The Chicago Blackhawks, back in Chicago after almost two weeks away, held practice on Tuesday. They went 3-2-1 on their six-game road trip, Connor Bedard was the first star of the week, and they are preparing to keep the momentum going at home.
Ahead of practice, Jason Dickinson skated with a gray non-contact injury. He didn’t, however, stay on with the team once practice began. Frank Nazar, who was injured in Friday Night’s game against the Calgary Flames and missed Sunday’s contest against the Detroit Red Wings, was also missing.
Once they were done practicing, Jeff Blashill said that Nazar is not expected to suit up on Wednesday night against the New Jersey Devils. He is questionable for Saturday’s game against the Toronto Maple Leafs.
Not having Nazar is a big loss for Chicago. He drives offense, is responsible in his own end, and contributes to both sides of special teams at a high level. Until he comes back, they have a hole in the middle of their lineup.
Without Nazar, the top six forwards lined up like this:
Bertuzzi – Bedard – Burakovsky
Teravainen – Greene – Mikheyev
On the third and fourth lines, Oliver Moore, Ryan Donato, Nick Foligno, Colton Dach, and Sam Lafferty had a rotation. Even with 12 healthy forwards, Jeff Blashill has mostly been scratching one and going with the 11/7 strategy. Expect that to be the case against the Devils, with the defense looking like this:
Vlasic – Rinzel
Kaiser – Levshunov
Grzelcyk – Murphy
Crevier
Although the Blackhawks mostly avoided a disaster with Nazar’s injury, there will be a void without him. It is on the healthy forwards, led by Connor Bedard’s dominance, to make sure they don’t miss a beat until he returns.
Chicago and New Jersey face off on TNT at 8:30 PM on Wednesday night at the United Center.
We got injury updates on Frank Nazar and Jason Dickinson yesterday. Meanwhile, the Maple Leafs might be missing their best player when they come to town.
The Chicago Blackhawks are back at the United Center tonight as they host the Eastern Conference-leading New Jersey Devils. Check back in this afternoon for a complete game preview and again late tonight for postgame analysis. Until then, here are some fresh Morning Chirps to hold you over.
Auston Matthews went to the Leafs dressing room after taking this hit from Zadorov pic.twitter.com/MxVL6cyPNH