Morning Notes: Marchment, IceHogs, Kuznetsov

Lia Assimakopoulos of the Dallas News is reporting that Dallas Stars forward Mason Marchment will be back in the lineup for Game 2 against the Colorado Avalanche and Radek Faksa will be the healthy scratch. Marchment has been out of the Stars’ lineup since Game 2 of their first-round series against the Vegas Golden Knights and should give the Stars a boost after the club blew a three-goal lead in Game 1.

Marchment tallied a goal in two playoff games against Vegas and registered 11 hits in just under 28 minutes of playoff action. His return is sure to make life more difficult for the Avalanche as Marchment had another terrific regular season, posting 22 goals and 31 assists in 81 games, along with 108 hits. The 6’4” 210 lbs Marchment is built for playoff hockey and will give them a physical threat in the lineup after they looked to be in control of the series early on.

In other morning notes:

• The Rockford IceHogs announced today that they and the Chicago Blackhawks have agreed to terms on an affiliate extension with the Indy Fuel of the ECHL. The deal is a three-year agreement that also contains an option to further increase the pact for two years. Indy has been the ECHL affiliate for the organization for over ten years since they joined the ECHL back in April 2014. The team has had moderate success during their run, including appearances in the Kelly Cup Playoffs in three of the last four years.
• Chip Alexander of the Raleigh News & Observer tweeted that Carolina Hurricanes forward Evgeny Kuznetsov will go back into the lineup tonight after being a healthy scratch for Game 2 of their best-of-seven series against the New York Rangers. Kuznetsov’s scratch seemed puzzling at the time as the Hurricanes opted to use Max Comtois in his place. However, Comtois played just 6:19 and was largely ineffective as the Hurricanes struggled to control the play when he was on the ice. The 31-year-old Kuznetsov has been solid in the playoffs for Carolina, posting two goals and two assists in six games while averaging less than 12 minutes of ice time per game.