Blackhawks Already Preparing For Lineup Changes After One Game
After one game, a 3-2 defeat at the hands of the defending Stanley Cup champion Florida Panthers, the Chicago Blackhawks are preparing for lineup changes already.
They didn't get blown out on the scoreboard, but the Blackhawks didn't play particularly well. If Spencer Knight didn't have an above-average performance, the score would have been a lot worse.
When they take on the Boston Bruins in game two of the season, they will line up a little bit differently.
Dach - Bedard - Burakovsky
Teravainen - Nazar - Bertuzzi
Donato - Dickinson - Mikheyev
Foligno - Greene - Lafferty
Vlasic - Rinzel
Kaiser - Levshunov
Grzelcyk - Murphy
Soderblom
For one, they will go to Arvid Soderblom in net. He will make his first start of the season. Soderblom played very well in the last start he made during the 2024-25 season, which also came against the Boston Bruins. He was excellent in the preseason to prepare for this moment. Knight, who will still get a majority of the games this season, will have plenty of rest thanks to the depth that Soderblom helps provide.
One major change to the skaters is that Alex Vlasic will make his season debut. He missed the second half of the preseason and first regular-season game recovering from a lower-body injury, but he is ready to play. The top pair with Sam Rinzel will be his home to begin the year, and that will likely stick.
Ethan Del Mastro will come out of the lineup for Vlasic. Matt Grzelcyk, who took the role of the top pair with Rinzel against the Panthers, will fall to the third pair in Del Mastro's spot next to Connor Murphy. Like it has for most of camp, the pair of Wyatt Kaiser and Artyom Levshunov will stay intact.
The second and fourth forward lines will remain the same, but Jeff Blashill is making a switch with the first and third lines. Ryan Donato and Colton Dach are switching spots. Dach will get an opportunity on the top line with Connor Bedard and Andre Burakovsky, while Donato will go onto the checking line with Jason Dickinson and Ilya Mikheyev. Both guys are capable of thriving in these new roles, but only time will tell if it sticks.
John Lynch provides injury update on 49ers quarterback Mac Jones
The San Francisco 49ers have been ravaged by injuries so far this season.
They've lost superstar pass rusher Nick Bosa for the season, and other key players have missed extended time as well, including Brock Purdy, George Kittle, Jauan Jennings, and Ricky Pearsall.
Even backup quarterback Mac Jones, who has played well in place of the injured Purdy, has popped up on the injury report with an oblique injury.
John Lynch downplays Mac Jones' injury
In an appearance on KNBR, Niners general manager John Lynch was asked about Jones' injury, which was new this week.
"No, I think we feel pretty good about where he's going to be," said Lynch via The Athletic's Matt Barrows.
Jones has been hobbled since taking over the starting job from the injured Purdy, and he took a beating last Thursday night in the Niners' win over the Los Angeles Rams.
The Alabama product was sacked only once throughout the overtime victory, but was hit 10 times throughout the game.
The Athletic's Dianna Russini reported that Jones was suffering through extreme cramps in both legs while fighting off the urge to vomit.
Through three starts, the former 15th overall pick in the 2021 NFL Draft has put up some gaudy numbers, completing 66.7% of his passes for 905 yards, six touchdowns, and one interception.
Jones is a tough player, and it seems like he's willing to play through just about anything to stay on the field. It's unlikely an oblique injury will prevent him from suiting up on Sunday when San Francisco takes on the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.
