Jonathan Toews Injured: Can the Chicago Blackhawks Handle His Absence for Long?

Chicago Blackhawks fans will be on pins and needles for the next 36 hours. The potential of playing without a marquee skater tends to create an uneasy feeling.

When that skater also wears the "C" on his sweater, the waiting game takes on more foreboding.

Jonathan Toews left Saturday's game in Nashville midway through the second period. The 'Hawks dropped a 5-2 decision to the Predators, but the news that Toews is day-to-day with an upper body injury may carry a more lasting effect.

Are we looking at a minor problem best remedied over the All-Star break, a catastrophic malady that shelves the captain for an indefinite period or something in between? We don't know right now. We may not be closer to an answer until Monday when the team gets a chance to evaluate the injury.

Before speculation runs rampant, let's go over what we do know.

In the second period of Friday's game with Florida, Toews appeared to take a stick to his left hand. It was clear that he was in pain immediately after and on the bench following his shift. In postgame interviews, Toews declared it a non-serious issue and thought he'd be ready for Saturday's tilt in Nashville.

With 7:08 remaining in the second period and Chicago down 3-1, Toews came off the ice for what turned out to be his final shift of the evening. He took some contact at the end of his shift, but there was no smoking gun pointing to a problem of any kind.

If I were to guess, I'd theorize that Toews suffered an injury Friday, tried to play through it, but was bothered by the hand enough to have himself removed from the game. Coach Joel Quenneville had this to say following the loss, via the 'Hawks website:

"

We'll know more over the next day or so. He didn't finish, upper body and we'll say day to day.

"

Toews has missed substantial time twice in his professional career. He was out 16 games with a sprained knee in his rookie season. He also missed six games after a Willie Mitchell hit left him with a concussion in the 2009-10 season.

The captain suffered a shoulder injury December 30 last season but was back in the lineup after just two games.

Saturday saw a four-game points streak come to an end. Toews is near the top of the league in goals scored. Along with Marian Hossa, he was one of Chicago's top performers in the first half of the season. Can Chicago afford Toews to be out more than a few days, especially with Patrick Sharp still recovering from an injured wrist?

The 'Hawks were 0-2 last season when Toews was out and also lost the game in which he was injured. They went 4-1-1 with a deeper roster 2009-10. How does that bode for the current incarnation of the team?

Toews out for more than a handful of games leaves Hossa, who had both goals Saturday night, as the torchbearer in Chicago. With Sharp and Toews hurt and Patrick Kane struggling to pair rubber with twine, the production of secondary offensive players is absolutely vital.

Dave Bolland has been hot and Andrew Shaw could center on a lower line. However, with Toews out, Chiacgo's center depth, already paper-thin, becomes an immediate area for GM Stan Bowman to augment.

The week-long reprieve offered by the All-Star break could prove to be the Blackhawks' salvation. Assuming Toews is not available for Chicago's rematch with the Predators on Tuesday and skips All-Star weekend, he has nine days of recuperation time.

Quenneville is hopeful to have Sharp back when the 'Hawks depart on their nine-game road trip at the end of the month. It would be terrific if Toews was also in the lineup, but the chances of that happening will depend on what's revealed over the next day-and-a-half.

Until then, the waiting commences.