Chicago Blackhawks captain Nick Foligno will miss four weeks after injuring his hand Saturday in his team’s 3-2 win against the Toronto Maple Leafs, coach Jeff Blashill said.
Foligno, 38, suffered the injury with 90 seconds left in the second period when he was skating near the top of the Blackhawks’ defensive zone and Jake McCabe’s shot on net deflected off Foligno’s hand.
Foligno immediately hunched over and favored his hand while skating back to the Blackhawks’ bench. Foligno, who did not return for the third period, finished with three shots on goal and logged 10:41 in ice time.
The absence of Foligno, who has six points in 15 games, means the Blackhawks will be without their fourth-line center who was anchoring a combination featuring Sam Lafferty and Landon Slaggert. His injury is also the second to the Blackhawks’ forward group with winger Jason Dickinson on injured reserve.
After finishing last season with the second-fewest points in the NHL, the Blackhawks (9-5-4) have emerged into one of the biggest surprises through the first quarter of the regular season. With their win against the Maple Leafs, they enter Sunday tied for third in the Central Division and a point ahead of the Vegas Golden Knights and Seattle Kraken in the Western Conference wild-card race.
