Andrew Shaw ready to play but not necessarily fight

DENVER — Andrew Shaw will return to the Blackhawks’ lineup Wednesday when they face the Colorado Avalanche.

Shaw missed the first three games of the circus trip with an upper-body injury. He lobbied coach Joel Quenneville to play Sunday in Vancouver, but team doctors didn’t clear him until Tuesday, when he returned to practice.

‘‘I’m excited to get it going,’’ he said.

In his last game, Shaw got into a spirited fight with the Dallas Stars’ Antoine Roussel, though he said the injury was unrelated. The Hawks don’t have a true enforcer on the team, so sometimes the role falls to Shaw. But only sometimes.

‘‘Obviously, I’m going to bring it whenever we need it,’’ he said. ‘‘I felt like that was the perfect opportunity to do it. I’m only 5-10, 180 pounds. I can’t be going out there and fighting every night.’’

Raanta back

After watching the last two games from the dressing room, drinking fluids and trying to stay warm, backup goalie Antti Raanta returned to the ice at Tuesday’s practice. Illness cost him his first start in a month in Edmonton.

Raanta was still the backup in Edmonton and Vancouver. He feels he could have played if something had happened to Corey Crawford.

‘‘I was taking so many supplements — I think so,’’ he said with a laugh. ‘‘But thank God nothing happened.’’

Baby boom

Daniel Carcillo’s fianceé, Ela, gave birth to the couple’s first child, Austin Wolf, on Tuesday. Carcillo flew home for the birth and will be back for the game Wednesday.