The Chicago Blackhawks forward Taylor Hall is back in the lineup versus the Toronto Maple Leafs on Monday, head coach Luke Richardson confirmed, per NBC's Charlie Roumeliotis.
MacKenzie Entwistle and Nikita Zaitsev are also drawing into the lineup to make their season debuts. Cole Guttman, Reese Johnson, and Jarred Tinordi are the scratches.
Hall's return comes far earlier than expected. He was initially labeled week-to-week after sustaining a shoulder injury versus the Boston Bruins on Oct. 11, but he ended up only missing one game.
Prior to his brief absence, Hall had been skating on a line with 2023 first overall pick Connor Bedard. Taylor Raddysh took Hall's place on that unit during Saturday's 3-2 loss to the Montreal Canadiens.
Hall registered his first point as a Blackhawk prior to his departure against Boston with an assist on Bedard's first NHL goal. The 2018 Hart Trophy winner was shaken up after taking a hit from Bruins blue-liner and former teammate Brandon Carlo.
Richardson criticized the play as a "blindside hit," but Hall said he didn't have a problem with it when addressing the media Sunday.
"I know how quick the game can be," he said. "When I watched the replay, it was a fast play. I put myself in a vulnerable spot. Was it a hit to the head? Maybe, but I passed the concussion protocol with ease and was just dealing with a shoulder thing. That's hockey; that's the way it goes."
