The Blackhawks made Sunday's announcement that defenseman Erik Gustafsson and forward Ryan Carpenter had been expelled from COVID-19 protocol. However, Kane was not mentioned.

After entering the protocol, all three players were unable to practice on Saturday.

When asked if Kane could play against Red Wings, coach Jeremy Colliton replied: "With all those COVID guys there's so many going on. We're going to take it day by day, so we'll just see what we have tonight.

The protocol also includes Tomas Mitell, assistant coach. For Thursday's 4-1 loss in Vancouver, Chris Kunitz, an ex-NHL forward, took Mitell's place behind the bench.

However, the COVID-19 protocols for Blackhawks do not necessarily indicate that Mitell or any other players have tested positive. They could have been close to someone who had tested positive. Stan Bowman, the general manager, stated during training camp that 100% of the team had been vaccinated.

The Blackhawks, who are struggling, have a 0-4-1 record. Kane is the leader of the team with five points and four assists.

"If he isn't in, that's obviously a big loss," defenseman Connor Murphy stated. He creates so many opportunities for us offensively. ... We know that we have many good players and that we have depth so guys can step up.