CHICAGO (AP) — Blackhawks goaltender Petr Mrazek is feeling much better after a rough couple of weeks.
Mrazek was activated from injured reserve on Thursday, and goaltender Drew Commesso was assigned to the minors. Mrazek backed up Arvid Soderblom for Chicago’s 3-1 victory against Seattle.
The 32-year-old Mrazek departed a 4-2 loss to Winnipeg on Dec. 7 with a left groin injury. Then he started to come down with the flu the next day.
“It’s a relief that it wasn’t anything serious,” Mrazek said. “I felt like I was just being more careful with it. In the past you stay in the net and you get it worse. Dealing with that and then with the flu, everything in one, was the thing. Just get through it and get back on track.”
Mrazek is 7-11-1 with a 2.83 goals-against average and .906 save percentage in 20 games. He has carried a heavy workload for Chicago over the past two seasons, but he said he didn’t think that contributed to the injury.
“I’ve been dealing with a couple of things personally as well, travel a lot between Chicago and different cities,” he said. “So I think just everything came together. I felt like maybe just the body said it was enough, needed a mental break as well and get back on track now.”
Mrazek did not offer any specifics on what he has been dealing with on the personal side.
Captain Nick Foligno said it was good to have the goaltender on the ice for the morning skate before the matchup with the Kraken.
“He’s a big part of what we’re trying to do here, and he’s a great goalie,” he said. “To see him feeling good and back out is really important for our group. He brings a lot of energy.”
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