BLOG: Korchinski Set to Return to Lineup Against Canadiens

After he missed some time, head coach Luke Richardson announced that Kevin Korchinski would play against the Montreal Canadiens on Friday night. 

The rookie defenseman missed some due to personal reasons over the last few weeks. With his and Jarred Tinordi’s return, this gave more looks at the Blackhawks’ defense after some injuries struck the blueliners. 

“It’s good to have those decisions instead of scramble mode to get 20 guys [in the lineup],” Richardson said. 

Korchinski, 19, recorded two goals and five assists through 25 games this season and last played on Dec. 7 against the Anaheim Ducks. 

While he started to get in some practice time over the last few days, Richardson started to see Korchinski return to his old self with the help of his teammates. Now, he can channel some of his energy from practice into some game action again. 

“I think having him back was great for the guys to see him,” Richardson said. “I'm sure for him to see the guys he's seemed to be smiling and happy to be back and get kind of some of that energy and use it physically out on the ice in practice, and now in a game.”

Richardson is also hopeful to place him back on the team’s power play depending on how the game plays out. Until then, they will continue to use five forwards on the first power play unit. 

One thing that they missed the most from the young defenseman is his ability to recover from his mistakes. 

“He recovers quickly, and he can really do that well,” Richardson said. “That's something that we'll be really looking forward to having him back.”