The Chicago Blackhawks have placed defenseman Connor Murphy on long-term injured reserve and have recalled defenseman Dennis Gilbert from the Rockford IceHogs, the team announced on Wednesday afternoon. Murphy left the Blackhawks game against the Vegas Golden Knights on Tuesday night with a lower-body injury, he will miss at least 11 games and 24 days of action.
Murphy sent to LTIR, Gilbert recalled by Blackhawks
After leaving Tuesday night’s contest against the Golden Knights, Connor Murphy was diagnosed with a lower-body injury being called a groin injury and was said to be set up to miss “a couple of weeks” according to Blackhawks head coach Jeremy Colliton. Murphy this season has no points through six games played but has a 57.3 percent Corsi-for rating. Murphy was playing top-line minutes with Duncan Keith in the last handful of games, averaging more than 20 minutes per night in his last four games played.
Feb 10, 2018; Saint Paul, MN, USA; Chicago Blackhawks defenseman Connor Murphy (5) during a game between the Minnesota Wild and Chicago Blackhawks at Xcel Energy Center. Mandatory Credit: Brace Hemmelgarn-USA TODAY Sports
In a corresponding move, the Blackhawks recalled defenseman Dennis Gilbert from the Rockford IceHogs. Gilbert, who began the season with Chicago and played in the regular season opener against the Philadelphia Flyers in Prague, has since played with the IceHogs for three games. He too has yet to score his first point of the year, but has played on the top-pair with the IceHogs this season when in the lineup. In his one game with the Blackhawks this season, he played 14:57 minutes and was a minus-one rating with four hits.
Dennis Gilbert of the Rockford IceHogs (Photo Courtesy of the Rockford IceHogs)
The Rockford IceHogs are back in action this weekend, traveling to Cleveland to take on the Cleveland Monsters for a weekend back-to-back set of games. Friday night’s puck drop is set for 7 p.m. EDT, while Saturday’s contest is scheduled for a 1 p.m. EDT puck drop.