After Sunday afternoon’s game against Vancouver, in which Connor Murphy and Joey Anderson both left early due to injury, veteran leader Nick Foligno voiced his frustration and put into words what we’re all feeling:
“It’s kind of laughable, honestly, that we’re losing a guy every game here.”
– Nick Foligno
The injuries began for the Blackhawks before the season even started, as the team began the year without the services of both Colin Blackwell and Philipp Kurashev. Chicago has rarely had a full lineup since, and the team’s IR list now includes Seth Jones, Taylor Hall, Andreas Athanasiou, and Jarred Tinordi.
On Monday morning, that list grew even longer when Anderson was placed on injured reserve with a shoulder injury. Losing the forward is a big blow to a team that was certainly appreciative of his services in this disaster of a season.
Anderson began this season with the IceHogs for 14 games before being recalled nearly a month ago. He didn’t often show up on the scoring sheet (five assists in 13 contests at the NHL level) but he’s been a staple on the line of Foligno and Jason Dickinson that has been the best on the Blackhawks for much of the season. Foligno commented after the game that Anderson has been a big difference-maker for his line and the entire lineup.
The Blackhawks’ lineup has been so thin over the past week that both Blackwell and Mackenzie Entwistle warmed up ahead of Sunday’s game in case they were needed. Neither is fully healthy, but as Foligno said, the team is losing a player nearly every single game. Keeping two extra bodies on the bench just in case pretty much sums up how the season has gone for the Blackhawks.
Anderson’s recovery timeline is unclear, but if he’s being added to the ever-growing list of players on IR for the Blackhawks, he’ll miss significant time. The team hasn’t announced how they’ll fill Anderson’s spot in the lineup – Blackwell or Entwistle may be healthy enough to return to an everyday role by tomorrow’s game against the Avalanche. If they aren’t, Chicago may go back to the well in the AHL again in what’s become a seemingly endless stream of players being recalled to the big club.
As the Blackhawks’ injury list continues to grow, there may not be enough players in the organization to field a complete roster by next week. Anderson has been a very important part of a roster that has gone through more than its fair share of struggles in its first 30 games of the season.
