Chicago Blackhawks forward Kris Versteeg out three weeks

Chicago Blackhawks forward Kris Versteeg is expected to miss about three weeks after suffering a lower-body injury during Tuesday's practice, coach Joel Quenneville said Wednesday.

Versteeg was expected to start on the third line with Bryan Bickell and Brad Richards, but will be replaced by Ben Smith.

“It’s kind of frustrating and disappointing for [Versteeg],” Quenneville said. “We really felt he gives us a lot of versatility and options in our game, [with] penalty-killing getting more ice time for him. It looks like he found that stride that he was looking for."

The injury is unrelated to Versteeg’s previously torn ACL, which required surgery in April 2013 while with the Florida Panthers. The following season, he was traded to the Blackhawks, where he posted 10 goals and 19 assists in 63 games. 

“It sucks,” Andrew Shaw told the Chicago Sun-Times. “But he’s going to be patient. He’s going to stay calm and not hit the panic button and just get healthy as soon as he can.”

• For the Blackhawks, the Stanley Cup is in the details

Last season the Blackhawks finished in third place in the Western Conference with 107 points. They lost to the eventual Stanley Cup champions Lost Angeles Kings in overtime of Game 7 of the Western Conference Finals.

- Danielle Zhu