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Blackhawks defenseman Henri Jokiharju is no longer down with the sickness as he will play Saturday night against the Predators after missing the past two games while being disturbed by an illness.
Jokiharju will reunite with Duncan Keith on the top defensive pairing, while Gustav Forsling drops down to the third line with Erik Gustafsson. Brandon Manning and Brent Seabrook are grouped together as the second unit. Jan Rutta will be a healthy scratch.
Keith on rejoining Jokiharju: “Yeah, I’m excited. I just think that as a defenseman you want to have somebody that’s out there supporting, as an outlet for you. Those are kind of foundational things, as a defenseman you always try to be available for your partner no matter what.”
— Scott Powers (@ByScottPowers) December 1, 2018
The Finnish rookie Jokiharju has no goals and 10 assists in 23 games this season. He skated 15:01 minutes of ice time in Chicago’s 5-4 overtime win against the Panthers a week ago. It was his first game back in the lineup after being a healthy scratch the previous night in the Blackhawks’ 4-2 loss to the Lightning in Tampa.
The Blackhawks have given up 19 combined goals in three games without Jokiharju in the lineup.