Connor Bedard and Nick Foligno Injured in Brawl During Blackhawks vs. Devils Game

NEWARK, NJ – Connor Bedard never saw Devils defenseman Brendan Smith coming on Friday.

Shortly after the Blackhawks’ rookie moved the ball into the offensive zone in the first period against the Devils, Smith stepped up and delivered a devastating high kick.

Bedard immediately ran to the bench, held his face and went straight to the locker room. Meanwhile, Nick Foligno, Brett Seney and a number of other teammates sparked a brawl behind the net.

Bedard did not return in the second half and was ejected from the game, which the Hawks ultimately lost 4-2.

Things got worse in the second period when Foligno, the Hawks’ de facto captain, caught Smith in a long fight to defend Bedard and injured himself in the process. Foligno never returned after that.

Coach Luke Richardson didn’t announce much about Bedard or Foligno after the game, saying they would be “evaluated further” upon their return to Chicago.

“All I heard was that everyone went home tonight; “Everyone can go home safe,” Richardson said. “There’s not much we can do other than take her home, take her to our specialists and see if everything is OK.”

Nick Foligno was injured after that fight with Brendan Smith on Friday.

It is the first time in his NHL career that Bedard has suffered an injury. The 18-year-old played non-stop in the Hawks’ first 38 games and averaged 19 minutes and 29 seconds of ice time. On Friday it only took 3:05.

Hawks forward Boris Kashuk said “everyone saw” Smith’s hit was “sloppy,” but Richardson was less convinced.

“I don’t believe [Smith] “I stepped on him,” Richardson said. “I think he kind of stopped and Connor hit his head on him.”

Hours before Friday, Bedard discussed his candidacy to represent the Hawks at the All-Star Game, apparently unaware of what the rest of the day had in store for him.

“I’m excited to announce this,” Bedard said before the game. “Obviously our group has been a bit frustrating lately in terms of the results of the games. It’s good to go out and meet some of these guys, so it should be fun.”

The injuries to Bedard and Foligno continue a ridiculous losing streak for the Hawks, who have lost their forwards to in-game injuries in four of five games during a winless road trip.

The Hawks’ injury list now includes Taylor Hall (out for the season after ACL surgery), Andreas Athanasiou (out since November 9th with a hip injury), Seth Jones (out since December 10th with a left shoulder injury) and Joey Anderson (out since Dec. 17 with a left shoulder injury), Taylor Radish (groin), Tyler Johnson (right foot), Anthony Beauvillier (left wrist), Foligno and Bedard. The only good news Friday was that Richardson said Radish had started skating alone.

Without Bedard and Foligno, the red-hot Hawks played with motivation to keep the game competitive, but their roster seems comically short-term going forward while we wait to see how much time (if any) Bedard will miss. Their schedule for this weekend includes a home practice on Saturday before a home game on Sunday against the Flames.

The total turnover of the Hawks’ injured players is almost equal to the ceiling of their healthy players, and Philipp Kurashev (22 points) and Jason Dickinson (who scored his 19th point on Friday) are currently the best scorers available.

“If you look at our roster, it looks like we’re doing a little worse than the others, but the guys have to step up – myself included,” said defenseman Jared Tinordi.

In Rockford, whose roster has been equally decimated by the Hawks’ number of call-ups, the next closest forwards will likely be Mike Hardman, David Jost and Anders Björk, the last of whom just needs to convert his AHL contract. . Coyotes forward Zach Sanford, who has 316 NHL games under his belt and was granted waivers on Friday, could also be an option.

2024-01-06 20:45:59
#Connor #Bedard #Nick #Foligno #injured #Blackhawks #hot #loss #Brendan #Smiths #Devils