Former Hart Trophy winner Taylor Hall said he was "surprised" to be a healthy scratch for Saturday's Blackhawks game in Vancouver, saying there was no prior warning from head coach Luke Richardson.
"I was surprised," said Hall, 33, to reporters on Monday. "It was unexpected, from the standpoint of I just didn't know I was even close to being in that spot, really. If there were some conversations in the days leading up about my game, or if I was constantly being shown video, that would be one thing. So I was a bit surprised."
Hall, a veteran of 849 NHL games, is in his second season in Chicago, though he was limited to just 10 games last year because of a knee injury. He has two goals and four assists in 17 games this year for the Blackhawks, who are 6-11-1 and in last place in the Central Division.
Richardson, for his part, accepted some blame for Hall feeling blindsided.
"That could be part of my problem, too. Sometimes you give veterans a little bit more of a grace period," Richardson said after practice. "For me to communicate with him, I need to get to know the player more, to see how they like to handle that. We talked lots during and after, but maybe it needs to be more before (the scratch)."
Hall told reporters he expects to play on Tuesday when the Blackhawks host the Ducks.
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