Blackhawks' Drake Caggiula returns to ice after concussion
After two long months of rehabbing from a concussion, Drake Caggiula returned to action during the Blackhawks' 5-2 loss to Nashville at the United Center on Tuesday.
The hard-hitting, feisty forward hadn't played since a 5-4 victory over Toronto on Nov. 10, and couldn't wait to finally rejoin his buddies and try to help them make a playoff push.
“I'm definitely excited to be back on the ice, helping my teammates, being a part of the grind and doing whatever I can to help the team win,” said Caggiula, who has 3 goals and an assist in 16 games.
This is the second straight season a concussion kept Caggiula out of the lineup for a significant amount of time, and he did contemplate shutting himself down until the fall.
“It was just something you kind of think about and you ponder about,” he said. “I'm happy to be healthy and be back in the lineup playing hockey. That's what I was born to do.”
Caggiula has always been tough to play against and isn't afraid to dole out hits — he has 420 in 198 games — or drop the gloves if necessary.
But should things be different now? Should the 5-foot-10, 176-pound Ontario native dial it down a notch to lessen the risk of what could be a career-ending head injury?
“Yes and no, I guess,” said Caggiula, who crunched Kyle Turris into the boards during the second period for 1 of his 4 hits. “There's parts of my game where I know I can be a little bit smarter and protect myself a little bit more, but if I stray away from the player I am I probably won't be here.”
Caggiula started on the fourth line, skating with Matthew Highmore and Zack Smith. He and Highmore found themselves outside the faceoff dots just before Nashville's Colin Blackwell sneaked into the slot and scored Nashville's second goal.
Rotation roulette:
The Hawks made several other lineup changes against Nashville, slotting in forward Matthew Highmore and defenseman Slater Koekkoek, while sitting Dylan Sikura and Dylan Strome (ankle).
Sikura had 4 shots on goal against Calgary on Dec. 31 and scored his first NHL goal against Detroit five days later, but coach Jeremy Colliton wasn't thrilled with the forward's effort in a 2-1 loss to Calgary on Tuesday. Colliton also said he wanted to get Highmore back in.
“That's part of the rotation of the lineup,” Colliton said. “(Guys need to) know they got to find a way to bring it every night. It's a hard league.
“It's difficult to play at that level when you play every other day against the competition that's out there. That's the challenge to become an everyday NHL player.”
Koekkoek played for just the third time in 15 games.
Slap shots:
There is still no definite timetable for when Brandon Saad can return from his ankle injury. ... Dominik Kubalik leads all rookies with 8 goals and 14 points since Dec. 8. His 14 total goals are second among rookies, behind only Buffalo's Victor Olofsson (16). ... The Hawks doled out 40 hits against the Predators. Erik Gustafsson led the way with 5. ... Nashville blocked 28 shots, 14 in the third period alone. Yannick Weber and Nick Bonino had 5 each.