Teuvo Teravainen came out of the Johnny’s IceHouse West locker room sporting a black sweater on Monday.
In postseason practice sessions, forwards wearing that color sweater signifies they’re on the third or fourth line. And that meant that, after a few games out of the lineup, Teravainen was back in it.
Teravainen, who was a healthy scratch in Games 3-6 in the first round, looks to be in when the Blackhawks begin their second-round series against the Minnesota Wild on Friday. Coach Joel Quenneville said the latest lineup change was more about getting Teravainen’s two-way game back into action than it was Kris Versteeg, who as of now will start the second round as a healthy scratch. Teravainen gets this latest chance with Antoine Vermette and Patrick Sharp.
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“The three of them looked good out there today,” Quenneville said. “They all [have] a little bit something different on the line, they’ve all got different dimensions to their game. He’s got two experienced guys out there but I like his presence, as well. I think he’s going to add some speed and I think that predictability on both sides of the puck is something that he can bring to that line. We’ll see how it plays itself out. Potentially, it could really be a good line for us.”
Vermette has been impressed with Teravainen’s play.
“He’s very creative: good hands, good player, skill player, obviously. I thought we played well together when we played together at points during the season and I think he was going to bring an offensive dimension for sure,” said Vermette, who added that Teravainen could handle playing on this stage. “It’s such a learning process but he’s a very gifted player, great set of skills. I think his game is suitable to the type of game we’re playing and he had special assets working for him.”
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Teravainen’s potential in the postseason was evident in his debut in Game 1 vs. Nashville, when he assisted on Niklas Hjalmarsson’s goal. He struggled in Game 2, however — the Blackhawks in general did — and was back out of the lineup. Still, Teravainen’s gotten the chance to watch and learn and now is ready to put it all to good use.
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“I think I learned a lot,” he said. “The first game was good. The second one I think I didn’t play that good and we lost the game, too. I’ve just been practicing hard and working hard to get back. I think I’ve got a lot of experience.”
Teravainen is getting another chance. The Blackhawks have liked what they’ve gotten from him thus far. Now Teravainen will try and be a steady postseason presence.
“I’ll try my best,” Teravainen said. “I know I can play, I know I can help the team. So I just have to find my game and play smart, simple hockey. I don’t know. I’ll just go straight forward, shoot the puck and it should be good.”