The Chicago Blackhawks shuffled their injury list ahead of Sunday’s matchup against the Pittsburgh Penguins.
Chicago placed 21-year-old center Frank Nazar on injured reserve and filled that gap by activating fellow forward and team captain Nick Foligno for the first time since mid-November.
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Nazar’s placement on IR is retroactive to Dec. 20, when he took a puck to the face in a loss to the Ottawa Senators. Already out for the last week, Nazar is expected to miss three more, according to head coach Jeff Blashill, per Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman.
Before the injury, the former first-round pick had scored six goals and assisted on 15, appearing in 33 games and ranking fourth in scoring among Blackhawks players.
In addition to Nazar’s absence, the Blackhawks are still without leading scorer and franchise player Connor Bedard, who remains out until at least early January. Forward Ilya Mikheyev also missed his second straight game due to the birth of his child.
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The roster move cleared space for the return of the 38-year-old Foligno, who had missed 19 games due to a left-hand injury.
Foligno made an impact in his first game back, scoring his first goal of the season in the second period of the game against the Penguins on Sunday, after redirecting a shot from Colton Dach.
Chicago Blackhawks center Frank Nazar (91) skates against the Tampa Bay Lightning.Kim Klement Neitzel-Imagn Images
The goal, however, was one of the few highlights in a lopsided 7–3 loss as Pittsburgh scored four times on its first seven shots and was already up 4-0 at the 12:03 mark of the first period.
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Chicago entered the night coming off a shootout win over the Dallas Stars in the first game back after the holiday break, snapping a six-game skid. Sunday’s defeat brought the Blackhawks back to the losing column and marked their 10th loss in 12 games played this month.
The Blackhawks fell to 2–10-0 in that span and will wrap up the 2025 calendar year with a game against the New York Islanders on Tuesday.
Related: Blackhawks Announce Connor Bedard Injury Update Before Maple Leafs Game
This story was originally published by Athlon Sports on Dec 29, 2025, where it first appeared in the NHL section. Add Athlon Sports as a Preferred Source by clicking here.