Chicago Blackhawks forward Andrew Shaw could only watch Thursday's Game 5 against the St. Louis Blues as he had to serve a one-game suspension after yelling a homophobic slur at an official.

After Patrick Kane scored the overtime winner, it's hard to imagine any Blackhawks player felt more relieved than Shaw.

"It was a huge relief, obviously," Shaw said to Mark Lazerus of the Chicago Sun-Times. "Probably tougher to watch than to play, especially in a tight game like that."

The 24-year-old admitted his last few days have been "tough," but said he will learn from his mistake. Now, Shaw heads into a must-win game with an increased role as he will skate on the team's top line with Kane and Jonathan Toews.

"I know what I need to do when I play with those two guys," Shaw said, after noting his lone shift in the series with Toews and Kane resulted in a Duncan Keith goal. "They're obviously great with the puck, and I'm going to do what I can to get to the net and create some havoc there."

Shaw will hope to live up to the opportunity he's been given by Quenneville - who enters Saturday with a 14-1 all-time record in Game 6s, with a perfect 8-0 mark on the road.

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