Blackhawks' Connor Murphy: Deposits empty-netter in victory
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Murphy scored his first goal of the season in Sunday's 5-3 win over the Islanders.
Murphy scored an unassisted empty-net goal at 19:49 of the final frame to seal the victory for Chicago. The goal was Murphy's first since Jan. 11. The right-shot blueliner is second in scoring on the back end for Chicago with 11 points, and he has added 32 PIM, 32 shots on net and a plus-1 rating through 31 appearances. Murphy is on track to surpass his career high of 19 points from the 2019-20 campaign.
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Blackhawks' Connor Murphy: Registers two helpers
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Murphy notched two assists, two shots on goal, three blocked shots and two PIM in Wednesday's 4-2 loss to the Bruins.
Murphy snapped a four-game slump with his two-assist performance. Prior to that dry spell, he had been limited to two helpers over the first 10 games of November. Murphy's playing style relies on physicality more than offense, but he's having a pretty good year on both fronts. The 31-year-old blueliner has 10 helpers, 25 shots on net, 32 PIM, 42 hits and 60 blocked shots through 26 outings. Last season, he put up just eight points over 46 appearances.
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Blackhawks' Connor Murphy: Pockets assist in overtime loss
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Murphy notched an assist and three hits in Saturday's 3-2 overtime loss to the Flyers.
Murphy is helping to pick up some of the slack in the wake of Seth Jones' (foot) absence. The assist ended a six-game point drought for Murphy, who remains a fixture in the Blackhawks' top four. The 31-year-old had a good stretch in late October, but he shouldn't be relied on for offense. He's at eight assists, 18 shots on net, 21 PIM, 30 hits, 46 blocked shots and a plus-4 rating through 21 appearances this season.
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Blackhawks' Connor Murphy: Adds helper Wednesday
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Murphy posted an assist, two hits and three blocked shots in Wednesday's 4-1 loss to the Red Wings.
Murphy had opened November with a pair of scoreless efforts before assisting on a Nick Foligno goal Wednesday. Through 14 contests, Murphy has seven helpers -- putting him one point shy of matching last year's offensive output from 46 games. He's added 18 hits, 31 blocked shots, 21 PIM and 15 shots on net in 2024-25. Murphy is seeing top-four minutes, and while the offense is unlikely to last, his non-scoring production could be useful in deeper formats.
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Blackhawks' Connor Murphy: Plucks pair of apples
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Murphy recorded two assists and went plus-2 in Thursday's 3-2 loss to the Sharks.
Murphy had a hand in goals by Ryan Donato and Tyler Bertuzzi as the Blackhawks took a 2-1 lead in the first period, though it didn't last. This was Murphy's first multi-point effort since Dec. 21, 2022. He's picked up all six of his helpers this season over the last six games, and he's added a plus-3 rating, 12 shots on net, 12 hits, 19 PIM and 21 blocked shots across 11 appearances. Murphy should continue to see top-four minutes on a young blue line, but his scoring productivity won't last.
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Blackhawks' Connor Murphy: Pockets assist in win
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Murphy notched an assist, two PIM, two hits and a plus-2 rating in Monday's 5-2 win over the Avalanche.
Murphy is on a surprisingly strong run, earning all four of his assists this season over the last five games. The 31-year-old blueliner typically doesn't chip in offense that frequently while playing in a shutdown role. For the season, he's added 20 blocked shots, 19 PIM, 14 hits, 12 shots on net and a plus-1 rating over 10 contests while averaging 18:08 of ice time, down from 19:50 per game last season.
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Blackhawks' Connor Murphy: Slides helper Friday
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Murphy notched an assist and two PIM in Friday's 3-2 loss to the Predators.
Murphy has earned an assist in three straight games. The 31-year-old defenseman doesn't produce offense with that consistency, so fantasy managers shouldn't expect him to keep it going. He's recorded three helpers, 11 shots on net, 15 PIM, nine hits and 15 blocked shots across eight contests this season.
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Blackhawks' Connor Murphy: Collects assist in loss
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Murphy notched an assist and two shots on goal in Saturday's 4-2 loss to the Sabres.
Murphy earned his first point of the year on the second of Craig Smith's two goals in the game. The 31-year-old Murphy doesn't often put up much offense, adding mostly physical production, though he had no hits or blocked shots Saturday. The veteran blueliner has seven hits, 14 blocks, 11 PIM, seven shots on net and a minus-1 rating through six outings this season. Over the last 10 regular seasons, he's reached 100 hits each time and fell short of 100 blocks just once in that span. Murphy has never produced a 20-point campaign.
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Blackhawks' Connor Murphy: On training camp roster
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Murphy is healthy and will be participating in training camp, the team announced Tuesday.
Murphy missed the regular-season finale in 2023-24 due to an undisclosed injury. It's not clear whether this issue was related to Murphy's groin injury that kept him out of the lineup from mid-January to the beginning of April. Either way, the 11-year NHL veteran should fill a bottom-four role on defense while also serving on the penalty kill. The 31-year-old defenseman has collected 141 points throughout his career in 677 regular-season appearances.
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Blackhawks' Connor Murphy: Will miss season finale
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Murphy (undisclosed) will miss the season finale against LA on Thursday because he tweaked something during Tuesday's 3-1 loss to Vegas, per Ben Pope of the Chicago Sun-Times.
It's unclear if Murphy's current issue is related to the groin injury that kept him out of the lineup from Jan. 16-April 10. Either way, he will conclude the campaign with two goals, eight points, 40 PIM, 116 hits and 113 blocks in 46 appearances. Murphy is inked to a four-year, $17.6 million contract through 2025-26, so he should feature on the Blackhawks' blue line again next season, likely in a bottom-four role.
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Blackhawks' Connor Murphy: Activated off injured reserve
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Murphy (groin) has been taken off injured reserve ahead of Friday's matchup with Nashville.
Murphy looks set to return to the lineup for the first time since Jan. 13 against Dallas, a stretch of 35 games on injured reserve. The defenseman will likely slot into Nikita Zaitsev's spot on the blue line, though that may depend on whether the Hawks decide to have Ethan Del Mastro make his NHL debut.
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Blackhawks' Connor Murphy: Not ready to return
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Murphy (groin) won't be available Wednesday against St. Louis, per Ben Pope of the Chicago Sun-Times.
Murphy, who will miss his 35th straight contest Wednesday, may be ready to return Friday versus Nashville. He has supplied two goals, eight points, 105 blocked shots and 106 hits in 43 appearances this season.
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Blackhawks' Connor Murphy: Hopes to return Wednesday
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Murphy (groin) is hoping to rejoin the lineup against St. Louis on Wednesday, Ben Pope of the Chicago Sun-Times reports.
Murphy won't be an option to face Dallas or Minnesota on Saturday or Sunday, respectively, but he seems to be nearing a return to action. The blueliner has been shelved since Jan. 13 versus the Stars, a stretch of 32 games on IR due to his groin problem. If Murphy can pick up just two more points, he will reach the 10-point threshold for the ninth consecutive campaign.
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Blackhawks' Connor Murphy: Remains week-to-week
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Murphy (groin) may not return before the end of the season, according to Charlie Roumeliotis of NBC Sports Chicago.
Murphy, who remains week-to-week, visited a specialist in Vancouver recently before resuming off-ice workouts. He hasn't played since Jan. 13, and Chicago has only 15 games left in the 2023-24 campaign. Murphy has eight points, 105 blocked shots and 106 hits in 43 appearances this season.
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Blackhawks' Connor Murphy: Still without timeline
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Murphy (groin) remains out indefinitely with no clear time frame to get back into action, Charlie Roumeliotis of NBC Sports Chicago reports Tuesday.
Murphy has already been out of the lineup for the last 13 games and looks no closer to actually returning to the ice. With just one goal and three assists in his last 16 outings, few fantasy players will be anxiously awaiting his return. Still, the blueliner could offer some value in formats that utilize hits and blocks.
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Blackhawks' Connor Murphy: Lands on IR
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Murphy (lower body) was moved to injured reserve Monday, per CapFriendly.
Murphy has now missed four straight games so he'll be eligible to return once healthy, which could be as early as Wednesday in Seattle. He was placed on injured reserve to open a roster spot for Nick Foligno (finger), who is set to return Monday against Vancouver. Murphy has eight points in 43 games this season.
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Blackhawks' Connor Murphy: Hopeful to return on road trip
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Murphy (lower body) won't play Monday in Vancouver but could return this week during Chicago's four-game road trip, Charlie Roumeliotis of NBC Sports Chicago reports.
Murphy has already missed three games with a lower-body injury, though it sounds like he could be nearing a return later in the week. The 30-year-old blueliner has eight points (two goals, six assists) with 93 hits and 105 blocked shots this season. Jarred Tinordi will likely remain in the lineup until Murphy is ready to go.
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Blackhawks' Connor Murphy: Out Friday
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Murphy (lower body) will not dress Friday against the Islanders, Scott Powers of The Athletic reports.
Murphy will miss a third straight game, but he's still considered day-to-day. Chicago's next game is Monday in Vancouver. Murphy has just eight points in 43 games this season.
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Blackhawks' Connor Murphy: Remains unavailable
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Murphy (lower body) will miss a second straight contest Thursday against the Sabres, NHL.com reports.
Murphy's lower-body injury isn't believed to be overly serious, so he can be considered day-to-day for now. Either way, he's only picked up eight points through 43 contests this season, so fantasy managers shouldn't need to keep tabs on the 30-year-old defender's status.
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Blackhawks' Connor Murphy: Dealing with lower-body issue
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Murphy (lower body) won't play Tuesday against San Jose, Charlie Roumeliotis of NBC Sports Chicago reports.
Murphy's lower-body issue isn't believed to be overly serious, so he likely won't be sidelined for long. With Murphy unavailable, Jarred Tinordi will draw into the lineup versus the Sharks.
