Disaster Strikes After “Blindside Hit” On Blackhawks Star

Even in a tight, tough loss, Wednesday night’s game against the Bruins was a magical one. Connor Bedard got on the board with his first big-league goal, Arvid Soderblom played tremendously in his season debut, and Kevin Korchinski had himself a nice night. However, the promising matchup was marred by disaster, as Taylor Hall left the game early in the second period, and after giving it another shot, did not return. Head coach Luke Richardson had a few choice words about the hit that sent his star to the locker room:

“That's a blindside hit. That's a guy coming across the ice, for sure. That's what the game is trying to get rid of. I know exactly what it is because I used to do it all the time. But now it's not in the game. So we just hope that there's not a lot of those there that we see because they're not great for anybody.”

- Luke Richardson

A blindside hit it was. During the game, the NHL Tonight crew broke down the play, and it didn’t seem as if Hall ever touched the puck before he was crunched by former teammate Brandon Carlo. Hall was slow to get up and seemed to hold his arm limply as he came off the ice.

After the game, Richardson was noncommittal about the status of Hall, but labeled him “week-to-week”, mentioning that he is “probably going to be out for a little bit”.

It’s an unfortunate end to an exciting week for Hall. He celebrated the birth of his first child, then made his debut in a Blackhawks sweater. In just his second game for the team, he made his triumphant return to Boston, where he played for the last three seasons. Now, he’ll have to make his way off the injury report before he can continue contributing to his new squad.

The effects of Hall’s injury are numerous. He was expected to be one of the team’s top contributors to begin the season. While his production is certainly an asset, Hall was brought to Chicago this year to help ease the load on Bedard as he adjusts to the NHL. For now, though, Bedard will have to work without his team’s biggest producer. If tonight’s lines were any indication, Bedard might join Andreas Athanasiou and Lukas Reichel as a makeshift line for the time being.

Whether the hit was dirty or not, the injury is a huge blow to a Blackhawks team just looking to hit its stride. We’ll certainly get more detailed updates and a timetable for Hall’s return eventually, but in the meantime, Chicago will have to get the huge production of Hall from someone else.