On Thanksgiving Day, typically reserved for positivity, a pair of Blackhawks, as well as the team’s entire fan base, were less than thankful.
Taylor Hall out for the season
After Thursday’s practice in Chicago, Luke Richardson confirmed that star forward Taylor Hall suffered an ACL injury that will require season-ending surgery. After originally suffering a knee injury in a game on November 9th, Hall eventually returned for the pair of games played last weekend. He wasn’t with the team for the loss in Columbus yesterday, and according to Richardson, Hall caught a rut in practice Thursday, and that “was the final straw”.
Throughout the month of October, Hall worked through a lingering shoulder injury before the knee problem that ultimately shut him down. The 32-year-old has two goals and two assists in ten games this year. He was a crucial part of the Blackhawks’ offense through the first month of the season, taking defensive pressure off of Connor Bedard and helping to facilitate the attack. His absence is an opportunity for the young top line of Lukas Reichel, Bedard, and Philipp Kurashev to begin to gel and look to the future, but the news is still a huge blow for Chicago.
Andreas Athanasiou sent to IR
The hits kept coming for an already hurting Blackhawks team when they announced today that Andreas Athanasiou would be placed on injured reserve retroactive to November 9th with a groin injury. The speedy forward hasn’t played since the injury that was originally undisclosed. He’s clearly further away from a full recovery than we initially thought.
Athanasiou notched four points in 11 games before his injury and was often moved around as a victim of constantly changing lines. He’s coming off of a 20-goal, 20-assist season last year and is constantly using his blazing speed to make a difference for his team.
A silver lining?
As the pair of Blackhawks hit injured reserve, the team went to the AHL well again, recalling forwards Cole Guttman and Joey Anderson. Anderson is on a heater, leading the team in goals, assists, and points. He’s also third in the AHL with four power-play goals already on the year, which is great news for a Chicago team that converts at the third-lowest rate in the league. If he stays with the big club for an extended period, we could see him get a look on the power play as the unit hopes to get something going.
Cole Guttman returns to the NHL after skating in three games with the Blackhawks to begin the season while Kurashev was out, scoring a goal in the season opener. He also has nine points in 12 games for the IceHogs. Guttman is a proven scorer who could help get Chicago going offensively.
The Blackhawks find themselves quickly depleting their AHL ranks with two more recalled skaters Thursday, especially after Isaak Phillips was already brought up to replace the injured Jarred Tinordi. The young prospects will have a chance to make an impact right away, though, as they both find themselves in the projected starting lineup for tomorrow’s matinee against the Maple Leafs.
