Blackhawks Toews Out Until Postseason

By Chuck Sudo in News on Apr 2, 2014 7:00PM

If the Blackhawks want to improve their playoff position they'll have to do it without Jonathan Toews. The team announced Wednesday their captain would sit out the remainder of the regular season to heal an "upper body injury" suffered in Sunday's loss at Pittsburgh.

Toews went after the puck and had his head down when the Penguins' Brooks Orpik slammed into him against the boards in the second period. Toews left the ice on his own, favoring his left arm; he's believed to have a shoulder injury.

Toews is third on the Blackhawks in scoring with 28 goals and 68 points in 76 games. The team is already without leading scorer Patrick Kane, who is nursing a "lower body injury" believed to be a knee injury. The Hawks are third in the Central Division behind Colorado with six games left to play and, regardless of seeding, will open the playoffs against the Avalanche. What they need to focus on now is jump-starting the offense, which has gone cold since Kane's injury.