Ahead of Thursday night’s game at Carolina, the Blackhawks find themselves just six points out of a playoff spot. It isn’t necessarily a situation many thought they’d be in, but the team has gelled into a respectable unit on a leaguewide scale and has shown promise that the recent rebuild will work over the next few years. Connor Bedard has blossomed into one of the best players in the entire NHL, and Chicago is getting contributions from almost every player on the roster. It’s still anyone’s race given the amount of parity across the league (every team but the Canucks is within seven points of a Western Conference wild-card spot), but it’s great for the young Blackhawks to get a taste of a playoff chase.
Starting Thursday, their efforts will get a bit easier. Chicago will have forward Frank Nazar back in the lineup against the Hurricanes, with the young star returning from a month-long absence due to being hit in the jaw by a puck. Nazar should return to the second power-play unit and was skating between Ryan Donato and Tyler Bertuzzi at practice on Wednesday.
Nazar returns just five games after the Blackhawks got Bedard back from a month-long absence of his own two weeks ago. After Bedard suffered a shoulder injury at the end of a game against the Blues on Dec. 12, Chicago called up Nick Lardis to take his place. Lardis finds himself in the middle of a four-game scoring slump at the moment, but he figures to eventually be one of the most exciting players on the ice for the Blackhawks due to his spectacular shot and ability to create space.
Nazar played in four games with Lardis before suffering his injury, so Thursday’s game will be the first with Bedard, Nazar, and Lardis in the same game. The future is now!
The only problem—in practice Wednesday, Chicago’s lineup featured Bedard on the top line, Nazar on the second line, and Lardis on the fourth. That fourth line also features Oliver Moore, which feels a bit like malpractice from the coaching staff. Maybe Jeff Blashill is showcasing veterans like Jason Dickinson and Ryan Donato before the trade deadline? Either way, having Bedard, Nazar, and Lardis all in the top six will eventually be huge for the Blackhawks’ production and could make for a pretty fun on-ice product.
Andre Burakovsky will also return to the lineup after missing Monday’s game against the Jets, meaning Chicago is practically back to full-strength (aside from Teuvo Teravainen, who missed practice with an upper-body injury but shouldn’t be out long-term). It’s a great time for the Blackhawks to be the healthiest they’ve been since November. We’re just over a month away from the NHL trade deadline and only two weeks from the Olympic roster freeze, so it’ll be interesting to see who gets dealt to make room for everyone in the lineup.
