Johnny Oduya expected to be ‘alright’ for Game 4; exhale, Chicago
CHICAGO – The Chicago Blackhawks were basically screwed if they lost any of their top four defensemen in the remaining games of the Stanley Cup Final, what with the way their third pairing combinations have underperformed.
So when Johnny Oduya was banged up in Game 3, there was great concern that he wouldn’t play in a critical Game 4 on Wednesday, down 2-1 to the Tampa Bay Lightning.
What’s his status report?
An upper-body injury, according to coach Joel Quenneville. But one he doesn’t anticipate will keep Oduya out for the Blackhawks’ next game.
“We’ll see how he is tomorrow. I think he’ll be alright,” he said on Tuesday.
Oduya only took five shifts in the second period, and only one after Nikita Kucherov went off for tripping him at center ice. He returned in the third period and played seven shifts, down from the 11 shifts he had in the first period.
The Blackhawks have been led by the minutes-chewing defense of Duncan Keith (31:20), Brent Seabrook (26:29), Niklas Hjalmarsson (25:59) and Oduya (24:44). The loss of Michal Rozsival to injury after 10 playoff games, and the revelation that Kimmo Timonen was ineffective in the playoffs, left a gaping hole in the lineup on the third pairing.
The idea that Kyle Cumiskey or David Rundbald or Timonen or Trevor van Riemsdyk would be called upon to take on Oduya’s minutes in Game 4 would have made a steep climb even steeper for Chicago.
But it sounds like Oduya will be in. And Quenneville said his defensemen aren’t being worn down by the workload.
”The guys take care of themselves on a different level. They don’t mind playing big minutes,” he said.
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