Saturday marks the first time this season Patrick Sharp got to face his former Blackhawks teammates.
Sharp missed the previous three games because of a concussion he suffered early in the season that lingered for several weeks. Another ex-Hawk, defenseman Johnny Oduya, will miss Saturday’s game because of an ankle injury.
Sharp has been back in the lineup since Dec. 31 after saying he rushed back from his symptoms too quickly in November, when he played seven games before exiting again.
“I feel back to normal,” Sharp said. “I’ve played 12 or 13 games, consistent hockey. I’m starting to feel better on a line that’s had a good month of January and we’re just looking to build off it the rest of the year.”
Sharp said he was concerned when the symptoms failed to subside that it would take a long time for him to return to the ice. During that time he reached out to Hawks defenseman Brent Seabrook for advice on how come to grips with staying out so long.
“It wasn’t so much the physical symptoms from the injury, it was more like the emotional side of it,” Sharp said. “I had a lot of anxiety about it, waiting to get back on the ice and play. It wasn’t a sprained knee that you have a timetable, it’s just a day to day thing where you’re hoping you can come out of it. I’m thankful that I did come out of it and happy to be back on the ice playing.”
The Stars are one of several teams still in play for a playoff spot in the Western Conference and have rebounded from a subpar start to get to the edge of contention. But if over the next few weeks the Stars fall out of the race, Sharp could be a potential trade target for a number of teams, including the Hawks, who could use a left winger.
But Sharp wasn’t trying to think too far ahead.
“I got a good dose of that my last year in Chicago, and I listened to the outside stuff,” Sharp said. “And I feel like I’ve learned from it. It doesn’t bother me nearly as much as it would have in the past. I’m happy to be in the hunt here with these guys. We’re within striking distance and whatever people are going to talk about outside, I can’t control that.
“I can only control how I play within this organization.”
After what he went through earlier this season, Sharp is glad just to be back playing at all.
chine@chicagotribune.com
Twitter @ChristopherHine
Our editors found this article on this site using Google and regenerated it for our readers.