Blackhawks’ Toews, Montador making progress

Things continue to look up for Jonathan Toews (concussion), who skated Saturday, his sixth consecutive day on the ice.

“Yeah, he did good,” Hawks coach Joel Quenneville said. “He progressed.”

Enough to get him back in the lineup before the playoffs begin?

“We’d love to see that happen, but we’ll see,” Quenneville said. “I think he’ll tell us when that time is close, and hopefully it’s soon.”

In addition, Quenneville said defenseman Steve Montador (concussion) has cleared a big hurdle in his comeback.

“He’s cleared for contact, so we’ll get him out here and get some contact in this week,” Quenneville said. “We’ve got a busy week as well, so we’ll see how he progresses this week and we’ll get him in here at some point.”

One more thing:

Despite a career that included a Stanley Cup (with Dallas), a pair of Vezina Trophies and an Olympic gold medal, there’s still one thing Ed Belfour wishes like heck he had to put in his trophy case.

“My dream was to win a Stanley Cup here in Chicago,” said Belfour, who was the guest of honor Sunday at the United Center. “I said that in my first press conference. We all wanted to do that.”

Belfour also wanted to play his entire career in Chicago, but that didn’t work out either.

“Guys like Tony Esposito played his whole career here in Chicago,” he said. “That’s just outstanding. I wish I could have done that, but it didn’t happen.”

Unanimous decision:

After getting the worst of it in a first-period fight with Brandon Bollig, Nashville’s Jordin Tootoo did not return because of an “upper body” injury.

Still, Nashville lost the fight but won the game 6-1.

“I was hoping it would have a resounding effect on the game and give us a head of steam,” Bollig said. “Unfortunately it didn’t go that way.”

Tips-ins:

With Duncan Keith serving a five-game suspension, Marian Hossa wore the third ‘A.’ ... For the fourth consecutive game, Jimmy Hayes was a healthy scratch. ... In a rare move, goalies Corey Crawford and Pekka Rinne took part in the ceremonial puck drop honoring Ed Belfour. ... Sami Lepisto (leg) “had his first real spin” on the ice Saturday, according to Joel Quenneville.