Morning Skate Update: Toews to return against Oilers

The captain missed Thursday’s game with a non-COVID illness

Chicago Blackhawks captain Jonathan Toews appears to be over his non-COVID illness and will be in the lineup on Saturday night against the Edmonton Oilers.

Toews was a late scratch for Thursday’s game against the Calgary Flames but was on the ice during the morning skate in Edmonton. He did not walk directly back into his usual 1C spot, though:

Forward Luke Philp, who played the first two NHL games of his career in Chicago’s last two outings, appears to be the odd man out upon Toews’ return. The defensive pairings appear unchanged based on the combinations above but a change was made in the Chicago net:

The Blackhawks are 7-3 in their last 10 games, with Mrazek earning three of those wins. He was bombarded in his last start, making 43 saves on 47 shots for a respectable .915 save percentage in a 5-2 loss.

As for the Oilers, here were their lines at practice on Friday, which appears to include the return of Evander Kane from a personal absence:

The starting goalie will be Jack Campbell (14-8-1, .887 save percentage, 3.35 goals-against average), who has not fared quite as well as fellow netminder Stuart Skinner (13-10-3, .914, 2.92) this season.

An Edmonton win on Saturday night would accomplish something the Oilers haven’t done against the Blackhawks in nearly two decades: