"On the first day of playoff preparation Tuesday, Brian Campbell returned to the United Center ahead of his Blackhawks teammates. As the defenseman walked downstairs to the dressing room, he said it wouldn't be up to him when he returned from a broken clavicle.

A day later, "sooner" became a better bet than "later."

Campbell returned to full practice with the Hawks on Wednesday, the first time he was thus cleared since the March 14 check by the Capitals' Alex Ovechkin that caused the injury. And while playing in Game 1 Friday against the Predators is out of the question, apparently nothing else is.

"The biggest thing for me is that my legs are going to be ready for when I do get back," Campbell said. "My legs and my lungs and my head are going to be in it and ready to go."

He said the comeback has been part exhausting exercise bike sessions, part diet geared toward healing and part "taking every legal pill in the book" to promote a mended collarbone.

"These are precious days right now, and if I don't do that, I'm cheating myself and cheating my teammates," Campbell said.

Those teammates were surprised to see him on the ice Wednesday. Hawks coach Joel Quenneville said Campbell "fit right in there and handled it pretty well," but cautioned that Campbell's status remains a wait-and-see scenario.

"He's shooting the puck hard," winger Kris Versteeg said. "You can't wait to get that guy back in the lineup."

Johnsson ailing: The outlook was not as bright for defenseman Kim Johnsson, who missed the last 15 games with a concussion. Quenneville said there was "no progress or no news" on Johnsson's availability."