Jonathan Toews, Brent Seabrook return to Blackhawks

NEW YORK --The Chicago Blackhawks will get two of their mainstays back in the lineup Tuesday with center Jonathan Toews and defenseman Brent Seabrook returning from injuries to play against the New York Rangers at Madison Square Garden (7 p.m. ET; NBCSN, SN, TVA Sports, MSG2, CSN-CH, NHL.TV).
Toews has missed the past nine games with a back injury and Seabrook has missed the past two games with a suspected concussion after being injured in Chicago's 4-0 win against the Arizona Coyotes on Dec. 6.

Chicago went 5-2-2 without Toews, including 1-0-1 without Seabrook as well.
"Certainly it adds a lot of opportunities in different situations on the back end and up front as well," Blackhawks coach Joel Quenneville said. "You get some leadership. With [Toews], certainly the lines look like we've got some real good balance, and hopefully we'll get a good four-line rotation."
Toews, who was activated off injured reserve earlier Wednesday, skated with Marian Hossa and Ryan Hartman during the morning skate and likely will start as the center on that line. The Blackhawks did not show potential defense pairs during the skate, so it's unclear where Seabrook will slot back in.

Quenneville said defenseman Duncan Keith, who did not participate in the morning skate, wasn't feeling well but is "more than likely" going to play.
Toews' back injury has forced him into a few stops and starts in his rehab since he last played on Nov. 23, a 2-1 loss at the San Jose Sharks. He said he hasn't felt any issues in the past three days, and thinks he'll be able to play without any restrictions against the Rangers.
"It's fun to get back, especially when it's the way it's been these last few weeks, when you feel like you're getting close and all of a sudden you realize you're not quite there yet," Toews said. "It's at that stage in the season when you don't want to be playing through too much because I guess down the road, whatever you've got keeps nagging and keeps getting worse -- you want to be as healthy as you can be come playoff time. It's nice to go out there and feel like there is nothing on my mind, I can go out and play my game. Obviously when you miss three weeks there is always going to be a little bit of an adjustment to catch up with the speed, but it's a good feeling to get back in the lineup and just be with the guys again."
Quenneville said he will have to monitor Toews' ice time, and it's unlikely he'll play his usual 20 minutes against New York only because the Blackhawks will try to ease him back in as best they can.
"We'll watch him in the special teams and see how that works out, how he's handling it and how he's playing as well," Quenneville said. "He'll tell us basically how much he's going to play [Tuesday] by how he's doing."

Toews said he would understand if Quenneville holds him back a little, but he said he won't hold himself back when he gets on the ice.
"I've always believed that if you let up or you let off in any game, that's where you give yourself the opportunity to get hurt," Toews said. "You've got to be ready for contact. You've got to be just willing to go into the mix and whatever you were dealing with should not even be an afterthought. So for me, I just want to get right into it and not think about it … go out there and have fun and just work the way I normally do."
Toews had no points in five consecutive games before the back injury forced him out of the lineup. Chicago was 2-3-0 with eight goals in those five games, all on the road.
"Obviously I'd like to play better than that," Toews said. "You always seem to feel like you play good if you get that production. I'm not putting any pressure on myself. I'll just go to the net, see what happens. I feel confident if I work for the results they'll come. Whoever I'm playing with [Tuesday], I'll just try and help those two guys out and keep whatever we've had going lately going for our team."