Connor Bedard takes the next step in his injury rehab

The Chicago Blackhawks are back in action tonight against the Washington Capitals. It will be their 10th game without their top star, Connor Bedard, who is working his way back from a shoulder injury suffered on Dec. 12.

Bedard’s Absence Proves How Valuable He Is

As expected, the Blackhawks struggled without their best offensive player. Matters were made worse when Frank Nazar went down with an injury against the Ottawa Senators a week later. The team lost the first five games without Bedard and fell in the standings.

“I don’t think the rest of the League knows how good a two-way winning hockey player Connor has become,” head coach Jeff Blashill said. “That’s the one thing, and I don’t know why. Maybe it’s based on previous years, but I don’t think they have a full understanding of how good a winning hockey player he is, as we sit here today. I’ve read some things about defensive metrics and things like that. The metric that I trust is your impact on winning. The reason why I know he’s a big-time winning hockey player is that when he was in our lineup, we were one point out of the wildcard, and since then, we’re 1-6-1. That’s the impact he’s had. You don’t have that impact if you’re just a point getter. You only have that impact if you’re a true two-way kind of winning player, and that’s what he’s become.”

The Blackhawks have played much better following the holiday break, going 2-1-1 in their last four games. The team is learning how to play without its top two offensive threats, with both veterans and young players stepping up.

Bedard Has Upgraded his Rehab

Even though the Blackhawks canceled practice on Friday, Bedard still took the ice with some of the coaches. We saw him on the ice on Monday, but he was not allowed to take any shots; that restriction has been lifted.

"He's certainly excited to be out there and shooting, and it looked like he was ripping it pretty good yesterday," Blashill said this morning.

He said there was no definitive timeline for Bedard’s return to game action, but this progression is a great sign. I’d imagine he’s at least another 7-10 days from getting back into the lineup. He needs to remove the non-contact jersey and be a full participant in practice before he can return.