Boyle bounces back from stomach bug

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--D Dan Boyle returned after missing Wednesday's game against Calgary because of a stomach flu that not only sidelined him for a game, but spread through his family that included his wife, daughter and parents, who were in town visiting.

The night off gave Boyle a different perspective because he was forced to watch from home. "It was actually interesting, more than anything, was watching a game with my dad, which I hadn't done in a long time," Boyle said of San Jose's 4-3 loss to the Flames. "He gets pretty fired up and I feel sorry for my mom, let me tell you. She's just as competitive, but to have to sit through that 82 times a year would be pretty tough."

--G Antti Niemi has made no secret about how he likes to play against his former team. "You have a lot of energy, for sure, when you play a former team," said Niemi, who stopped 30 shots in beating Chicago on Friday. "You want to beat those guys. You try to draw on the emotion of playing against the top teams or the top goalie."

In eight games against the Blackhawks, Niemi is 5-2-1 with one shutout.

--W Tommy Wingels (upper body) went through a full practice on Thursday, but he's still not quite ready to play. "Tommy is getting close," coach Todd McLellan said. "He was involved in most of the practice as far as the physicality goes. ... By the time we get to St. Louis or Washington, he should be ready."

QUOTE TO NOTE
"Both teams were desperate. When went up 2-0 we knew the game wasn't over; they were going to come back and fight. Our penalty kill did a great job killing penalties when we needed it to, but two desperate teams playing good hockey." -- C Joe Thornton on his team's 5-3 win over the Blackhawks.

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