The concussion Blackhawks goalie Alex Stalock suffered Nov. 1 against the Islanders has turned out to be a longer-term issue than initially thought. He has missed almost a month now.
But his absence finally might be nearing its end. Stalock joined fellow goalies Petr Mrazek — who started against the Jets — and Arvid Soderblom as full participants in the Hawks’ morning skate Sunday, his first time practicing with the team since the injury.
‘‘He’s a great voice in the dressing room, [so] him just being healthy again and around the guys, it’s a huge boost for this team,’’ coach Luke Richardson said. ‘‘It’s nice to have him back. But [it was his] first day on the ice, [so] we’ll see how he feels with shots and everybody out there.’’
Stalock impressed in October, going 3-2-1 with a .914 save percentage. Goaltending hasn’t really been an issue for the Hawks this season, even during his absence, but his return should help nonetheless. Soderblom likely will return to Rockford at that point.
Tinordi out
The Hawks’ second defensive pairing of Jarred Tinordi and Connor Murphy was broken up Sunday for essentially the first time all season.
Tinordi missed the game because he ‘‘banged up’’ a lingering, pre-existing injury, Richardson said. The journeyman defenseman has found a stable role with the Hawks, averaging 17½ minutes of ice time and notching five points in 20 games.
Filip Roos, who had been scratched for all but one game since Nov. 14, assumed Tinordi’s spot in the lineup. Forwards Sam Lafferty (upper body) and Tyler Johnson (ankle) remained out.
Kane’s shootout drought
As of Dec. 4 last season, Patrick Kane’s career shootout résumé had been stellar. He had converted 49 of 117 career attempts, good for 41.9% — well above the NHL average.
Since then, however, Kane has had seven consecutive shootout attempts saved. His attempt Friday wasn’t even technically saved; he just hit the side of the net after running out of time and space.
Jonathan Toews, whose career shootout numbers are even better, is an unremarkable 2-for-9 since the start of last season. As a team, the Hawks went 6-2 in shootouts last season but are 0-2 this season.
Dickinson speaks up
Richardson told an interesting story about Hawks forward Jason Dickinson that sheds some light on his mindset.
‘‘He’s a quiet guy,’’ Richardson said. ‘‘But the other night, I told him to go out and take a short shift. It was four-on-four, and then we were going to go into a penalty kill. He came to me and goes, ‘I want that kill.’ I was like, ‘Yeah, but I need you to go out and finish this four-on-four.’ He’s like, ‘No, I want that kill.’ And I go, ‘I heard you, but I need you out there for 20 or 30 seconds, then come back and I’ll get you back on the kill.’
‘‘He wanted a little redemption. Maybe [he had] a bad game before, and he wanted to get back on the pressure side of our penalty kill and kill it off. It’s good to see [that] drive in a player like that. You’re not sure if it’s there or not when a guy is quiet.’’