The Blackhawks return to home ice to host the Blue Jackets tonight and Sunday then the Hurricanes for a pair of matches on Tuesday and Thursday.
Thankfully, no additional players have been added to the NHL COVID-19 Protocol List which stands at just Adam Boqvist, Alex DeBrincat, and Lucas Wallmark.
Kevin Lankinen is likely to start at least tonight's game but could realistically be in net for both games against Columbus. If not, expect Malcolm Subban to get the nod.
When will Collin Delia get his shot again? Maybe not until one of Lankinen or Subban falls flat. The probability of Lankinen doing so is slim but a greater chance for Subban.
Also, defenseman Wyatt Kalynuk as well as forwards MacKenzie Entwistle and Reese Johnson could make their NHL debuts at some point during the homestand.
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Game Day
Game 9, January 29: Blackhawks vs Blue Jackets 7:00pm CST
Records: Blackhawks, 2-3-3, 7 Pts Blue Jackets, 3-2-3, 9 Pts
Season Series: 0-0-0
Power Play: Blackhawks, 9-25, 36.0% Blue Jackets, 2-22, 9.1%
Penalty Kill: Blackhawks, 26-33, 78.8% Blue Jackets, 15-17, 88.2%
It's been almost a week now that Pierre-Luc Dubois, Patrik Laine, and Jack Roslovic got their wishes for a change of scenery with a trade between Columbus and Winnipeg.
Roslovic made his Jackets debut yesterday in a shootout win over the Panthers. He didn't score a point and wasn't any of the four Columbus shooters during the shootout.
Laine as well as Gustav Nyquist are currently on injured reserve. After the trade, Laine also needed to file travel paperwork and quarantine for 7 days which ends today.
In the event his health is in good order, the earliest Laine could play for the Jackets is during the second game of the series in Chicago on Sunday.
In between the pipes, Elvis Merzlikins and Joonas Korpisalo have been used equally with 4 starts apiece. Each has a GAA under 3.00 and a save percentage north of .900.
The Columbus power play is one of the worst in the league scoring only twice in 8 games (22 chances). The penalty kill is one of the best, though, nullifying all but a pair (17 chances).
The Jackets projected lineup could look like this:
Foligno - Texier - Bjorkstrand Grigorenko - Domi - Foudy Jenner - Roslovic - Atkinson Robinson - Koivu - Nash
Werenski - Jones Gavrikov - Savard Del Zotto - Kukan
Merzlikins Korpisalo
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Jonathan Toews
Talked with Stan Bowman about Jonathan Toews, Brent Seabrook, Kevin Lankinen and much more. Watch for story on Toews and Seabrook soon.
— John Dietz (@johndietzdh) January 28, 2021
Biggest thing with Toews is that everything remains status quo and the scary rumors out there are not true. So thank God for that.
By being placed on LTIR on January 14, Toews was designated as being unavailable for 10-24 days. If he is out for the maximum 24 days, he could be set to return after February 6.
If that is the case, the soonest Toews would be back in the lineup is for the Hawks 13th game of the season on February 7 to kick off a series in Dallas against the Stars.
Once he comes off of LTIR, the reality is Toews would likely take some time to start skating again and practice with the team first before jumping into game action.
Regardless, there is a brighter light at the end of the tunnel for Toews and Hawks fans. Whatever he is fighting through, here's to a full recovery and long-term good health.
Toews would most certainly strengthen the roster in many ways: center depth, ES and PP weapon, top PKer, defensive specialist, and leadership on and off the ice.
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Madison Bowey
Welcome to ð— ð—®ð—±ð—¶ð˜€ð—¼ð—» ð—¦ð˜., Madison!
— Chicago Blackhawks (@NHLBlackhawks) January 28, 2021
Defenseman Madison Bowey has agreed to a 2-year deal that runs through the 2021-22 season ($725,000 salary cap hit).#Blackhawks pic.twitter.com/Ih4hp1aCC2
Bowey on a 2 year deal, and by playing 1 more NHL game, will meet the minimum exposure requirements for the expansion draft.
— CapFriendly (@CapFriendly) January 28, 2021
At the moment the only player who meets the requirements on defence for Chicago and who can be exposed is Connor Murphy.https://t.co/DP5mKUfZ26 https://t.co/dGjOh63Jix
Before the signing, the Hogs only player with extensive NHL experience was Cody Franson. While he is an excellent leader and mentor, more experience on the backend is a good thing.
Enter Bowey. While his 154 NHL games pales in comparison to Franson's 550, it is more than Anton Lindholm's 66 and the rest of the Hogs D-men who collectively have none.
Chad Krys and Dmitry Osipov are entering their second and third years in Rockford. Alec Regula, Cole Moberg, Michael Krutil, and Isaak Phillips are rookies with the last two drafted in October.
So it's reasonable to expect Bowey to get at least one game with the Hawks in order to make him eligible for the expansion draft. Otherwise, he would be a good fit on the Hogs back line.
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Special Teams
The power play streak for the Hawks halted at 7 consecutive games with a tally after going 0-for-4 on Wednesday versus the Predators. The conversion rate is still at a healthy 36.0%
Additionally, the Hawks penalty kill improved during the Nashville series with a perfect 100% kill rate going 8-for-8 -- albeit against one of the NHL's worst PP teams.
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See you on the boards!