Keith will be back Saturday against Blue Jackets

Whatever kept Duncan Keith out of the lineup Tuesday night against Minnesota, one thing's for sure: it wasn't the mumps.

"It was more precautionary than anything," said Keith, who missed a regular-season game for just the 19th time in his career. "There was so much talk about (mumps) that they wanted to be careful. But it wasn't that.

"I probably could've played, but with all this talk ..."

Keith will be back in the lineup tonight in Columbus, joining Patrick Sharp and Corey Crawford in a healthy Hawks lineup - something they haven't had for a while.

"It's good to have a full lineup; it hasn't been like that for pretty much the full year," he said. "It's important that we all work together and try to keep this thing going."

What about Teuvo?

While the Rockford express to Chicago has been running regularly, one player who hasn't, and probably won't be up with the Hawks this season is top prospect Teuvo Teravainen - who continues to hone his craft with the IceHogs.

"He's doing fine," Rockford coach Ted Dent said. "He's still finding his way offensively; seeing what works and what doesn't work at this level.

"I think he's enjoying it. He's embracing the opportunity to play here and get better and still be closely watched by the Blackhawks management."

The 20-year-old center has 3 goals, 15 assists and a minus-2 rating in 27 games with Rockford.

Those numbers may not be gaudy - by a longshot - but ...

"He's making plays that are nice; plays that other players can't make," Dent said. "He has that ability to make the behind-the-back pass or the saucer cross-ice pass.

"Now it's some of the other things - like defensively away from the puck - that we're trying to work with him on."

He said it:

"I'm definitely aware of him and what he can do out there."

- Corey Crawford, about facing former teammate Jeremy Morin tonight in Columbus