Chicago’s Jonathan Toews found himself on the receiving end of a big hit by Bruins defenseman Johnny Boychuck during the second period of Game 5 of the Stanley Cup Final on Saturday night, sending him to the bench for the third period.
However, it doesn’t look like Toews will be nursing his upper-body injury from the bench any longer. Blackhawks coach Joel Quenneville said Sunday that he is “optimistic” Towes will be ready to go for Game 6.
“Jonny is doing much better [Sunday],” Quenneville said, according to ESPN. “He’s progressing. We’re optimistic he’ll play [Monday] night.”
The NHL reviewed Boychuck’s hit but did not give him a penalty. Boychuck didn’t receive a penalty during the game, either.
Quenneville decided to stay away from blaming anyone for the hit.
“It wasn’t a penalty on the play,” he said, according to CSNNE.com. “It was one of those hits in the tight area in front of the net. You can be vulnerable in that area for a big hit. The first part of contact, you could talk about, but I’m not going to go there.”
