Hawks’ Keith accepts his fate; others must step up

Blackhawks defenseman Duncan Keith is ready to accept his five-game suspension for elbowing Daniel Sedin ... and then move on.

“They’ve got a tough job to do and I respect it and will serve the five games, and be back and look forward to getting back,” said Keith, who practiced with the team Saturday. “It’s a little different (sitting out); you want to keep sharp, keep in game shape. I’ll do that the best that I can.”

In Keith’s absence, Hawks coach Joel Quenneville has paired Niklas Hjalmarsson with Brent Seabrook and Dylan Olsen with veteran Sean O’Donnell. The pairing of Nick Leddy and Johnny Oduya will remain intact.

“Everybody has to absorb more responsibility here,” Quenneville said. “We’re not asking anybody to play any different than they’d normally play. You get some more ice time ... take advantage of it.”

Looking good:

Saying he’s “absolutely” confident he will play again this season, Jonathan Toews (concussion) was back on the ice for the fifth consecutive day.

“I feel like I’m getting back to that stage where I’m progressing and getting closer to feeling the right way,” Toews said.

“He jumped in on a couple of drills and looked fine,” Joel Quenneville said. “There’s progress there.”

Quenneville also reported progress on Steve Montador (concussion), but said Marcus Kruger (concussion syndromes) wouldn’t be in the lineup Sunday despite practicing Saturday.

He’s baaack:

On Thursday at Pittsburgh, forward Alexander Radulov played his first game in a Predators sweater since Game 6 of the 2008 Western Conference quarterfinals.

And Radulov, who had 58 points in 81 games in his last full season with the Preds, notched Nashville’s lone goal in a loss to Pittsburgh.

“It’s exciting to see a dynamic forward like that back in the league,” Hawks forward Patrick Sharp said. “He’s only going to get better down the stretch and in the playoffs, so that’s like making a big trade at the deadline.

“They’ve added a key player to their team.”