Strome a healthy scratch again for Blackhawks
Dylan Strome, who carries a $3 million cap hit and played in 40 of 56 games last season, was a healthy scratch for the fourth straight time when the Blackhawks hosted the New York Islanders on Tuesday.
The 24-year-old veteran was passed over for forwards Adam Gaudette, Henrik Borgstrom and MacKenzie Entwistle on the three-game road trip to Colorado, New Jersey on Pittsburgh.
Coach Jeremy Colliton then inserted Mike Hardman into the lineup Tuesday in favor of Strome, Gaudette and Ryan Carpenter.
"He wants to play, just like anyone else who's not in," Colliton said when asked how Strome is handling the situation. "There's other guys in the same boat as well. He can't control that, though. He can just control preparing because you never know what can happen. No one knows what tomorrow's gonna bring."
Strome is somewhat a victim of circumstances because the Hawks are using Jonathan Toews, Kirby Dach, Tyler Johnson and Borgstrom as their centers. Strome, a natural center, has struggled at times on the wing. He has 21 goals and 34 assists in 98 games over the past two seasons.
The 6-foot-2, 205-pound Hardman played in eight games for the Hawks last season after scoring 10 goals in 24 contests for Boston College. He began Tuesday's game on a line with Borgstrom and Alex DeBrincat.
"He's someone that we think can make a difference with his physicality and his energy and willingness to play a simple game," Colliton said. "We feel that will transfer and it's contagious and so we'll see how it looks."
Slap shots:
Coach Jeremy Colliton said defenseman Wyatt Kalynuk's timeline to return from an ankle injury remains the same. He is eligible to come off injured reserve November 5. … Kirby Dach scored a goal in back-to-back games (at New Jersey and Pittsburgh) for the first time since his rookie season (Nov. 10 and 13, 2019). … In their first three games, the Hawks were 4-for-11 on the power play and 8-for-8 on the penalty kill. They had just 2 goals during 5-on-5 play, however. … The Hawks are 11-3-2 in their last 16 games against the Islanders.