Blackhawks reveal shocking details of devastating injury to rookie phenom Connor Bedard

Bedard left last night's game early in the first period after taking a high hit from Devils defenseman Brendan Smith, which saw him immediately grab his face and leave the game. He did not return in the contest. Here's the hit in question.

The Blackhawks have confirmed the worst for Bedard, revealing on Saturday afternoon that Bedard suffered a fractured jaw on the play and will be unavailable for the next 4-6 weeks. The rookie has been placed on Injured Reserve as a result.

In addition, the Hawks also placed Nick Foligno on injured reserve on Saturday after the veteran fractured a finger on his left hand. It is believed that he may have suffered the injury fighting Smith after the hit that took Bedard out of the game and sidelined him with his fractured jaw.

As of this moment, there has been no announcement from Player Safety regarding a hearing for Smith. Some have analyzed the play closely, such as The Athletic's Mark Lazerus, who came to the conclusion that the hit itself was not an illegal check to the head. Lazerus suggests that the chest was the principle point of contact and that any head contact occurred as a result of Bedard leaning forward. I suppose we'll know before long if Player Safety agrees.