Bedard to return for Blackhawks against Capitals

CHICAGO -- Connor Bedard said he’s ready to return from his upper-body injury for the Chicago Blackhawks (18-18-7) against the Washington Capitals (22-16-6) at United Center on Friday (8 p.m. ET; CHSN, MNMT2, NHLN, SNP, TVAS).

"I feel good," he said following the Blackhawks' morning skate. "Obviously it’s not fun kind of waiting and not being able to play, so it's exciting."

The 20-year-old center has missed 12 games since he sustained an upper-body injury while taking a face-off with one second remaining in a 3-2 loss at the St. Louis Blues on Dec. 12. Blues center Brayden Schenn went in for a stick lift and knocked into Bedard, who fell backward to the ice. He was clutching his right shoulder as he headed toward the locker room.

"I think there are uncontrollable (things) in sports and you try to take that time to work on stuff that you can work on and try to get your body feeling the best it can," Bedard said. "It (stinks). No one wants to have anything happen but it’s part of the game and you just have to try to take that time to get better."

Bedard participated in some of Chicago's practice drills Tuesday and took part in their morning skate, but not on a line, prior to a 7-3 win against the Blues on Wednesday. On Friday, he was in a regular red jersey and working with the top power-play unit.

"Obviously a huge boost. He’s a big part of our team and he was playing really well before he got injured and we’re excited to have him back," said assistant coach Mike Vellucci, who ran Friday's skate in place of coach Jeff Blashill, who was out because of illness.

"I don’t think there are many adjustments. (Bedard) is going to go up where he normally is, he’s going to be on our power play on the top unit there, so anytime you get a guy like that back, he’s going to go right into the lineup."

Lines were not run on Friday because several players, including forwards Nick Foligno and Ilya Mikheyev, were out because of illness. Vellucci said lineup decisions will be made closer to game time.

Despite missing a dozen games, Bedard still leads Chicago with 44 points (19 goals, 25 assists) in 31 games and is hoping to pick up where he left off; he had 11 points (five goals, six assists) in his last seven games prior to the injury.

"Yeah, he's a significant challenge. He's having a phenomenal season," Capitals coach Spencer Carbery said. "We've seen him in the past; we didn't see him a week ago (3-2 shootout loss to Chicago on Saturday) but the things that he can do with the puck, breaking you down in 1-on-1 situations, whether that's through the rush or in the offensive zone. When he gets into scoring situations, his ability to change his shot, he changes his shot angles as good as anybody in the world.

"When he gets in tight spaces and you think you've got him stick on puck, he's able to just move it six inches more to get a real, clean look off when he gets into that dangerous scoring area and frankly, that's a little bit larger for him than it is for most players. So, we're aware of that. We're going to need to do a real good job without last change, so that means everybody's going to probably, inevitably face him at some point."

The Blackhawks will try to keep building on recent momentum. They went 1-6-1 in their first eight games without Bedard but have won a season-high four in a row since.

"It's been great," Bedard said of the latest results. "Since Christmas break, a lot of (overtimes) and obviously the last four have been wins, so that’s exciting.

"You look at the standings, and you lose a couple of games, and everyone thinks you (stink) and you win a couple and you’re back in the (Stanley Cup) Playoff race. It’s an exciting time for us to keep that rolling and keep stacking wins because every game is so important."

Chicago enters Friday three points behind the Los Angeles Kings for the second wild card into the playoffs from the Western Conference.