Hawks over the Teravainen hype?

The hoopla surrounding 19-year-old center Teuvo Teravainen looks as if it has officially subsided, at least in the eyes of Blackhawks Joel Quenneville.

Teravainen sat out his third straight game Sunday and hasn't dressed in six of the nine games since his arrival from Finland.

So what's the deal?

"Timing. It's time of the year," Quenneville said. "It's a big league, it's a hard league.

"We want to make sure that we're helping ourselves get points, and I think he's learning as well."

What about Zus?

Though he didn't play in the third period against Pittsburgh and then wasn't in the lineup for the next two games, Michal Handzus was back on the ice Sunday against the Blues.

And it appears he's still firmly in the plans for the playoffs.

"I see him being a part of our team and how much he's going to play I would probably slot him into a comparable position that he was useful for us last year and see how he handles that," Joel Quenneville said.

Handzus, who saw just over 14 minutes of ice time against the Blues, said afterward that he's more than able to assume the playoff role he handled so ably a year ago.

"Yes," he said. "I always have the confidence in me. I just have to prove that I can do the same thing as last year."

Update on Kane and Toews:

While Patrick Kane (knee) skated for the third consecutive day Sunday and "did very well," according to Joel Quenneville, the timetable for the return to the ice of Jonathan Toews (upper body) is a little different.

"We're in no hurry. We want to give him a break," Quenneville said of the captain. "I would say towards later in the week."

Johnny Oduya missed his third straight game, but his coach didn't sound concerned.

"No, we're giving him a rest," Quenneville said.

Saad sits:

After garnering just 1 assist in his last nine games, Brandon Saad was a healthy scratch Sunday.

"Playing the right way is something we reinforce and I don't think he ever got one of those shifts or games where he was just rolling and comfortable with the puck and playing with the pace we're used to seeing," Joel Quenneville said.

"But we expect him to be a big piece of our team here and we need him to be back playing and expect him to be back in the next game and playing his game."

Deja vu:

Ben Smith's empty-netter Sunday was his second consecutive goal scored with four seconds or less left in a game.

He said it:

"We think about that probably every minute of the day."

- Joel Quenneville on how often he ponders his playoff lineups.