"Coming off their worst performance of the season, the Blackhawks were buoyed by the presence of defenseman Duncan Keith during practice Monday.

Keith has missed three consecutive games with an upper-body injury, including Sunday night's 6-2 demolishing at the hands of the Canucks, but said he's "optimistic" he'll return when the Hawks kick off a two-game trip Tuesday night in St. Louis.

"Things are definitely better than I expected," said Keith, who had been wearing a wrap on his left hand since being hit with a shot Oct. 31 against the Predators. "It's gotten a lot better. Practice (Monday) was good and I'm optimistic (Tuesday) that I can hopefully see what I can do.""