DALLAS — Dominik Kubalik will return to the lineup Saturday against the Stars.
Kubalik was a healthy scratch for the second time this season Thursday against the Lightning, as part of an odd switch in roster composition by coach Jeremy Colliton. But the shift to 11 forwards and seven defenseman backfired, and Colliton retraced his steps Saturday, inserting Kubalik back into the lineup and taking out defenseman Slater Koekkoek again.
Still, the coach hopes Kubalik will learn from the demotion and from some coaching lessons that accompanied it.
“It’s a long year, and it’s a challenge for young players to keep that consistency night in and night out, and we’re trying to get him back there,” Colliton said Friday. “It’s nothing against him, and he knows that and he’s gotten feedback on it and he’ll respond.”
The 24-year-old winger has maintained decent production throughout the season, and actually had points in consecutive games directly before the Hurricanes game performance that prompted his benching. But he said he knows he must do more without the puck, too.
“I’ve just got to be more active, skate more, get the pressure going,” he said Friday. “Because when I’m doing that, I can get a lot more pucks back from forechecking.”
Caggiula to IR
Drake Caggiula’s absence Saturday will make it six consecutive games that the Ontario native has missed since suffering a concussion Nov. 10 against the Maple Leafs.
The Hawks finally placed Caggiula on retroactive injured reserve Saturday.
They did not place him on long-term injured reserve, however, so his salary cap hit remains on the books, but he’s eligible to return at any time. It’s a curious decision — the only tangible benefit of this transaction is an extra roster spot, but the Hawks weren’t at the 23-man limit even before Saturday, and Colliton said they don’t plan to call anyone up in Caggiula’s stead, either.
Murphy back in flow
The one Hawks player who has endured a stint on LTIR this season, Connor Murphy, is now more than a week removed from his return.
Murphy has been paired with Olli Maatta of late — not Duncan Keith like in October — so his playing time hasn’t returned to its 24-minutes-a-night level, but he feels he’s regained his rhythm regardless.
“I didn’t miss too much time to really be out of the flow,” the defenseman said Saturday. “Really just took a game to get back in and feel comfortable with the little changes that we made.”
