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Cup finals questions: More surprise success for Michal Handzus?

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When the Chicago Blackhawks traded for Michal Handzus, there were more than a few howls from around the league.

Yahoo’s Greg Wyshynski wrote that the 36-year-old had a fork sticking out of his back. Some troublemakers joked that his recent playoff scoring streak would make sense ... if it happened in Europe. Only a handful of people thought he’d be anything more than a guy who’d win some faceoffs.

Instead, Handzus has been a useful second-line center for Chicago. He already has more points (nine) in 17 postseason games as the eight he scored in 39 regular season contests spread between Chicago and the San Jose Sharks.

Even head coach Joel Quenneville admitted that he didn’t expect things to work out like this for the Slovakian pivot. Handzus agrees, as NHL.com reports.

“I don’t think anybody thought I was going to be playing in the top six,” Handzus said. “I just came to the team that was winning before I came here. They played great the whole season. I just try to fit in, try not to disrupt anything because they were playing great. I just try to play anywhere. I don’t care if I’m playing on the fourth line or second line. It’s all about the team right now, winning. It’s not about individual goals anymore.”

That’s a good attitude to have because NHL coaches change line combos more often than they change ties. Considering what Boston did to a versatile offensive machine in the Pittsburgh Penguins, it’s plausible that Handzus could fall out of the top-six if things fall off the rails. Make no qualms about it; skating with the likes of Patrick Kane and Marian Hossa boosted his stats immensely.

Still, he doesn’t need to be a scoring machine to exceed expectations. He just needs to do what’s asked of him reasonably well.

And he might just skewer a few more critics in the process.

For more 2013 Cup finals questions, click here.