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Chicago Blackhawks
Patrick Kane will miss his second consecutive game with a lower-body injury when the Blackhawks host the Calgary Flames on Sunday (7 pm ET; NBCSCH, SNW, ESPN+, SN NOW).
“We’re going to give him one more game,” coach Luke Richardson said of Kane, who skated with the team prior to the game Sunday. “At this point we have three days this week (until the Blackhawks play again) and he has a scheduled treatment he’s doing this week. I think it’ll give him the proper rest and he’ll feel more comfortable.
“He can move out there but if he gets that one little bang, we don’t want to go through a game and we lose him and have 11 forwards again against a strong team tonight.”
The forward did not play in a 2-0 loss to the Arizona Coyotes on Friday. Kane said he sustained the injury after taking a hit from the San Jose Sharks forward Evgeny Svechnikov in Chicago’s 5-2 loss Jan. 1. It was the first time Kane missed a game due to injury since he sustained a broken clavicle against the Florida Panthers on Feb. 24, 2015 and missed the rest of that regular season.
Kane leads the Blackhawks with 27 points (seven goals, 20 assists) in 37 games. — Tracey Myers
Minnesota Wild
Mats Zuccarello is expected to miss his second straight game with an upper-body injury when the Wild host the St. Louis Blues (7 p.m. ET; BSWI, BSNX, BSMW, ESPN+, SN NOW).
The forward did not play in a 6-5 overtime loss to the Buffalo Sabers on Saturday. He is second on the Wild with 40 points (16 goals, 24 assists).
Brandon Duhaime returned Saturday after the forward missed 18 games with an upper-body injury he sustained against the Winnipeg Jets on Nov. 23. Duhaime scored a goal and was plus-2 against the Sabres. He has five points (four goals, one assist) in 15 games this season.
“It’s probably one of the worst things, seeing your team play without you,” Duhaime said. “Whether you’re in the stands or in the lineup, it’s always fun to be in the locker room, be a part of it, but when you’re not involved like that, it’s tough.” — Heather Engel
Calgary Flames
The Flames recalled Jakob Pelletier and Walker Duehr from Calgary of the American Hockey League on Saturday.
Pelletier, a 21-year-old forward, was the Flames’ first-round pick (No. 26) in the 2019 NHL Draft. He has 34 points (15 goals, 19 assists) in 31 AHL games this season and could make his NHL debut at the Chicago Blackhawks on Sunday.
“He’s been doing well down in the minors,” Flames forward Andrew Mangiapane said. “It shows what kind of depth we have in this organization. We’ll see when he plays. It’s an exciting time; I’m sure he’s pretty excited.”
Dueh, a 25-year-old undrafted forward, has one game of NHL experience, last season with Calgary.
Forward Brett Ritchie was placed on injured reserve with a wrist injury. — Bruce Miles
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