The Blackhawks lost a hard fought game to the Oilers in overtime last night. They showed a lot of mettle, battling back from a two-goal deficit in the third period to tie the game late. But a bad penalty in overtime cost them the second point in the standings.
The result of the game last night isn’t much of a concern if we’re honest. What is a major concern is the health of Blackhawks center Jason Dickinson. He got his legs crossed up in the second period and went down hard.
Jason Dickinson needed help off the ice after getting tangled up with Vasily Podkolzin pic.twitter.com/qWB3WcVq9l
— BHF (@BlackhawksFocus) February 6, 2025Watching the clip of the injury, the initial fear was that his knee was toast. But after the game, while we were waiting to get into the Blackhawks’ room, Dickinson walked past — with a walking boot on his left leg. Which leads me to assume (I know what that makes us) that it’s an ankle-area related injury (high ankle sprain? tib/fib break? ankle?) which is a shorter timeline than an ACL but… not much better.
If you’ve spent much time here over the past couple seasons you know that I firmly believe Dickinson is the most valuable player on this roster. He’s a legitimate Selke-caliber center who was having a very good night shutting down Leon Draisaitl’s line before the injury. Edmonton’s second and third goals? From Draisaitl’s line — after the injury. Because of course.
The Blackhawks can bring guys up to replace just about anybody on the roster except Dickinson and/or Connor Bedard. And a team that’s playing the way interim head coach Anders Sorensen wants them to is going to take more chances to drive offense, so Dickinson’s defensive commitment will be even more noticeably missing. After the game last night, Sorensen would only say it “doesn’t look good.” We’ll find out more later today but I think it’s safe to say Dickinson won’t play in the games on Friday and Saturday before the 4 Nations Face-Off break.
Bad weather? Who cares! The press box was a party last night! Late start? There were scouts in town from almost half of the NHL to watch the Blackhawks vs. Oilers. Here’s the list: Boston, Washington, Vancouver, Detroit, Winnipeg, Anaheim, New York Rangers, Utah, Tampa Bay, Columbus, Seattle, Florida, Nashville and San Jose. That’s 14 teams with someone in town to watch the late start. Meanwhile, my guy Dennis Bernstein shared the Blackhawks had a scout at the Habs-Kings game in LA last night as well. Go wild with the speculation, folks! You know who didn’t help his trade value much last night with all of those butts in the press box seats to watch? Seth Jones. But the Blackhawks got another good showing from Ryan Donato (one goal, one assist)…NHL GameScore Impact Card for Chicago Blackhawks on 2025-02-05: pic.twitter.com/pRkj6LL4m8
— HockeyStatCards (@hockeystatcards) February 6, 2025 The TNT crew followed ESPN’s lead and decided to put their blow torch on Bedard last night. These comments were more nuanced than what Mark Messier said over the weekend, and I can appreciate where the conversation began."That is pond hockey" ?Biz and Ace break down Connor Bedard's play and have a lot to say about it ⬇️ pic.twitter.com/mOxknvydZD
— B/R Open Ice (@BR_OpenIce) February 6, 2025 However, while there were admittedly multiple moments last night that Bedard would undoubtedly like back (penalties specifically), let’s keep this in mind as well: the Blackhawks had Bedard’s line skating against Connor McDavid’s all night. Why? You’ll have to investigate that on your own (again, Dickinson was against Draisaitl and there is no right answer after that). According to Natural Stat Trick, here’s how the Blackhawks did while the Connors were on the against each other at 5-on-5:TOI: 11:54CORSI For: 17-11 BlackhawksShots on Goal: 7-5 BlackhawksGoals: 1-0 BlackhawksExpected Goals For: 0.73Expected Goals Against: 0.32Expected Goal Percentage: 69.83
My opinion: that’s pretty impressive for a 19-year-old who “doesn’t play defense” against the ordained best player on the planet. Bedard also won 8 of 15 faceoffs last night. Before the game last night (and before TNT’s comments), Sorensen was asked about the criticism of Bedard. Here’s his answer: ICYMI before the game Colton Dach, was sent back to Rockford with Artyom Levshunov to make room on the NHL roster for Craig Smith to come off IR. We’ll see if he’s on the road back to Chicago this morning because of Dickinson’s injury. Since we discussed Scott Wheeler’s rankings of the Blackhawks’ top prospects and where their pipeline collectively ranks in the NHL yesterday, why not enjoy some highlights right out of the gate this morning? Nick Lardis scored his 49th goal of the season in the second period for Brantford last night. It stood up as the game-winner.? No. 49 for #Blackhawks prospect Nick Lardis for @BulldogsOHL !!! pic.twitter.com/Cocb2Q5JZ5
— Bleacher Nation Blackhawks (@BN_Blackhawks) February 6, 2025 Wheeler ranked the Blackhawks fourth in the NHL in his mid-season updates. As he nears the top of the league, I thought it would be worth noting here where he ranked the rest of the Central Division:31. Dallas Stars23. Colorado Avalanche15. Winnipeg Jets14. St. Louis Blues8. Nashville Predators7. Utah Hockey Club4. Chicago Blackhawks1-2. Minnesota Wild (we’re up to No. 3 and the Wild haven’t appeared yet)
We got another hype video from the good folks at the Hobey Baker Memorial Award for a Blackhawks prospect on Wednesday.Aidan Thompson has been dialed in all season, making plays that turn heads and change games. Now he’s in the running for college hockey’s top honor. Vote daily at t.co/CGEVafN9rB @aiden_thompson7 @du_hockey @thenchc @drinkbodyarmor pic.twitter.com/GIzFTLL3Uw
— Hobey Baker Award (@HobeyBakerAward) February 5, 2025 A reminder that my first book signing is coming up on Tuesday night at The Book Cellar.Join author @The1Tab for a discussion and signing of his new book, 'The Future' on February 11 at 7:00pm at @BookCellar in Chicago, IL. t.co/xJsKlxUjYO pic.twitter.com/uSoSVJ9Kpm
— Triumph Books (@TriumphBooks) February 4, 2025 Here’s my question: which part of the NHLPA is going to say something on behalf of Tim Stützle for the dangerous, knock-off WWE move Ryan Hartman pulled off the faceoff? I get you don’t like the commissioner’s office handing down 10-game suspensions, but the dude has averaged a trip to the principal’s office once for every 60 games he’s played. C’mon man!The NHLPA has filed an appeal on behalf of Ryan Hartman regarding the NHL’s disciplinary decision to suspend him 10 games.
— NHLPA (@NHLPA) February 5, 2025MORE FROM BLEACHER NATION: Check Out BN Fantasy | Subscribe to The BN Newsletter
While star players were getting traded all over the NBA last night, the Bulls handed Lonzo Ball a two-year extension. So… are the Cubs going to sign Alex Bregman? You know who would be a great free agent addition for the Bears? Trey Smith. Read More Details
Finally We wish PressBee provided you with enough information of ( Dickinson Concern, More Bedard Criticism, Scouts Galore, 49 for Lardis, and Other Blackhawks Bullets )
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