Versteeg in good place

Leaving Boston works out well

CHICAGO - Kris Versteeg is living the good life, racing along at left wing on Chicago's No. 1 line with young stars Patrick Kane and Jonathan Toews.

"Yeah, they're the phenoms," a beaming Versteeg said yesterday morning, following the Blackhawks' day-of-game workout at the United Center. "I just get in there and try to work hard."

Thus far, it's paying off for all three. Versteeg, once Boston's fifth pick, 134th overall, in the 2004 draft, ranked second only to the Blue Jackets' Derick Brassard in rookie scoring with three goals and 12 points in his 14 games. Brassard is at 7-8 -15.

A feisty and consistent scorer as a junior in the Western Hockey League, Versteeg turned pro with Boston in 2005-06 and was gaining prominence as a Boston prospect while toiling with Providence (AHL) in 2006-07. But with the varsity desperate to score goals, and a playoff berth still a reasonable expectation, rookie general manager Peter Chiarelli wheeled Versteeg to the Hawks for another minor leaguer, Brandon Bochenski.

"Timing, I guess," said Versteeg, musing over the factors that brought him the Blackhawks in that Feb. 3, 2007, deal. "They needed a playoff spot, and they got an older guy. We were three-quarters of the way through the season, and I gotta say, I was pretty down about it. I was pretty excited at the time about the chance of being a Boston Bruin, and all of a sudden I start all over again at the bottom of a team's prospects list."

Versteeg finished the 2006-07 season in Norfolk, then Chicago's AHL affiliate, and posted a promising 23 points in 27 games. He spent most of last season with Rockford, the club's new team in the AHL, and again kept scoring at an impressive clip (49 points in 56 games), good for a call to the Windy City, where he averaged nearly 16 minutes per game and posted 2-2 -4 in 13 games.

Versteeg and his mates have become the city's sensations, playing nightly in front of crowds in excess of 21,000.

"I am so happy to be here," said Versteeg. "To be here this year, with the rebuilt confidence this team has, it's just tremendous.

Nylander to Hawks?

Rumors abound that the Blackhawks are closing in on a deal with the Capitals to acquire ex-Bruin forward Michael Nylander, 36, who also played here for a couple of seasons. With so many young players in the Blackhawks lineup, Nylander's veteran presence would help. Nylander missed half of last season because of injury, but has been healthy from the start this season, collecting two goals and 9 points . . . Shawn Thornton earned himself a 17-minute respite when he instigated a fight with Dustin Byfuglien with 11:09 gone in the first. He picked up two minutes for instigating, five more for fighting, and a 10-minute misconduct. Byfuglien, who quickly muscled Thornton to the ground, only picked up five minutes . . . The Bruins had to kill four penalties in the first period, and Tim Thomas turned back nine shots on the first three Chicago power plays . . . The Bruins again were strong at the faceoff dot, winning 54 percent of the draws. Stephane Yelle won 7 of 11, and Marc Savard clipped 11 of 17 . . . Snakebitten free agent Michael Ryder again did not score, but he had two or three very good chances, and was robbed by Nikolai Khabibulin on a point-blank slapper from the slot . . . Could be time to bump up Blake Wheeler's minutes. He played only 8:11 last night, including 58 seconds on the power play. With his size and great reach, he could be a valuable asset with regular duty on the man-advantage . . . Manny Fernandez likely will get the start tonight vs. the Habs.