After a hectic week full of roster upheaval, the Blackhawks received some good news on Tuesday morning when the team announced forward Alex DeBrincat and defenseman Nicolas Beaudin were removed from the COVID-19 Protocol list.
Both players were on the ice for the morning skate ahead of Tuesday’s game against the Hurricanes, suggesting that both players could be returning to the lineup soon.
Forward Alex DeBrincat and defenseman Nicolas Beaudin have been removed from COVID-19 Protocol.#Blackhawks
— Chicago Blackhawks (@NHLBlackhawks) February 2, 2021
DeBrincat was one of the first players to be added to the list, joining teammate — and roommate — Adam Boqvist there last Monday. Through six games, DeBrincat had two goals and four assists, with both of those goals coming on the power play. DeBrincat was sidelined the last four games while on the COVID-19 Protocol list but his return on Tuesday comes as a surprise, considering that coach Jeremy Colliton said that both players would be out for two weeks.
Beaudin stepped into the lineup with Boqvist out and played in two games last week, averaging 11:43 of ice time. He was then added to the list on Saturday along with Ryan Carpenter, the same day that the Blackhawks canceled a practice citing “an abundance of caution,” which temporarily raised concerns that Sunday’s game against the Blue Jackets would not be played. Ultimately that game went as planned, with the Blackhawks notching a 3-1 win in one of their most complete performances of the season. That Sunday game was the only one that Beaudin missed.
With those two cleared, three Blackhawks remain on the COVID-19 Protocol list: Boqvist, Carpenter and Lucas Wallmark.