Hawks goalie Lankinen in COVID protocol, Delia likely to start Saturday vs. Preds
One minute the Blackhawks are among the most fortunate teams in the NHL when it comes to players in COVID protocol.
The next? Not so much.
Five minutes after interim coach Derek King wrapped up his Zoom interview with reporters Friday, the Hawks announced that Kevin Lankinen would be joining fellow netminder Marc-Andre Fleury in the protocol.
That means Collin Delia will most likely start for the Hawks when they resume their season at Nashville on Saturday. Arvid Soderblom would then be activated from the taxi squad.
"You got to be ready for anything, especially nowadays," said forward Dylan Strome. "It's been two years of this now. We're adjusting on the fly. 'Deals' has played some games before. He's been good for us, he's worked hard in practice and it's good to see. ...
"I'm sure he's ready for the opportunity and we'll see what happens."
Delia did not address the media after practice. A Hawks PR person said he was unavailable due to the team's travel schedule to Nashville.
Delia spent most of last season on the taxi squad as the Hawks went with Lankinen and Malcolm Subban. He saw no action for 3.5 months before finally relieving Subban during a 5-2 loss at Carolina on May 3. Delia stopped all 19 shots that night, then got three more starts. He was outstanding in the last two, stopping 36 shots in a 2-1 win over Carolina and 45 in a 5-4 OT loss to Dallas.
This season, Delia has gone 4-4-1 for the Rockford IceHogs with a .907 save percentage and 2.80 GAA.
Skate, Jujhar, skate!
Interim coach Derek King said forward Jujhar Khaira will likely play against Nashville on Saturday. Khaira was placed in concussion protocol after being knocked unconscious by the Rangers' Jacob Trouba at the United Center on December 7.
King wants Khaira to play a simple game and to remember it's been a while since he saw game action.
"I don't need him going out there doing a Forest Gump - trying to be the hero and solve our problems all in three periods," King said. "He's just got to play his game and manage it."
Khaira has 2 goals and no assists and is averaging almost 14 minutes of ice time in 18 games.
Scoring frenzy:
The NHL has seen some awfully high-scoring games since resuming play Tuesday.
Some examples:
• San Jose's 8-7 win over Arizona on Tuesday where the Coyotes' Phil Kessel doled out 4 assists, and 15 of 18 Sharks players recorded at least 1 point.
• Vegas' 6-3 victory over the Kings on Tuesday where the teams combined to score the 4 goals in a 76-second span in the first period.
• Washington's 5-3 win over Nashville on Wednesday where the Capitals went up 3-0 after one period only to see the Predators tie it with 3 goals in less than six minutes in the second period.
• Florida's 9-3 victory over Tampa Bay on Thursday in which the Lightning lit up former Chicago Wolves goalie Maxime Lagace for 6 goals in the first two periods. Jonathan Huberdeau had 5 points (G, 4A).
Games averaged 7.06 goals in the 16 games played from Tuesday to Thursday, more than a full goal above the league's season average. The long layoff may be having an effect on goalies, who often need time to get back up to speed.
"Hopefully we can put up nine goals the way Florida did," said a smiling Hawks coach Derek King.
He then got serious and added: "We don't need to open this up. I'm hoping it's a tight game. ... We need to play our game, worry about that and hopefully the score comes out ahead for us. Slap shot:
Coach Derek King said goalie Marc-Andre Fleury is unlikely to play against Nashville.