Toews back on the ice, but not game-ready

Jonathan Toews returned to the ice Sunday for the first time in a week, skating before the Blackhawks hosted Dallas at the United Center.

Toews did not play against the Stars - the ninth straight game he's missed - and there's still no clear timetable for his return.

"It was good to see him on the ice, but I can't say too much exactly when he'll play," said coach Joel Quenneville, who won't rule out Toews making the trip to New York when the Hawks play the Rangers on Tuesday and Islanders on Thursday.

Toews still believes if this were the playoffs he'd be able to go, but he doesn't want to risk further setbacks with 52 games remaining in the regular season.

"It's a tough thing when you feel like you're getting close," Toews said, "and all of a sudden you get back on the ice and you realize you're still a ways off from being ready to play in a game."

Toews added he's "being extra cautious to make sure" the injury doesn't gradually get worse.

The Hawks are 5-2-2 in the nine games without their captain.

Rough go of it:

Dallas defenseman and former Blackhawk Johnny Oduya played in his first game Sunday since suffering a lower-body injury on Nov. 19. Oduya missed 10 games.

Meanwhile, former Hawks winger Patrick Sharp did not make the trip to Chicago as he continues to work through concussion protocols. Sharp, who has played in just 11 games, has missed time with concussion symptoms twice this season.

"It's stuff you have to understand as a coach and he understands as a player," said Dallas' Lindy Ruff. "We don't know exactly if it's from his first one or it's a new occurrence. We don't know that; I don't even know if he knows that for sure."

Dallas, which lost Saturday in Philly after allowing 3 late third-period goals, is tied for fifth in the Central Division at 11-13-6.

"It's been a little bit up and down; failing at times finding some consistency," Oduya said. "We definitely feel we have another step we can take. We know it's a long year, it's a long process. ...

"We also realize there's a lot of good teams, and you don't want to end up in a situation where you're too far behind and you're trying to catch up at the end of the year."

Slap shots:

Artem Anisimov has 4 goals in the last nine games. He is 8 goals away from equaling his total of 20 from last season. ... The Hawks outshot the Stars 10-9 in the first period, just the sixth time in 30 games they've outshot their opponent in the opening 20 minutes. ... Ryan Hartman was penalized for just the second time this season when he tripped Dallas' Jason Spezza in the second period.