BLOG: Blackhawks Looking to Returners for Chances Against Capitals

Heading into tonight's matchup against the Washington Capitals, the Blackhawks will have some familiar faces returning to their lineups.
Head coach Luke Richardson confirmed that Tyler Johnson and Petr Mrazek will be in tonight's lineup. Johnson missed closed to 20 games due to an ankle injury and Mrazek has missed three due to a groin injury. Richardson confirmed the veteran goaltender will make the start in net against Washington and had him out as a precaution.
"We want to get him back in," Richardson said. "We thought like his last game was a really solid game. It was just a precaution that he had to come out with the injury. So, it'd be nice to get him back in."

The Blackhawks activated Mrazek off injured reserve on Monday after suffering his second groin injury this season on Dec. 4 against the New York Rangers. He is currently 2-5-1 in his last nine starts this season.
As for Johnson, they hope he can spark some offensive by putting him in different offensive situations and placing him on the team's second power play unit.
While the team continues to struggle with scoring first, Jonathan Toews describes that the team can come out mentally prepared and have high energy entering the game, it's simply something they cannot control. He feels that they can play their best first period but might not be the first ones to capitalize.
"I think we talked about just being mentally prepared and having energy and coming out and you can't really control that," Toews said. "Sometimes you play great in the first 20 [minutes] and you get scored against first and that's just the way it goes. I think we've done a good job of recovering from those situations."
One of the key players that are looking to stop would be Washington's Alex Ovechkin, who is closing in on 800 goals scored in his career. With his quickness and strength, battles within the zone will be a challenging aspect for the Blackhawks.
"We all know how big and strong he is," Toews said. "You don't want to be right up with him anytime soon, especially if there's a race for the puck or something and not too often you're going to win that battle."