The Chicago Blackhawks announced that center Marcus Kruger is sidelined for indefinitely with a concussion. Kruger is eligible to return to the line-up on December 27th when the Hawks take on the Minnesota Wild. This is Kruger’s third career concussion.
ROSTER NEWS: Forward Luke Johnson has been recalled from Rockford and forward Marcus Kruger (concussion) has been placed on injured reserve. #Blackhawks pic.twitter.com/tXwPz48Alr
— Chicago Blackhawks (@NHLBlackhawks) December 19, 2018
Marcus Kruger Injured
Kruger was bloodied up and suffered a concussion after taking an elbow from Nashville Predators forward Ryan Hartman late in the second period. He didn’t return to the game and won’t travel with the team to Dallas
So far this season, Kruger has scored four goals and one assist for five points to go along with 16 minutes in penalties. His possession numbers were 46.1 % Corsi and a relative Corsi of -5.8 %.
Over his 9-year NHL career, Kruger has played for the Carolina Hurricanes and Chicago Blackhawks. He has 38 goals and 78 assists for 116 career points in 479 career games. He was originally drafted by the Chicago Blackhawks in the fifth round, 149th overall in the 2009 NHL draft.
What This Means for the Future
This is the second time this season Kruger has gone down with an injury. He missed three games earlier in the year with a leg injury. Kruger is part of the Blackhawks PK unit that has struggled all seasons and currently sits in dead last in that category. In the meantime, the Hawks will get to see more of Luke Johnson.
In a corresponding roster move, the Hawks have called up center Luke Johnson from Rockford(AHL). The fifth-round draft pick of the Hawks in ’13 got his first taste of NHL action earlier this year. In 13 games with the Hawks, he recorded one assist along with eight penalty minutes. Johnson has four goals and three assists for seven points in 10 games with Rockford. Johnson will most likely see time on the Hawks fourth line until Kruger is healthy.
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