Oct. 16, 10:06 a.m.: Call it a miraculously short recovery period for Hall, who says he expects to draw into the lineup Monday night against Toronto. “I wouldn’t say I’m 110 percent, but definitely good enough to play and much better than I was even two days ago,” Hall said. It’s great news for Chicago, who wasn’t expecting to see their top-line winger for quite a while longer.
Oct. 13, 1:56 p.m.: Per Chicago Blackhawks head coach Luke Richardson, Taylor Hall has been upgraded from week-to-week to day-to-day with an upper-body injury. NBCS Chicago’s Charlie Roumeliotis, Hall told Richardson he feels like a “miracle healer” with how quickly he’s bounced back from the Wednesday night injury. He even felt good enough to skate at the Blackhawks’ practice today and, while he’s set to miss Saturday’s game against the Montreal Canadiens, could be eyeing a quick return.
This would be great news for Blackhawks fans, as Hall has spent nearly all of his ice time playing alongside rookie sensation Connor Bedard, even providing the primary assist on the 18-year-old’s first NHL goal. Their line, which is completed by winger Ryan Donato, has been a focal piece in Chicago’s early season, with Bedard averaging 21-and-a-half minutes of ice time through the first two games.
The Blackhawks acquired Hall this off-season, looking to add a sparkplug to work with Bedard. Hall has played for five different clubs over the last seven seasons and has struggled to return to the 90-point upside he flashed in the 2017-18 season. The closest he’s gotten was in 2021-22 when he netted 61 points in 81 games with the Boston Bruins. Hall will look to regain his former scoring potential, now playing alongside a historic talent and fellow first-overall draftee.
In Hall’s absence, Andreas Athanasiou joined Bedard and Donato on the team’s top line. However, it was Taylor Raddysh who skated with the duo at the team’s Friday practice, while Athanasiou worked with Raddysh’s old line of Lukas Reichel and Tyler Johnson. With Hall slated to miss at least one game, who the Blackhawks decide to pair with Bedard could be interesting.
That’s awesome news. Day to Day sounds way better than week to week. The Hawks can’t afford a lot of injuries to the older guys. The young guys are very interchangeable.
Hall certainly looked good out there.