The Chicago Blackhawks lost one of their top all-around players when Jason Dickinson left Wednesday night’s game against Edmonton with a left leg injury.
Dickinson’s leg got pinned under him after he collided with Oilers forward Vasily Podkolzin early in the second period of Chicago’s 4-3 overtime loss. He was seen with a boot on his lower left leg as he left the locker room after the game.
The 29-year-old Dickinson has scored seven goals and nine assists in 53 games this season, his third year with the Blackhawks. Dickinson, who had a career-high 22 goals last season, is also one of the team’s best penalty killers.
Interim coach Anders Sorensen said the team would have an update on Thursday, but things didn’t look good.
“He’s valuable for us, right?” Sorensen said. “He does a lot of PK and a lot of faceoffs, tough matchups. But I thought a lot of guys stepped up after his absence here, when he got hurt.”
The Blackhawks, currently in last place, dropped to a 4-12-4 record in their last 20 games.
While Dickinson left due to his injury, Craig Smith skated for more than 11 minutes in his first game since January 8. Smith was activated from injured reserve after dealing with a nagging back injury.
Smith, 35, has six goals and five assists in 31 games this season for Chicago.
The Blackhawks also sent defenseman Artyom Levshunov and forward Colton Dach to Rockford in the American Hockey League.
Levshunov, 19, was called up on Monday to practice with the team during the AHL’s All-Star break. The IceHogs will play their next game on Friday night in Texas.
Levshunov was the No. 2 overall pick in last year’s NHL draft. He missed the start of the season due to a fractured right foot.
“We’ve had two good, spirited practices with a lot of pace and compete and that was a good learning experience for him to see,” Sorensen said. “Talking to him, he was kind of baffled how quick it was at times but that’s good. That’s how you realize where you need to be.”
Dach, 22, made his NHL debut on January 3 against Montreal. The 6-foot-4 forward, who was a second-round pick in the 2021 draft, has one goal and three assists in 13 games with Chicago.
