Blackhawks captain Nick Foligno day-to-day with lower-body injury

Chicago Blackhawks captain Nick Foligno is sidelined on a day-to-day basis due to a lower-body injury, Blackhawks interim head coach Anders Sorensen confirmed per Ben Pope of the Chicago Sun-Times.

Facing the Vegas Golden Knights on Thursday, Foligno exited late in the first period after sustaining the injury and did not return. Skating in his second season with the Blackhawks, the 37-year-old native of Buffalo, N.Y., has made 58 appearances in which he has registered 12 goals and 14 assists to sit sixth in team scoring with 26 points, coupled with 44 penalty minutes and a minus-13 mark.

Originally chosen 28th overall by the Ottawa Senators in the 2006 NHL Draft, Foligno has totaled 1,213 career contests counting stops with the Senators, Columbus Blue Jackets, Toronto Maple Leafs, Boston Bruins, and Blackhawks in which he has tallied 244 goals and 344 assists for 588 points. With the Blue Jackets in 2014-15, Foligno put together a career year as he reached highs in all major offensive categories counting 31 goals and 42 assists for 73 points through 79 appearances. Foligno has also added 10 goals and 17 assists for 27 points through 68 outings in the Stanley Cup Playoffs.

Acquired from the Bruins in the 2023 offseason, Foligno has since signed two extensions with the Blackhawks and is currently in the first year of a two-year pact that carries a $4.5-million annual average value, per PuckPedia. In September, Foligno was named captain of the Blackhawks, becoming the 36th player to wear the ‘C’ in Chicago.

For the Blackhawks, following Thursday’s 7-5 road loss to the Golden Knights, the club finds itself in the midst of a four-game losing streak and sitting second-to-last in the Western Conference with a 17-35-7 record and 41 points. The Blackhawks have not qualified for the Stanley Cup Playoffs since 2020.