Every game is a pretty steep challenge for the Chicago Blackhawks this season but Friday’s home game against the Arizona Coyotes will be an even taller task after the updates from the morning skate.
Patrick Kane, who’s been nursing a lower-body injury for about a week now, will not play in this game.
Patrick Kane says he won’t play tonight but his injury is not anything major.
“To be honest, I probably could play, but in certain situations I feel some pain.”
— Ben Pope (@BenPopeCST) January 6, 2023
Kane’s absence from the lineup due to an injury is a rarity for the Blackhawks’ winger. He only missed one game between the 2015-16 and 2021 seasons and then missed just four last season due to issues that affected, well, the entire world:
This is the first time Patrick Kane will miss a game for injury-related reasons since he broke his collarbone in February 2015.
The 5 games he’s missed since then were because of an illness or COVID protocol. #Blackhawks https://t.co/xFUYFQllcy
— Charlie Roumeliotis (@CRoumeliotis) January 6, 2023
Elsewhere in the lineup, Alex Stalock will head to the net while some rotating in and out of the lineup will occur with one of the Blackhawks younger defenseman again being a lineup casualty:
Alex Stalock will start in goal tonight vs. Arizona.
Patrick Kane (lower body), Boris Katchouk and Isaak Phillips are out.
Tyler Johnson, Lukas Reichel and Brett Seney are in. Caleb Jones will stay in the lineup but will play defense, not forward (😂). #Blackhawks
— Charlie Roumeliotis (@CRoumeliotis) January 6, 2023
Why Phillips is being omitted from the lineup is anyone’s guess because it seems like he’s played well enough since being called up from Rockford and any NHL reps he can get would seem to benefit the team in the long run.
¯_(ツ)_/¯
As for the opposing Coyotes, limited lineup information is available due to the team playing in Philadelphia on Thursday night. Although one known piece is that the Blackhawks will face the Coyotes’ backup goalie:
The Coyotes’ goaltending plan for this back-to-back set:
Thursday in Philadelphia: Karel Vejmelka
Friday in Chicago: Connor Ingram— Craig Morgan (@CraigSMorgan) January 5, 2023
The lines below for Arizona are based on Thursday’s game while the lines for the Blackhawks are mostly guesswork due to the shuffling brought on by Kane’s absence.
Projected Lines
Blackhawks
Athanasiou — Domi — Reichel
T. Johnson — Toews — Raddysh
Kurashev — Dickinson — Lafferty
Seney — R. Johnson — Blackwell
McCabe — S. Jones
J. Johnson — Murphy
C. Jones — Mitchell
Stalock
Mrazek
Coyotes
Keller — Boyd — Schmaltz
McBain — Bjugstad — Crouse
Ritchie — Hayton — Fischer
Brown — Kassian — Carcone
Chychrun — Gostisbehere
Valimaki — Moser
Nemeth — Stetcher
Ingram
Vejmelka