Chicago Blackhawks Lose Goaltender

Chicago Blackhawks goaltender Kevin Lankinen has been placed on injured reserve due to a hand injury. As a result of this, he is expected to miss the next three weeks. 

After surprisingly emerging as the Blackhawks' starting goalie last season, Lankinen has since cooled off immensely this year. In 13 appearances, he has a 2-5-4 record, 3.41 goals-against average, and .889 save percentage. The 26-year-old is eligible for unrestricted free agency this summer, so he will have to turn it around once he's healthy to land himself a nice contract.

Lankinen is viewed as one of Chicago's many rental candidates for the trade deadline, so they too are hoping he can find some of the magic he had last season. In 37 games during the 2020-21 campaign, he had a 17-14-5 record, .909 save percentage, and 3.01 goals-against average. Thus, the potential for him to improve as the season goes on is there. 

Until Lankinen returns, the Blackhawks will have Arvid Soderblom backing up Marc-Andre Fleury. With this, it seems very likely that Fleury will be getting many starts in a row. 

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