Blackhawks: Injury bug hits hard ahead of New York game

The Chicago Blackhawks have a hard matchup with the New York Islanders coming up but they are hit with the injury bug right before.

The Chicago Blackhawks are in the middle of a season that is not going according to plan. They are not good on the ice on most nights and things are starting to catch up to them off the ice.

They have had a slew of injuries but there were some particular injury announcements that came out yesterday that should have fans a little worried. They are going to have to deal with these losses and come together as a team to do so.

Brandon Saad is going to be out for three weeks with a right ankle injury. It is a short term injury compared to what it could have been but it is less than ideal to lose Saad for any amount of time. He is currently in the middle of a good year with 11 goals and eight assists for 19 points in 36 games. He is the type of power forward that works well with players like Jonathan Toews and Patrick Kane so it is considered a big loss. They will miss his ability to get to the net and create chances that way.

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Now the big hits to the team come from injuries to two defensemen. This team is already thin on the blue line so learning that Calvin de Haan is going to be out for the remainder of the season is a big loss. He will have surgery today to repair his right shoulder. Brent Seabrook will also have surgery to his right shoulder and be out for the season. In addition to that for Seabrook, he will have surgery on his right hip in January and his left hip in February.

The pre-holiday break portion of the schedule ended with a 7-1 defeat to the New Jersey Devils. It was an ugly game that the Blackhawks need to put behind them. They need to come together with all of these injuries and give themselves the best chance to win. They are not so far out of it so a nice little win streak would get them right back in it. Now is the time if they are going to do something. The healthy players should be well rested coming out of the three-day break and be ready to go.

The New York Islanders present a very unique challenge. They are not very exciting but they are one of the best teams in the National Hockey League. The Islanders play a game that limits the opposition’s chances to score by playing good defense. They score by taking advantage of the opponent’s mistakes and turning into offensive rushes. New York also uses their power play to score. It is a good unit that clicks at 21.4 percent which is the top ten in the league.

With players like Mathew Barzal, Anders Lee, and Brock Nelson leading the way, there is no doubt that the Blackhawks will need to be on their toes to beat them. If guys like Kane and Toews are able to take advantage of the few mistakes New York will make then Chicago could win the game. It is fair to assume that the Hawks will use Robin Lehner in net against his old team. It will definitely be an interesting matchup of two teams that are so different.