Blackhawks Practice: Injury Updates, Nazar Keeping Head Up

The Chicago Blackhawks were back at the Fifth Third Arena Friday afternoon for another practice before they host the Vegas Golden Knights Saturday night. With the dads and mentors in town and a hockey tournament going on, the rink was packed with spectators. It was a relatively uneventful session that was missed by Pat Maroon, who took a maintenance day. As long as Maroon is good to go tomorrow, which he should be, there won’t be any lineup changes.

Injury Updates

Defenseman Connor Murphy has been out of action since the Winter Classic with a groin injury. The veteran blueliner skated on his own before his teammates took the ice. Interim head coach Anders Sorensen said he had a good day today but gave no further updates. The fact he is skating again is a good sign.

Sorensen did not have an update on forward Craig Smith, who continues to be hindered by a back injury. He has not been on the ice since playing against the Colorado Avalanche on Jan. 8. There was also no new update on goaltender Laurent Brossoit, who is rehabbing from a pair of knee surgeries that have kept him on the sidelines the entire season.

Frank Nazar Has No Reason to be Sad

When you look at Frank Nazar’s point production since being recalled, you might think he’s been struggling at the NHL level. He has one goal and three points in 16 games with the Blackhawks, but he has been generating a lot of chances. Once he starts finishing these chances, those numbers will shoot up.

Nazar had multiple good looks at Nashville Predators goaltender Jusse Saros but could not get the puck past him. Despite his lack of finish, he is not getting discouraged.

“You’re in the NHL,” he said. “What’s there to be sad about?”

That’s a good mindset, but one must imagine frustration will set in if the goals don’t start coming. When Connor Bedard struggled to score early in the season, it wasn’t worrisome because he was generating chances. As his goal drought continued, however, frustration became more evident. We haven’t seen that with Nazar yet.

One of those scoring chances last night came while on the penalty kill. Nazar had two shorthanded tallies with the Rockford IceHogs, including his first AHL goal. Sorensen is familiar with what he can do on the penalty-kill unit and will likely use him more. He could be an effective and dangerous penalty killer with his speed and awareness.