Blackhawks put Artem Anisimov on IR, recall Tanner Kero

The Blackhawks placed Artem Anisimov on injured reserve on Thursday, retroactive to Sunday, and recalled forward Tanner Kero.

Anisimov left Saturday’s game in St. Louis with an upper-body injury, and missed Tuesday’s game against the Ottawa Senators. Joel Quenneville said Anisimov was day-to-day, and that the injury was not a long-term concern. But with the NHL’s three-day Christmas break coming up after Friday’s home game against Colorado, the smart move was to give him (and likely Marian Hossa, who left Tuesday’s game early) the extra few days to recover. Anisimov will be eligible to come off IR in time for next Tuesday’s game against Winnipeg. He has 14 goals and 13 assists in 27 games.

Kero, who had a goal and two assists and saw significant time on the penalty kill in 17 games with the Hawks last season, is Rockford’s leading scorer this season, with seven goals and 13 assists.