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While the Blackhawks equipment staff patiently waits out the NHL's season pause with the rest of the hockey world, some of their equipment is still being put to work and helping General Motors produce protective masks for front-line workers in the COVID-19 crisis.

On Thursday, GM sent out a thank you note to the Blackhawks, Red Wings and Flyers, who all have temporarily donated their Sani Sport equipment sanitinzing machines to the Detroit-based auto manufacturer. GM has reconfigured its plant to produce masks during the global pandemic.

Normally used to sanitize and disinfect hockey equipment like helmets and gloves in the locker room, the machines will now assist in sterilizing up to 24,000 produced masks an hour, allowing the production of over 3 million masks per month.