Blackhawks' Hartman injury not serious, could return Friday
Whew!
That, in a nutshell, describes how Ryan Hartman and the Blackhawks felt after learning the injury that the rookie winger suffered at Nashville last Friday wasn't serious.
Hartman was hurt moments after scoring his first NHL goal when his left leg buckled. After gingerly skating off the ice, Hartman went to the locker room and did not return.
He did not play Saturday against Nashville or Tuesday against Philadelphia but was able to take part in the morning skate before the Flyers game. The Hawks are hoping Hartman can return Friday at Columbus.
"Could've been upwards to a month and here you are just missing a few games," coach Joel Quenneville said. "He got off to a good start so it's good that we get him back out here."
Said Hartman: "It was just something that (we) had to take precautions and make sure it wasn't too serious. … Really excited and ready to get going again."
When Hartman returns, it likely means Dennis Rasmussen will return to the bench.
Tootoo TKOs cold:
Jordin Tootoo, who was sick and held out of practice Monday, was able to play in Tuesday's game against the Flyers.
"It hit me (like) a brick wall," Tootoo said.
The veteran winger, in his first season with the Hawks, saw limited playing time in his first two games but was on the ice for over 10 minutes in a 5-3 victory over Nashville on Saturday. The night before, Tootoo fought the Predators' Anthony Bitetto, who moments earlier gave Patrick Kane a rough ride into the boards. According to hockeyfights.com, it was Tootoo's 98th NHL fight, three of which have come in his short time with the Hawks.
Tootoo said he doesn't box or do anything special in the off-season to prepare to fight.
"It comes from within," Tootoo said. "When you … go into any fight with the right mindset, you give yourself a chance to win right off the bat. When you start second-guessing yourself, you're beat already."
Read to win:
The Hawks launched a reading program Monday that hopes to encourage Chicagoland kids in grades K-8 to read more in and out of the classroom. Students receive a bookmark and a logbook to track how many pages they read. The top five readers each month (through March) will receive two 300-level tickets to a Hawks game, a certificate signed by a player and recognition on the team's website.
The classroom with the most pages read will win a visit from a Hawks player and Tommy Hawk. For more information, visit nhl.com/blackhawks/community/reading-program.