The Chicago Blackhawks announced that center and team captain Jonathan Toews is sidelined for “a few games” with an upper-body injury.

Jonathan Toews will miss a few games with an upper-body injury, Joel Quenneville said.

— Mark Lazerus (@MarkLazerus) March 22, 2018

Jonathan Toews Injured

The Winnipeg native was injured late in Tuesday’s loss to the Colorado Avalanche. Toews exited the game early but returned to play through the injury according to head coach Joel Quenneville. He appeared as late as the 18:04 mark of the third period.

So far this season, he scored 20 goals and 32 assists for 52 points. He also added 47 minutes in penalties. His possession numbers were 56.8 percent Corsi and a relative Corsi of +5.3.

Over his 11-year NHL career, Toews has played only for the Chicago Blackhawks. He has put up 292 goals and 382 assists for 674 career points in 791 career games. He was originally drafted in the 1st round, 3rd overall of the 2006 NHL draft by the Chicago Blackhawks.

“Jonny will be out a few games here,” Quenneville said to the media. “We’ll re-evaluate with him next week.”

What This Means for the Future

Toews had been playing some of his best hockey of the season with four goals and eight assists in his last 10 games. He had been on the team’s top line with Brandon Saad and Patrick Kane.

Toews was also hoping to play in all 82 games for the first time since the 2008-09 season, which is the only time he accomplished that feat. He has played in 80 (2010-11, 2015-16) and 81 games (2014-15) in other seasons. Toews also has scored at least 20 goals in all 11 of his NHL seasons.

The injury caps a lousy season for the vaunted Blackhawks, who were eliminated from playoff contention for the first time since the 2007-08 season. It also might prevent Toews for suiting up for Team Canada at the upcoming World Championships in Denmark. A trio of Toews, Connor McDavid, and John Tavares would form a lethal centre combination for the Canadians at the event.