Nick Foligno and Tyler Johnson to flank Bedard, the 18-year-old prized rookie, with Taylor Hall going on IR... and Chicago starting to slide.
New linemates. "Old" guys.
Connor Bedard will be flanked by a fresh pair of wingers when the Chicago Blackhawks meet the undefeated Boston Bruins on Tuesday night at the United Center.
Nick Foligno, who turns 36 on Halloween, will be on the right side. Tyler Johnson, 33, will skate on the left.
Those are the kind of veterans the the 18-year-old Bedard referred to as "old guys" a week or so ago.
Bedard's previous left winger, Taylor Hall — a spring chicken at 31 — was placed on injured reserve Tuesday with a shoulder injury. So a change had to happen, especially after Chicago was outplayed in two straight losses and slipped to 2-4.
Foligno looks forward to skating with Bedard, the NHL's top draft pick of 2023. Now in his 17th NHL season, Foligno was acquired with Hall from Boston on June 26, two days before the Blackhawks selected Bedard with the No. 1 pick overall in Nashville.
See the video from the always-upbeat Foligno, the son of former NHLer Mike Foligno and older brother of Minnesota forward Marcus Foligno. Like Blackhawks general manager Kyle Davidson, they're from Sudbury, Ontario.
Foligno hopes for more sustained offensive zone time against the Bruins, not just chances off the rush, to wear them down.
"I think it will be fun to play with him," Foligno said. "I think we can try and help Connor and help ourselves. Nothing changes in the way we play our the way I play. Hopefully we can complement each other."
Here are projected lines and defense pairings for Tuesday's game against 5-0 Boston, one of three NHL teams that remain unbeaten. Vegas and Colorado, which handily topped Chicago in its previous two games, are the others.
Forward Lines
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Defense Pairings
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Goalies
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"The last few games, we haven't gotten the job done," coach Luke Richardson said. "We've played two really good teams. We're still going to try to find something that will get us over that hump right now with a guy like Taylor out and see what works." See video
Kurashev to Return
Forward Philipp Kurashev will play his first regular-season game after suffering a left wrist injury in Chicago's opening preseason contest against St.Louis on Sept. 28.
Kurashev isn't exactly sure how he suffered the injury and had no idea it would sideline him for several weeks.
"I practiced the next day too and it just kept hurting," he said. 'It's been a long time. I'm just happy to be back."
Kurashev originally had been pencilled in on a speedy line with Lukas Reichel at center and Andreas Athanasiou on the right side. The 24-year-old forward signed a two-year contract with a $2.25 annual cap hit over the summer after becoming a restricted free agent.
