CHICAGO -- Andrew Shaw wasn't coach Joel Quenneville's first choice to replace Jonathan Toews in the third period Saturday night. But if the Chicago Blackhawks captain' can't play in Game 6 of the Stanley Cup Final, it's certainly possible that Shaw will be the guy who gets to skate between Patrick Kane and Bryan Bickell.
Toews' status will be re-evaluated Sunday. Coach Joel Quenneville said he has an upper-body injury.
Shaw took over as the top-line center after Marcus Kruger, Kane and Bickell were on the ice for Zdeno Chara's goal 3:40 into the third period. He nearly doubled his ice time and his total shifts by playing eight for 5:31, mostly with Kane and Bickell, to help keep the Boston Bruins from getting even and allowed Chicago to move within one game of winning the Stanley Cup with a 3-1 victory at United Center.
Shaw won four of six faceoffs and blocked a shot in the third period.
"It shows that [Quenneville] has a lot of confidence in my play," Shaw said. "I just went out there and worked as hard as I could and played a solid defensive game. I was always supporting the puck underneath and just trying not to give them many opportunities to score."
Shaw hasn't been on the scoresheet since scoring the triple-overtime winner in Game 1, but he said his confidence has been building throughout the series.
"I'm out there with some great players, so you're going to make plays," he said. "It's creating space for them and playing solid defensively. If we do that our chances will come."
If he doesn't wind up on the scoresheet, Shaw won't let it bother him -- even if he's playing with Bickell and Kane.
"I'm always going to be the hard-working, finishing checks, going to the net kind of guy," he said. "I let them do what they do. That's why they make the big bucks."
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