Blackwell will play on Saturday against Dallas. Murphy might be back in a game in about a week.

Spark plug forward Colin Blackwell, the Blackhawks Masterton Trophy nominee, will be back in the lineup when Chicago hosts the Dallas Stars on Saturday.

Meanwhile, defenseman Connor Murphy, out since Jan. 13 with a soft tissue injury in his core, practiced nearly fully on Friday and hopes to return in about a week. 

The Blackhawks have seven games left, with a finale on April 18 at Los Angeles.

Feisty Blackwell Ready to Buzz Again

Blackwell was out for nearly nine months following sports hernia surgery in March 2023. The stocky 31-year-old went through a rough, complicated recovery that took longer than expected and he didn't play again until Dec. 19.

Blackwell came back with verve for 39 games until suffering an upper-body injury at Los Angeles on March 19. He absorbed an awkward hit from Kevin Fiala along the boards. 

"Looking forward to hopefully making an impact tomorrow," Blackwell said. "I thought it (the injury) was going to be worse than what it was and I think (medical staff) thought so too.

"I'm excited to get the last little segment here of the season, the last seven games." See video.

Coach Luke Richardson slotted Blackwell on an assertive checking line with center Jason Dickinson and Joey Anderson earlier. The three have the best plus/minus marks  among forwards on a team with a minus-96 goal differential.

Anderson is a plus-9, Dickinson a plus-6 and Blackwell a minus-1.

The 5-foot-9, Blackwell was a ball of fire — or as coach Luke Richardson calls him, a "muscle ball" — after returning in December. 

"He's not the tallest guy in the world, but he plays big and he really fires up the other guys," Richardson said.

Blackwell, San Jose's seventh round draft pick in 2011 (194th overall), recorded his first career hat trick against Arizona on March 10. He has eight goals and four assists overall.

Murphy's Tricky Recovery

Murphy said he originally expected to return within a few weeks of being injured, but the condition was trickier than expected.

"I've woken up literally every day wondering, like 'Is today the day it's better and it's better?" he said. "Now you're finally back to going (in practice) with the guys, so it's nice."

Murphy said he was able to get an accurate diagnosis of this condition, osteitis pubis, and communicated with other NHLers who had it. He learned players had very different experiences with their recoveries.

Among those he reached out to was longtime San Jose forward Logan Couture.

"It's nice to know you're not the only one going through a confusing time trying to figure it out." See video.

According to the Cleveland Clinic, osteitis pubis is inflammation in the joint between the left and right pubic bones (pubic symphysis). Like many core injuries in hockey and other sports, it's caused primarily by repetitive motion of the hips, pelvis and groin.

Murphy said he was getting shooting groin pains, "but the groin tissue was actually okay itself." An MRI revealed what was wrong to medical staff, but there was uncertainty on the right blend of myriad treatments.

"You kind of just do a bit of everything and trying to see what works," Murphy said.