ANAHEIM, Calif. — The Blackhawks lost a key part of their top line in the 4-3 win over Anaheim on Wednesday. Left wing Drake Caggiula suffered a concussion in the second period when Ducks forward Rickard Rakell smashed him into the glass as Caggiula chased down a puck.
Caggiula stayed down for a minute before being helped off the ice and went immediately to the locker room. The Hawks have no initial indication of the severity of the concussion, though coach Jeremy Colliton said there was no additional injury on the play.
“We’ll see how it goes,” Colliton said. “It’s tough to tell. Sometimes it looks terrible and you’re back right away, and sometimes it looks innocent and it takes forever. So we’ll see.”
Caggiula’s injury came at the start of a three-game West Coast trip. The Hawks play at the Kings on Saturday and visit the Sharks on Sunday. They are carrying one extra forward on the active roster (either Chris Kunitz or Brendan Perlini), but have an open spot if they want to bring someone up from Rockford.
While he’s not a star and has just four goals and three assists since joining the Hawks last month, Caggiula could be difficult to replace. He has been a great fit with Patrick Kane and Jonathan Toews on the top line. He is a plus-1 overall and has been playing around 17 minutes per game lately.
“It’s tough to see,” Alex DeBrincat said. “You never want to see a guy laying on the ice like that. He’s a big part of our team… He’s a grinder. He likes to get in the dirty areas.
“It just sucks to see him go down like that. Luckily we were able to win it for him.”
Rakell was whistled for boarding, hit with a five-minute major penalty and ejected. The Hawks made little use of that opportunity, however, and scored one goal in five minutes while allowing a short-handed goal by Ducks center Devin Shore.
