Andreas Athanasiou has missed nearly four months with an injury.
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Blackhawks coach Luke Richardson watched forward Andreas Athanasiou take part in drills during practice Tuesday — Athana-
siou’s second session since shedding his non-contact jersey — and was reminded of the skating speed the Hawks have been lacking.
‘‘He had a couple of quick, slick, skilled plays,’’ Richardson said. ‘‘I saw that, and I’m like, ‘Oh, yeah, we do miss that in a game.’ ’’
Athanasiou has missed nearly four months now — 47 games and counting — with what he described as a groin- and hip-related injury on his right side. He hasn’t played since Nov. 9 in Tampa, Florida, which was the Hawks’ last road victory.
Athanasiou said he’s feeling better but hasn’t identified a specific return date yet because he still is dealing with some nagging discomfort. He best is labeled as day-to-day entering the final two games of the Hawks’ homestand (against the Avalanche on Thursday and Blue Jackets on Saturday).
Tuesday finally brought clarity, however, about exactly what led to this and why it has dragged on for so long. Taylor Hall’s torn anterior cruciate ligament and Corey Perry’s contract termination received a lot more attention, but Athanasiou’s absence arguably has contributed just as much to the Hawks’ offensive woes this season. His 20 goals last season tied for the team lead.
Richardson said Athanasiou ‘‘stepped on a puck or stick in training camp’’ and tweaked something, but it was manageable and gradually improving until Nov. 9, when an awkward fall aggravated it. He tried to battle through it, but it was obvious something was wrong when he had to pull up on a semi-breakaway on which he should’ve blown past the defense.
Even then, Athanasiou said he ‘‘didn’t really think it was that bad’’ and was supposed to resume skating in early December. But then he visited a doctor in Los Angeles who had helped him with a comparable injury in 2021-22, and an MRI exam revealed the real issue.
That began an extremely frustrating period for him, physically and psychologically, particularly because of the uncertain return timeline.
‘‘Being a skater is my strong suit, and not being able to skate is definitely not a good feeling,’’ Athanasiou said. ‘‘You’re aching, you’re in pain and you’re just thinking about it the whole time, so it’s never a fun feeling. There’s so many doubts and thoughts that go through your head.
‘‘There’s a time to think and there’s a time to work. I went home and thought about it — whether it was bad thoughts or good thoughts, whatever it was — and came to the rink the next day and just really focused on working. That kind of takes your head away from it. [Then you] go home and think about it all day again.’’
The injury never required a procedure, just rest and rehab. By
Feb. 10, he was able to resume skating individually. Now, he just needs to rebuild confidence in his body.
‘‘The doctors feel he’s at the point he can go full-out,’’ Richardson said. ‘‘It’s just [about] his pain and comfort level doing it. Today, watching him, I could tell he’s still watching himself on the quick stop-[and]-starts. I could see [it] in his face and body language. That’s going to be a mental hurdle to get over as much as getting back into [game] shape.’’
Added Athanasiou: ‘‘I’m almost back up to speed. It’s just [about] getting that last little pop, and [then I] should be good to go.’’
NOTES: Defenseman Nikita Zaitsev has been sidelined since Jan. 16 not only by a knee injury, as originally reported, but also by a bone fracture, Richardson said. Zaitsev skated individually for the first time Tuesday and might return sometime in mid-March.
• Defenseman Connor Murphy, who hasn’t played since Jan. 13, is progressing more slowly than expected from a core soft-tissue injury. There is no timeline for his return.