DENVER -- Four Blackhawks were sidelined due to illness and defenseman Steve Montador was out with an upper-body injury as the Blackhawks returned to practice at the University of Denver on Wednesday afternoon.
There wasn't much of an update on Montador. Coach Joel Quenneville said Montador was "doing OK today," but didn't elaborate past that. He said they'll see how Montador is doing again on Thursday. Meanwhile, forwards Bryan Bickell and Viktor Stalberg and defensemen Niklas Hjalmarsson and Nick Leddy did not practice, as a flu bug is making its way through the Blackhawks locker room. Quenneville is hoping they're feeling better for Thursday's practice in San Jose.
The Blackhawks worked on their power play, which has gone 0 for 10 in its last four games, on Wednesday.
"That has to be a point of emphasis, that we have to rely on that to get us through tough times," Quenneville said. "We dont want it to lose momentum for us like it has recently."