Blackhawks Place Nick Foligno on IR With Hand Injury

Blackhawks place Nick Foligno on IR with a hand injury. He’s out four weeks, forcing lineup changes and more ice time for depth forwards.

The Chicago Blackhawks officially placed captain Nick Foligno on Injured Reserve on Monday, Nov. 17. Foligno took a puck to the hand towards the end of the second period in Saturday’s 3-2 win over the Toronto Maple Leafs. As of today, the Blackhawks have 12 healthy forwards and seven defensemen. Head coach Jeff Blashill has been running with an 11-forward/seven defenseman lineup (with the exception of Saturday’s game). Foligno is expected to miss four weeks.

Through 15 games, Foligno has six points (all assists) and has averaged 13:57 minutes of time on ice. He’s been effective given his bottom-six role and has a 50.55% Corsi at 5-on-5. Foligno’s defensive play hasn’t been horrible—he ranks in the 84th percentile according to Evolving Hockey’s data. His absence will give players like Sam Lafferty more ice time, as he has the lowest average TOI on the team (8:42). Nick Lardis is not expected to get a call-up to replace Foligno, as Lardis is listed day-to-day for the Rockford IceHogs.