"Winger Marian Hossa was greeted with warm applause in his return to the lineup Sunday after missing five games because of an upper-body injury suffered against the Los Angeles Kings on Oct. 27.

The Hawks were 2-3-0 without Hossa, who had 11 points -- seven goals and four assists -- in the first 11 games of the season before he got hurt.

Hawks coach Joel Quenneville missed the added scoring threat and special-teams options.

''He was a force out there and playing some great hockey for us [before the injury], so it's always good to have him back,'' Quenneville said. ''We can use him in all situations. Special teams take a little bit of a hit without him around, and obviously that line is going to be enhanced with him returning as well.''

The Hawks were 6-for-17 (35.3 percent) with the man advantage and killed 11 of 15 penalties (73.3 percent) during the five games without Hossa, who knows what it's like to be out of action after missing the first 22 games of last season after shoulder surgery.

Viktor Stalberg's plus-2 performance on the Hawks' top line Saturday night in Atlanta earned the left winger an encore appearance with Jonathan Toews and Patrick Kane against the Oilers on Sunday.

''They really [clicked against the Thrashers],'' Quenneville said before the game. ''They had the puck a lot, they had a lot of offensive-zone time as well, and it's nice to have some production to show for it. [Stalberg] gives that line some speed.''

With the three players accounting for all of the Hawks' goals Saturday -- including Stalberg's game-winner in a shootout -- Quenneville said he could see them sharing more time together, which is fine by Stalberg."