The Blackhawks were back to practice on Wednesday and looked as close to full health as they have in a few months.
Part of that was Andre Burakovsky’s return from an illness that sidelined him on Monday night against Winnipeg, but the biggest step in that direction was Frank Nazar’s full participation in practice, suggesting he’ll play for the first time in a month when the Hawks visit the Hurricanes on Thursday night.
Frank Nazar said he feels ready to go after being out since Dec. 20 with a broken jaw: “I’ve been ready for 4 weeks, now I’m allowed to.”
— Charlie Roumeliotis (@CRoumeliotis) January 21, 2026
He said he lost 7-8 pounds during the recovery process but has gained about half of it back.
The doctors recommended he wear a chin…
Nazar was back on the second line, flanked by Ryan Donato and Tyler Bertuzzi. Connor Bedard remained on the top line in between Burakovsky and Ryan Greene. The rest of the forward combinations are below, with no changes to the D pairings from Monday’s victory over the Jets.
Blackhawks lines in practice Greene-Bedard-Burakovsky Donato-Nazar-Bertuzzi Foligno-Dickinson-Mikheyev Slaggert-Moore-Lardis
— Scott Powers (@scottpowers.bsky.social) January 21, 2026 at 11:17 AM
Chicago’s second power-play unit features a trio of speedy young forwards that could be a menace for an opposing PK. Or, perhaps, we just settle for that speed being enough to allow this power-play grouping to consistently gain zone entry?
Moore, Lardis, and Nazar are all on the second power-play unit with Foligno and Grzelcyk. That could be fun.
— Greg Boysen (@gregboysen.bsky.social) January 21, 2026 at 11:36 AM
The last remaining injured piece is Teuvo Teravainen, who was on the ice before his teammates in a non-practice jersey, suggesting his return is approaching but still not quite upon us.
Frank Nazar is expected to play tomorrow, Jeff Blashill said. Teuvo Teräväinen is likely to return before the Olympics. He's still considered day to day and won't travel, but he was on the ice before practice today and is working his way back.
— Scott Powers (@scottpowers.bsky.social) January 21, 2026 at 12:15 PM
Here’s a full look at the Chicago lineup from practice:
Blackhawks lines and pairs at practice today Greene-Bedard-Burakovsky Donato-Nazar-Bertuzzi Slaggert-Moore-Lardis Foligno-Dickinson-Mikheyev Lafferty-Dach Vlasic-Crevier Kaiser-Levshunov Grzelcyk-Murphy PP1 Bertuzzi Burakovsky-Greene-Bedard Levshunov PP2 Foligno Moore-Nazar-Lardis Grzelcyk
— CHGO Blackhawks (@chgo-blackhawks.bsky.social) January 21, 2026 at 11:37 AM
Chicago opens a pretty tough stretch of games on Thursday night in Carolina before returning home to face the Tampa Bay Lightning on Friday night.