Hawks captain Jonathan Toews skates for third straight day

The roller-coaster ride that has been Jonathan Toews’ recovery from a concussion took a good turn Friday.

Toews and Marcus Kruger (upper body) skated after practice, marking the third straight day on the ice for the Blackhawks’ captain.

“When you get him on the ice in consecutive days, you have a little more hope,” said Hawks coach Joel Quenneville. “We’ll see. It’s tough to target a (return) date.”

Defenseman Steve Montador’s return from his concussion seems to be progressing. Montador practiced with the team Friday.

“I feel, for the most part, better every day,” Montador said. “Today was better than the last couple of days, for sure, so I’m just looking to continue that.”

Needing the bench mob:

Duncan Keith’s suspension means it’s once again time for other players to step up.

That hasn’t been a concern thus far for Joel Quenneville.

“I like the guys who have stepped up and absorbed some important ice time, some leadership,” Quenneville said. “We’ve been getting contributions across the board. Our depth right now is getting taxed, but I like the way everyone is helping out.”

The loss of Keith means others will get more ice time, specifically veteran defenseman Sean O’Donnell.

“OD will get a chance to get in the lineup,” Quenneville said.

“Obviously, losing Duncs is going to hurt our team. He’s such a great player and he means a ton to our team,” defenseman Nick Leddy said. “But we’ve just got to keep playing the way we’ve been playing.”

Trust in Shanahan:

After delivering his verdict Friday on Duncan Keith, NHL top cop Brendan Shanahan may not be the most popular person in Chicago — but the players seem to respect the job he’s been doing.

“He’s been great all season long,” Patrick Sharp said. “He got everyone’s attention early on with all the stuff going on during the preseason.

“He’s had to do a lot, but we trust him as team and as a league. He’s got a tough job — he’s going to have people criticizing him no matter what he does.”