The Chicago Blackhawks made a handful of roster moves on Monday morning following Sunday’s 7-1 loss to the New York Rangers.
First, goaltender Alex Stalock — who hasn’t played since Nov. 1 while recovering from a concussion — was activated from injured reserve. In a corresponding move, Arvid Soderblom was assigned to the IceHogs.
Defenseman Jarred Tinordi was placed on injured reserve with a facial fracture, so blue-line prospect Isaak Phillips was called up from Rockford to replace Tinordi on the roster.
We have recalled defenseman Isaak Phillips from Rockford, assigned goaltender Arvid Soderblom to Rockford and placed defenseman Jarred Tinordi (facial fracture) on injured reserve ⬇️ pic.twitter.com/8zQCjragH3
— Chicago Blackhawks (@NHLBlackhawks) December 19, 2022
The best news here is the clean bill of health for Stalock, who’d suffered a few setbacks in his return from the concussion that was sustained on Nov. 1 after he was plowed into by New York Islanders forward Casey Cizikas. Stalock has played in only seven of the Blackhawks’ 30 games this season but has three of the team’s seven wins. His numbers (.914 save percentage, 2.93 goals-against average), while not great, are the better of the three Chicago goalies who’ve started games this season. This is also positive news for Soderblom, who can continue his development as the No. 1 goaltender in Rockford instead of playing behind a team designed to lose at the NHL level.
Tinordi’s tough luck this season continued. The facial fracture comes soon after he’d stopped wearing a face shield due to the wound under his chin that required a reported 50-100 stitches to close. A slap shot struck Tinordi in the face during the second period of Sunday’s game, sending him to the locker room for the rest of the night.
Oh man, Jarred Tinordi just took a puck to the face and the ice is COVERED with blood.
He had between 50-100 stitches put in a little more than a week ago after taking a skate to the chin. #Blackhawks
— Charlie Roumeliotis (@CRoumeliotis) December 19, 2022
As is often the case in professional sports, though, one player’s misfortune is another’s opportunity and Isaak Phillips has the chance to make his 2022-23 NHL season debut now after playing in four games last season. Phillips averaged just 12:20 of ice time in those games without registering a point. Given the present state of the team’s affairs, though, Phillips should garner significant more ice time during this NHL stint.