Dach sidelined with shoulder sprain
NASHVILLE, Tenn. — Kirby Dach’s challenging 2021-22 season might end on a sour note.
Dach suffered a right-shoulder sprain during the second period Thursday against the Sharks when he was slightly tripped up by Nicolas Meloche behind the net, then fallen on by Sam Lafferty. He took one more shift in the third period before leaving for good.
“He just came back to the bench and he was going to try it again,” interim coach Derek King said Friday. “We had a timeout, he went on the ice, and then I pulled him off and put [Dylan] Strome’s line on for the faceoff in the offensive zone. [Dach] just got up and said, ‘I can’t go.’ Hopefully it’s nothing serious.”
King hopes that the Hawks won’t have to shut down Dach for the remainder of the season, but with less than two weeks left, that seems like a real possibility.
Dach missed Saturday’s game against the Predators. Results from tests on his shoulder are expected to come back Monday.
As it stands, Dach has tallied only 26 points in 70 games while averaging 18:03 of ice time. Offensively, it was perhaps the worst of his three years so far. His points-per-60-minutes (at even strength) rate has gone from 1.49 as a rookie to 1.77 last season to 1.09 this season.
Defensively, Dach has been solid since the day he entered the NHL, and at age 21, he still has lots of time left for development. But this latest setback certainly doesn’t help matters.
Canine tragedy
During Strome’s low points in his tumultuous Blackhawks career the last two years, he could always count on his beloved golden retriever, Wrigley, to keep him sane.
And Wrigley, in turn, became the Blackhawks’ canine celebrity. Everyone knew of him; it wasn’t uncommon for Strome to mention him during his interviews. On Instagram, Wrigley — whose account was primarily run by Strome’s fiancée, Tayler McMahon — amassed more than 20,000 followers.
“[I have] a good support system back home — [my] fiancée, baby . . . [and] of course, the dog,” Strome had said Nov. 9. “The dog’s a big one. You come in and he’s just so happy to see you. He doesn’t know what’s going on. He’s happy, 24/7. It’s always nice to come home to that and see a big smile on his face. It makes you forget about hockey for a little bit.”
But on Friday, Wrigley died of postoperative complications at the young age of 2.
Wrigley spent four days last week at a veterinary hospital after undergoing surgery. He returned home Wednesday but developed sepsis and returned to the hospital Friday as his health worsened.
Numerous other Hawks players own dogs, but Wrigley’s chubby fluff will be particularly missed. Strome played Saturday’s game with “Wrigs” written on his stick.
Kane won’t explain
Patrick Kane celebrated his first-period goal Saturday by staring down and yelling at a bald man in a Predators jacket seated in the first row at Bridgestone Arena.
The incident set social media afire with curiosity. After the game, Kane first insisted there was “no real reason” behind it.
“I just saw it was a Nashville fan, so I just kinda caught him on it,” he said with a laugh.
When asked if the fan had said anything to him, though, he hesitated before saying he’d “just keep it at that.” Thus, the mystery lives on.