Vinnie Hinostroza was happy he got the call to rejoin the Blackhawks out of Rockford not only because it meant he was back playing in the NHL, but also because he got reunited with an old friend — Ryan Hartman’s dog.
“I went home to ‘Hartzy’ yesterday and his dog, because we’re roommates, so that was nice,” Hinostroza said. “And then just coming in the locker room, seeing all these guys, it’s great. I’m just glad to be back.”
Hinostroza is not in the lineup for Friday’s game against the Blue Jackets, but he will return to the lineup some time over the final four games of the season.
Hinostroza’s last game with the Hawks was Feb. 21 before the team sent him down to Rockford for an extended stay. But now Hinostroza is going to try and add himself to the mix for playing time once the playoffs begin.
“I think I just needed to go get my confidence and play a lot of minutes and have the puck,” Hinostroza said. “I feel like went down there and played every part of the game — power play, penalty kill. I feel like I’m pretty confident coming back here.”
Hinostroza has made multiple trips via the Rockford shuttle the last two seasons, and wants to attack this trip with a different mindset than the beginning of the season, when he was just trying to stick on the roster.
“My goal was always to come back here … and at the beginning of the season obviously you’re nervous, you’re a young guy, you don’t know what to expect, but I’ve been here,” Hinostroza said. “I was here for a while this year and I know what to expect, so just coming back here I’m looking to when I get the chance to grab the opportunity and make the most of it.”
Anisimov still on track: Coach Joel Quenneville said center Artem Anisimov tried to skate as he recovers from a left foot injury, but that Anisimov will likely “push it” next week while the Hawks are on their three-game road trip.
Quenneville said Anisimov is still on track to return when the playoffs begin. There is a chance Anisimov could play in one of the final regular-season games if his injury improves enough.
“If he’s progressing to the point where we want to get him in and everything is going to be more than 100 percent ready then we’ll do that,”Quenneville said. “But our focus is to make sure he’s 100 percent ready for Game 1.”
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