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  "path": "/blackhawks/2026/03/08/blackhawks-stars-oliver-moore-injury-connor-bedard-nick-lardis",
  "publishedAt": "2026-03-09T01:55:16.005Z",
  "site": "https://chicago.suntimes.com",
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  "textContent": "<p>DALLAS — <a class=\"Link\" href=\"https://chicago.suntimes.com/blackhawks\" target=\"_blank\" >Blackhawks</a> rookie Sam Rinzel had just begun celebrating his third career NHL goal Sunday when he realized only three teammates were in the huddle, not four.</p><p>Seconds before the goal, fellow rookie Oliver Moore appeared to injure his right knee on an awkward crash into the end-boards. The celebration stopped so Rinzel could help Moore hobble off the ice and down to the locker room.</p><p>Moore’s injury further weakened the Hawks’ already-slim group of centers and took the wind out of the team’s sails. The early two-goal lead Rinzel gave the Hawks eventually slipped away in a 4-3 overtime loss to the Stars.</p><p>After the game, coach Jeff Blashill said Moore won’t play Monday against the Mammoth but didn’t offer a more detailed update.</p><div class=\"Enhancement\" data-align-center><div class=\"Enhancement-item\"> <div class=\"ExternalContent-wrapper\" > <div class=\"TweetUrl\"> <blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\"><p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">GOAL: Sam Rinzel rips a shot from the slot for his 3rd goal of the season, though Oliver Moore was shaken up on the play. <a href=\"https://t.co/0dVFNqKMHH\">pic.twitter.com/0dVFNqKMHH</a></p>— BHF (@BlackhawksFocus) <a href=\"https://twitter.com/BlackhawksFocus/status/2030771754939961442?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">March 8, 2026</a></blockquote> <script async src=\"https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"></script> </div> </div> </div></div><p>All four of the Stars' goals were scored around the net in scrappy, ugly fashion. It wasn’t a pretty game in general.</p><p>Hawks goalie Arvid Soderblom, making his second consecutive start because of Spencer Knight’s illness, made some difficult saves but probably should have made a few more straightforward ones, including on Stars defenseman Miro Heiskanen’s tip-in winner 22 seconds into overtime.</p><p></p><p>‘‘I would just say you’re going to give that [shot] up, and it went in,’’ Blashill said.</p><p></p><p>The Hawks earned a point after Connor Bedard, who was stymied for most of the game, scored from Fort Worth — 54 feet out, technically — with 1:20 left in regulation. It was the Hawks’ first goal with their goalie pulled all season. They had been the only team without one.</p><p></p><p>But nobody reasonably could argue they deserved the full two points. The Stars finished with a 32-17 advantage in shots on goal after holding the Hawks without one for nearly the whole second period.</p><p></p><p>‘‘At times, the ice tilted their way on us, so then you’re defending a little bit more than you want to,’’ Blashill said. ‘‘But I also thought we passed up on some shots. We’ve got to make sure we have a good shooting mentality.’’</p><p></p><p>The Hawks’ lack of center depth after trading Jason Dickinson and Nick Foligno might become a really significant problem without Moore. They have gone an atrocious 31-for-97 at the faceoff dot in their last two games, for example.</p><p></p><p>They did call up and play rookie forward Nick Lardis on Sunday, but he’s not a center and barely exceeded 10 minutes of ice time even in an 11-forward rotation.</p><p></p><p>‘‘Coming back here now, it feels a lot less stressful,’’ Lardis said. ‘‘[I want to] just show that I can be trusted by the coaches more. It goes for every young player starting their pro career, but [it’s about] being trusted as a two-way player and continuing to show my consistency and my strengths.’’</p><p></p><p>Then again, the Hawks’ inexperience at every position group <a class=\"Link\" href=\"https://chicago.suntimes.com/blackhawks/2026/03/06/blackhawks-trade-deadline-reaction-run-by-kids-kyle-davidson-connor-bedard\" target=\"_blank\" >is intentional</a>. It’s a feature, not a bug. It might be a disadvantage in the short term, but management hopes giving so many young guys so much responsibility will pay off down the road.</p><p></p><p>There’s no denying the fact the youngsters rapidly are accumulating experience in close-game scenarios. Discounting empty-netters, five of the Hawks’ six games since the Olympic break have been decided by one goal. The only exception was their blowout road victory against the Mammoth.</p><p></p><p>The catch is, the Hawks have lost all five of those one-goal games.</p><p></p><p>‘‘It’s not the most comfortable thing always, but you learn from experience,’’ said defenseman Matt Grzelcyk, now the Hawks’ oldest player at 32.</p><p></p><p>‘‘Hopefully [the kids] can take these next 20 games to heart and build toward the</p><p>future, for next season, [and] not just wait until the offseason to do that.’’</p>",
  "title": "Oliver Moore's injury further weakens Blackhawks' center corps in loss to Stars",
  "updatedAt": "2026-03-09T02:32:07.857Z"
}