"Patrick Sharp stayed on the ice long after his Blackhawks teammates had departed and was put through a thorough workout from the coaching and training staffs.

"They made me skate," Sharp said with a grin.

The veteran forward wasn't complaining after participating in the Hawks' morning skate before Friday night's 4-2 exhibition loss to the Penguins before a crowd of 20,114 at the United Center. It was the first time Sharp had gone through drills with the Hawks since undergoing an emergency appendectomy Sept. 12.

Sharp will continue to work through the completion of training camp and is eyeing a return to action for the Hawks' season opener Oct. 7 against in Dallas.

"It's really something that's day-to-day," Sharp said. "I've felt better every 24 hours since the surgery. … I don't want to miss any games. I don't want to say I'm ready to go next Friday and have something happen, but … every day it gets better."

When he does make his season debut, it could be in a different spot. Coach Joel Quenneville has been searching for a way to move Sharp from center, where he has done yeoman's duty to fill bolster a thin spot in the roster the last two seasons, to his natural position of left wing. To that end, Quenneville has shifted Patrick Kane to the middle, an experiment that continued against the Penguins."