Teuvo Teravainen believes he’s coming off one of his best games in the NHL. Joel Quenneville agrees. Yet when the puck drops Friday against the Edmonton Oilers, Teravainen likely won’t be in the Blackhawks lineup.
Quenneville instead wants to get a look at newcomer Andrew Desjardins, acquired Monday from the San Jose Sharks for Ben Smith. Desjardins will skate on the third line alongside Bryan Bickell and Brad Richards.
“I think we have a good idea of the options moving forward with [Teravainen],” Quenneville said. “We’ll keep him busy as we go through this stretch here, but we also want to see how the new guys fit in. We’ll see how [Desjardins] does.”
Teravainen, recalled from Rockford after Patrick Kane was injured, had a goal Thursday at Florida, and was active at both ends of the ice Monday against Carolina. The 20-year-old rookie tries not to read too much in Quenneville’s decision, and tries not to sweat his frequent movement in and out of the lineup.
“I don’t know,” he said. “I think our line played good last game, and I’m happy with that. I’ll just work every day to try to get back in the lineup. Just stay positive.”
Hot hand
Jonathan Toews has five goals in his last five games, helping to offset the loss of Kane, and reaching the 20-goal plateau for the eighth time in his eight-season career. Marian Hossa, who had the hot hand a few weeks ago, has been trying to feed his center.
“Whatever works.” Toews said. “As long as we got one hot stick, that’s all that counts. … He had a stretch of games where he was scoring and he couldn’t miss. And I’m sure he can turn it on again this week. Doesn’t matter who’s scoring.”
So is Toews actively trying to make up for Kane’s absence?
“I hope he didn’t hear that one, don’t want to admit that one,” Toews joked. “It doesn’t matter whether it’s one guy or the other that scores. … Personally, maybe I’ve been focusing on shooting the puck a little more the last couple of weeks. It’s nice to finally see a few go in. When you do see that, it helps you be confident and make plays and it carries into the rest of your game, too. I definitely feel that. It’s something I want to hang on to and build off of the rest of the season.”
Injury update
Johnny Oduya skated hard Thursday before the Hawks practiced, but won’t play Friday and is doubtful for Sunday. Kane, meanwhile, was spotted at Johnny’s IceHouse West during practice, getting treatment. He has no visible sling or cast in the wake of surgery to repair a broken clavicle.
Bryan Bickell said he was surprised how “mobile” Kane is.
“I thought he was going to be a lot worse than he is,” Bickell said. “He’s in high spirits.”
Email: mlazerus@suntimes.com
Twitter: @marklazerus
Teuvo
Toews
