BOSTON -- Chicago Blackhawks captain Jonathan Toews said Monday that he feels "great" and showed it by playing in Game 6 of the Stanley Cup finals against the Boston Bruins.
Toews suffered an unspecified upper-body injury in the second period of Game 5 on Saturday and sat on the bench for the entire third period. Coach Joel Quenneville would not confirm when the injury occurred, but Toews hit his head on the ice after taking a hit from Bruins defenseman Johnny Boychuk late in the second period.
"I guess the way I've felt out there I would say it was the best morning skate I had all series," Toews said. "I felt great. I'm excited. There's no question where I am physically."
Toews wouldn't expound on the injury.
"I'm not going to get into what the injury was," he said. "Again, you take a lot of hits throughout games like this. Whether it's the coach or training staff, they don't think you're ready to play, they're going to draw the line. That's what happened there."
But Toews said he has no concerns moving forward.
"It was a couple hits that I took," he said. "I guess the coaches didn't think I was ready to play in the third period. Obviously you always want to bounce back. It's a physical game.
"For me, there's no worries there. The coaches were confident we could win the game while making sure I wasn't risking anything. Obviously now I feel 100 percent and they're aware of that, so I'll be ready to play tonight."
Quenneville also is confident.
"It's good to know he was able to play and practice this morning as well," Quenneville said. "He felt fine yesterday, so we were encouraged heading into today's day. It's good to know that he's ready to go."
Toews isn't worried that he'll be a target of the Bruins.
"I think just like we would target their top players," Toews said. "We would like to hit and be tough on their top players, and they do the same to us. It's no surprise."
The Blackhawks lead the Bruins 3-2 in the series and will have a chance Monday to close out the series and win their second Stanley Cup since 2010. If necessary, Game 7 would be in Chicago on Wednesday.
According to a league source, the NHL decided not to suspend Boychuk because he didn't extend his elbow or launch and didn't target Toews' head or make it a principal point of contact.
Toews played 18 shifts and saw 12:56 of ice time in Game 5. Before leaving, he recorded assists on both of Patrick Kane's goals in the Blackhawks' 3-1 win. Toews has two goals and 10 assists in 22 playoff games this season.
ESPNChicago.com's Jesse Rogers contributed to this report.