ST. PAUL, Minn. -- The Blackhawks' blue line will look different -- again.

Tough guy John Scott will return to the Hawks lineup for the first time since Nov. 26 as defensemen Sami Lepisto and Sean O'Donnell are expected to sit out against the Minnesota Wild on Wednesday.

ST. LOUIS -- Defenseman Duncan Keith is back in the Blackhawks lineup -- and so are defenseman John Scott and winger Rostislav Olesz.

It's come down to John Scott. The 6-8 enforcer will be in the Blackhawks lineup Sunday night for Game 3 against the Vancouver Canucks.

CALGARY, Alberta -- John Scott didn't make it through the Blackhawks' morning skate Monday at the Scotiabank Saddledome.

The giant-sized enforcer sat on the Hawks bench drinking from his own water bottle as others prepared for the Calgary Flames.

The flu had withered his body.

Hawks enforcer John Scott had a feeling that he'd be back in the lineup against the Flyers on Sunday.

"Obviously, Philly is a pretty physical team," Scott said. "I knew I had a good chance of playing because of my physical presence."

The Flyers have a handful of tough players who agitate and fight like Dan Carcillo, who was back in the lineup with James van Riemsdyk out with a suspected groin injury.

John Scott put it bluntly after the Hawks' 3-1 loss to the Blues on Tuesday.

"It was embarrassing," Scott said. "If we play like that we're going to lose the rest of the year."

The first time was bloody. The second time ... not so much.

The Hawks' John Scott and the Kings' Kevin Westgarth met for the second time this season Sunday. It was a solid fight by both tough guys.

No blood. No stitches. Just a few good punches. Hats off to Westgarth for wanting more after their first scrap left him a bloody mess. He held his own against Scott this time, and, judging by his response after the scrap, he was satisfied with it.

SAN JOSE, Calif. -- The blue-line line is back together for the Hawks Saturday against the San Jose Sharks. Defensemen Jordan Hendry and John Scott will play wing on the fourth line with center Jake Dowell.

The Hawks only recalled Jeremy Morin from the Rockford IceHogs. Morin flew in Friday night as the Hawks continue to shuffle him back and forth to limit his cap hit.

LOS ANGELES -- John Scott wanted to make sure his presence was felt. That would be his 6-foot-8, even-bigger-on-skates presence.