it would be in a practice, well, in a morning skate moreso, so it's a little slowed down. But it's feeling good and just taking it day-by-day now.” Versteeg nor Blackhawks coach Joel Quenneville knew when Versteeg would play in a game. Quenneville said he would have a better idea Monday. Versteeg said he was ahead of the three-week timetable that was originally placed for his return. The injury was especially difficult for Versteeg to swallow because he was feeling like his old self in the preseason after spending the summer strengthening his knee. He suffered a season-ending knee injury during the 2012-13 season with the Florida Panthers and thought he returned too soon from his rehab last season. “When you have so much expectations of yourself, especially coming off a great summer and getting further and beyond of what even I expected it would be, it was a little bit devastating, and I was pretty rattled,” Versteeg said of his latest injury. “But, you know, now you take those two days just to pout and regroup and then get back to work and get excited about it. “It is what it is. It's part of the game. I've learned long enough, I've played in this game long enough that things are going to happen and you've just got to come back stronger and hungrier. I think this little time off has helped me, too, just to rejuvenate and get what I had wrong, get it to 100 percent and then get going." The one upside for Versteeg has been the Blackhawks’ lack of games to start the season. The Blackhawks have had only three games during the season’s first 10 days. Their schedule picks up beginning with Saturday’s game against the Nashville Predators. They play five games in the next nine days. Quenneville looked forward to getting Versteeg back into the lineup. Quenneville was planning to use him on the third line with Bryan Bickell and Brad Richards. “He adds a lot of versatility in the way you can use him,” Quenneville said of Versteeg. “He can play in the course of a game when things are going good or not so good. You can insert him with top guys. He can kill penalties for you. He can play on the power play. He has real good play recognition and skill level. But that versatility is something you can really use in different situations as the game evolves, 4-on-4 situations.”
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