NEWARK, NJ – Connor Bedard never saw Devils defenseman Brendan Smith on Friday.
Shortly after the Blackhawks' rookie moved the puck into the offensive zone in the first period against the Devils, Smith stepped up and delivered a devastating high hit.
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 period and was ruled out for the game, which the Hawks ultimately lost 4-2.
Things got worse in the second half when Foligno, the Hawks' de facto captain, engaged in a long fight with Smith to fill in for 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 “continue to be evaluated” upon their return to Chicago.
“All I heard was that everyone was coming home tonight; It’s OK for everyone to come home,” Richardson said. “All we can do is 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 struggled with an injury. The 18-year-old appeared continuously in each of the Hawks' first 38 games and averaged 19 minutes and 29 seconds of ice time. He only lasted 3:05 on Friday.
Hawks forward Boris Katchouk said “everyone saw” Smith’s hit was “dirty” but Richardson was less convinced.
“I don't believe [Smith] “I’m on his heels,” Richardson said. “I think he just stopped and Connor ran headfirst right into him.”
Hours earlier Friday, Bedard had discussed his nomination to represent the Hawks in the All-Star Game, apparently unaware of what the rest of the day had in store for him.
“I’m happy about the announcement,” Bedard said before the game. “Obviously it's been a bit frustrating in our group lately in terms of the results of the games. It’s nice to go there and meet some of these people, so it’ll be fun.”
Bedard and Foligno's injuries continue a ridiculous streak of injury bad luck for the Hawks, who have lost forwards to in-game injuries in four of five games on their 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 groin injury), Seth Jones (out since December 10th with a left shoulder injury), Joey Anderson (missed since Dec. 17 with a left shoulder injury), Taylor Raddysh (groin), Tyler Johnson (right foot), Anthony Beauvillier (left wrist), Foligno and Bedard. The only good news Friday was that Richardson said Raddysh had started skating alone.
Without Bedard and Foligno, the fired up Hawks played with vigor to keep the game competitive, but their roster appears comically undermanned going forward, it remains to be seen how much time (if any) Bedard ends up missing. Their schedule this weekend includes a home practice on Saturday before a home game on Sunday against the Flames.
The combined salary cap hits of the Hawks' injured players nearly equal those of their healthy players, and Philipp Kurashev (22 points) and Jason Dickinson (who scored his 19th point on Friday) are currently their best available scorers.
“If you look at our squad, it looks like we're doing a little worse than the others, but the guys have to step up – myself included,” said defender Jarred Tinordi.
In Rockford, whose roster has also been decimated by the Hawks' number of call-ups, the next forwards would likely be Mike Hardman, David Gust and Anders Björk, the last of whom would have to convert his AHL-only contract. Coyotes forward Zach Sanford, who has 316 NHL games under his belt and was granted waivers on Friday, could also be an option.