Today’s News Clips Jan. 9, 2020 Chicago Tribune Robin Lehner is ready to return from a knee injury, but Dylan Strome will miss at least one game with a sprained ankle Jimmy Greenfield Jan. 8, 2020 The Blackhawks finally received some good news on the injury front Wednesday. The team sent goalie Kevin Lankinen back to Rockford, paving the way for Robin Lehner to return after he sat out two games with a right knee injury suffered last week against the Canucks. How much time Dylan Strome will miss after spraining his right ankle in Tuesday’s 2-1 loss to the Flames is still a bit murky. Strome was at the United Center on Wednesday and walking around without crutches, but Hawks coach Jeremy Colliton said he will not play Thursday against the Predators. “It’s still pretty soon after,” Colliton said. “We’ll know more as we get a little further away.” The Hawks are already without forwards Andrew Shaw (concussion), Brandon Saad (right ankle) and Drake Caggiula (concussion). There isn’t a timetable for Shaw’s return, but Colliton said Saad is “getting better” and the initial target of playing in mid-January hasn’t changed. Colliton also said Caggiula was "close" to playing after being out since Nov. 10. Lehner will be available to play against the Predators after Corey Crawford went 1-1 while stopping 45 of 49 shots in starts against the Red Wings and Flames. Lehner initially believed his knee was fine after the Canucks’ Tanner Pearson fell into him late in the third period on Jan. 2, but it became worse over the next couple of days before subsiding. “Thought it was going to be a few weeks at least,” Lehner said after Wednesday’s practice at the United Center. “But it’s good.” Chicago Tribune Blackhawks rookie Kirby Dach is doing everything right — except finding the scoresheet Jimmy Greenfield Jan. 9, 2020 Kirby Dach has done everything the Blackhawks have asked of him without complaint since being the No. 3 pick in the NHL draft last summer. When they asked him to participate in the NHL Prospect Tournament in Traverse City, Mich., before training camp, he went. When Dach suffered a concussion during the tournament, he worked with the Hawks medical staff and patiently waited to get back on the ice. When he finally made his NHL debut on Oct. 20, he moved from line to line, getting comfortable with new teammates and showing off a work ethic and skill set that quickly led the Hawks to realize they weren’t sending him back to his junior team. Ever. The only thing Dach hasn’t done is score a whole lot. But the Hawks haven’t asked him to score — at least not yet. The points will come later. At least they had better. No. 3 picks aren’t drafted to be role players. But no one in the Hawks organization expects that out of Dach, who at 18 is just getting his feet wet and contributing in ways other than filling the scoresheet. At 6-foot-4 with a long reach, Dach has been a tireless forechecker and effective at carrying the puck into the offensive zone. His most recent linemates, Alex DeBrincat and Dylan Strome, have taken it from there. Since Colliton put the trio together six games ago, DeBrincat has five points and Strome six while the line has only allowed one defensive goal. "Ever since we put them together they've been arguably the best line," Colliton said. Dach, however, hasn’t scored in those six games. In fact, the center has just one point in his last 23 games, a beautiful goal he swept in from a nearly impossible angle to help the Hawks to a comeback win against the Avalanche on Dec. 21. Remarkably, Dach doesn’t have an assist since Nov. 19 despite playing in every game and averaging 14 minutes, 9 seconds of ice time. To put that into perspective, 11 NHL goalies have had assists since Dach last had one — and the Lightning’s Andrei Vasilevskiy has had three in that span. “I think he can produce more,” Colliton said. "He can be more of a shooter, take the puck inside, take the puck to the net. But I also think he’s been a big part of the goals that his line has scored. A lot of those goals, he’s an integral part of scoring. He just doesn’t get a point. “We have to evaluate the whole picture of his game and we’re pretty happy with it.” Dach has been on many lines, and it looks as if — at least temporarily — he’ll have another new linemate with Strome out for at least one game after suffering a right ankle injury Tuesday against the Flames. “There’s going to be a little bit of an adjustment period when you lose one of your linemates, and you’ve got to find new chemistry with guys," Dach said. "At this point everybody is comfortable playing with everybody in this locker room, and you’ve just to find the right fits in each line to help us win.” When Dach was playing his final season with the Western Hockey League’s Saskatoon Blades, he had 25 goals and 48 assists in 62 games, which was 30th in the league and well behind Dylan Cozens (34 goals, 50 assists), whom the Sabres selected four picks after Dach. But Cozens is back in the WHL for another season while Dach is with the Hawks learning how to make it in the NHL. “The only thing I really need to do more to help myself offensively is maybe shoot the puck more,” Dach said. "There’s times in the game where I could just put a puck on net, and that’s why the guys who lead the league in points and goals every year are the guys who shoot the puck the most. “You’re going to get a bounce here and there, and it’s going to go your way. I’ve just got to do that a little bit more and keep playing the way I’m playing, and hopefully they’ll go in.” Dach has 11 points (five goals, six assists) in 38 games. DeBrincat had 13 goals and 12 assists in his first 38 games during rookie season of 2017-18, but he wasn’t asked to play a 200-foot game like Dach and was a year older. “He’s been doing a great job with helping our line, helping the team really get that depth back,” DeBrincat said of Dach. “Can’t really worry about (not scoring) too much. It’s a tough league. He’s 18 years old. It’s not going to go in every night, so you’ve just go to handle it the best you can. It’s tough going from junior and scoring every night to coming in here and not doing the same.” It might be tough but it doesn’t seem to be taking its toll on Dach, who credits advice from veterans Brent Seabrook, Patrick Kane and Jonathan Toews, among others, with helping him adjust to life in the NHL. “Each game I’ve taken a step more confidently and being better and focusing on playing a good 200-foot game,” Dach said. “I take a lot of pride in being a plus player and not being scored on. I’ve tried to improve my defensive game and at the same time contribute offensively. I’ve got a find way to do both.” He does need to find a way. But for now, with his whole hockey life still ahead of him, Dach believes the points will come. At least they had better. Chicago Tribune Blackhawks Q&A: Should they tank? How will they use their $11 million in salary- cap space? Will Corey Crawford be traded? Jimmy Greenfield Jan. 8, 2020 It’s finally 2020 and the new year is, well, looking a lot like 2019 for the Blackhawks. They can’t build any real momentum toward the playoffs and another key player — this time Dylan Strome — will miss some time after injuring his right ankle against the Flames. Now that they have some games under their belt, the rookies appear to be playing better. Do you think this is why of late the arrow is pointing up for the Blackhawks? — Charles S. Absolutely. Most of their rookies have been contributing during the last few weeks when they typically have been playing six of them on a given night. Dominik Kubalik is a rookie by the NHL’s eligibility rules, but at 24 he’s not quite the same as the others. But he really has made a jump the last few weeks and has a great chance at a 20-goal season. Kirby Dach and Adam Boqvist are still teenagers, so while their numbers aren’t very good — Dach has one point in his last 23 games — the fact that they’re holding their own against much older competition is what’s impressive. That will pay even bigger dividends next season and beyond. Dennis Gilbert has been decent as a third-pairing defenseman and Matthew Highmore is fine as a fourth-line forward. The rookie to keep an eye on the rest of the way is Alex Nylander, who played Tuesday against the Flames after being a healthy scratch for three straight games. At 21, Nylander should be better by now, and his struggles should be a huge concern.