Drake Caggiula was on the ice Wednesday morning at MB Ice Arena for the first time since suffering a concussion in February. The winger, however, left the ice prior to the Blackhawks’ morning skate.
Good news for the #Blackhawks: Drake Caggiula on the ice before today’s practice. He has been in concussion protocol since Feb. 27. pic.twitter.com/crwpjoktB0
— Jimmy Greenfield (@jcgreenx) March 20, 2019
Caggiula has missed eight games since he was blindsided by Ducks forward Rickard Rakell in the opening minute of the second period Feb. 27 at the Honda Center in Anaheim.
Rakell was assessed a 5-minute major boarding penalty and a game misconduct for the hit. Caggiula was later diagnosed with a concussion and became the fifth Blackhawks player to endure the head injury since mid-December. Goaltender Corey Crawford, centers Artem Anisimov and Marcus Kruger and winger Brendan Perlini have all missed time with a concussion.
The 24-year-old Caggiula has four goals and three assists in 21 games with Chicago since being acquired in a trade with the Oilers.
The Blackhawks have gone 5-2-1 with Caggiula out of the lineup, including winning five straight games after dropping the first two games without him. Chicago is four points back of the second wild-card spot in the Western Conference.