Chicago Blackhawks News

Sanford was a healthy scratch in the Blues season opener. With Robert Thomas (upper-body) out, Sanford will draw into the Blues lineup on a line with Tyler Bozak and Robby Fabbri.

Dickinson played just 6:14 TOI before leaving Thursday’s game with an upper-body injury. With Blake Comeau also suffering an injury last night, the Stars have recalled Nick Caamano and Rhett Gardner from Texas (AHL).

Athanasiou returned to practice on Friday but remains a game-time decision for the Red Wings season opener. Valtteri Filppula rotated with Athanasiou on the power-play in practice, which suggests that head coach Jeff Blashill is prepared to play without Athanasiou.

Athanasiou has missed the last two practices but returned to the ice on Friday afternoon. Athanasiou’s availability for practice suggests that he will be in the lineup for the Red Wings’ season opener on Saturday.

Dickinson was cross-checked in the Stars season opener and is expected to be sidelined for at least a week. The Stars will need to recall a forward from Texas (AHL) to replace Dickinson on Saturday.

With Connor Hellebuyck starting on Thursday, Brossoit will make his season debut on the tail-end of the back-to-back. Brossoit played extremely well during his first season with the Jets, going 13-6-2 with a 2.52 GAA and .925 SV% in 21 games. He’ll be a solid spot-start option throughout the 2019-20 season, but his first matchup is difficult. The Devils revamped their offence this offseason and present a tough challenge for a weak Jets bluelline.

Mrazek split starts with Curtis McElhinney last year, going 23-14-3 with a 2.39 GAA and .914 SV% in 40 games. This year he should see a larger share of the games with James Reimer as his backup, but certainly won’t be among the league leaders. With a dominant 5v5 team in front of him, Mrazek will be a solid option on most nights. He was 12-5-1 with a 2.33 GAA, .914 SV% and two shutouts on home-ice last year.

Mrazek split starts with Curtis McElhinney last year, going 23-14-3 with a 2.39 GAA and .914 SV% in 40 games. This year he should see a larger share of the games with James Reimer as his backup, but certainly won’t be among the league leaders. With a dominant 5v5 team in front of him, Mrazek will be a solid option on most nights. He was 12-5-1 with a 2.33 GAA, .914 SV% and two shutouts on home-ice last year.

Murphy has landed on IR to begin the 2019-20 season but is not expected to be sidelined long-term. Slater Koekkoek will open the year as the Blackhawks No.6 defensemen while Murphy is out.

Maroon returned to his hometown in 2019, scoring 10 goals with 18 assists (28 points) in 74 games with the Blues. He went on to have a decent postseason but won a Stanley Cup and now signs on with the 2020 preseason favorites to win the Cup. Maroon will have a really hard time cracking the Lighting’s top-6, but he will solidify their bottom-6 and second power-play unit. 

The Wild acquired Donato in the Charlie Coyle trade and the Harvard grad picked up 16 points (4G / 12A) in 22 games with Minnesota after the trade. The 24-year-old has gifted hands and middle-6 potential but his position to start 2020 is uncertain. He had a strong showing to end last season but the additions of Mats Zuccarello and Ryan Hartman will likely push him down the depth chart and maybe to the AHL to being the year.

Shaw is entering the fourth-year of a six-year contract that carries a $3.9M cap-hit. Shaw struggled in his first two seasons in Montreal but is coming off of a career-best 47 points (19G / 28A) in 63 games in the 2018-19 season. Shaw spent the first four and a half seasons of his career with Chicago, where he won two Stanley Cups.

Brossoit signed with the Jets as a free agent last summer after spending the first four seasons of his career in Edmonton. Brossoit turned in a superb season as Connor Hellebuyck’s backup, going 13-6-2 with a 2.52 GAA, .925 SV% and one shutout in 19 starts and two relief appearances. Brossoit proved he is a capable backup option and will remain with Winnipeg for another season.

Mrazek allowed four goals on 27 shots in the Hurricanes 5-2 loss to the Bruins in Game 1 of the Eastern Conference Finals. Despite the loss, Mrazek looked no worse for wear after getting hurt in Game 2 vs. the Islanders. Mrazek has only lost back-to-back starts once since mid-December (Games 1 and 2 vs. Washington) so look for a bounce-back performance from the Hurricanes netminder in Game 2.

Mrazek was back on the ice on Monday and told reporters that he was feeling fine physically and could be the Game 1 starter in Boston. Head coach Rod Brind’Amour has yet to announce his starting goalie and we may have to wait until pre-game warmups to find out who it is.