Colliton said Strome's ankle sprain will keep him out of Thursday's game

Dylan Strome, who injured his ankle during the Blackhawks' 2-1 loss to Calgary Tuesday, will not play Thursday against Nashville.

Coach Jeremy Colliton didn't estimate how much time Strome would miss, saying the ankle is sprained. Strome, wearing a sandal on his right foot, limped past reporters after the Hawks practiced Wednesday at the United Center.

The Hawks are already missing Brandon Saad, Andrew Shaw and Drake Caggiula, although Caggiula might play against Nashville.

"When someone goes down other guys need to step up," Alex DeBrincat said. "We all need to carry the load a little bit more."

Caggiula, out since Nov. 10 with a concussion, said he's 100 percent and that coaches told him he couldn't play against the Flames because the roster numbers wouldn't allow it.

Colliton gave no update on Saad, but if the original timetable holds, he could return sometime next week.

Lehner's ready

Robin Lehner, who has missed the last two games with a knee injury, practiced Wednesday and could face Nashville at the United Center. Lehner was injured Jan. 2 during the Hawks' 7-5 loss at Vancouver.

"I never had a knee injury, so just kind of wait and see and see how everything was going to turn out," Lehner said. "Thought it was going to be a few weeks at least. But, no, it's good."

Lehner won six straight and posted a .928 save percentage before allowing 6 goals on 36 shots in the setback to the Canucks. He ranks 10th in the league with a .922 save percentage.

The Hawks reassigned Kevin Lankinen back to Rockford after practice.