Blackhawks' Nazar exits after taking puck to face

CHICAGO --Chicago BlackhawksforwardFrank Nazarleft Saturday's5-3 lossto theSt. Louis Bluesafter he was hit in the face by a puck.

Nazar dropped his stick and discarded his gloves in frustration as he made his way off the ice after the play occurred about 3½ minutes into the second period.

"I think Frank's going to be all right," coach Jeff Blashill said. "He had to get some dental work done, but I think he'll be all right."

The last-place Blackhawks (28-38-14) have two games left in the season.

The 22-year-old Nazar was sidelined for a month after he broke his jaw when he was hit in the face by a puck during a 6-4 loss at Ottawa on Dec. 20. He returned on Jan. 22 at Carolina.

Nazar, a first-round pick in the 2022 draft, has 15 goals and 26 assists in 64 games in his third NHL season. He agreed to a $46.2 million, seven-year extension with Chicago in August.

ForwardAndrew Mangiapanedeparted in the third period after crashing hard into the net with 9:17 left. Blashill said Mangiapane is day to day.

Ethan Del Mastrowas scratched because of an unspecified injury. With Del Mastro sidelined, veteran forwardSam Laffertywas inserted into the lineup as a defenseman.

"[Lafferty] has played D with our team in practice a decent amount in the last three, four weeks," Blashill said. "[Lafferty] has been committed to this team all year. ... He played D in college, so it's not like he's foreign to it. I mean he actually knows our systems probably as good as anybody."