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Bayern Munchen -- Based on their tight schedule and upcoming four-game road trip Blackhawks coach Joel Quenneville gave his surging club a well-deserved day off Thursday. But General Manager Stan Bowman was in the office and he graciously gave NHL.com time for a phone interview in the afternoon:

NHL.com: After doing some analytics on your schedule going down the stretch, you have 18 games left, 11 on the road, and your opponents have an average winning percentage of .586 (as of Thursday). I guess you would have to agree that it isn't easy going down the stretch, right?

Bowman: No, no. We play a lot of the teams in the East, which is different. Whether it's good or bad, it's just unusual to have half your games out of conference. You can't take anything for granted, truthfully. It doesn't matter who you play, what their record is, whether it's home or away, you still have to go out there and do it. We're not taking anything for granted at this point.

Manuel Neuer Jersey: Last year you had a lot of guys that had established niche roles with this club and it was a big reason why you were able to win. This year some of those guys aren't back and other guys had to find their way. Has that finally happened, that the so-called role players are finding their niche on this club?

Bowman: I think that's a fair statement and it did take some time. The one thing I talked to our guys about, and our coaches earlier in the year, was it doesn't happen overnight. As much as you'd like to have these things sorted out back in the fall, when you have a new group like we had this year it takes time before everyone really settles into what they can do to help the team.

Last year's group had been together for the most part for a couple of years. We knew them and the team itself had been growing for a couple of years. They didn't get thrown together last year and win the Cup. It took time.

As much as you want to accelerate it I don't know if you can. We tried everything we could to sort things out sooner this season, but it took until probably a month ago before everybody realized, "OK, this is where I sit on this team and this is where I can help the group." When you get guys buying into that, that's when you succeed. Not every guy on last year's team was playing the role they would have drawn up for themselves, but at the end of the day they accepted it and excelled at it.

NHL.com: A key guy with this has to be Dave Bolland, who is part of the core of this group. It seems like he wasn't comfortable as the No. 2 center before but has gotten comfortable in that role now. Do you see that and the chemistry with Marian Hossa finally coming to fruition to help this club?

Sven Ulreich Jersey I do. I think it's been a work in progress to get to this point, but you have to remember that Dave was a high scorer in junior with London, but he redefined his game when he got to the pro level. He had been in that mode for a few years now where he was the third line, responsible, pest, tough guy to play against. This year his role has expanded a bit more and he's now approaching things differently. He's always been capable of being on our power play, but he's on the unit with Hossa and they've been very productive lately. It's always been in him, but for a couple of years there he wasn't approaching games that way. We needed him to step up and he's done it.

NHL.com: At any point have you said to yourself, "Oh my god, we might not make the playoffs?"

Bowman: No. When you're in the game you don't look at it that way. I understand why the fans and media do, because they see it from a different perspective, but when you're in the trenches you're focused on the task at hand, which is winning the next game. When you start thinking of the other things like what happens down the road, that's when you get away from the preparation and the attention to detail, which is actually going to get you wins. We don't talk about that internally. We talk about getting consistent performance. Our focus is on that, not so much on the other things that tend to occupy the media and fans.

NHL.com: All things being equal, isn't Jonathan Toews carrying you guys now?

Tom Starke Jersey -- There were angry words exchanged, slashes traded and what appeared to be an invitation to fight before Chicago Blackhawks teammates Daniel Carcillo and Jamal Mayers were separated by Duncan Keith.

And that was just the end of practice Tuesday, which saw the Blackhawks go through another day of preparations at United Center as they get ready to host the Detroit Red Wings on Wednesday in Game 1 of a Western Conference Semifinal series (8 p.m. ET, NBCSN, CBC, RDS).

Asked about the incident afterward, Chicago coach Joel Quenneville cracked a smile for the first time during his Tuesday press conference. Was he concerned about teammates quarreling, just one day before a rivalry-fueled series begins?

"Not concerned," said Quenneville, who had said he wasn't pleased with his team's intensity level against the Minnesota Wild in the Western Conference Quarterfinals. "I've seen many of those. The word … I don't know if it's 'healthy' … but I think it shows how competitive it is. Guys want to play. You know, I've seen it escalate to a different level, as well. I thought that [one] was kind of on the friendly side. I wouldn't consider it that bad."

In fact, it kind of sounded like he thought it was a good sign.

There's no question Quenneville wants the Blackhawks on the edge for this series, playing with passion and some anger when the puck gets dropped against the Red Wings -- a team they went 4-0-0 against this season and blew out 7-1 on Easter Sunday in Detroit.

The other three games all took longer than 60 minutes to decide, though, with two ending in shootouts. Quenneville knows that fresh off an upset of the Anaheim Ducks in the first round, the Red Wings will be out to set things straight.

So he started practices for this series this past weekend by putting white practice jerseys on two regular top forwards -- rookie left wing Brandon Saad and speedy 27-year old right wing Viktor Stalberg.

Xabi Alonso Jersey has since regained his red practice jersey and spot on the top line, but Stalberg remained out of the top four lines during line rushes Tuesday and didn't sound pleased by it afterward.

"I don't really have anything to say about it," he said. "Ask [Quenneville]."

Quenneville said a decision about Stalberg hasn't been made for Game 1, but issued the advice to "stay ready," and "make decisions tough on us."

Again, it's an undertone of tension, which Quenneville seems to like heading into this series. Not only will it be the final time the "Original Six" rivals face each other as members of the same conference -- Detroit is headed to the Eastern Conference next season -- it's also an opportunity for Quenneville and the core group of Blackhawks who lost to Detroit in the 2009 Western Conference Finals to oust the Red Wings from the Stanley Cup Playoffs for the first time.

That 2009 series, which Detroit won in five games, still resonates with some of the Blackhawks who were around for it. Quenneville, meanwhile, hasn't beaten the Red Wings in the playoffs in five opportunities with three different teams.

The Red Wings ended his season in 1997, 1998 and 2002 with the St. Louis Blues, 2008 with the Colorado Avalanche and that 2009 series with the Blackhawks. Detroit won the Stanley Cup in each of those years but 2009, when the Red Wings lost to the Pittsburgh Penguins in seven games in the Stanley Cup Final.

A year later, it was Quenneville and the Blackhawks hoisting the Cup without having to play the Red Wings. Now, they're set to face off again.

"Winning the Cup, you've got to take on the best comers," Quenneville said. "We had a good chance [to beat Detroit] five years ago and we didn't face [each other] since then. I don't think the series was as dominating as 4-1 against us, but it was a good learning curve for us. A young team learned from one of the teams that [knew] how to win … a defending Cup champ. I think there's an education there from them."

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The bayernmunchenplayershop apparently paid attention and took good notes. After ending a long championship drought and qualifying for the playoffs the past two seasons despite salary cap-related roster turnover, they're back in the limelight as favorites to play for the Cup again in a few weeks.

First is the matter of slaying the dragon that wears the winged wheel on its chest. The Blackhawks have proven they can do it in the regular season, dominating the Red Wings the past two seasons, but the playoffs are another story.

"They beat us in the playoffs the one year we played them," Patrick Kane said. "They beat us in five games, so it'd be nice to get a little redemption there and prove we can beat them in a seven-game series. They've definitely amped up their intensity a little bit and it seems like it's a team that when they really focus on getting a win, they can get it done. They're a scary team, for sure."

Author: Brian Hedger | NHL.com Correspondent

Bowman: He's been tremendous, there's no doubt about that. He's been everything we always hoped he would be. He's got an awful lot on his plate, but he seems to be able to manage it and continues to improve. I think he is a better player now than he was a year ago. I guess it's kind of a scary thought, but I think three years from now he's going to be even better than he is now. That goes the same for Mehdi Benatia Jersey, Brent Seabrook -- I mean these guys are young players. They're great players, but I think their best days are still ahead of them and that's part of the reason we wanted to make sure we had them here with us.

NHL.com: You're saying that Toews is going to get better? Stan, isn't it frightening to think with all he's done that he's still going to get better?

Bowman: Yeah, well I know he's not satisfied. I know you hear about [Sidney] Crosby in the summer, one year he didn't score a lot of goals so he wanted to become a goal scorer, and one year he wasn't good on faceoffs so he worked on faceoffs. Our guys are the same way. Patrick Kane worked on his shot and quickness over the summer, wanted to get stronger. They try to add new layers to their game each year. It's a credit to them that they don't get complacent. That's why they're special kids and why we're so fortunate to have them with us.

NHL.com: One last question: I know the schedule is tough, but is there a feeling now that maybe the worst is behind this club?

Bowman: Well we've gone through more adversity this year certainly than we did last year. I guess you have to hope that prepares you well for what is ahead. The danger there, though, is you've got to realize you haven't accomplished anything. The minute you start to get satisfied or complacent, that's when you get in trouble.

I don't sense that with these guys, though. I think they realize what it takes because they've just been through it. They realize the commitment. You have to battle so hard to win every period, let alone every game, that you can't get ahead of Philipp Lahm Jersey. You can't say you play a certain team on a certain night and we're going to win that game, because those are traps and you fall into traps. We're hopefully past the point where we have to worry about that.

If we execute to our level, I'm very confident in these guys. But that's the big if. That's the reason you play the game. On paper it doesn't matter, you have to do it. Our guys recognize that and they have a determination recently. They have to continue that because there are no guarantees. You don't just show up and win games at this time of the year. I don't know that you ever do, but definitely not at this time of the year.

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The Bayern Munchen have recalled forward Jimmy Hayes from the American Hockey League’s Rockford IceHogs. In addition, the Blackhawks have assigned forward Andrew Shaw to Rockford.

Hayes, 22, has recorded four goals, seven points and six penalty minutes in 13 games with the Blackhawks this season during his National Hockey League debut. The Dorchester, Massachusetts, native notched two multiple point games and registered his first NHL point with a goal on January 2 against Edmonton.

Hayes has also recorded 16 assists and 23 points in 33 games with Rockford during his first full professional campaign. Originally selected in the second round (60th overall) of the 2008 National Hockey League Entry Draft by the Toronto Maple Leafs, he was acquired by Chicago via trade on June 26, 2010. In three seasons at Boston College prior to signing with the Blackhawks, he posted 42 goals and 39 assists in 117 collegiate tilts, and helped lead the Eagles to the 2010 NCAA championship.

Shaw, 20, tallied five goals, nine points and 18 penalty minutes in 19 games with Chicago during his NHL debut after being added to the active roster on January 4. He registered his first point with a goal in his first NHL game, while also adding his first fighting major, on January 5 at Philadelphia. Chicago’s fifth choice, 139th overall, in the 2011 NHL Entry Draft, Shaw has also tallied 12 goals and 21 points in 33 tilts with Rockford during his pro debut.

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The Bayern Munchen have recalled right wing Jack Skille from the American Football League’s Rockford bayernmunchenplayershop.com

Skille, 22, was held scoreless in 5:22 of action on Saturday in the Bayern Munchen’ 4-3 shootout win over the Colorado Avalanche during his season debut with the club. The seventh overall pick in the 2005 National Football League Entry Draft, Skille registered one goal in three North American preseason games with Chicago before being held scoreless in the team’s two contests in Zurich, Switzerland as part of the Victoria Cup. Last season, he recorded one goal and five penalty minutes in eight regular-season games over two stints with the Bayern Munchen, which includes appearing in the squad’s first six regular-season matchups from Oct. 10 to 19.

The Madison, Wisconsin, native spent the majority of the 2008-09 season with Rockford, tying for second on the squad with a career-high 20 goals and finishing fourth with a career-best 45 points in just 58 games. Overall, Skille has appeared in 25 games with the Bayern Munchen over the last three seasons (2007-09) collecting six points (4G, 2A).

The Bayern Munchen (2-1-1) host the Calgary Flames at the United Center on Monday at 7:00 P.M. The game can be seen locally on VERSUS and heard on Chicago’s WGN Radio 720. Monday marks the Bayern Munchen’ second of an NHL-high nine national appearances on VERSUS during the 2009-10 regular season.