Oct 5, 2023; Chicago, Illinois, USA; Chicago Blackhawks Taylor Hall (71) celebrates his goal against the Minnesota Wild during the second period at United Center. Mandatory Credit: David Banks-USA TODAY Sports
Blackhawks Injury Update: Encouraging News Regarding Taylor Hall
A bit of good news for Connor Bedard and the Chicago Blackhawks. It appears that Taylor Hall, who was injured in last Wednesday night’s contest with the Boston Bruins, appears on track to play Monday night when Chicago takes on the Toronto Maple Leafs.
Hall was left injured after a blindside hit from Bruins defenseman Brandon Carlo in the second period. Following the play, the Blackhawks veteran played one more short shift but eventually left the ice and bench for the dressing room.
Following the game, Blackhawks head coach Luke Richardson told media that Hall would be considered week-to-week, leading many to believe that the forward would miss a fairly significant amount of time with the shoulder injury. The development of Hall being on track to play in Monday’s contest is certainly surprising but very much welcomed for a Blackhawks team that has dropped two games in a row since their top line winger suffered the injury.
Having Hall back on the wing for Connor Bedard will undoubtedly improve the offensive looks for the Hawks top line. The veteran’s presence on the power play should also provide some help to a unit that was 0-6 on Saturday night in Montreal.
It appears Hall and the Blackhawks avoided what could have been the worst case scenario here. Keep an eye on the lines from Monday’s morning skate to get a good sense if Hall will in fact suit up in Toronto.
Blackhawks phenom ‘shoots it as good as anybody,’ Leafs sniper Matthews says
“He shoots it as good as anybody I’ve seen, he is definitely special in that regard,” Leafs superstar Auston Matthews said at the Ford Performance Centre. “I don’t know him personally, but his skill set speaks for itself.
“The way he has handled himself and going through this process, with all the hype and the bit of circus around it, he seems like he has a good head on his shoulders.”
Of course, it’s not just Bedard’s lethal shot, which he has said in the past he patterned after Matthews, that will concern the Leafs on Monday night.
“I didn’t know his game that well before he came into the league,” Leafs coach Sheldon Keefe said. “I’d say his game is far more dynamic and complete offensively than I had thought. You think of him as a shooter, but he makes a lot of plays, he drives offence and he has been doing that here in the early going, despite being inexperienced in his first time through the league.
“If our team game defensively continues to improve as we need it to do, we think it will take care of a lot of that kind of stuff. But it will certainly be challenged.”
