Blackhawks' Nikita Zaitsev: Not suiting up

Zaitsev (illness) is not in the lineup for Thursday's game versus the Kings, Ben Pope of the Chicago Sun-Times reports.

Zaitsev's absence will force the Blackhawks to dress 13 forwards and five defensemen. The 32-year-old blueliner ended up with seven points, 69 hits, 70 blocked shots and a minus-5 rating over 38 appearances with the Blackhawks this season.